Pads

You have a choice of synthetic Valentino, or Straubinger pads. All student models and most mass-produced professional models use felt pads since the mechanism is not tightly fit and the toneholes not perfectly flat.

We recommend Straubinger pads on all handmade professional models. We will pad your flute with Straubinger pads only during an overhaul. We are Certified Straubinger Technicians and must follow stringent key fitting standards. If your key fitting is already to Straubinger standards, then it may be considered a repad. Please send it to us for an assessment. For more info click on the links below.

Valentino pads don't change with climate, have better response and resonance and are more predictable than regular felt pads when installing. They can be installed on any flute but we still recommend Straubinger pads for flutes with soldered toneholes or conservatory level flutes with solid silver bodies and drawn toneholes that have been or can be filed down. Not recommended for those that play very hard (squeeze the keys hard) because the pad will compress, create a grove and stick.

We are will soon have very thin felt pads that will be installed pretty much in the same way as Straubinger or Valentino pads with stabilizers and precise seating procedure. All the characteristics should be the same as in the regular felt pads with better seating and more precise adjustments. They should be available before the end of this year.