It has probably been raised before,but what is your opinion of "Other" Pads?

Hi all,

When I have an instrument overhauled I always tend to go for premium leather pads-Pisoni/Prestini,in Saxophones I always have metal reso's,I just feel they sound better. What is your opinion on those Roo pads,the Steve Goodson pads and all this,I am wondering along the lines that are these just a fancy looking gimmick or are they really better than what I usually have?

I have always been happy with what I have,but for the Serious Saxophone Professionals out there,is it a major selling point,or would you say it is too much hype.All mine play like a dream. I suppose what I am asking you,If you purchased a quality horn from me,what pads would you all prefer?

Melissa
 
Beware of snake oil.

Roo pads are made from kangaroo leather which is supposed to last a lot longer, but otherwise they're the same as normal pads. I've got Prestini kangaroo leather pads on my tenor. It's harder/tougher than the normal pad leather, and after a year they still look like new. So I'm expecting them to last longer. Time will tell. I don't think they sound any different to normal pads, but I'm sure others will say they do. They're a touch stickier than the old normal pads they replaced, but nothing serious.
 
As far as i'm concerned a pads a pad, my Barone has pisioni,s and my Selmers got whatever they use, both do the same thing and neither ever stick, i've heard you can change the sound a bit with different resonators but thats about it.

The only thing with using Roo pads is are they going to start to look dirty after a while by being white?
 
As far as i'm concerned a pads a pad, my Barone has pisioni,s and my Selmers got whatever they use, both do the same thing and neither ever stick, i've heard you can change the sound a bit with different resonators but thats about it.

The only thing with using Roo pads is are they going to start to look dirty after a while by being white?

I agree with Fraser,its the resonators that can make the difference,although if you use black roos they won't get dirty.
i have got a goodson horn with black roos they do look good but there is no difference to the sound and i don't think it matters much as long as its a good quality pad.

Brian
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I disagree! Both Barone and Selmer use good pads on thier saxes. I think Selmer use MArtin-Chanu? There is a big differnce between a low price pad compared to a RooPad. The RooPads are better. Like Kev wrote, they last longer. It's not about the sound, more about playablity.
 
Exactly which leather isn't necessarily a big deal IMO. The quality of the felt is probably more important, and certainly more overlooked. Sure there's a difference between a cheap pad and a roopad. there's a big difference between a cheap pad and any professional quality pad. A good setup with any top quality pads should last several years of regular playing.
 
OG you could always use an ipad










ipad.jpg
 
I certainly haven't considered a repad so far but when I do, are there any pads that will comply with my vegetarian conscience?

OG In keeping with your veggie conscience you could get your tenor padded with toptone pads (a sort of neoprene type material on a metal backing or you could use Jim Schmidt pads which are some sort of paper impregnated with gold, which are just the type of bling the Sarf Lundun Massive are used to and no doubt if there was a rip off version of the same, the gold would probably have been looted from the pawn shop on Oakfield road during the riots last year.

Of course the pads would need to be fitted in the keycups with hot melt glue as shellac is a bi product from the Lac beetle.

On a serious note I`m with Morgan - its the quality of the felt underneath that is the important factor. I have prestini kangaroo skin pads on my selmer tenor and theyre fine as are the standard pads fitted on my Yanagisawa Bari.

The difference in the way saxes may play and sound IMHO is in the most part due to the quality of the craftsman and his/her attention to detail when fitting the pads correctly to give the best seal possible with the lightest of finger pressure combined with good regulation of the key work.

Sent from the island of Zanzibar where its 36 degress at the mo
 
I have repadded several saxophones using Curt Alterac's white Roo pads, including my personal Selmer Super Balanced Alto shown below. I like them because they are quiet, non-stick, and look great on silver saxophones! The kangaroo leather is impossible to tear compared to other leathers making the pads very durable.

The black kangaroo pads have harder felt, are noisier, and look---well, black and ugly in my opinion. I also don't care to support the individual whose name they carry for a variety of reasons.

SilverSBAFullFront-1.jpg


I have found the white Roo pads can be cleaned using Tolulene on a Q-tip or a white eraser when they become dirty.
 
jbtsax;66148[QUOTE said:
I also don't care to support the individual whose name they carry for a variety of reasons
Ah, i remember now, you were the guy who started a one man crusade against you know who, right? you must have been bitten pretty bad, did you ever get anything back in the end?
SilverSBAFullFront-1.jpg
 
I have repadded several saxophones using Curt Alterac's white Roo pads, including my personal Selmer Super Balanced Alto shown below. I like them because they are quiet, non-stick, and look great on silver saxophones! The kangaroo leather is impossible to tear compared to other leathers making the pads very durable.
Just some comments.

I've repadded one saxophone with kangaroo leather pads and have seen more than a few repadded with Music Medic's roo pads (mostly the black ones but some white ones).

They are not noisy, but not quieter than any relatively firm pad (both white and black, with the white being a fraction quieter). I wouldn't necessarily call them quiet, but I don't think they have any problem either. Just normal "noise" really, same as any pad of the same firmness (felt and leather).

I also don't think they are sticky, but that has more to do with the coating, which these don't seem to have. Some pads have a waterproof coating that makes them somewhat sticky. Some pads are very sticky. Some non-roo pads are also not sticky. OTOH I found the roo pads to be just as stick yas any pad when it comes to stickiness that isn't caused by the pad coating itself. IME most sticky pad problems are like this. Some saxophones with roo pads had very sticky G# and C# keys, as much as any sax with any pad.

I agree that the kangaroo leather is much harder to tear than leather of other pads. I've actually done a lot of comparisons with many different pad models. However I don't really think that is an issue. IME it's not often that pads need replacing because they tear. Sometimes, just not that much (palm keys tend to tear more, but also not that often). The main problem I see pads need to be replaced is that they beomce too hard. Roo pads I've seen used seemed to get harder pretty fast in comparison with my usual pads in pretty similar conditions (i.e. it's never identical, but I've seen enough of them to have some conclusions). I thought they might be more porous and I started doing some tests. Nothing conclusive yet and not enough to report anything so far.

As far as the difference between the white and black roo pads from Music Medic, I'm pretty sure I remember Curt saying the only difference is the leather (not only in colour though) and that the felt is the same.

FWIW.
 
I have repadded several saxophones using Curt Alterac's white Roo pads, including my personal Selmer Super Balanced Alto shown below. I like them because they are quiet, non-stick, and look great on silver saxophones! The kangaroo leather is impossible to tear compared to other leathers making the pads very durable.

The black kangaroo pads have harder felt, are noisier, and look---well, black and ugly in my opinion. I also don't care to support the individual whose name they carry for a variety of reasons.

SilverSBAFullFront-1.jpg


I have found the white Roo pads can be cleaned using Tolulene on a Q-tip or a white eraser when they become dirty.

THAT'S ONE LOVELY LOOKING SAX.....john
 
With all this talk of different pads and their pro's and con's I was wondering if Melissa might be thinking more on the lines of wether it's best to stick to a pad that keeps the sax as close to it's original look rather than tarting it up and which might be more acceptable to buyers and collectors (just a thought)...john
 
I rebuilt my silverplated Martin Handcraft alto stencil (from a 1928 design) using white Roo-pads with plastic resonators.
They are nice and solid with never a moments stickiness.
I'd decided to do the best for this horn as I'll not live long enough to have to re-pad it, so what's a few extra quid for the pads?
It seems to me that some folk don't seem to take this into account.
 
With all this talk of different pads and their pro's and con's I was wondering if Melissa might be thinking more on the lines of wether it's best to stick to a pad that keeps the sax as close to it's original look rather than tarting it up and which might be more acceptable to buyers and collectors (just a thought)...john

That is my point John,even though I prefer to keep them as original as possible,I had wondered if some may prefer to have the other pads instead,just a thought on a selling point of view.One of my current repairers would prefer not to use them,but would if I demanded them!
 
I can hardly believe it, but I've just bought another identical Martin stencil from an e-bay vendor in the US.
They are branded Melody Master, and I must be the only person on the planet to have two of them, well when it arrives.
Now the question is whether it gets the same treatment or should I try the black ones?

As far as originality goes, they're only pads. It doesn't permanently alter the horn.
 

Members' Blogs

Trending content

Forum statistics

Topics
29,582
Messages
512,883
Members
8,735
Latest member
Idelone
Back
Top Bottom