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Forum » Sax Equipment » Tried the dollar bill thing by syrasax (75 posts) 18 years ago Tried the dollar bill thing What else to do for sticky pads? Reply To Post [Report Abuse] Report Abuse Web Address * Your Name Your Email Address Comment
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by Sax Mom (964 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing Be sure to swab your horn well after each use. Don't eat something sugary just before playing--don't chew gum either! Check for weak springs. Check the surface of the tone hole for roughness. Reply To Post by MarkLavelle (300 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I leave my sax out on a stand all the time (except for during transportation, of course!), and prop open the low C# pad (which holds the G# pad open, too) with an old reed (under the arm, not the pad itself). That lets them dry out in the open position between playing sessions. The only down side is that I sometimes pick up the sax and start playing without remembering to remove it, and it takes me a minute to figure out what's wrong... ;-) Reply To Post by syrasax (75 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I'm a little borderline OCD when it comes to swabbing my horn although I'm not always as careful about not chewing gum before rehearsal. I need to get better at that. My axe is barely a year old so I think my springs and tone holes are OK. I too leave my sax out on a stand all the time except during transport but it is the C# pad that gives me the most trouble. I'll try the reed thing, thanks. Reply To Post by Sax Mom (964 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I used to have considerable trouble with the Low C# pad, until I started storing the saxophone (in the case) on its end upside down, so that any moisture in the horn would run out the top of the neck instead of settling on that pad. Since you often store yours on a stand, I also affirm Mark's advice on propping open that key with an old reed under the arm. Reply To Post by jamterry (573 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing Put a little Vaseline on the pad and the tone hole surface. Just a teensy weensy bit Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM ICQ by gemster (51 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing erm well i have some weird paper with like talc on one side, and you press the pad onto the talc side, and it stops the stickiness. pretty sure you can buy that sorta stuff from music/woodwind shops all over the place. does it work with a dollar then? (wouldn't know) Reply To Post by syrasax (75 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I used one of my plastic reed covers that comes with the reed and that works great. Sticky pad gone. :) Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Reply To Post by Randal (12 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I use sand paper. Rough side down on the tone hole of course. It works well as most of the gunk is actually on the tone hole no the pad. If you're pads have accumulated lots of gung though it won't completely solve the problem. Reply To Post by thelittlemarchingone (50 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing Try leaving a dollar bill in there, kinda like the reed idea. I did that and it helped a lot. I also use the Selmer "No Stick" powder stuff that comes in a little white bottle. That stuff, beyond anything else I used, works miracles. It's very inexpensive, maybe $2-3. Good luck! Reply To Post by alto-man (3 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing i think its called a pad guard. what you do is you stick this thing down the neck of the saxophone when your done playing and it helps dry your saxophone out. Reply To Post by CountSpatula (602 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing Are you talking about the long fuzzy lightsaber that you leave in your horn? Not sure if that will help much...=P Reply To Post AIM by Randal (12 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing Another thing that works is a cotton swab with a bit of WD-40. Swab it around the seat of the pad. WD-40 may deteriorate the pad over time though. Reply To Post by Sax Mom (964 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I don't recommend the Pad-saver, because it keeps all the moisture inside the horn. In theory, that just doesn't sound like a good idea. Reply To Post by MarkLavelle (300 posts) 18 years ago Re: Tried the dollar bill thing I run a pad-saver in and out a few times after swabbing just to try to get a little of the moisture off the pads, but I never leave it in the horn... Reply To Post by The_§ax (147 posts) 18 years ago GigDust! Charlie A's GigDust and CrudPatch work extremely well. CrudPatch keeps them cleen and I haven't had a sticking pad since i have been using it. www.gigdust.com Reply To Post by Tbone (120 posts) 18 years ago Re: GigDust! After reading through this thread there are only two things that I don't agree with. One is leaving a pad saver in your horn. (great for getting cob webs out of the corners of the shop though!) The second one I do not like is WD-40 on your pads! WD-40's evaporative nature is going to suck the oils and life out of your pad leather! Terry's vaseline trick is a better alternative but as he stressed very little. If there's visable excess wipe it off. If not it will actually collect crud. Less is more in this case. Here's a tip I got from an old timer. He said, "boy, you can eat and drink whatever you want between sets as long as you rinse your mouth out with plenty of water before you blow in the horn again"! He went on about between the teeth and such but I think y'all get the idea. ;-) Reply To Post