1. an introduction to flute pads

8/13/2019 1. an Introduction to Flute Pads

1/10

CHAPTER

AN INTRODUCTION TOFLUTE PADS

T he f lu te pad p laysan importan t ro le in tone p roduct ion on the f l u t e .T he f lu te

can sou nd exq uisi te and bri l l ian t i f every single pad is instal led in the key cu p properly

sea l ing each tone hole on the f lu te perfec t ly . However, the p ad wi l l change i t s th ickness

o v e rt im e a f te r be ing depressed repea ted ly . This w i l l e v e n t u a l l y c a u se t o n e p ro d u c t i o n

problems. M oreover, t empera ture and mo is ture cause the pad to change in th icknes s . I t i s

very importan t tha t f lu t i s t s have know ledge of f lu te pads, i n c l u d i n g t h e d if feren t materia l sofw h i c ht hef lu te pads aremade, th e s t ruc tureof thepads, and how t o choose a su i tab le pad set for the f l u t e .

94


2/10

S o m e f l u t e pad m akers have been seeking var ious m ater ial s tha t can improve thes tab i l i ty of pads after instal la t ion in the key cups. There are several companies that havesuccessfu l ly invented and improved flute pads. In this chapter, d i f ferent types of pads w i l l

be discussed in relat ion to materials , construct ion and durabil i ty.

The Woven FeltPad and the om pressed Felt PadT he t radi t ional f lu te pad is made of three mater ia l s : cardboard Figu re 5 .1) , fel t

F i g ure 5 .2) and tw o layers of anim al in tes t ine or goldbeater b ladder) fish skins Figure5.3). These three materials are bonded together byg l u i n gthe fish skin wi th muci lage onthe back of cardboard. The f u n c t i o nof the cardboard is to set ad u r a b l ebasefor the pad inthe key cup. The fe l t serves as a cushion w hich can s i lence the mo vem ent of the key, and

is chosen from tw o d i f ferent types of materials : w oven softer) and compressed need lefe l t f irm). Aw o v en fe l t isth icker than acompressed fel t and the coeff ic ientof the

compress ion isalsohigh er than acompressed fel t Figure 5.4). T he f u n c t i o nof the fishsk ins is to seal the f lu te tone ho le to preven t leakage of air.

95


3/10

Figure5.1: Cardboard

Figure 5.2: Felt

Figure 5.3:An im al Intes tine or Goldbeater bladder) Fish Skin s

96


4/10

Figure 5 .4: Woven Fel t and Com pressed Fel t

The th i cknes s o f a wo ven fe l t pad i s between 2.5mm to 2.9mm and is f r e que n t l yinstal ledon the mass-product ion s tudent modelf lute,w h i c hh asd rawn toneholes , thusth e tone holesare not as f lat as tone holes from aprofess ional f lute Figu re 5.5). Repeateddepress ions of the key wi l lmakedeep impress ionson the woven pad. T hew o v e npadproduces a better seal with less s h i m m i n g necessary. Shims serve to stabilize and flattenth e pads .

97


5/10

> eiAf*rt %*-i-,f>AffevV . . : - vjii;::., .. : . :. -. , ; - *;t ,-'- :-*>'' -' - ' iF igu re5.5:Woven Pad

Compressed f e l t pads are usua l ly ins ta l led on profess iona l f lu tes tha t hav e very

f la t tone hole surfaces. Because the f e l t is f i rm and flat , the compressed f e l t pad reduces

the poss ibi l i ty o f a deep impress ion. This makes the pad more s table than a w o v e n padafter the shim min g process . The th i ckness of a t h in compressed pad can be s l ight ly ove r

2mm . I t is possib le to instal l a thin compressed pad with a thin stabi l izer u nder i t i f the

key cup d oesn t have a f lat bot tom (Figure 5.6 .The funct ion o f a s tabi l izer is to createasolid and flat base for a compressed f e l tpad.The s tep-by-s tep ins t ruc t ion of new pad

ins ta l la t ionw i l l b e demonstrated in Chapter 8. A standard stabi l izer is 1mm t h i ck , and ath in s tabi l izer can run jus t b e tween 0.5mm to 0 .6mm. The total thickness o f a

98


6/10

compressed fel t pad and t hin s tabi l izer cannot exceed 2 .7mm in the key cup. Thisw i lla l l o w p lacement of some sh ims be tween the pad and s tabi l izer for min or adjus tments .

Figure 5.6: Th in Stabi l izerand Compressed FeltPad

TheStraubinger adStraubinger pads a lso know n as synthetic pads are largely installed on

profess ional mod el f lutes by major f lute companies . Because of th e ir s tabi l i ty and the

ease of ins ta l la t ion as we l l as the fas t response of the tone produc t ion they are

increasingly be c om i n g m or e popul a rin the f lu te marke t . T he Straubinger pad w asinvented by a f l u t e maker Da vid Straubinger w ho began his research in 1975.A f t e rresearching an array of mater ia ls for man y years Straubinger pads became avai lable by

99


7/10

the mid 1980 s (Figu re 5.1.7). M r. Straubinge r states that the standard fe l t pad is subjectto change by temperature and h u m i d i ty as we l l as a great amo unt o f p lay ing . Und er thesecondi t ions, pad th icknesses vary, thus a f fec t ing th e f l u t e s p layabi l i ty . Because o f theimper fec t ion o f the standard fe l t pad , S t raubinger bel ieves h is superior pad can p r o v i d e along- las t ingseal on the tone hole, once i t has been adjusted properly .

Pad CupStabilizer

Partial Shim&.004 Washer

PadSupportCushion( Skins/ On tX Washer

ScrewTh e S t r a u b m g e r F l u t e Pad ssembly

Figure 5 .7: The St raubinger F lu te Pad (Photo f rom S t raubinger F lu te Company)

Th e S t raubinger p ad (F igure 5 .8) inc lud es three materia ls : a patented pad supportuni t , a synthetic fel t and a doub le - l ayer o f f i s h sk in (F igu re 5 .9) .Th e patented pad

support uni t , also ca l led a p las t ic pad cup, wh ich is made of D elr in , provides a support forth e felt and keeps t he fe l t in p lace d uring the act ion of the key m echan ism. In addi t ion ,

100


8/10

Mr. Straubinger also invented a washer, also calleda s as tabi l izer Figure 5.10),made ofDelr in , to be ins tal led between a pad and a key cup. The function of the stab ilizer is notonly to p rov ideasolidand flat surface to suppor tth e pad, but alsot o p lace the pad at itscorrect h eight in the key cup. Ad di t ional shims or par tia l shims can be g lued onto a0.04-inch shimwhere it isplaced between the pad cup and the stabilizer as am i n o radjustment .

Figure 5.8: StraubingerPadTw o Layersof FishSk in

Delr in Pad Suppor t Cup Synthet ic Fel tFigure 5.9: StraubingerPadD i sas sembly

101


9/10

Figure 5.10: Delrin Stabil izer

M r. Straubinger spent agreatamoun t oft ime searching for a sui table syntheticmaterial for the felt. He confirmed his theory of felt compression and recovery rates thatmake St raubingerpads succ essfu lly in tone responses. M oreover the felt used in a

Straubinger pad is less affected by the temperature and h um idity than a standard felt.

Thedoub le - l aye rfish sk in provides a tight seal on the tone holes thus preven t ingleakage. The felt is kept in place by the fish skin and remains in shape by the rim locatedouts ide the pad cup.

Flutes instal led with Straubinger pads are more stable and playable than in the

past Tom a in t a ina h igh qual i ty St raubinger pads m ay onlybe instal ledbyrepa i r

technicians cert ified by the Straubinger flute company.However any repair technician

102


10/10

1. an introduction to flute pads

Documents