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Pads stiffness/fingers feeling

Stiff or soft pads

  • Stiff

    Votes: 3 50.0%
  • Soft

    Votes: 2 33.3%
  • Not important

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Total voters
    6

Janosax

Well-Known Member
Messages
336
Locality
France
Hello,

I have a Gear4music chinese saxophone, with chinese pads... The only thing I don't like on this sax is pad stifness. Fingers feeling is a bit rude/hard. I was used to more soft and sensual feeling of Yanis or even Yamis sax pads. Sometimes I forgot about my new sax finger feeling, but sometimes I don't like it and I don't feel the sax as good I should.

I know that some pro saxes use less or more stiff pads. Very rigid pads on perfect leveled toneholes are supposed to have better setup stability. But does the action feels that "rigid", like on those chinese pads?

What do you prefer? Stiff or soft?

Thanks to share your opinion
 
I didn't know I had an option - I just take my sax to the repair person and it comes back with new pads. I haven't a clue what sort they are. I assume it's the repairer's job to use the right sort.
 
In my view firm pads over perfectly leveled toneholes is the way to go. I prefer the white and chocolate roo pads from Music Medic for my top end work. They have a firm and precise feel when they touch the tonehole, but they are quiet at the same time. Soft pads are more forgiving over wavy toneholes and are easier to work with. The problem is that they form deep seats over time which makes it hard to spot leaks when they develop.

One shouldn't confuse firm or soft pads with spring tension. They are two different things entirely. My personal preference here is light spring tension.
 
And in my view I prefer a pad with a touch of give it in. Not much, just a bit - medium-firm.
The sax is such a crude device really. It flexes in use, it wears quite rapidly, it has to work in a relatively harsh environment, it gets dirty, it has to go for long periods without any maintenance and it lives its life in a constant state of stress.
Add all that up and it's quite clear that something's gotta give - and the results will always be seen at the 'working face'...where the pad meets the tonehole.
 
One thing for sure is the way we feel that pad firmness depends on how we play. I've tried last days to be more "delicate" and less tense on my fingers and it makes a big difference. I feel much more connected, I can feel the sound (vibration/air?) under my fingers like on my ex-yani. Perhaps I was too much concentrated on this "issue". But it's less problematic now. Fingers have to "listen" to the keys, rather than thinking on how it should feel.
 
And in my view I prefer a pad with a touch of give it in. Not much, just a bit - medium-firm.
The sax is such a crude device really. It flexes in use, it wears quite rapidly, it has to work in a relatively harsh environment, it gets dirty, it has to go for long periods without any maintenance and it lives its life in a constant state of stress.
Add all that up and it's quite clear that something's gotta give - and the results will always be seen at the 'working face'...where the pad meets the tonehole.
Hey man you seem to be a guy that talks sense, after all I bought your book.
So I have a question.
I have always done my own maintenance on sax, it's not a problem for me. Thing is , I bought a 30 year old Yas 25 in prestinine condition. However I think the pads are hard and unforgiving. Tried to reseat and check with leak light but still seem to have leaks due to stiffness of pads.
My other saxophones have fairly soft pads in comparison and they play just fine.
So I'm looking to change the pads on the old Yamaha to something softer/ forgiving. What pads would you recommend for a perfect seal?
I don't mind a slightly softer feel.

A perfect working Yas 25 is hard to beat , bang for buck
 
@StockholmSax try dampening the pad and then quickly ironing it with hot pad slick. Be careful how not to contact the plastic booster.

OE factory pads are available. As kit or individually directly from Yamaha.
Pisoni is currently making Yamahas pads.
 
I have always done my own maintenance on sax, it's not a problem for me. Thing is , I bought a 30 year old Yas 25 in prestinine condition. However I think the pads are hard and unforgiving. Tried to reseat and check with leak light but still seem to have leaks due to stiffness of pads.
My other saxophones have fairly soft pads in comparison and they play just fine.
So I'm looking to change the pads on the old Yamaha to something softer/ forgiving. What pads would you recommend for a perfect seal?
I don't mind a slightly softer feel.
Yamaha pads are notoriously difficult to reseat. It can be done...but it's often quicker and cheaper to whip the old pad out and bung in a new one.
I'd recommend standard Pisoni pads (non-woven felt core). They're medium to medium soft - have a great feel under fingers and will work well on a horn that may have wear in the keywork and somewhat uneven toneholes.
I've got them fitted to my gigging horns - absolutely no complaints at all.
 
Yamaha pads are notoriously difficult to reseat. It can be done...but it's often quicker and cheaper to whip the old pad out and bung in a new one.
I'd recommend standard Pisoni pads (non-woven felt core). They're medium to medium soft - have a great feel under fingers and will work well on a horn that may have wear in the keywork and somewhat uneven toneholes.
I've got them fitted to my gigging horns - absolutely no complaints at all.
Thanks for a Quick response
 
I'd recommend standard Pisoni pads


Thanks for a Quick response
Just to add, as a first time repairer, I had good luck with self installing piano on a Vito/yts23.


 
Last edited:
Didn't Yamaha pads used to have no waterproofing? I recall a tech telling me they were a repairers dream as they'd suck in all the player's spit, food, drink, etc and go hard as a rock.

Not sure if they're waterproofed now, or when from?
 
Didn't Yamaha pads used to have no waterproofing? I recall a tech telling me they were a repairers dream as they'd suck in all the player's spit, food, drink, etc and go hard as a rock.

Not sure if they're waterproofed now, or when from?
You asked the same question a couple of weeks ago:

 

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