Pads I work with:
Cork Pads:
Most oboes made in the last 30+ years utilize an all-cork (or nearly all cork) pad configuration, which I do not recommend altering without a specific reason.
I install cork pads using the traditional French method, whereby an oversized cork pad is carefully trimmed, domed, glued in using natural shellac, and then, most crucially, sanded perfectly level with the tonehole after installation using a sanding plaque.
This approach, though slower and more difficult to master than other methods, produces a crisp, firm feel under the fingers, a perfectly level pad surface, and exceptional durability. When done properly, a cork pad installed using this method can often last practically indefinitely.
Felt pads:
While felt pads (also called skin or bladder pads) have gradually gone out of fashion in oboes over the last 50 years or so, they are still used by a select few reputable makers today; most notably A. Laubin and Yamaha. While some clients prefer an all-cork setup even on oboes that originally came with felt pads (and their reasoning is often sound), I generally recommend restoring instruments to their original pad setup when given the opportunity.
A roughly 50/50 felt and cork configuration was standard on oboes made before about 1980, while oboes made in the 80s and 90s often retained just two or three felt pads for the low notes. My experience with certain vintage oboes has been that swapping out all the felt pads for cork can rob it of some of its tonal warmth, or, expressed in the reverse; restoring a vintage oboe to a traditional pad setup can unlock a certain tonal “richness” that an all-cork setup is not capable of producing.
Felt pads have the important benefit of holding their adjustments much longer than cork pads, both because they are less firm and because they do not change with weather. Some repair technicians today feel that felt pads should not be used at all because they do not produce as tight a seal as cork pads, and while this can theoretically be true, I’m of the opinion that this is largely a misconception caused by flawed testing methods that have little relation the actual conditions pads are subjected to while playing.
While the majority of reputable flute and clarinet repair technicians favor a very firm pressed felt pad which tends to promote a bright, clear tone, I generally find that oboes respond best to traditional woven felt pads, which produce a slightly warmer tone and smoother legato than more “modern” styles of pad. The ever increasing firmness of felt pads over the years catering to flutes and clarinets is, in my opinion, one of the reasons that felt pads have gone out of fashion in oboes, an instrument for which tonal clarity is not hard to come by.
Felt pads with an additional HDPE plastic “skin” are available at additional charge for customers who wish to preserve the original pad setup on their Laubin instrument, or for anyone that wishes to increase the durability/longevity of a felt pad installation (though this may have a slight impact on sound). For low note toneholes, felt pads with a metal rivet installed to increase their firmness and durability (the traditional choice for low note toneholes) are also available.
Leather Pads:
In recent decades, many oboe makers (Marigaux, Josef, Fossati, Patricola to name just a few) have switched to leather pads for the largest two or three padcups on oboes, and I am generally in favor of this as long as the pad-cups are large enough; too small, and the edge of the pad is too close to the tonehole face, making for an unreliable seal. I have experimented with various “exotic” leather pads on my own instruments, however I’ve found that white kid leather bassoon pads have generally produced the most desirable and consistent results.
Swapping out the bottom two or three cork pads for leather can have a slight darkening effect on the overall tone of an oboe, so it is an option worth considering if you value a mellow tonal aesthetic. I do not recommend or carry leather pads for anything but the low note toneholes, as I find that using them elsewhere renders the tone and response of an oboe extremely dull.
Pads I don’t use……
- I do not use Valentino pads or another other variety of fully synthetic pad. These have no place on an oboe in my opinion, except perhaps in an emergency….
- have not worked with Gore-Tex or PTFE-coated felt pads, despite their success in the clarinet world, however I am willing to experiment with them if someone is especially interested.
About Bumper Materials:
Because of the many adjustment screws and intricate key interactions present on an oboe mechanism, oboes rely on a rather high number of “bumpers” to silence the key action, and the choice of material for these is crucial in rendering an oboe’s key action crisp, quiet, and dependable.
Cork bumpers:
The majority of oboes come with natural cork bumpers throughout (though some makers are departing from natural cork in favor of rubber/cork composite and/or teflon-tipped adjustment screws.) Natural cork is a good “default” bumper material, as it is versatile, easy to work with, and has no drawbacks other than limited durability.
I have found it difficult to source high quality natural cork bumper sheet, as most available cork sheet from woodwind repair suppliers is end-grain cut, with the open pores and other flaws filled in with dust and adhesive. While this material works reasonably well in a pinch, I prefer to cut my own bumper sheet by hand from solid blocks of cork, which allows me to carefully select sections that are totally free of pores and flaws, ensuring maximum durability.
Leather bumpers:
Leather is my preferred material for bumper locations that are directly beneath adjustment screws, where using leather instead of natural cork results in increased reliability of adjustments, and vastly superior durability/longevity without adding significant extra friction or noise to the key action.
I find that leather selection is crucial in achieving a bumper that does not easily detach from the keywork and that has a crisp, quiet feel. I use only full grain leather that does not incorporate a painted-on coating, which differs from the “leather bumper sheet” typically offered by woodwind repair suppliers. Because full grain leather is not often available as very thin sheet, it must be either compressed, or skived down by hand from thicker stock to achieve the proper thickness for oboe bumpers.
Rubber/Cork Composite:
I will generally use rubber/cork composite in the few places on an oboe where friction is not a factor, and durability is key. While many technicians and some oboe manufacturers will use composite bumpers throughout the mechanism, I find that, if overused, composite bumpers can result in the action feeling “gummy” or sloppy under the fingers.
Teflon Sheet:
Teflon sheet can be extremely helpful in a select few places on an oboe mechanism; specifically in locations where a key-arm must “pull” on a small piece of metal which would normally result in a very fast-wearing cork bumper. I only use ultra-thin teflon sheet laminated over cork or composite, which results in a low friction, but quiet key action. I never use teflon sheet glued directly to the keyarm with no backing material as some technicians and manufacturers do, as the result is barely any less quiet than no bumper at all…
Teflon-Tipped Adjustment Screws:
These were introduced by Loree and other oboe manufacturers not to improve key mechanics or durability, but to reduce manufacturing costs. I find that teflon tipped adjustment screws can result in a noisy, overly sensative mechanism, and I often encounter teflon tips that have been squished (flattened) or lost entirely, rendering them ineffective. I will replace damaged teflon-tipped screws when asked, but prefer to change them to a traditional screw and bumper whenever possible. I will generally refuse requests to replace traditional bumpers with teflon-tipped adjustment screws.