The performance comparison below illustrates the margin of superiority that Superpads exhibit over any type of skin pad - and some reasons why this is so.
When magnified, the rim of a tone-hole on any wooden instrument looks more like a mountain range than the smooth, bevel-edged hole it appears to be. This is because:-
(a) The wood has a grain, which runs from top to bottom of the instrument and therefore appears on the rim of any hole bored in it - and grain varies from one piece of wood to another and from one place to another on any piece of wood.
(b) The cutters used to form the hole rim may be at the end of their life and/or hit a particularly hard piece of timber, thereby ripping the wood & pulling out fibres .
(c) Over a period of time fibres are drawn out of the wood, more often at the top & bottom of the hole where they are so short at the edge, by water & the constant action of the pad. This results in the shape of the rim constantly changing. In addition, over a period of time, tone-holes become mis-shapen & chipped.
(d) German System Bassoons, which are made from Maple & are such large instruments, are prone to warp, this being noticeable with the naked eye on some of the larger holes.
Elsewhere on this site is a somewhat technical explanation of what Superpads are and why they are so superior to conventional pads. Also articles & reviews of Superpads that have appeared in various magazines etc. and an independent test report carried out by Peter Eaton of Eaton Clarinets, at the time when he was considering their adoption for use on his clarinets. (He has since copied & used similar materials to those of a Superpad but has not, unfortunately, used the important principles governing the way in which they are applied).
|
An innovation
discovered &
perfected by EDDIE ASHTON |
Back to Gallery |
 |
