[hdemet]

A new set of pads are required for two tenors - a 1949 Selmer SBA and a 1973 Mark VI

Does anyone have any strong preferences on what type or brand of pads should be fitted and whether they would make any difference

eg Synthetic v Leather



all views and comments welcomed

 

[turf3]

Are you planning to play these instruments regularly? If so I would recommend either plain tan pads with flat metal boosters, or plain tan pads with the slightly domed brown plastic boosters. These are the most common pads avaiable from the widest number of repair shops so wherever, whenever you may need it you can get a replacement pad that matches what you already have.

I personally believe the type of booster has trivial to no effect on sound, as long as one is there, but nevertheless I prefer for reasons of compulsiveness to have all the same kind of pads on my sax.

In my experience the quality of installation and adjustment is way more important to pad function and longevity than the exact type of pad.

 

[hdemet]

I will be playing one regularly whilst the other is for a friends horn

Many thanks for the comments......having seen a few You Tube clips it seems that the technician and installation as you point out are the most critical/relevant factors

On a personal level whilst I am a disciple of modern technology and materials I think I would like to go with whatever is closest to original specification but will leave it to my technicians judgment as to which pads should be fitted

 

[TyroSax]

I use music medic tan pads on my overhauls. i actually like what they call their soft feel pads. they are not soft at all compared to the firm pads. they work well and i do a treatment on them to make them more water repellant. I am very happy with the outcome. I also use Shellac in my process. I do not care for hot glue. I do very nice overhauls if you would not mind sending to the Cincinnati Northern Ky area. I am very critical with my work. Jim

 

[Bjroosevelt]

Leather would be original equipment, not synthetic.

 

[saxoclese]

To date there are no synthetic saxophone pads that have gained wide acceptance with the exception of the Jim Schmidt Gold Pads. For reasons I don't understand the pads made with synthetic material seem to work much better when made in smaller sizes for clarinet and oboe. Some techs are using them on bass clarinet, but they have toneholes that are much different than those on saxophones.

I am drawn toward both function and cosmetics in pad choices. I have white roo pads with silver resonators in my Selmer SBA alto. I have installed chocolate roo pads with gold domed resos in several Mark VI overhauls i have done for customers. To me the dark brown leather with the gold resonator gives a lacquered sax a classy appearance the same way a white pad with a silver domed reso does on a silver plated sax. I like the Music Medic roo pads because they are firm, they are quiet, they don't get sticky like other pads, and they last a long, long time. I also do a lot of repads and overhauls with the Music Medic standard tan pads, and have done several using Pisoni Pro pads which are excellent, but a bit pricey.

I would suggest you ask your tech which brand of pad he/she prefers and go from there.

 

[artstove]

I go with whatever my tech recommends. I figure they see (and play) a lot more horns/pads than I do. I talked to one of the two techs I use about resonators, and he liked the plastic domed ones, as they come in more sizes, so he could better match the size of the resonator to the size of the pad. His take was that the size mattered much more than the material.

 

[Dr G]

I go with whatever my tech recommends. I figure they see (and play) a lot more horns/pads than I do. I talked to one of the two techs I use about resonators, and he liked the plastic domed ones, as they come in more sizes, so he could better match the size of the resonator to the size of the pad. His take was that the size mattered much more than the material.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yep, the whole paragraph is spot on.