Jim Schmidt's Pads (long)
Mark Bushaw
a complete repad of my 1936 Selmer BA alto using his artificial pads. He
had the horn for about a week (he was done sooner, I requested a delay in
shipping), and it came back in great shape. The pads themselves look pretty
non-descript, the mounting system and the pad surface are both a dark brown,
the slightly domed resonators are shiny silver. On some of the smaller keys
the mounting system extends well beyond the keycup, looks almost like a
double pad, but I did not notice any intonation problems, stuffy feeling, or
muffled sounds. In fact it was the opposite. The horn plays very easily up
and down, with no notes standing out, and no notes hidden. The keys feel
almost switch-like. There is no doubt if a key is open or closed. I've
included an Email that I just sent to Jim about my first play test. I'm out
of town for a few days, so if any of you have questions, I won't be able to
get back to you until Tuesday or so.
Mark Bushaw
Hi Jim
Got to play a little tonight. The sound seems ever so slightly brighter,
but that could easily be me, will have to do some side by sides with my
cigar cutter to tell for sure, it is that minor. I think I'm really going
to like the feel of the horn. Accurate and precise come to mind. The
individual notes in a fast run are clearer, again I think it is that feeling
that the key is either open or closed, whereas with regular pads there is a
sponginess. I suspect this is similar to the hard Prestini pads that Oleg
uses. Didn't notice any new intonation problems, or any notes that didn't
want to speak (finally got rid of that leak at the top 'B' pad! Now the low
notes don't fight so much!). The sound up and down the horn seemed much
more even, balanced, even when compared to a recent repad. I didn't expect
that one!
A couple of suggestions- You should make a sign, a label, maybe a laminated
business card to go with a horn. That way when some future generation
repair person comes across your pads, he/she has a point of contact.
Another item that would be handy is a key chart showing the size of
replacement pad required for each key. So if I accidentally rip a pad, I
could refer to the chart and order a replacement rather than trying to
measure either the ripped pad or the empty keycup. But I guess that is
something all repair people should do when they do a complete repad.
Every pad job changes the way a horn plays. Your pads have brought a new
characteristic to my horn. I don't think I've ever heard the word precise
applied to 64 year old horn, but it fits now! I can only imagine how a new
Yamaha or a Serie III would feel! Time will tell how I adapt to this new
feel, but so far I love it!
Mark Bushaw
PS- I'm posting this to the newsgroup too.
> Reply-to: jse...@cvip.fresno.com
> To: MBu...@aol.com
>
> HELLO MARK
>
> Let me know when you've played it.
>
> Jim Schmidt
>
>