Conn 6M Pads
Jonathan Saxon
I would appreciate hearing what pads/resonators people are using on their
Conn 6Ms. If you know the thickness of the pads, I would also be very
interested in knowing that.
The reason:
I just bought a Conn 6M "Metro" alto, c.1936 with rolled tone holes. The
condition of the instrument appearance-wise is great (95% original
lacquer, nice looking "naked lady" engraving, no apparent damage),
however, the horn is hard to play right now. The horn was newly
overhauled at the store I bought it from, but the work does not appear to
be very good. I think the main problem is the pads are not seating
properly. If I press down hard on the keys and hold others closed, I can
tell this horn can sing.
The repairman who did the overhaul used pads with conical (not Conn-ical)
resonators. When I spoke to my own repairman, he mentioned that these
pads may be too thick for the Conn 6M. I believe he said the Conn 6M pads
should be 160mm(?) and that the pads with conical resonators he's familiar
with are around 185mm. I think this might explain the seating problems.
Originally I was going to see if my repairman could make the horn work
with the pads it has, but maybe I should go ahead with a re-pad if he
recommends it (I got the horn at a bargain price, so I don't mind spending
some extra money, if necessary).
Any suggestions/comments/advice appreciated. Thanks.
Jon Saxon
jonn...@earthlink.net
George C. Kaschner
Jonathan Saxon wrote:
> The repairman who did the overhaul used pads with conical (not Conn-ical)
> resonators. When I spoke to my own repairman, he mentioned that these
> pads may be too thick for the Conn 6M. I believe he said the Conn 6M pads
> should be 160mm(?)
Yeow! 160mm is a bit over 6 inches!
> and that the pads with conical resonators he's familiar
> with are around 185mm. I think this might explain the seating problems.
> Originally I was going to see if my repairman could make the horn work
> with the pads it has, but maybe I should go ahead with a re-pad if he
> recommends it (I got the horn at a bargain price, so I don't mind spending
> some extra money, if necessary).
Or maybe even find a third repairman - one who can put the right resonator on
the right pad.
G'luck,
George
Richard Bush
George C. Kaschner wrote:
Saxophone pads can be confusing for anyone to figure out. Most sax pads are what
a repairman might casually call thin or thick. Thick pads average .185" (that is
one-hundred-eighty-five thousandths of an inch). Thin pads are .160". Conn Reso
Pads (with a metal ring around the edge that produces a stepped side wall) are
listed in the Ferree's catalog as being .165" thick.
It gets more complicated than that. Pads are also sold in diameters measure both
in millimeters and fractions of an inch. Most manufacturers produce, label and
sell their pads in millimeter increments.
Pads can be plain, have a hole punched in the middle, have a rivet in the
middle, have a flat, domed, cone shaped or fluted resonator. Pads can be
synthetic, be traditional in construction but covered with a synthetic material.
Next time you go into a music store to buy "just one pad" for your sax, keep in
mind that the repairman has a small fortune tied up in ALL THE ABOVE and he
might not like your do-it-yourself attitude. (I realize that was not a part of
the original post--just got carried away and momentarily got a bit emotional.)
Anyway, those six inch thick pads? Aren't they a personal hygiene item?
Jon Saxon
> >
> > > The repairman who did the overhaul used pads with conical (not Conn-ical)
> > > resonators. When I spoke to my own repairman, he mentioned that these
> > > pads may be too thick for the Conn 6M. I believe he said the Conn 6M pads
> > > should be 160mm(?)
> George C. Kaschner wrote:
> >
> > Yeow! 160mm is a bit over 6 inches!
Richard Bush <rbushi...@uswest.net> wrote:
>
> Saxophone pads can be confusing for anyone to figure out. Most sax pads
are what
> a repairman might casually call thin or thick. Thick pads average .185"
(that is
> one-hundred-eighty-five thousandths of an inch). Thin pads are .160".
Conn Reso
> Pads (with a metal ring around the edge that produces a stepped side wall) are
> listed in the Ferree's catalog as being .165" thick.
>
......
> Next time you go into a music store to buy "just one pad" for your sax,
keep in
> mind that the repairman has a small fortune tied up in ALL THE ABOVE and he
> might not like your do-it-yourself attitude. (I realize that was not a part of
> the original post--just got carried away and momentarily got a bit emotional.)
>
> Anyway, those six inch thick pads? Aren't they a personal hygiene item?
OK, I screwed up on remembering the measurement and the metric system as
well. We can all be thankful I'm not a repairman! It must have been
.160".
Following up on the off-topic portion of Richard's posting, I never go to
a music store and buy "just one pad", unless my repairman says that's all
I need. I'm not a do-it-yourselfer and I have a long and MUTUALLY
beneficial relationship with one repairman. He's extremely knowlegeable
and does excellent work, but he's not above discussing, learning or trying
new things, which is one of the things I like about him. I don't think
its disrespectful to find out what setups other people are using and
discuss what I've learned with my repairman. I really appreciate that
experienced repairmen like Richard Bush and others take the time to share
their knowledge in this forum and through direct emails.
Jon Saxon
jonn...@earthlink.net