Why we use kangaroo leather

First, I want to apologize for being away from the blog for the last few weeks. My life has not been simple.....
When the Saxgourmet pads were being designed, we had several requirements that we felt were not being met by any other pad available on the market today:
(1) they must not stick
(2) they must have a very long life
(3) they must be quiet
(4) the surface should be quite supple to allow the use of very firm felt and backs

Kangaroo leather is the only material that provided the solution. Many different leathers were tried and rejected. Several synthetic materials were tried as well.

Kangaroo leather is the strongest leather on the planet. You cannot tear it. It is also extremely soft, so it prevents annoying key noise. The leather is extremely smooth and non-porous, so it does not stick. It also has a nice "drape" quality that allows the manufacture of pads to closer tolerances that perfectly retain their shape and size and do not wrinkle.

By using the soft kangaroo leather, we were able to use a much firmer felt and more rigid back on the pads. This gives the horn a much more precise feel and keeps the pad size stable over the service life of the pad. There is no shrinkage as with other pads.

Kangaroo leather does not have the impact noise associated with goatskin. The key action is much quieter. It lasts longer than sheepskin because the leather has much smaller pores and does not tend to accumulate materials which cause deterioration.

Quite a few imitators have sprung up as a result of the success of Saxgourmet pads. There's a big difference that you can very easily see: take a Saxgourmet pad and a competitor's pad (Ed Myers, Joey Grey, or Prestini) and flex the pad in your fingers. The Saxgourmet pad does not easily bend, the others can be bent over double. Their felt and back are too soft. They chose to "cheap out". Soft felt allows the pad to change shape over its lifetime, and gives the horn a spongy feel.

Saxgourmet pads are standard equipment on Steve Goodson Model, Orpheo, and Saxgourmet saxophones, and are available in sizes 6.5mm - 77mm from www.musicmedic.com. All Saxgourmet pads are hand made in the USA, and are distributed exclusively by MusicMedic.