Ligatures PPT Tenor - best ligature

[Pete Thomas]

It's a the new Legere signature

 

[Pete Thomas]

After further testing with a legere reed, I'm finding that there is a likelihood of slippage with the pure brass FL, so am going to get an Ultimate to test that and see if it's better. I presume the problem is that the Legere is more slippery than a cane reed.

 

[Chris98]

Hi Pete,

I would anticipate it's the slippery nature of the Legere reed. I went through a stage of using Legere reeds on my alto with a Vandoren Optimum ligature and noticed a tendency to slip a bit, not something I experienced with cane reeds, I think cane must 'give' just enough as the ligature tightens to provide a better grip.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on how the ligature(s) performs.

Best wishes,

Chris

 

[Pete Thomas]

Hi Pete,

I would anticipate it's the slippery nature of the Legere reed.

That's what I think. I will contact Legere as I think it's something they could easily solve.

 

[Chris98]

That's what I think. I will contact Legere as I think it's something they could easily solve.

It sounds like you quite like the reed in all other respects if you're thinking of getting in contact with them. The 'signature' is there new one I think, I used the Studio Cut but have not tried them on the Tenor. What are your thoughts on it?

 

[Pete Thomas]

I tried a Legere last year and Frankfurt and was not too impressed, so this year I approached the Signature with some misgivings , but had to admit it sounded like a reed. Finally. My views were echoed by the owner of cannonball saxophones, Tevis Laukat.

I also had a long chat with David Beecroft who works for them, so I have a way to let them know if this is an issue. If it is, I'm sure I'm not the only person to find it. (NB, David is a member here as it happens: deebee)

 

[Chris98]

I tried the Lefgere last year and Frankfurt and was not too impressed, so this year I approached the Signature with some misgivings , but had to admit it sounded like a reed. Finally. My views were echoed by the owner of cannonball saxophones, Tevis Laukat.

That sounds very promising, I didn't mind the Studio Cut on the alto but whenever I changed back to a cane reed I realised the legere wasn't as full sounding. But, I did find it very useful when I was struggling to find a cane reed that wanted to play nice, I could just put the legere on and get on with it.

I also had a long chat with David Beecroft who works for them, so I have a way to let them know if this is an issue. If it is, I'm sure I'm not the only person to find it. (NB, David is a member here as it happens: deebee)

I'm using David Beecroft's book, Perfect Intonation during my practice sessions, funnily enough and perhaps bringing the subject back to the PPT, I've noticed when doing his exercises that the PPT is much more in tune than the Java was. Or I'm able to place the note better, still a lot of work to be done there, but it's another place where I've noticed a clear difference between the two mouthpieces.

All the best,

Chris

 

[Chris98]

Pete,

Just a thought, have you also ordered a set of the pressure plates as well? One of them (3rd one along in the pic) has a rubber pad which would probably give you a better grip on the Legere.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I'm using David Beecroft's book, Perfect Intonation during my practice sessions, funnily enough and perhaps bringing the subject back to the PPT, I've noticed when doing his exercises that the PPT is much more in tune than the Java was.

That's good to know. And aso David appeared to be quite taken with the PPT.

 

[Pete Thomas]

have you also ordered a set of the pressure plates as well? One of them (3rd one along in the pic) has a rubber pad which would probably give you a better grip on the Legere.

No, but I thought the best thing is do some more testing with the Ultimate, if that is better then I'd prefer not to have to rely on a rubber pad on the plate to solve the issue.

 

[deebee]

Ligatures & Legere reeds

I had the opportunity to test play Pete's mouthpiece and it was great. I highly recommend it as it is east to play in tune, and makes all the right noises! Really versatile. As for the Signature tenor reeds and ligatures, a simple Selmer lig or the Rovner work just fine. There seemed to be no meaningful advantage to the more elaborate offerings. I found no slipping with my Rovner but do have to take care as to the exact placement of the reed. The Signature reeds have a textured surface on the back which does go a long way to correcting the problem of reed slipping.
D.

 

[Pete Thomas]

The Signature reeds have a textured surface on the back which does go a long way to correcting the problem of reed slipping.
D.

Hi David, thanks for the kind words about the PPT! (Bit of a mutual admiration society here!)

Actually I've changed my mind about the Legere/ligature slippyness. It's not the surface of the back causing this as it does seem textured enough.

What I noticed when a ligature slips is the reed obviously comes off too, so it's easy to blame the back of the reed, BUT, it occurred to me that if the face of the reed was slippery, that might also cause the reed and ligature to slip.

What occurred to me is that if there is water between the reed and table (and this is possible with either a concave table or else a ligature that clamps on the side of the reed rather than putting even pressure on the reed, then the water would make it slippy. With a cane reed the water is absorbed into the reed, but with a synthetic, this is not going to happen.

What this means (if true) is that with a good ligature and flat table, no problem at all, but with a ligature that is less than ideal, or a concave table, then a synthetic reed might slip on the mouthpiece more than a grass reed.

Does this make sense?

PS, one of the things I really like about the Legere is you can see through it, and you can actually see moisture on the table if it is not flat or if the ligature is causing any distortion that results in moisture being there. Interesting.

 

[Ben Cain]

Hi all
I was reading your posts regarding the problems with lig and slant of mpc. I use a Christoph Heftrig lig on my alto and tenor mpc, Rouseau ebonite (Tenor) Link New York (Tenor), Ponzol M1 metal (Alto) and Link ebonite (Alto).. These are very adjustable ligs, grip really well. Have a look, just another suggestion.
Best of luck
Ben

 

[Chris98]

Hi Ben,

Is this the ligature you're talking about?

Link: http://heftrig.de/Sound_Design_B.html

Does the wire eat into the sides of the mouthpiece?

All the best,

Chris

 

[Ben Cain]

Hi Chris
Depends on the mouthpiece material. INfounf on the ebonite link I got marks but not on the Rousseau or any of the metal mpc. To further make sure I wrapped some transparent tape over the wire to protect the ponzol and link (due to higher replacement costs and a wife who doesn't really understand all this "sax stuff" as she puts it) Anyway, I have found a perfect fit and you have a long wire at first but cut it to size when completely happy with the fit. UNfortunately this does mean that they are fit to specific mpc so as you see can become expensive, but whats money with my numbers going to appear in the double lottery tomorrow. Full set of Mkvi saxes from john mayall coming my way Monday, can't wait.
Ben

 

[kevgermany]

I had the opportunity to test play Pete's mouthpiece and it was great. I highly recommend it as it is east to play in tune, and makes all the right noises! Really versatile. As for the Signature tenor reeds and ligatures, a simple Selmer lig or the Rovner work just fine. There seemed to be no meaningful advantage to the more elaborate offerings. I found no slipping with my Rovner but do have to take care as to the exact placement of the reed. The Signature reeds have a textured surface on the back which does go a long way to correcting the problem of reed slipping.
D.

Thanks. The problem I found was not so much slipping, although that's possible as a consequence, but the taper of the mouthpiece is more than most other mouthpieces, meaning that a Rovner only grips the reed at the neck end of the table, making the reed lift and squeak very easily. It can be controlled, but makes it difficult to play. Best solution so far is to pack the reed to take up the excess play in the lig, but it's far from ideal. And uneven packing causes other problems. Am using a doubled over thick bite plate and that's about right.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Just tested with a Fortissimo ligature. These seem to work well.

 

[Chris98]

Hello Pete,

Are you any closer to being able to make a recommendation based on your recent testing?

Just tested with a Fortissimo ligature. These seem to work well.

Is this the Fortissimo ligature? I can't seem to find a home page for Fortissimo.

All the best,

Chris

 

[Pete Thomas]

I am

Ok. I'll pm you. I'm away till Sunday be in touch then


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[kevgermany]

FF lig arrived. Fits nicely and sounds good, but it's easy to move the reed while you're playing.