LIGATURES

[Dazza]

I have read and listened to a great many people advocating the importance of a quality ligature in our tone and didn’t really believe it until now. Just received my new Francois Louis Lig which I bought on a whim and paired it with my new Meyer 7 and I have to say I can easily tell the difference. I got mine for a low $35 off the internet so very happy. Small incremental changes with reed, lig and MP are showing a noticeable improvement in my tone. Weird looking lig but far better than the stock one I have been
using.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxStofRvV92TNVRRUXVlTWhkOU5fMzgyN2wtM0dTcElEbUx3/view?usp=sharing

[Michael]

Yes, of course they make a difference. A good, quality ligature will let the reed vibrate more freely v.s. constricting it like a cheap stainless steel ligature does that comes with with a Saxophone when you buy it. We can have the greatest tone in the world, but if the reed isn’t vibrating freely then our tone is not going to project out as well as it can of the Sax because of the ligature constricting the reed from vibrating.

[Anonymous]

Hi Dazza, i’ve seen them for sale in the UK, they look really cool.

I know a ligature will change you to a slightly different tone but it won’t improve your existing tone (only practicing long tones improve a players existing tone). So am curious is it a darker or brighter tone or smoother or sharper/clearer tone compared to your old mouthpiece? (would like to buy one and try it out).

When i say it will only change your tone slightly i mean in comparison to changing a mouth piece or a sax made of different metals where you can get a huge change in tone, from a dark sound in classical music to a bright sound in rock music.

For my classical music (more dark sounding), if i swap between my theowanne metal ligature
http://store.theowanne.com/products/enlightened-ligature
and my leather rovner,
http://www.rovnerproducts.com/products/ligatures/classic/versa-ligature.php
there isn’t too much difference in tone when i listen back to it. However if i change the metal plate in either my ligatures i get a warmer or clearer tone, depending if use a copper plate or a brass plate.

This new ligature i’d be interested if anyone has tried it
http://www.sax.co.uk/silverstein-cryo-4-gold-ligature.ir

Thanks for sharing, and tell me what you notice?

[Jazz Cat]

good points, I use this basic Rovner and it works great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002F772C always smart to test out different mps, ligs & reeds, it’s a hassle but makes a huge difference in sound. trying a lot out to see what works best for you is a good move

I’ll probably buy one of these next, can be configured, the Rovner Versa (anyone try it yet?):
http://www.amazon.com/Rovner-V-1MT-Saxophone-Ligature-Mouthpiece/dp/B003B1N5UC

[Dazza]

Hey Sxpoet. For me it seemed to be a little “smoother” is the best way to describe it. I was experiencing a problem going from b down to low d as it was wanting to jump up an octave and as soon as I put of the Louis it went away. So I put the cheapie std back on and it came back immediately. I also noticed the low notes coming out with an improved consistency. So I guess it’s more comfort and “feel” and as a result a marginally cleaner tone and so it’s likely just allowing the reed to behave differently which improves your confidence and probably improves your tone somewhat.

[Anonymous]

Dazza – thanks for taking time out with the feed back. I notice quite a few serious players use that ligature so they must be really good.

I can remember the metal lig that came with my sax, it was ok, the only problem i had with it, it kept sliding off the mouthpiece no matter how much i tightened the screw.

You can actually change your tone (but not improve it) by changing the thickness of your bottom lip in contact with the reed – you might have heard people say try playing with a fatter lip. If use a fatter lip then you block out the upper partials so the fundamental is more stronger, and if you use a thinner lip you can hear the upper partials make the tone brighter. Whereas if you play with the same lip thickness all the time and just increase & decrease lip tension (biteing or jaw movenents) you will lower ir raise the pitch (flatter or sharper) – ie vibrato.

Anyway – when i get some spare cash, i’ll get one and try it out.

[Michael]

Good stuff guys, a good ligature is a very simple but really important thing to have for sure. A good ligature isn’t going to instantly give us a good tone–a good tone comes from us as players like Sxpoet was saying above–but a poor ligature will prevent that tone from projecting out of the Sax. The reed just can’t vibrate as freely. As we can see with Dazza’s explanation above with what he found–his tone was already there to begin; that comes from us as players. But once he got a good ligature the problems that he had before are now gone. Along with the Francois Louis Ultimate Ligature, there have been great things said about the Saxxas line of ligatures too, which is basically a Winslow ligature. Would be really interested to get my hands on a Saxxas/Winslow Ligature someday. Here’s a video from a friend of mine, Ian, who turned me onto to the Francois Louis Ultimate Ligature about a year and half ago. Notice what he says about them.

[wayne wojnarowski]

What I don’t understand is , 50 yrs ago the players didn’t have this tech YET THEY STILL KICKED ASS!!!

[jake]

Great point Wayne!!

I used a Francois Loui Lig for my metal tenor mp when I used it. Seemed to work well for me. I’m experimenting with some HR mp now tho so am using different ligs. I just ordered a couple ligs for my alto and sopranos saxes. Anyone ever hear of these: Bois Excellente Lig
http://www.wwbw.com/Bois-Excellente-Saxophone-Ligature-585666-i1537749.wwbw

Its a ring that seems to hold the reed in place and allows it to vibrate freely. Will let you know what I find out when I get them. My 2 concerns are gonna be that they hold a seal and keep the reed in place. The other is I can only select one position for the lig to sit in. Luckily there is a return policy. LOL. From the reviews I read they were generally all thumbs up but to each his own. I will find out soon enough.

[Natalie Thompson-Clarke]

Couldn’t agree more Wayne!!
I am looking to upgrade my lig and mouthpiece shortly and am heading to sax.co.uk store in London – heaven! Has been great reading these posts and has given me some good ideas (and knowledge) for my trip and investment.
Out of interest does anyone have any experience with the tenor Selmer SD20 mp?

[Author]

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