Ligatures Ligature difference

[SaxDon]

Hi guys - first post so please let me know if this is the wrong forum.

I've never really paid too much attention to ligatures in the past but that has now changed and I thought I would share my experience. I was surprised.

I've played on standard ligatures and occasionally dabbled with Rovners and the Rico H but never noticed a discernible difference. However, I recently bought the Vandoren Optimum lig (get with the programme, I know!) on a whim for my Jody Jazz HR alto and boy what a difference it made. "Duff" reeds were suddenly playable and the contact plates (of which there are 3) varied the sound. More importantly for me though is that various techniques ranging from basic tonguing (staccato/double etc.) through to altissimo were far easier to play regardless.

I can't believe how much of a liberating experience this has been. I don't work for Vandoren by the way!!

Thought I would share this with others who have not bothered with ligs for whatever reason and also wondered what others' experiences were?

Cheers

 

[Jeanette]

Hi

Welcome to the Café, please do pop over to the doorbell section and introduce yourself 🙂

This forum is fine for your post though.

Interesting point. I recently changed from a Rovner Dark to Rovner Versa and found it a bit easier to blow especially playing quietly.

Have fun here

Jx

 

[SaxDon]

Hi

Welcome to the Café, please do pop over to the doorbell section and introduce yourself 🙂

This forum is fine for your post though.

Interesting point. I recently changed from a Rovner Dark to Rovner Versa and found it a bit easier to blow especially playing quietly.

Have fun here

Jx

Thanks Jeanette, will do.

 

[thesaxman71]

hi,
this subject has popped up before and i am with you, ligatures DO make a big difference, trust me when i say i have owned or tried most of them....and from my findings i notice big differences, tho you will have other members saying there is none so take that how you find it. 😉

 

[trimmy]

Interesting thoughts and pleased it's worked for you, same as you I've not really experimented with ligs.
Mouthpiece & reeds have been my trials and could say tribulations, as i do feel i wasted a bit of practice time by trying different combinations (especially as a beginner)

 

[Jeanette]

Mouthpiece & reeds have been my trials and could say tribulations, as i do feel i wasted a bit of practice time by trying different combinations (especially as a beginner)

I've done the same and it does eat in to practise time but all good fun and useful to realise the differences 🙂

Jx

 

[Nick Wyver]

I'm with Pete on this one. See here.

 

[daveysaxboy]

Ligs do make a difference for me, that's all I care about, me !!!! if other folk have bad hearing that's there problem😉

 

[Nick Wyver]

Ligs do make a difference for me, that's all I care about, me !!!! if other folk have bad hearing that's there problem😉

Likewise it's not my problem if others have vivid imaginations. 😉

 

[daveysaxboy]

Likewise it's not my problem if others have vivid imaginations. 😉

So can you explain to me why you think classical players mostly use Rovner type ligatues ??? indulge me if you don't mind 😉

 

[Colin the Bear]

Because they're black. 😉

 

[Jules]

So can you explain to me why you think classical players mostly use Rovner type ligatues ??? indulge me if you don't mind 😉

I thought classical players all use those Vandoren Optimumses? BTW- I'm with you on the 'do make a difference' camp...

 

[Targa]

Because they're black. 😉

Is that racist or ligiturist?

 

[thomsax]

A ligature that leaves most of the reed "uncovered" is best for me. Something like this:
http://s297.photobucket.com/user/thomsax/media/munstycke001.jpg.html?sort=3&o=66

 

[Jamesmac]

I'm also in the make a difference brigade, but I'm pleased that others are not. The guy that started selling his JJDV.Chi for £350 but eventually sold it to me for £225 was under the deluded impression it was a stuffy MP. I put it down to the fact he had used an unsuitable Lig. But I didn't let on as he was already pissed he sold his £500 MP for a fraction of what he wanted.🙂

 

[Chris]

I suppose back in the day, when there was only a couple ligs to choose from it didn't really matter, yet that is the era a lot of players look to because of great tone/sound. Yet each player still managed to find there own sound. Go figure, without the aid of modern ligs guess it must be the way they blew the horn.

 

[SaxDon]

I remember in the past when I spent far too much messing around with mouthpieces and reed combos. I eventually asked myself how much 'real' practice had I been putting in over that period?! Since then I have tried to avoid falling into the trap despite constant temptations.

As you say Chris we have so much choice out there now it's almost endless. The old masters make did with what was out there and worked around it. Kinds reminds me of that John Lennon quote, something like: "I'm an artist, give me a f***in tuba and I'll get you something out of it"!

 

[thomsax]

When I tried my current mpc and lig I got a tone /sound that I have thought was impossible for me to reach. My mpc and lig can hold a baritone reed as well. Very good if you are the only hornplayer in a band. If you are playing in a big band or hornsection I think it's better with a tenor reed 😉. For me the ligatures makes difference.

 

[Nick Wyver]

I suppose I could try this again.

 

[ArtyLady]

I'm in the "ligatures make a difference" camp too - I love my Optimum Lig (I use the 4 dots plate - I find it gives the most open sound) - I would have stayed with my Francois Louis if it hadn't been so fiddly to fit with my dodgy painful fingers!! I quite like the sound that a standard metal lig gives too but just for ease of fitting prefer one screw 😀