Beginners Ligature?

[Andre Garner]

Iwas thinking of a BG or Rovner to begin upon my Yamaha 4C mouthpiece, any advice here please?
kind regards

Andre

 

[kevgermany]

Should be fine. Just make sure you get the right size.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Two cable ties will also work in an emergency.

 

[nigeld]

Personally I like Rovner Dark because they are so easy to use, but BG are also fine.
For a beginner, I think ease of use is most important.
A lot of people use cheap two-screw metal ligatures and make a much better noise than I do.

 

[Jeanette]

They'll be fine, though I quite liked my rovner versa

Jx

 

[MikeMorrell]

I think either should be fine. Twenty years ago, I bought - what is now - a BG ''standard" lig (the shop I went to didn't stock Rovner) because I'd read somewhere that it would improve my tone. It's still my only lig because it does the job. I really don't much about "gear" at all. On the one hand I read that "ligatures" have the least (1%-3%) influence on tone. On the other hand, the range of ligatures available nowadays is at least 10 times greater than when I took up playing sax 20 years ago.

On our sister site, Taming the saxophone, @Pete Thomas reviews the ways in which different ligatures may or may not influence tone. If I would summarise this, it would boil down to two things:
- anything that holds the base of the reed flat against your mpc table and allows the reed to vibrate freely does it's job (even if it's an elastic band )
- any lig that does it's job that's also the easiest to work with (usability) is probably one of the best ones to buy

I have no idea what the (many) variations on the basic lig do or what effect they have on tone. I'm sure it's worth trying a couple of variations out just to hear the differences (if any).

 

[BigMartin]

I'm sure it's worth trying a couple of variations out just to hear the differences (if any).

I'm pretty confident that it isn't. If it works, it works. And if it doesn't work, there's probably a problem with the mouthpiece.

 

[spike]

Your Yamaha 4C came with a perfectly good Ligature.
My ex-wife was fond of the saying "When the going gets tough the tough go shopping"
As an old sax player if I might offer my best advice "When the going gets tough, get thee in the shed young lad, get yer head down and pratice"

 

[HPS]

The Yamaha possibly did come with a ligature although I bought a 5C earlier this year which was just a mouthpiece and cap. I have a Rovner dark ligature which is quick and easy to use and was cost effective.

 

[Colin the Bear]

When two ligatures fit and a player notices a big difference with one over the other, it's probably because one adapts better than the other to the anomalies and defects of the mouthpiece. A lot of tables aren't flat or level. and could be beyond the adaptability of a two screw lig. imo

 

[trimmy]

"When the going gets tough, get thee in the shed young lad, get yer head down and pratice"

I had to read that twice

Funnily enough my tutor did a lig shootout last week, be interesting if the people who do listen to it, do so blind and let us know if you can hear a difference.
(Btw only done in fun not a full on experiment)

View: https://youtu.be/vsYvAVpE9iI

 

[BigMartin]

Funnily enough my tutor did a lig shootout last week, be interesting if the people who do listen to it, do so blind and let us know if you can hear a difference.

I couldn't hear a difference that couldn't be attributed to the fact that they were separate performances. If he'd done them all with the same lig, there would still be differences. Another problem is that, to do this sort of test, you have to take the reed off the moputhpiece and put it back on again. How sure can you be that iit goes back to exactly the same place? You'd have t do loads of takes with each lig and see if any differences you hear are consistent. And even then there's the question of what the player expects from the lig if he/she isn't blindfolded.

 

[trimmy]

I couldn't hear a difference that couldn't be attributed to the fact that they were separate performances.

So, no difference

you have to take the reed off the moputhpiece and put it back on again. How sure can you be that iit goes back to exactly the same place?

I’d trust his expertise in placing a reed in the same place

 

[BigMartin]

I’d trust his expertise in placing a reed in the same place

I'm not questioning his expertise, he's clearly a fine player. But there's a bit of leeway in where you place the reed and it will still play ok, By the time you get to the fourth lig, can you really be sure it's in exactly the same place? Even fractions of a mm could make a significant difference to how the setup performs. An experienced player would adjust for such a difference without even noticing he or she was doing it.

 

[Ivan]

...though I quite liked my rovner versa...

...until she had the cheek to criticise my taste in mouthpieces...

 

[Jeanette]

...until she had the cheek to criticise my taste in mouthpieces...

I don't remember that my full apologies

Check out this thread and we did use a blindfold

M/Pieces - Ligs - An Experiment - Can you hear a difference?

Al was very particular about reed placement, they set each others up

Jx

 

[Ivan]

I don't remember that my full apologies

Sorry about that....half baked joke as though the Rovner had been speaking

 

[Jeanette]

Sorry about that....half baked joke as though the Rovner had been speaking

Probably me just being blonde! I get it now, though it is early and I was led astray last night with wine!

Jx

 

[Ivan]

Probably me just being blonde! I get it now, though it is early and I was led astray last night with wine!

Jx

How unusual

 

[trimmy]

How unusual

Not !!