UPDATE AUG
2023: In 2020 I found a company-
Tru-Seal Pads- that manufactures all synthetic neoprene pads
(with and/or without chrome resonators) very similar to the ones I've previously used and made myself.
I August of 2023 I re-padded
my entire Selmer alto sax (as well as all the left hand pads on my
Winston soprano) using the Tru-Seal pads with excellent results, and
saved HOURS trying to make my own pads this time. The pads are more
consistent than my hand made pads, are all perfectly round, and fit
exactly as needed. You can buy individual pads or sets as needed-
although, my bought set needed a few extra sizes not originally
included, which I bought separately. I recommend talking with
Brandon at Tru-Seal with any specific questions.
Denver Rubber
Company no longer sells the type of neoprene I've used previously,
and the Tru-Seal pads are superior in any case and will give you
even better results. The cost for a full set of pads
is around $75, although you can buy single pads as well. They
make individual pads as well as complete sets from 8mm to 51mm in
size, appropriate for saxes, clarinets, and flutes as well as other
instruments.
If you are a wholesaler or
repair tech or have a resale license you can buy direct from Tru-Seal
by opening an account with them. Otherwise, all consumers can buy
from Ferree's Music Supply. If you have questions, email or call
Brandon at Tru-Seal.
The human brain can easily find new solutions
to age old problems- just one amygdala click away. When normally
dormant frontal lobes creativity circuits are accessed, unexpected
superior solutions come to light. Here is one such example below.
(Hmmmm... When else might alternative solutions come in handy?)
In 1973, I was a college music
student looking for an alternative to replacing the tone hole pads
on my newly acquired alto saxophone, a 1952 Selmer Super Balanced
Action model (below). Traditionally animal product leather and/or
calf skin pads were used for this job. However, I was a dedicated
tree hugging vegetarian and had reservations about using meat
by-products to make music. After a bit of asking around the music
community, Richard W. Johnston of nearby Boulder, Colorado came to
my aid. He was woodwind repair genius who regularly was sent
instrument rebuilding jobs from around the world, and he had a
unique proposal for my problem.
Mr. Johnston developed a new
type of woodwind pad construction to solve the problem of specific
difficult water soaked keys that do not seal properly on orchestral
instruments such as bassoons, clarinets and oboes, and he had made
such pads for major orchestra woodwind players.
The unique pad material used in
his design was closed cell neoprene rubber, used typicaly in skin
diving suits and IBM computer padding. It's advantage over animal
materials is that it is totally waterproof and extremely durable.
Each pad is constructed of a layer of this material glued to a
backing of cardboard, the thickness determined by the individual key
and its position on the instrument.
Together we decided to re-pad my
entire saxophone as an experiment to see if this pad material would
work replacing all of an instrument's pads- something never before
tried back in 1973.
The experiment was a resounding
success. Not only did the pad material seal all of the tone holes
with excellent results, but the action of the saxophone was quieter
and the instrument itself resonated with superb tone with a
measurable improvement over the standard pad material response.
Johnston, a master craftsman with decades of experience, was
extremely satisfied with the results, remarking "This whole
instrument vibrates when you play it now, quite incredible." Listen to N.S. play
this Sax
Subsequently, Johnston re-padded
two of my flutes, a clarinet, and a Selmer Mark VI soprano
saxophone. Normal leather, calf skin, and fish skin pads routinely
need replacement every few years or even more frequently.
Incredibly, these neoprene/skin diver suit pads from the 1970's have
all retained their original suppleness, usefulness, and seal.
Incredibly, thirty years later, none have needed replacement, and
the pads work as well as when they were first installed, despite
decades of regular playing and use.
In 1999 I obtained a 1920's
Buesher Soprano Saxophone (below) from Blinky's Antique Shop in
Denver, Colorado. The shop owner (actually Blinky the Clown of TV
fame) recently had brought it back having purchased it from the
original owner in a small Kansas town earlier that year. This time I
performed the overhaul and re-pad myself, with the same excellent
results as all of the previous horns. It just goes to show you what
can be accomplished when you are willing to try something new.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
PRINT OUT
The pad material used is closed cell neoprene-- the last time I got
some, it was offered with a shiny smooth version as well as a matte
rougher skinned version. You need the shiny stuff which will seal
perfectly at the tone hole edges.
The shiny stuff is about $6-$8 a square foot at 1/8" thickness. I
use thinner material for the smaller pads 1/16" and 3/32" for my
soprano. 1/16" will be too thin for any of your tenor pads, and you
will mostly use the 1/8".
If you have never taken your instrument apart before-- be CAREFUL.
The key and rod setup can be extremely confusing. Don't mix up the
rods, keep everything neat and lay it down the same order that it
came off your horn. I warned you. don't bend anything.
If you have any doubts about your ability to do
this- forget it.
You will make pads based on the thickness of the leather pad at the
seat impression- the round circle that meets at the tone hole edge.
When you remove a pad from the cup measure carefully and eyeball
this thickness. Then construct a pad using layers of cardboard or
poster board, with the top layer being the rubber. Just ordinary
quick dry all purpose cement or contact glue will work. You can seat
the pad in the tone hole cup with the same cement- I have even used
Elmer's glue for this as well.
The hardest part-- and this can be VERY VERY tricky and takes lots
of patience, is to make sure there are no leaks after the pad is in
place and he horn back together.
I suggest you make and replace ONE PAD AT A TIME. Disassemble, then
do another, reassemble, fix for leaks, etc.
Also-- GET RESONATORS for your sax. these are plastic cone shaped
inserts that reflect the sound off the pad back into the horn and
significantly improve the sound. All the best horns have them. You
have to get them from Feree's music supply: 1-800-253-2261 You can
tell them you need them for a tenor- get the CONE shaped plastic
ones- they sound the very best.
They are not too expensive, but you will probably have to buy more
than you need. Make sure the resonator you pick for each pad CLEARS
the tone hole-- if it barely fits, its too big, because often a
key/pad will not sit exactly center on a tone hole edge. Make sure
you have a little extra room around each resonator. fit resonators
on every pad you can. Skip the octave keys of course.
You will need to make a leak light which goes inside the horn. Use a
long thin 12 volt fluorescent bulb or a VERY VERY bright
incandescent bulb. Get parts from the hardware store. The leak light
has to be thin enough to slide all the way down into the narrow end
of your horn. I've taken apart a small fluorescent lantern, and jury
rigged the light to hang from wires to do this.
Turn off the room lights, look all around to see if any light
escapes the closed tone hole. If you see any light - BAD. You must adjust the tone hole cup/pad so no
light escapes at all with regular pressure on the key.
If you have made the pad the right thickness, it should sit on the
tone hole edge with minimal light, or no light, coming out the edge.
If you see a sliver of light-- place a very thin
knife blade (THIN blade knife, not a screwdriver which will damage
the tone hole edge) on the OPPOSITE SIDE FROM THE LEAK-- press done
gently but firmly ON THE LEAK SIDE, remove the blade, and then close
the key again. This will adjust the angle of the key cup so that the
pad sits flat on the tone hole edge all around. It make take a few
tries till you get it perfect. You might shift the leak to another
side-- practice makes perfect.
You have to check every pad this way. If the leak is too big-- you
have made your pad too thick or too thin. Start again and adjust the
thickness of the pad by removing some of the poster board layer- you
can usually peel this away-- or add a thin layer of paper or board
to make the pad thicker.
Pads up to 1 inch diameter are best cut out with a
leather punch set. The only set I know of is a Maun Wad Punch
Kit Imperial
Send this company an email and they will give you
the address/phone of the U.S. distributor for this kit.
It is ESSENTIAL for this job. Use it on a
very soft wood surface so you don't damage the edges of the
punch rings.
The larger pads over 1" (many on a tenor) must be
cut out carefully with a scissor. This is impossible to
do with a scissors and get a nice round pad for the small pads.
Get the punch, absolutely.
Also very handy is a much more common smaller
hole punch for punching out the center hole to put in the
resonators (there is a 1/8" inch pin that
holds the resonator to the pad) this looks
like pliers looking
http://www.tooldealz.com/leatherpunch.html
this is a cheap one- your local hobby shop should have one that
will last.
This is a BIG job which takes lots of coordination, dexterity, and
patience, as well as the right materials. IF you are up to it
however, you will have a superior sounding horn, with pads you will
never ever need to replace as long as you live.
Almost nobody knows about this procedure, it comes as no surprise
your typical repairman has never heard of it. But it works better
than anything. Often evolution of this sort takes decades before
everybody catches on. And of course, using neoprene pads will put a
lot of horn repairman out of this kind of job, as well as the pad
manufactures. Nobody is rushing to change. although the pads will
never wear out- you will periodically have to check for leaks, just
with any other normal pad, and adjust.
Your Amazing Brain Adventure
is a web site all about Tickling Your Amygdala-
i.e. turning on the best part of your brain as easy as clicking on a light
switch. This is done as easily as imagining a feather inside of your head
stimulating a compass, the amygdala. The amygdala is a set of twin organs, a
part of your brain that sits right in between the most advance part of your
brain- the frontal lobes and pre-frontal cortex- and the most primitive part
of your brain- your "reptile brain" and brain stem. By tickling your
amygdala you instantly and directly increase creativity, intelligence,
pleasure, and also make possible a spontaneous natural processes known as
"paranormal abilities", although such things as telepathy and ESP are really
as natural as breathing, or as easy doing simple math in your head. The
ability to self stimulate the amygdala by something as simple as thought has
been proven in laboratory experiments, such as those conducted at Harvard
University research labs, 1999-2009, and can be tracked with modern brain
scanning machines such as fMRI and PET... Indeed, thought is faster than
light.
Other sites of interest:
EasyPaintYourCar.comis a painting site dedicated
to learning how to paint a car yourself, even if you've never painted a car
before. You can refinish your car to professional standards at home, better
than if you take it to someone else, and enjoy doing it at a fraction of the
cost of having it done in an expensive shop. You can repair dents, rust, and
use the most durable real automotive paint, and even learn to apply it
without any special or expensive gear, in a safe and enjoyable manner. Paint
your car in your garage, car port, or even driveway. You can spray, use an
HVLP gun, or even use a roller.
Easy Make A Kindle
and
Your
Own Publishing
are sites about self-publishing and writing, and how any person can publish
materials, print, online, and electronic books. You can drop out of the
corporate slave labor rat race and own your own life by writing and
distributing your own books on the subject that you know best.
InkJetHelper.comis a web site about escaping from
the ridiculous cost of ink jet printer ink refilling- and refilling your
printer for pennies instead of $70 a shot. It also has useful tips about
maintaining ink jet printers, especially Canon brand printers.
Julia Lu
Paintingis
all about the creative works of Chinese painter Julia Lu, a modern master of
oil and water color painting. Julia shares her creative secrets, ideas, as
well as her art work.
