How to Change a saxophone pad: 10 easy steps repair

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Coming this summer: How is the horn playing after more than half a decade of professional use? Hint: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6SYlZ1sjpKin5I

[@saxantoniomartinez]

In which virtual store can I get those slippers for my Alto Saxophone? they look great. 😎🔥

[@opaulofranco]

Great video bro, quite objective! Really great, thanks!! Nice resonators you have on this pads.. I'm going to change my pads asap and I'm choosing pads now. I'm thinking of get the black ones as well with metal resonators. Could you share your thoughts about different types of pads and resonators? Here's a clue: plastic resonators, regular metal resonators and sunflower metal resonators (as yours), and if there's any matter about the pads color. Thanks man! Cheers!!

[@pcaron1]

thank you for all the good information and the good savings we do. what is the use of pad over the bf flat key and the b key

[@tamasfoldesi2358]

You mean the bumper felts?

[@jessebennett8299]

Hi! Got a safe method for removing faux (plastic) pearls form the cups before heating, melting the shellac, and re-padding?

[@MrBenPratt]

This is such a GREAT VIDEO! does anyone know where I can find more videos on how to fix parts on the sax?

[@VinniePaah]

I've read many comments from experienced techs below who warned about damaging (or ruining) the pads with water as shown in this video. While I can't qualify the idea of submerging the freshly installed pads in water... I don't think you can really "ruin" pads with brief contact with water. That's an overstatement. At most it's just a useless step. Think about this: Years of running the saliva down the sax can gradually worsen the pads. Years! Maybe even decades. Don't forget also that saliva has some acidity too to help the process. When you finish your sax playing session you can see many pads are wet. So - are they ruined? - No! Leather is not paper: water won't get through to the felt instantly. So I doubt this brief contact with water can do any damage to pads. I know many techs lightly wet the pads before clamping. However - what's the real benefit of this questionable step? Maybe simply to round up the count to 10? :)

[@guillerico9554]

This comment kinda makes me mad, Saliva does not constantly run down your saxophone unless you slober in your mouthpiece -_- I am no professional but I am a saxophone player for my highschool band and EVERYONE knows pads should not get wet whatsoever. Typically the saliva from your mouth will get stuck in the neck or mouthpiece pf the saxophone and if it does run down the saxophone it will only be in very small amounts. This guy in the video is very stupid for completely submerging the pad in water.

[@jmp101694]

Jaded Flower professional saxophonist of 15 years here, saliva absolutely can constantly run down your horn if you are what is referred to as a “wet player”. After a gig, my horn is basically drenched, especially in colder climates where condensation builds up from the warm air going through it. Sometimes I can even dump the horn over and a huge pool drains out. Baritone saxes have a spit valve for that reason among other instruments. Pads can absolutely get wet for a short period of time but they need to be wiped dry at the end of every session to slow the degrading process.

[@guntherbaird2604]

Jaded Flower Saliva do go done to the horn dude. The main reason of the sticky pad is because of saliva.

[@guntherbaird2604]

Jason Parfait Can’t agree with you anymore.

[@Joshua-gv1ep]

Gunther Baird isn’t it very little saliva tho? I’ve always been under the impression it’s mostly condensation unless your literally trying to shovel spit out your mouth into your horn.

[@adysaxman77]

Good video Emanuel, do you heat the cups up to remove the old pads? Also one of the screws on my sax has the head worn away, so I can't slot the screw driver head into the tiny slit to turn it to remove the cup, any suggestions on how I can remove it? Also, have you re-sprung the sax and done any videos? Thanks.

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Hi adysaxman77, You have a few questions so I'm going to try to answer the ones that I can. 1. I do heat the cups to remove the old pads. 2. It depends on where is locate on the saxophone. If it is a screw for one of the rods in a pole, you could probably and very gently remove the screw on the other side of the pole to remove the rod and the you would have acces to the screws bottom. 3. I have done little work with springs, so I don't have a video on that. What I can tell you is that the needles should be pushed out no pulled. \ Hope I've answered your questions. Blessings and thanks for watching.

[@adysaxman77]

Hi Emanuel, thanks for the reply. It's one of the side key pads (c, to the right and just below the octave key thumb buttton) so it is mounted on two pillars, which is where the problem lies. The head of the screw is completely worn, so I thought about getting a jeweller's 0.3 mm drill bit and having a go at very carefully drilling another slit for the head of the screw driver, maybe that would work?

[@woodwindwebby8271]

Be careful with the Maestro airtight reflectors,as key height must be opened more for intonation..they give a bit more power,but in reality the reflector material does not do much....but size matters ;)

[@israelvalencia7219]

Mi pana,excelente video

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Muchas gracias Israel, espero te ayude en algo o a alguien que conozcas maestro. Un abrazo desde la isla.

[@harvellmcdonald3168]

Hello...I would like to know what kind or metal resonators or the name of them...they look nice and I believe they will bring a nice tone to the saxophone...

[@tedtedsen269]

Hai Emauel i have plans change the pads on my P.Mauriat tenor sax and i have one question wil the New or different pads shange the sound in aney way or make them less sticky

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

ted tedsen Hi ted tedsen, In my experience the pads and mostly a resonator replacement will change the sound of the instrument. That is why there are so many options to chose. From plastic, to gold and everything in between. As for the sticky pads, black kangaroo pads tend to be stickier, but there are ways to work around that. Hope that answered your questions.

[@tedtedsen269]

Thanks for Your respond yes that answered my question

[@smitty0200]

What kind of heater are you using to heat the key?

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

A regular industrial blower, like the ones used to install windows tints. What's important is that you are able regulate its temperature.

[@adamdennis2936]

dude, we appreciate the video and your time, but ya gotta show removal and tools needed.

[@jazzmunky]

How do you straighten a warped key cup? My key looks like a Pringle :/

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Hi Alexoid, It depends on how the key is warped. If it's just the top of the key, it could just be shaved down in various ways. If it's the hole key that had its structural integrity compromised by something like a fall, then I would need to see it in order to figure out if it's a DIY job or something better left to professionals. I also have to say that in my opinion, it is more important for the tone hole to be straight and perfectly level, than for the key. Hope that answered your question.

[@jazzmunky]

Emanuel Benjamin Sax thank you for the advice Emanuel! I will get the horn checked out.

[@nurulasyiqin3893]

Is there any other alternative other than the shellac sticks?

[@texan828]

There are Shellac beads or chips. I wouldn't use anything other adhesive then shellac.

[@Viktor777ify]

Hello, tell me why you, after installing the pillow, release the valve with the pillow into the water. What effect does it have? thank!

[@brookelamanna2787]

Where do you get your pads?

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Hi Brooke Hickman, I get my pads from musicmedic.com and the shellac as well. They sell them individually and in sets. Hope that answer your question.

[@bloubear2557]

"Saxophone servicers hate him"

[@jonniewadd56]

F'ing money grabbers, they remind me instrument techs, they think there's no one else in the world who can calibrate a freakin' instrument!! 4-20 ma...0-100%. 3-15 psi... 0-100%. Rocket science at its best!!

[@tamasfoldesi2358]

@@jonniewadd56 It's not money grabbing. This is not how a professional repad job looks like. He didn't check the toneholes, or any mechanical issues with the keys, didn't level the pads, didn't adjusted or regulated them or set the key heights. Sax techs hate him, because he spreads misinformation. And no, if you're not an instrument tech, you can't do this job, just like if you never studied medicine, you can't diagnose or cure yourself. Leave it for those who actually know what they're doing.

[@nutmegger1957]

I was given an old Horner Alto Saxophone "to try." I'm not a Saxophone player......I wanna be one. As I look at your video, and this Horner Sax, I realize that a LOT of repair and reconditioning will likely be needed, to get this instrument into playable condition. Wouldn't the cost of having someone such as yourself, do a complete overhaul of this old Sax, be about as much or more, as the cost of a new "low end" Alto Sax (like a Yamaha, for example)???

[@ShoeBob98]

I just bought some RooPads from Music Medic, but I've encountered a problem. What did you do for the keys with ivories? On my saxophone, they're made of plastic.

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Hi Derek Faudree, I would carefully and slowly heat them up to loosen the adhesive. Hope that answers your question.

[@fionam2498]

Thanks

[@darrenhill9931]

thanks for washing ???

[@martinesevigny2554]

hello Emanuel,i would like to do that job on my father in law sax...can you sell pads to me ?

[@2ndEndingVintage]

Hello, sorry to seem negative, but I have never met a tech who wets a brand new pad (or submerges it !) while installing. It's not a wise idea

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

Hi 2ndEndingVintage, First of all, thanks for the comment and for taking the time to watch my video. Second, I encourage you to elaborate on your remarks and if possible, make your own video on the subject so that we can all benefit from it. Blessings

[@2ndEndingVintage]

Emanuel Benjamin Sax Thanks for the reply. I actually don't do repair vids myself, but there are a lot of good ones here on youtube. The only thing I can elaborate is that submerging pads ends up soaking the leather as well as the felt; this is bad for the pads. You don't want the backing felt to get wet like that. Whether torch or blower, a dry pad, shellacked or glued in, should not burn if the heat is focused and placed accurately on the keycup. So the wetting precaution isn't necessary. As I said, I have never seen nor heard of anyone do that before, is all.

[@EmanuelBenjaminSax]

2ndEndingVintage Thanks for elaborating so that I might try to clear any misconceptions. I'm actually glad you've never seen or heard someone use the method I use. Secondly if the felt got wet it would make the shellac crystallize instantly on contact and would make the process a lot harder, so just don't get it wet, as I show in the video. Third, I find really curious that you think that the leather is affected by a brief contact with moisture considering its properties, function, placement in the instrument and what others do to keep them from drying out, but to each his own. Lastly I asked for a video because I saw a video in your channel about receiver repair, but feel free to make reference to a couple of other videos using shellac to change a pad. Blessings

[@TooSlowTube]

2ndEndingVintage Not wanting to get into an argument on a subject I know very little about, but here's another guy who dunks the key, with the pad on. I guess if there's enough shellac or hot glue, it will stop the water reaching the felt: youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=sr03r7zJu1c

[@tamasfoldesi2358]

@@TooSlowTube Glue doesn't save the felt from becoming wet, because it's right under the leather.

[@jimmytrue1181]

you did not show from the begining , why???

[@bcaraghe]

As a certified technician, I strongly recommend you do not install your own pads. It takes years of experience and way more prep work than show here to do it correctly, not to mention submerging pads in water mostly ruins them. I understand why you made this video, but I wouldn't want to do my own heart surgery to save some money only to cost more in the end by having to be rushed to the hospital in pain.

[@fionam2498]

If you are a technician why are you researching videos of how to replace saxophone pads ? Surely you already know being a "certified technician". Also this is not complicated heart surgery its instrument maintenance. The two are not quite in the same category. . . . .

[@tamasfoldesi2358]

@@fionam2498 You know why? Because there are a shit ton of videos that spread misinformation on the subject that only causes harm for the instruments and their owners. So we search for bullshit to debunk them in the comments. I know repadding or repairing intruments seems easy and that's why musicians want to learn it, but the videos made by musicians are generally garbage on this matter. It's a profession for a reason. If you look at a professional gymnast or calisthenics athlete, doing a human flag or full planch looks easy, but it's still hard as fuck in reality. It's the same with intrument repair. If you're not a car mechanic, leave it alone. Dad can't fix it. If you're not a doctor, don't diagnose yourself, and if you're not an instrument tech, leave your instrument the fuck alone. Bring it to someone who knows what they're doing. Lots of videos are being made on repadding for woodwinds and cleaning for brass by musicians and music teachers, but literaly all of them are shit. This is NOT how it's done. It really takes years to become a good tech. THOUSANDS of hours. Actually it is generally true for most things that you need AT LEAST 10,000 hours of experience to become an expert in it. Even a student has more than a 1000 hours of practice before graduation. How many do YOU have? Music teachers won't get as much experience in their whole lives as even a tech student has in a single year. This profession really needs practice and learning (and I'm not just talking about repadding). That's why a good tech constantly tries to improve his/her abilities. Don't even have to search for these videos, KZbin constantly recommends them for us.

[@jonniewadd56]

Okay, I see varying differences of opinion here on the credibility of Emanuals technique for his pad changing. So I will jump off to see other techniques here on YT. Techies opinion here is that you should not try this at home. Understood, I would have the same opinion if I thought this would infringe on my livelihood.There are some techies here who "sort of" agree with his method. This obviously, from what I can see, isn't rocket science. All one has to do is be up for the challenge...I LOVE challenges!!!...and take a look at some other submissions here on YT, I'm sure between them all a suitable and acceptable technique will be found and will result in an installation equal to or better than some of the bored techies who have been doing this for years and years, so much so that their interest no longer exists and you may end up having a job done worse than if you had done it yourself!!

[@tamasfoldesi2358]

It's not about livelyhood. Trust me, we don't feel threatened by complete laymen. We've just seen some weird shit done to instruments by people who overestimated their abilities and underestimated the complexity of certain repairs (not necessarily repad jobs). If someone tries repadding at home, and the instrument is not a saxophone but a clarinet, they can even burn or melt the body.

[@pcaron1]

thank you for all the good information and the good savings we do. what is the use of pad over the bf flat key and the b key