 The Fingering Forum
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Author: breezy
Date: 2004-09-02 13:34
what does nickel plated mean? i thought it was stuff (keys, instrument) made of nickel with some finish on top. what does silver plated mean? i thought it was simply stuff (keys, instrument) made of silver. is sterling silver actually silver? how do i know my instrument is silver plated, nickel plated, made of silver, or made of 'sterling' silver?
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2004-09-02 21:43
nickel and silver plated means that the keys of your instrument, and for metal instuments the whole instrument are plated(a coating of metal) in nickel or silver. sterling silver is silver, sterling silver is shinier then silver. you can tell what you're instrument is plated in, silver is very silvery colour, but nickel plated has a slightly yellowish tinge. higher quality instruments are plated in silver, beginner and most intermediate instruments are plated in nickel. hope this helps.
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Author: brendan
Date: 2004-09-03 01:31
Sterling silver is not pure silver. It is an alloy made out of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. The copper is used to make it stronger and more durable than pure silver. You won't get 100% pure silver on an instrument let alone anything else because it is just too soft. However, the purer the silver, the more immune it is to corrosion and tarnishing. The pros and cons of the metal industry.
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Author: RCJ
Date: 2004-09-03 04:11
It's difficult to tell the difference between sterling and silver plate by looking. Sterling may appear slightly warmer because of the copper content (plating is usually pure silver). Sterling would not be "shinier" than plate, though. I'd think a metal instrument such as a flute would be marked sterling if it was. Sterling keywork on a clarinet or oboe is not common, even on high end instruments.
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Author: JfW
Date: 2004-09-03 14:03
It is inaccurate to say that pure silver does not resist tarnish better than alloys. If anything, since silver tarnishes very easily from common air contaminants, alloying it with other materials increases it's resistance (depending on local conditions and type of alloy)
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Author: JfW
Date: 2004-09-03 14:11
Oh, and as far as I can tell, Silver isn't all that uncommon on high end clarinets or oboes. It is very rare on saxophones, even when plated keys was a prefered style. One advantage nickel has is that it resists common contaminants much better than silver, thus needs less care to maintain it's image.
Silver is often prefered for it's feel. Nickel plating provides a slick surface that provides less friction for the fingers than Silver, while silver has a certain adhesive tact to the touch. Perhaps this is why smaller strapless instruments such as the oboe, flute, and clarinet frequently prefer silver over nickel (besides for appearance). The silver plated keywork is simply easier and more comfortable to keep a hold of. On saxophone, perhaps nickel is prefered because the slick surface provides faster, easier movement across the keywork?
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Author: RCJ
Date: 2004-09-03 18:30
Silver PLATED keywork is common, STERLING is not.
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