Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-09-16 14:42
The silencing material and density of pads plays an important part in the stability of regulation. Using cork under adjusting screws is no good as it's too fragile and screw tips will chew through it, so using a firmer and more durable silencing material is best, but choose a material that keeps mechanical noise down to as minimal as possible.
Gasket cork (tech cork, gummi-kork, rubco, etc.) cut to 0.3-0.4mm thick sheets is pretty good as it is hard wearing, though it can become noisy over time. It does have some amount of recovery but on the whole is reasonably stable for use where fine adjustments are needed.
Thin leather (ie. from sax pads) can become too hard and noisy over time, and plastic such as nylon or Teflon (in sheet form or as adjusting screw tips) is too hard and noisy and Teflon can be crushed easily if too much pressure is applied to it.
When adjusting keywork I usually make the fingerplates slightly lighter than the vent keys they close as finger pressure is usually greater than remotely linked keys. So LH2 will close with slightly less pressure than the C vent above it when tested with light finger pressure, likewise with LH3 and the Bb vent.
Same applies to the RH2 fingerplate as that has to close both the F# and forked F vents - the vents closing with more pressure than RH2 and RH3 closing with lighter pressure than the F# vent as well.
If your oboe has the low B-C link, regulate the low C, B and Bb so they close together (just by pressing the low Bb touch) but getting progressively lighter as they go towards the bell. Without the low B-C link, make the bell key pad close with less pressure than the low B pad. The Eb and low C pads should close together as should the low B and C# pads.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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