I have a couple saxes that I am going to repad, or just replace a few pads on. What is a good pad to use as a beginner learning to do this. These are old horns of little value, the intent is to learn. I am looking for pads that are forgiving to some degree, but I also want a quality pad. I have read that precision pads from music medic are goo and then also read that there are better options. Sounds like roo pads are not very forgiving.
I will probably clean up the tone holes a bit with fine sandpaper (320-400) and try to get the key cups as parrallel as possible to avoid floating pads too much.
How much shellac is used typically. Maybe a pic or video of someone doing an actual single pad replacement is the only way to really see this. I have plenty of mechanical aptitude and background. Aircraft mechanic, furniture builder etc.... so I can do the work If I can understand the process.
Precision pads are very good pads, but they are not what I would call forgiving. They are the same firm felt and backing as the white roo pad, just with regular tan skin.
I, and many other technicians, and most manufacturers, glue the pad in the back of the key cup, and make any corrections of the alignment of the pad over the tone hole by adjusting the alignment of the key cup itself - call it bending if you wish. Shock, horror!
If you are aiming to do this, then only enough shellac to glue the leather at the back of the pad to the key cup, and also to fill any air gap that might end up between the cardboard back of the pad and the key cup. The quantity will depend on the thickness of the pad leather, the shape and size of the key cup.
But if you are aiming to adjust the alignment of the pad over the tone hole by tilting the pad within the key cup, you will of course need more shellac to enable tilting, while maintaining no air pockets behind the pad. How much shellac will depend on how much tilting you want to allow for.
Also, if your pads are rather too thin for your situation (i.e. the alignment of key cups with tone holes) then you will need more shellac to make your pads effectively thicker.
So as a rule of thumb... How long is a piece of string?
The pads that I have removed have had very little shellac or glue holding them in place. Certainly not enough to glue all the leather and fill the airgap, so that's interesting to hear.
I have no aversion to bending keys for alignment purposes. I thought that was a fairly common method.
...sells Prestini Hermes pads. Go to 'sax pads' link then 'by individual sizes' link.
Not as good as MM pads or Ferrees...but better than the cheapo chinese pillows found today.
A good middle-ground because they are significantly more forgiving to install than MM or Ferees or Allied, but they still result in some decent bongo-pop and feel under the fingers, as opposed to the eventual mush feel of the cheapie pads. And their longevity/performance is better than the cheaper asian versions.
After you he done about a dozen horns you will probably be adept enough at moving on to Ferrees.....
Key bending is common...it's just that for whatever reason, techs prefer using more euphemistic terms :mrgreen:.
Generally, the order of things for you would be to determine whether tonehole rims are fairly level, then straighten out any bad bends in the keycups (so their lips lay fairly flat on a surface, no see-sawing), then set the pads first by floating in shellac, and initial seating to the hole. IMHO, I make sure there's enough shellac in the cup to cover the entire interior surface and provide a very shallow 'pool' so the pad can actually float on the substrate when it's being adjustedset while on the horn. If the holes are level and the cup is level and the key fulcrum isn't messed up, oftentimes floating the pad will achieve the seal or get you damn close.
You just don't wanna really push down hard on the cup because that will make the shellac seep out around the pad.
I agree with your observation...most of the time, when you remove an old pad it appears that there was insufficient shellac holding it in.
If floating still results in gaps with the leaklight, you can next go to either key bending or pad shimming.
Since you are new to this, there will be some trial and error.
I have bought pads directly from prestigious before so no problem there. I will take a look at those pads. Thanks for the other info. Gives me a starting point at least.
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