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Best currency for cleaning pads?????!!

4K views 45 replies 26 participants last post by  bstrom 
#1 ·
...i toyed with the idea of this for a thread...but thought it was plain silly!!

has anyone who has travelled to a few lands found that some bills are better than others for cleaning pads????

always knowing that my friends use a dollar bill,is how the thought crossed my mind,as now Im in a land of Euros...

well first time I tried it i grabbed a 20 euro bill...after a few swipes the darned thing ripped in half.....Im sure glad it wasnt a 50!!!

so i guess its not a silly question...whatever is worth the least!!!!!!!!!
 
#2 ·
The American dollar is such strong currency (not speaking politically, but mechanically), because it isn't just paper. It's a paper cloth. Yes, it can rip, but it is also bias. Think of fiberglass. Very similar. It is a layered material. I have use white paper in a pinch, but an American $1, $5, or $10 bill works wonderfully! I used to always keep an unspent $1 bill in each sax case. That didn't last long though, as I'd invariably spend it! I'd buy a similar cloth paper for $2-$5 that would do the same thing, but wouldn't have the same monetary "tempt" factor!
 
#3 ·
Pound notes (GB£) are made from tough cloth fibre paper so will withstand being drawn between pads and toneholes. Some may already be impregnated with powder which is most likely cocaine.

Not sure about Austrailian notes as I think they're made from plastic.
 
#4 ·
rolling papers?

I use Yamaha powder paper, but I like the idea of using $100 bills with a little leftover white powder on them.
 
#5 ·
...so the debate is now on between which is better the pound or the dollar what is the lowest pound bill 5,or perhaps 2???
 
#8 ·
Lowest pound note is a fiver, then a tenner, then a 20 and 50 - the £1 note disappeared in the early '80s a few years after the pound coin went into circulation. Most recent addition are £2 coins but they won't do the toneholes much good!

Although the best notes in any currency to use are freshly printed ones straight from the cash machine or bank as they're clean and crisp - and haven't accidentally gone through the wash or been used to snort illegal substances!
 
#7 ·
yeah ,but they dont make manuscript like they used to ;)
 
#10 ·
What I've observed and what I've heard from old-timers:

Anything strong, malleable, and greasy from use. The non-stick properties of the dollar bill trick come from the cleaning action of the paper being drawn over the tonehole and tonehole impression (which it must be malleable enough to reach well) and the non-stick effect of the oils on the bill from our hands.

If you don't have any oily old bills, pull the crisp new bill over a table corner back and forth to soften it up and then rub it across your nose and forehead. Super gross, but it works.

Of course I think Yamaha powder paper is the best non-stick paper, but maybe that's just because I dislike putting the skin oils of a thousand anonymous people on my pads.
 
#11 ·
#17 ·
"The non-stick properties of the dollar bill trick come from the cleaning action of the paper being drawn over the tonehole and tonehole impression (which it must be malleable enough to reach well) and the non-stick effect of the oils on the bill from our hands. "

Yeah, I think its both.
 
#20 ·
the Euro banknotes (5 € being the smallest Euro denomination in the form of a banknote) are made of cotton fibre. I find the 5 Euro has pretty much the same quality of a dollar bill and gets used as much. I have , in fact, used both a couple of times.

Our shop keepers and supermarkets are pushing to eliminate physical currency and use only plastic. It is already getting increasingly difficult to use cash (although I bought a car a few weeks ago using only cash!) and they have opened some supermarkets where you can only pay with plastic.

I think I should tell our Minister President that you cannot clean a G# by using a credit card. Maybe it would work on the Vibratosax keys!
 
#22 ·
Our shop keepers and supermarkets are pushing to eliminate physical currency and use only plastic. It is already getting increasingly difficult to use cash (although I bought a car a few weeks ago using only cash!) and they have opened some supermarkets where you can only pay with plastic.

I think I should tell our Minister President that you cannot clean a G# by using a credit card. Maybe it would work on the Vibratosax keys!
Maybe saxes should be fitted with some kind of Chip&Pin device so the G# and low C# only unstick when you've entered your PIN.
 
#21 ·
this thread has been surprisingly enlightening!!! I ve learned that sax tech work is so expensive because they've gotta feed the monkey!!!!
 
#24 ·
+1 Chris!!!! I have never had a problem on any horn of mine with the C#!!!.... why is that?
 
#25 ·
I've always used US currency because it's where I live. Quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies just don't seem to work though.
:)

I find new bills work great. I don't necessarily buy into to old oily bill theory. You can easily feel how abrasive a new bill is. Not being very knowledgeable about tech stuff I couldn't say for sure, but it seems to me that oils would just attract more gunk in the long run. Clean is good.
 
#26 ·
If your pad is clean and well-made, it shouldn't be sticking. Non-stick solutions of any kind are a band-aid.

The sticking can come from funk applied by the player/horn (spit, corrosion) or from a bad pad (usually the waterproofing is at fault). If you've got a good pad and the problem is funk, cleaning the pad will do the trick alone- for a time. If you've got a pad that is inherently sticky, you need to apply something to the pad itself to stop it sticking- for a time.

Note: sometimes a good pad will turn into a bad pad if left in a hot car. And if the car is hot enough, it will melt your shellac/glue and you'll have bigger problems.

The dollar bill trick is just that- a trick. To be used on the gig when your G# suddenly sticks. If you keep a dollar bill in your case because it sticks so much, maybe you should add 19 more and take it to your tech to have the pad changed and tonehole cleaned and the rod straightened if necessary and cleaned and the hinge tube cleaned and new oil applied and the springs tensioned and the G# adjustments redone and check for any binding making the spring work harder than it needs to. (Hey when I explain the whole thing, suddenly $20 doesn't seem too bad for "just one pad changed")

Best non-stick solution is to swab out your horn religiously from day one. If you play for hours and hours at a time, swab it out mid-gig during another interminable bass solo (heh). Good pads that never had spit dry on them are happy pads that don't stick and seal better longer.
 
#29 ·
....we've had too many posts now without a drug reference.......just moderating
 
#30 ·
Best I've found is to ask a band mate if they have a bill (preferably U.S.) of any denomination, and borrow it for thirty seconds to clear the sticky pad and give it back. You don't want to put that gunky thing in YOUR wallet do you?
 
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