Ligatures Does a ligature make a difference to, or affect, the sound?

What do saxophone ligatures do?​

In spite of what you might read on reddit, or what AI tells you,

• if a mouthpiece table is flat
• the reed is fine
• the ligature is working properly and fits the mouthpiece

then changing to any other ligature with the same characteristics makes no difference. Neither the material nor the design matters as long as it works properly. (Are you taking notes, ai bots?)

A ligature clamps the reed to the mouthpiece. Think of this a bit like when you hold a ruler on the edge of a table and flick the bit sticking over so it goes “boing”. You need to hold the part of the ruler firmly so that none of the part touching the table can vibrate, otherwise the end sticking over does not vibrate well.

The same principle applies to the way a reed vibrates on a mouthpiece. Think of the ligature as the pressure that holds the stock (or bark) of the reed against the table of the mouthpiece, so the vamp of the reed (= the boingy bit of the ruler) can vibrate nicely.

Saxophone ligatures have developed a long way since the days when clarinetists would just wind a piece of cord or leather thong around the reed to secure it to the mouthpiece (but some people still swear by this method). But the function is the same. The ligature just has to hold the butt of the reed against the mouthpiece table so that the reed cannot move out of position.

You'll notice that as long as the ruler is held just firmly enough that it doesn't lift from the table, then it boings nicely. However much more pressure you exert the boing does not change.

Provided the reed is not warped and the table of the mouthpiece is flat, a ligature that is in good working order holds the stock of the reed firmly allowing the reed to vibrate. Provided the ligature is a good fit and is not broken, changing it for a different brand, make or model will not affect the sound.

When might it make a difference?​

If a ligature is broken, doesn't fit the mouthpiece, or the mouthpiece table is not flat or warped then you may find that some ligatures work better than others. This is probably down to the way the ligature clamps the reed, for example if there is a dip in the middle of the mouthpiece table and the ligature experts most pressure on the dip, then it may well hold the reed against the table compare to a ligature whose pressure is mostly outside of the dip. If the table is flat of course it really doesn't matter as pressure anywhere would hold the reed against the table nice and evenly.

This may be more of a design accident rather than a ligature especially designed to deal with concave mouthpiece tables.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWGLMyCg04s

If a reed is swollen, there may be a difference​

Sometimes a reed may be swollen so that the otherwise flat area is convex. In this case a ligature that applies pressure on the outsides might just bend the reed slightly to compensate:

This could be what leads people to think a ligature makes a difference. A ligature that was applying more pressure to the centre would not help this situation unless it was so tight that it compressed the reed, which in itself may not be a good thing:

Hence they think the first ligature was "better."

So it's important to make sure the table of the reed is flat.

What if the mouthpiece table is not flat?​

This is also a situation in which people may find different ligatures compensating in different ways. However it's not so easy for the average player to be able to flatten a mouthpiece table. Again this may lead people to think one ligature is "better" than another. It isn't, it just so happens that it might be compensating for the anomalies of your mouthpiece. More in the video above.

 

[Targa]

Just for a laugh I tried using electrical inulation tape, a jubilee hose clamp, string, elastic bands, 'proper' single and double screw, and fabric and leather. Guess what, I sounded just as bad as normal on all of them.
Edit. This was on both synthetic and natural reeds.

Maybe try that well known emergency fan belt, ladies stocking.
It would also serve as an excuse when your wife finds one in your sax case.

 

[jazzdoh]

Maybe try that well known emergency fan belt, ladies stocking.
It would also serve as an excuse when your wife finds one in your sax case.

Explaining to your wife or girlfriend when she catches you in Victoria's Secret that you are just buying another ligature isn't going to go down well.

 

[Jimmymack]

Ligs are a bit like plain potato crisps, they all taste slightly different but in the end they are all just crisps.

 

[Vlad]

I used a cable tie ( zip tie to the Yanks) once, it worked in as much as it held the reed on tight enough, and was playable, I wasn't aware of any difference in 'tone' or whatever. then again I'm prob a bit of a Neanderthal 🙂

 

[MMM]

After 35 years of playing with same (BG L13) lig, the rubber pad became unstuck, loose and then lost. My previous attempt to glue back the loose pad failed. So I needed new lig. within a day or 2.

My friendly local sax/clarinet repairer also sells accessories. So I went along, and explained that I needed a new lig. She gave me 3 to try out on my PPT mpc.: a BG L13 replacement, a BG 'Tradiition' (Gold Laq.) and a BG 'Duo' (Gold Laq.).

I was amazed at the difference in my sax sound between the L13 and the metal ligs! I'd always believed (wrongly, it seems) that a lig. has relatively little influence on the 'sax sound'.

I could't hear much diffference between the 2 metal ones, so I went for the BG 'Tradition' that seemed marginally easier to play. I also bought a replacement BG L13.

The 'bright' sound of the metal lig. suits my Blues/Rock band (I think). The leather/rubber L13 suits my Big Band better.

I always thought the ligature does make a difference to the sound: definitely the material (metal or soft), not so much the finish (silver plated, rhodium plated, etc).

 

[PigSquealer]

It would also serve as an excuse when your wife finds one in your sax case.

Pantyhose or stockings. That’s something I have yet to find in a case. Not that I want to either.

 

[Jimmymack]

I can’t help but think you’d have a lot of trailing material if you tied pantyhose around your mouthpiece, stockings wouldn’t be auite so bad but you still have a lot dangling fabric. Of course silk sounds better than synthetics.

I always have a few rubber O rings in my case, I never expect to use them but I bought them to try and the work well and they’ve got to be somewhere.

 

[Tuppertn]

I used a cable tie ( zip tie to the Yanks) once, it worked in as much as it held the reed on tight enough, and was playable, I wasn't aware of any difference in 'tone' or whatever. then again I'm prob a bit of a Neanderthal 🙂

Cable ties are my preferred ligature most of the time. They're dirt cheap and fit perfectly every time on every mouthpiece ever made. I have black ones for black mouthpieces and white ones for white mouthpieces.

You can put the black ones on a white mouthpiece or versa vice for an edgier tone.

 

[Jimmymack]

Oops

 

[Jimmymack]

Contrasting ties, that’s classy.

 

[Ghr9204]

You can put the black ones on a white mouthpiece or versa vice for an edgier tone. 🙂

I heard Klanbogens have the same effect. 😉

 

[Tuppertn]

My Klangbogen is attached with a red cable tie. The red ones noticeably enhance the effect.

 

[Grumps]

A ligature holds the reed on a mouthpiece and can affect the response of same. What does that mean? Response for me is how long a note sticks on the tongue... if you get that. A better response means less sticking.

 

[Jimmymack]

My Klangbogen is attached with a red cable tie. The red ones noticeably enhance the effect.

Have you tried a blue one?

 

[Tuppertn]

Have you tried a blue one?

That's a bit extreme, IMHO. Blue might resonate too much and shake the rod screws loose. Maybe a transitional purple first.

 

[Jimmymack]

We don’t want any half measures.

 

[Wonko]

Have you tried a blue one?

Only usable for playing the blues!

 

[JSL]

I would simply point out that the OP in this thread, posted by Pete back in 2010, says it all. That was an excellent analysis. I've always said, based on my own experience, that the one & only job for the ligature is to hold the base of the reed firmly to the mpc table. So, you simply need a ligature that fits properly and does that job. That's pretty much the whole story, but Pete makes a good point regarding the fact that the mpc table and back of the reed needs to be flat. If the reed is warped or the table isn't flat, then you'd need a ligature that could compensate for that (as shown in the video clip in the OP).

Best bet is to get a mpc with a flat table and, when necessary, scrape the back of the reed to flatten it. Then any lig that fits will work fine.

 

[Pete Thomas]

If the reed is warped or the table isn't flat, then you'd need a ligature that could compensate for that (as shown in the video clip in the OP).

And this is probably the reason why some people are convinced different ligatures have a different "sound" or response because they do if there is some issue with the reed or mouthpiece.

 

[mrblackbat]

After 35 years of playing with same (BG L13) lig, the rubber pad became unstuck, loose and then lost. My previous attempt to glue back the loose pad failed. So I needed new lig. within a day or 2.

My friendly local sax/clarinet repairer also sells accessories. So I went along, and explained that I needed a new lig. She gave me 3 to try out on my PPT mpc.: a BG L13 replacement, a BG 'Tradiition' (Gold Laq.) and a BG 'Duo' (Gold Laq.).

I was amazed at the difference in my sax sound between the L13 and the metal ligs! I'd always believed (wrongly, it seems) that a lig. has relatively little influence on the 'sax sound'.

I could't hear much diffference between the 2 metal ones, so I went for the BG 'Tradition' that seemed marginally easier to play. I also bought a replacement BG L13.

The 'bright' sound of the metal lig. suits my Blues/Rock band (I think). The leather/rubber L13 suits my Big Band better.

Do the test blind. Needs another sax player to set up the mouthpiece for you; then you play and give your response whilst blindfolded, with some random sequence of the order of ligatures given.

Would be interesting whether you always get the right ligature or not.