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Chinese pads off eBay - any good?

8K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  Gordon (NZ) 
#1 ·
I see there are quite a few offers of the saxophone pad sets on eBay from China. Any sizes you want.
Are they any good at all? What are they made of? I've heard that most pads (from any pad manufacturer) are nowdays made from "pressed" leather. The same thing as almost all boots and shoes without exception are made of.

How would Chinese pads compare in quality to MusicMedic standard Precision pads?
Are all Chinese pads the same? I see the prices vary quite a bit: from $10 for a set up to $25 for a set.

Most of the pads however apparently come from the same source: they are marked 'Luxiumei Deluxe' on the backing. Like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-25-pcs-...ads-Orange-Sax-Pads-Replace-W2D1/202520617824
 
#3 ·
I found only a few listings where sellers honestly disclose that their pads are made from the faux "leather".
Like this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Various-Sp...x-Faux-Leather-Cushion-Parts-one/263901227546

Faux leather however can mean anything. As I mentioned earlier we now wear shoes from the faux leather (pressed and glued) and we live with it fine.
Are all sax pads these days made from the faux leather?
 
#15 ·
Pisoni seem very expensive and you have to get them from Italy...
You don't have to get them from Italy. Pretty much all of our USA pad suppliers (and probably UK too) include Music Center (Pisoni) pads in their range.
They don't wave flags to this effect, possibly to discourage buyers from then sourcing them direct from Italy.

However I don't think they are likely to be any cheaper via USA!

Canadian dollar is .70 against USD. but Chinese pads are still not good enough MM for me
New Zealand dollar is 0.68 against USD. But I am a long, long way from risking Chinese pads on my customers' instruments, even Chinese instruments!
 
#6 ·
It's interesting, that one of our local techs who was not selling me anything and is not going to sell me anything mentioned that he didn't like Pisoni pads because he found them too thin and fragile while he suggested that brown Chinese 'Luxiumei Deluxe' were in fact quite good. No, he didn't say "They are great! They are the best!". He just mentioned that they last as long as any other higher priced pads and are fine, OK.
 
#8 ·
I can't comment on the Chinese pads, but I can say that there are major manufacturers that use Pisoni Pads in their instruments, and that the Pisoni Pro and Pisoni Pro J pads are among the best in the industry IMO. I have used them with good success in several of my pro overhauls. I have never heard anyone say Pisoni Pads are too thin and fragile before this thread. I'm not even sure what that means.
 
#10 ·
I don't know if I should trust that tech regarding Pisoni after further research of the Chinese pad listings.
Finally I found information about the material used for those 'Deluxe' pads: 'Alto Pads Replacement Synthetic PU Saxophone Leather '
Here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3114-Alto-...Saxophone-Leather-Saxophone-Pads/312431546397

I salute that seller (and I found quite a few more of them) for honestly disclosing what those pads are: they are NOT leather, they are PU "leather". As such I doubt they will last for any reasonable length of time.

As to why I'm looking for cheaper alternatives now? - We are in deep @#$% in this country, believe me. I used to buy pads from MM but currently our domestic currency went severely down in value.

Are good quality pads still made from real leather? For instance - are Music Medic Precision pads made from genuine leather?
 
#12 ·
... https://www.ebay.com/itm/3114-Alto-...Saxophone-Leather-Saxophone-Pads/312431546397

I salute that seller (and I found quite a few more of them) for honestly disclosing what those pads are: they are NOT leather, they are PU "leather". As such I doubt they will last for any reasonable length of time.
PU (polyurethane) is pretty tough stuff. Think floor varnish that shoes grind abrasive into. Think of the PU foam that is really difficult to tear. But in my experience it is inherently slightly sticky, which is the last thing you want in a sax pad.

As to why I'm looking for cheaper alternatives now? - We are in deep @#$% in this country, believe me. I used to buy pads from MM but currently our domestic currency went severely down in value.
That's life. Suck it up.

Are good quality pads still made from real leather? For instance - are Music Medic Precision pads made from genuine leather?
EVery good-quality. leather-like pad that I have encountered, including current ones, are some type of leather, with one exception. That is a very high quality, very expensive pad made by Music Center (Pisoni) with an extraordinarily tough, non-sticky, very flexible synthetic leather. They call it "Microfibre".
 
#14 ·
When I lived in China, I bought shoes that were supposedly made of leather but were actually some sort of convincing plastic. The giveaway was when I developed fungus infections. If you do get leather pads from a Chinese source, they probably won't be bovine (cow) leather but rather ungulate (pig). The Chinese don't raise much cattle, so there isn't much cow leather product to be found. The pig matures faster, so the preferred source of meat in China is pork, followed by chicken and fish.

It's a very good possibility that some Chinese "leather" saxophone pads are ersatz. Clarinet pads present less of a problem because the "skin" is made from sheep bladder and the felt is made from wool. Sheep are raised western China, so there's less possibility of fake product. But then again...

Has anyone actually seen a western pad production facility? I wonder where Music Medic's production facility might be. I've been to Wilmington, NC several times and MM's store.
 
#16 ·
...
Clarinet pads present less of a problem because the "skin" is made from sheep bladder and the felt is made from wool. Sheep are raised western China, so there's less possibility of fake product. But then again...

Has anyone actually seen a western pad production facility? I wonder where Music Medic's production facility might be. I've been to Wilmington, NC several times and MM's store.
I found one seller on eBay who sells pads directly from their Hebei factoty and he claims that their clarinet pads come in two varietie in respect to the skin:
- regular ones with the goldbeaters skin (or "bladder"... they call it)
- premium ones - made with the synthetic imported Italian "bladder skin"

I also wonder - where for instance MM get their pads? Could it be that they sell some premium Chinese made pads or on the contrary budget Italian made pads?
 
#26 ·
"That's life. Suck it up."
Really? You have my pity.
Gee thanks. Buying vital supplies from remote parts of the world can be more expensive and difficult that some believe, but we do finish up just living with it.
To sell pads at a realistic price to my customers I would have to charge 3 or 4 times USA list price, but customers would not stand for that, so it has to be built into hourly rate - an "overhead".
Clarnibass has the same issue in Israel.
 
#28 ·
Its a personal preference, i like bobs pads from precision pads, I like music medics pads on the occassion i need a small order, i like ferees pads and i also like hermes pads sold by votaw.

I have used chinese pads, they were okay but as noted not leather.

My pad orders are typically in the 2000 qty range, Music medic specialise in single individualised sets and as such you pay a premium

Steve
 
#29 ·
...
I have used chinese pads, they were okay but as noted not leather.
We currently have something strange going on here in respect to pad preferences that have shifted considerably over past several years because as I noted earlier:
>>> "Now our currency dropped to 0.015 against the US Dollar."

Currently most of our local techs as I found out (but they will not confess in most cases) use those chipie Chinese pads! And you know what they say when they have to admit that (for one reason or another) ? "- These inexpensive Chinese pads are not any worse than 5 times the price more expensive real leather pads!"

Their argument is as follows:

"I've been using these Chinese pads for the last 5 years and they hold up as good or even better than more expensive leather pads.
You might ask why?
Because leather pads like most natural materials is susceptible to rotting and deteriorating and drying out because of the moisture while the faux leather is much more stable and long lasting".

Now - what is that? - A pure case of cognitive dissonance? Or is that TRUE? (to any extent)
When some way of collective thinking becomes predominant there is no way to counterargument it. Well, you can but no one will trust you.
 
#33 ·
Not all "faux" leather is equal. Indeed different types could not be more different.

I have described some Chinese faux leather as resembling a car made from papier mache (and no stronger than damp cardboard), laminated with some film resembling brown cling-film. That film begins cutting through within a few weeks or months, allowing the muck beneath to go soggy and swell.

Another type of "faux" leather is the "microfibre" that Music Center uses on probably their most expensive pad. (And that probably why few technicians have seen or handled it. It is not listed in their web site. This "faux" leather resembles feels and looks like the highest quality natural leather, is totally waterproof, non-sticky, and far, far tougher than any natural leather.

So if you write about faux leather, you need to be more specific.
 
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