support Tutorials CDs PPT mouthpieces

Need for adjustments following a full service/overhaul - is this normal?

Well, my time scale for "they're adding adjusting screws" is to compare the modern Yamaha with numerous of them, against my old Conns etc. with zero. But that's probably a 40 year spacing.
 
Well, my time scale for "they're adding adjusting screws" is to compare the modern Yamaha with numerous of them, against my old Conns etc. with zero. But that's probably a 40 year spacing.
Yeah, I just wish I could persuade/shame Yanagisawa and Selmer to do the right thing.
 
I have not heard the term "bedding in" referring to saxophone pads before this discussion. The pads with firmer felt that I typically use don't develop what some people call "seats", they just show a slight "impression" of the top of the tonehole when they are installed and played. I don't think I would want them to "bed in" even if they could. :rolleyes:
 
Dismantled the alto last night. Little to no impression on pads as usual. I did find one culprit. Bad leather. I could literally see the texture of the leather in the light leak. Can’t say I’ve had too many bad pads.
9541688E-008B-4CDC-827A-04F8946BE85D.jpeg
 
Dismantled the alto last night. Little to no impression on pads as usual. I did find one culprit. Bad leather. I could literally see the texture of the leather in the light leak. Can’t say I’ve had too many bad pads.
View attachment 19518
At first glance (and several after that), that is one crappy looking pad - but I have the benefit of not doing my own pad work, and getting “high quality” pads installed by my techs. Do you know the brand/model of that pad (might it show on the back)?

Will that texture iron out with a hot pad slick? And, if it does, will the texture return once the pad is moistened?

Curious,
George
 
At first glance (and several after that), that is one crappy looking pad - but I have the benefit of not doing my own pad work, and getting “high quality” pads installed by my techs. Do you know the brand/model of that pad (might it show on the back)?

Will that texture iron out with a hot pad slick? And, if it does, will the texture return once the pad is moistened?

Curious,
George
Oh I know exactly where the pad(s)came from. A well-known top quality house. In all fairness it’s just a couple of bad ones. No reason to slam somebody’s product. Next time I’ll be more observant.

No it will not iron out. It’s like the hair follicles in the cowhide are very porous & rough.
I did get it to seal and I left it wedged overnight. I’m not crazy about embossing pads. I’m leaving it in for the moment to see how it comes around, or not.
E2A7FD91-8712-467A-BA73-3368126372DB.jpeg
 
FWIW the set it had in it had very little impression too.
Should have been no issues getting it to seal up.
658E5176-F859-4943-B737-1675616B97D4.jpeg
 
Dismantled the alto last night. Little to no impression on pads as usual. I did find one culprit. Bad leather. I could literally see the texture of the leather in the light leak. Can’t say I’ve had too many bad pads.
View attachment 19518
Isn't that called cellulitis? I had no idea cows were prone to that but maybe the leather was recycled from a wrecked Rolls Royce driver seat. Or the chauffeur's snake leather shoes rescued from the scorched body after the gas tank caught on fire
:oops:
 
Well I’m not a PhD like you. But I do know my cars. Conley leather used in a Rolls-Royce. Well those cows get a daily massage and are treated to chamber music while grazing on the finest of grass. I don’t think they have any skin issues. Not sure about snake skin. Although the pad did resemble the pig skin of a football. Ouch !
 
You would never see anything like that in an Adidas Fussball. But a Wilson Basketball might be another possibility for the heritage of that pad!
 
Dismantled the alto last night. Little to no impression on pads as usual. I did find one culprit. Bad leather. I could literally see the texture of the leather in the light leak. Can’t say I’ve had too many bad pads.
View attachment 19518
The leather varies across the pad. Reasonably fine grain on the left, much coarser on the right. It probably comes from the edge of the animal’s skin, closer to the legs than to the backbone.
 
The pads in that photo have kind of a "puffy" look to me. The rivet holding the flat reso in place seems to pull it into the surface of the pad. I'm sure they can be "seated" just fine, but they look different from the pads I typically use. This discussion reminded me of a photo I took through a "microscope" camera I was playing around with. The caption of the photo is "comparing Precision and Roo pads" but in my wisdom I didn't label which is which. Looking at pads under magnification it is hard to believe they can provide an airtight seal over a tonehole. :)

1642265360075.png
 
The pads in that photo have kind of a "puffy" look to me. The rivet holding the flat reso in place seems to pull it into the surface of the pad. I'm sure they can be "seated" just fine, but they look different from the pads I typically use. This discussion reminded me of a photo I took through a "microscope" camera I was playing around with. The caption of the photo is "comparing Precision and Roo pads" but in my wisdom I didn't label which is which. Looking at pads under magnification it is hard to believe they can provide an airtight seal over a tonehole. :)

View attachment 19523
Well. They made a watertight seal over an animal. ;)
 
The pads in that photo have kind of a "puffy" look to me. The rivet holding the flat reso in place seems to pull it into the surface of the pad. I'm sure they can be "seated" just fine, but they look different from the pads I typically use. This discussion reminded me of a photo I took through a "microscope" camera I was playing around with. The caption of the photo is "comparing Precision and Roo pads" but in my wisdom I didn't label which is which. Looking at pads under magnification it is hard to believe they can provide an airtight seal over a tonehole. :)

View attachment 19523
The follicle pattern varies considerably according to animal species. Calfskin is the finest grain, especially when literally calf and not mature bovine skin (leather technologists call all bovine skin "calf" regardless of its maturity).

Some good images if you scroll down from here.


You can see how the magnified image of calf corresponds to the familiar smooth surface of saxophone pads. Goat, sheep and (to a lesser extent) kangaroo are all bumpy by comparison.
 
@jbtsax those pads in post 27 are the ones I took out. I’m guessing they are around 30 years old or more. The two burnt ones were adjacent to each other. I’m guessing someone tried to make an adjustment and failed miserably. As fate would have it the bad pad ended up in the same key as this burnt one
1642286657734.jpeg
 
Back
Top Bottom