Hello everyone!

I just joined. I am a player and a flute maker. I came upon the page where you guys were discussing Straubinger pads; for and against. Since I made a few hundred flutes with Straubinger pads at Powell and Haynes in the past few years, I'd like to share my opinion with you. I know you talked about this a few months ago but here it is:

Straubinger pads are almost perfectly flat, like no other. They are also hard, so they don't "give" when squeezed. Padding a flute with them requires a very different procedure than with any other pads, and you really need to know what you are doing to install them properly, but once they are installed right there are no pads that can match that precision and response.
About ripping;

We had some batches of pads that would rip easily, and then other times they would be OK.
I spoke with David Straubinger about that a couple of times and he says that it is difficult to control that, because the skin comes from Argentina, and you get what you get. In the past year they were pretty good.

When you prepare the tone holes, you have to nicely polish the edges, so they don’t rip the pads. I am also guessing that untrained technicians are treating them as felt pads and using heat to seat them. That would make the skin brittle.

Anyway, my point is; Straubinger pads are fine, the problem is in the technicians. I have been playing my Powell flute a lot in the past two years, and all the pads are still intact. I didn’t have to adjust it in months, and it is still perfectly seating.

Boris
fluterepair@gmail.com
www.professionalfluterepair.com

Boris, thanks a lot for the information.

There is a lot of misconception and polemics about this theme. Many flutists think that having their "old" flute upgraded to Straubinger pads could make them better instruments, when sometimes (just because some technicians, as you said) it just ruin a flute.

Zevang

good explanation, I tried some flutes with them and noticed a kind of clicking sound which I didn't like, maybe you have heard that before, so I stick with traditional pads

you can hear clicking noise from a number of things:

adjustment screws hitting lugs
not enough oil in keys
washer or bushing hitting tone hole etc.

I don't see how pads can click

I usually glue a piece of paper on the lugs where adjustment screw hits.
Yamaha flutes have adjustment screws with teflon tips, those are good. Powell is using those on Signature flutes now.

Boris

Welcome Boris! I am very glad to see you joint the group. I have visited your web page a few times. Do you play on a vintage Powell? I play on a more modern one and love it to death. That is really interesting hearing that you worked for the company. It is not secret around here which brand I tend to favor.

Ann, I was wondering the same thing. Great minds think alike! Maybe Lera is just confused about which pads we are talking about.

I have use Straubinger pads for about a year and a half on my flute and have had no problems with them at all.

I have a grenadilla wood Powell with silver keys made in 2005, and my wife has a silver handmade with 14k gold rings and box made in 2001, both with Straubinger pads. We put the silver one up for sale. We need the money for our new house.
http://www.professionalfluterepair.com/jeans%20flute%20gallery/index.html

I was at NFA conventions in San Diego and Washington, and I tried many different flutes. Powell was the best in my opinion, although the sound is on the brighter side. That's why I have a wood flute. I like a warmer tone. Right next to Powell in quality were Brannen, Burkart, Nagahara, and Straubinger flutes.

You really got me curious about the "clicking" now. I never heard of that problem with pads.
We use that term at Powell when the pads seat perfectly, the tone appears instantly, like pressing the key on a keyboard. The rest of the sounds we call "noises".

Boris
www.professionalfluterepair.com

Hi Boris and welcome to the forum...

>>Straubinger pads are almost perfectly flat, like no other.<<

Well that's certainly not true. The JS pads are equally flat.

>>They are also hard, so they don't "give" when squeezed.<<

Hard is a relative term. Are they Harder than felt? The answer is it depends on the felt. There are some pressed felts out there that are harder than the ultrasuede in JS and Straubs BTW. The difference with straubs is the way the skin is stretched around the collar.

>>Padding a flute with them requires a very different procedure than with any other pads, and you really need to know what you are doing to install them properly.........
Straubinger pads are fine, the problem is in the technicians.<<

Agreed with that, but the manner in which the skin is stretched is a design flaw IMO. Incidently the same procedure utilized for installing synthetics when applied to felt pads yields fantastic results as well.

>>We had some batches of pads that would rip easily, and then other times they would be OK.
I spoke with David Straubinger about that a couple of times and he says that it is difficult to control that, because the skin comes from Argentina,<<

There are more variables than that as too why they rip and as I reiterate, one of them is inherent in the design. Given the quality of skin variance, the chosen design is not adequate to deal with that variation in skin. Combine that with the horrific installations out there and it's a mess for some and no problems for others. That's the plain and simple of it.

>>When you prepare the tone holes, you have to nicely polish the edges, so they don’t rip the pads.<<

That's the rudimentary answer. There are many combination of factors that contribute to the tearing problem. The geometry of the rim itself after leveling, protrusion and subsequent compression are often not accounted for by technicians. And if the skin still tears due to inconsistencies in the supplied skin, well, that should have been considered in the design (what I call the fatal design flaw for not matching mechnical tolerances properly.)

Of course, there are alternatives out there without these problems and many flute makers are now offering them as a result..

Joe B

that's right Joe, I still hate those pads, but happy that many like them

Hello Joe,

You are right, there are so many factors. I have been trained at Powell where we only used Straubinger pads. From my point of view, they are easier to work with. It is helpful for me to hear the opinions of the players, and that's why I joined the forum. I am not going to get into the love them - hate them arguments, I'll leave that to you. There are many choices of flutes and pads out there, so everyone can be happy.

Thanks,
Boris

[Quote] Boris said:
>>I am not going to get into the love them - hate them arguments, I'll leave that to you. There are many choices of flutes and pads out there, so everyone can be happy.<<