Ligatures Which Lig?

[abbyb]

Hi - newbie here. I have just purchased a Vandoren Jumbo A45 that didn't come with a Ligature - which lig would suit best for this MPC folks? Cheers

 

[Saxlicker]

Hi Abby,
Welcome...
I have a Java A45 that was my main alto piece until recently and it had a cheap and cheerful metal 2 screw lig.

 

[abbyb]

Cheers for that Saxlicker - I wasn't sure if a standard lig would fit correctly for that mouthpiece and may affect the sound..

 

[philthd]

if you want to get a poncier lig theres nothing to stop you if you feel the extra expenditure is warranted by the tiny difference in sound - but as sl says theres no real need

 

[abbyb]

Oh that's good then , because at this moment in time I didn't want to pay a lot of money for a new lig!

 

[Linky Lee]

I tend to buy a rovner lig to go with any mouthpiece I have.

They aren't hugely expensive and I find them much better than the cheap metal 2 screw ligatures. They seem to fit better when the reed is on and have a mellower sound along with making it a bit of an easier blow.

That's just what I find though, I seem to get quite a noticeable difference out of ligs. Some others don't.

 

[abbyb]

Might consider getting a rovner lig then - because I have seen them on the net for a reasonable price. Cheers for your help peeps!

 

[philthd]

i feel like a broken record - but bg is so much better than rovner which is not that much better than bog standard metal 2 screw

of course thats just an opinion - its all subjective, dont believe the hype

im sure vandoren would prefer it if you bought an optimum - of which i know very little.

if youre feeling REALLY cheap and have the time to experiment - ive had quite playable results with about a half dozen elastic bands of an appropriate size, and im pretty certain i once saw someone in a skapunk band using gaffa tape as a lig (NB if you damage yr mouthpiece doing diy, its not my fault)

 

[Jules]

I've not really experimented with this. What is it with BGs that's better than Rovners? With the exception of various light metal ligs I've not found there to be much difference. But- Like I've said- I've not tried palying them off and am open to conversion...

philthD wrote:
i feel like a broken record - but bg is so much better than rovner which is not that much better than bog standard metal 2 screw

 

[philthd]

its mostly an unprovable feeling that rovners are quite soulless and characterless. they also feel to me to be not different enough from the bogstandard2screw (or even the rubber bands) to warrant the extra money. it might be in my head, but the different bg styles do all seem to give (tiny but noticable) tonal differences and all the ones ive used have improved the playability of the mouthpiece.

you can hold a reed in place with less tension than on a rovner - with which i always felt i was paying off the fact that freer to vibrate (and thus easier to blow/"better" response) came at the cost of the reed slipping out of place when adjusting the tuning.

the material is less stretchy on a bg so you are less likely to warp it if you leave it permanently overtightened in your case. i prefer the bg cap. the bg screw feels ever so slightly better to turn (a nothing advantage but still...).

oh and they look cooler


im willing to concede that all of this might be personal but im also more than happy to testify to how much i like them and recommend them to everyone on a rovner (though if youre a 60 quid ligature man ill probably keep quiet)

 

[jonf]

At the weekend I was playing my Runyon Custom, which is a plastic red thing. Couldn't find a lig to fit, so I used







SELLOTAPE!

Worked fine. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS with any mouthpice made of a finer material than plastic!

 

[Saxlicker]

philthD wrote:
i feel like a broken record - but bg is so much better than rovner

I have to 2nd this on a back to back test I done....
I don't use them exclusively though, its horse for courses with mouthpice combo's

BG are big bulky and ugly.......those are the reasons I tried to replace the one that came with an RPC mouthpiece I bought. I am still using the BG!!!!
BUT I tried vandoren optimum,
Francois Louis,
Standard 2 screw metal selmer,
Rovner evo,
Standard rovner,
ff tensing ring
And the BG was best.
Best because the depth of and colour of the tone were enhanced from top to bottom of the horn.
However as I said in my first post no need on my java A45 because it is so lig friendly

 

[Rogerb]

See my later post, please, Saxlicker..... I messed this one up!

 

[Linky Lee]

I started off on a BG and it really don't like them, they're so chunky!

It insults my sense of what a ligature should be 😛

Still only an opinion though. Try some if you can and see what you like. That's a command 😛

 

[Bobby G]

Ah, the old lig question; I believe sound differences to be not that great, but the psychology of what you are using definitely plays a part. Personally, I like my Rovner, but the BG works just fine for me, I just don't like the over-chunkiness of it somehow, and I feel like it's gonna get in the way so I may be making small unconscious changes to my embouchure. No doubt if I used a BG exclusively I'd get used to it, but I also find the Rovner easier to line up as my BG has all those rubber ridges on it and it's fiddly to get them even at either side of the reed.

The main reason I don't use the 2-screw metal ones is that I feel I may damage the reed, but again this is probably just an unreasonable prejudice; however, if you want to spend 70-odd quid on a Vandoren Optimum lig, it comes with three interchangeable plates where varying amounts of said plates actually touch the reed.

The biggest differences in sound, to my ears anyway, come from how far back along the bark part of the reed you place the lig, and how much you tighten it.

Cheers, Bob

 

[jambo]

Rovner all the way!!!

 

[Col9]

I swapped from El-cheapo metal lig to a BG, And in my limited experience so far it just seems nicer. Even if its all in my head its use has provided me with something good........... even if it is imaginary

Col.

 

[Rogerb]

trying again!


What size/model of BG fits an RPC, saxlicker, and is that for alto or tenor?
I have just ordered an RPC alto, so will have quite a while to think about the best lig for it!

 

[Saxlicker]

Hi Roger,
The BG I'm using is on tenor and its an L13.
I find the standard metal two screwd absolutely fine on alto.

Infact there is a theme for me ........
that everything associated with mouthpiece on alto is much less likely to dissapoint than on tenor.
Could it be I'm less fussy?
Or could it be that the variables just aren't as exagerated making combinations more succussful?
I don't know but back to your question, I beleive the alto equivalent would be an L12.
BTW mineis only the standard...not the Super revelation or anything like that.

 

[Bobby G]

Oddly enough, SL, I'm the opposite, I'm much more easily pleased on the tenor (although I'm not that fussy on alto either, but more so than tenor). Maybe it's because my ratio of playing alto to tenor is about 80:20

Cheers, Bob