Klarinet Archive - Posting 000718.txt from 2001/06

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Optimum Ligatures,
Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2001 22:09:07 -0400

on 6/22/01 4:13 PM, Daniel Stover wrote:

>I've never been happy with Bonade ligs. Be basic sound is fine, but the
>quality of the ligatures is just aweful, maybe they've tightened up on that
>aspect now. But if you have time to go through 10-20 ligatures to find one
>that has even rails, won't slip and won't scratch the back of your
>mouthpiece, then that's fine.

I used inverted Bonades for years. We would order 6 or so and keep the 1
or 2 that worked best, repeating the process periodically. In Pamela
Weston's interview with Harold Wright in "Clarinet Virtuosi of Today",
Wright mentions replacing his ligature on a yearly basis. When I read
that I said to myself "yeah, right!". But on an order to Muncy, I ordered
a few new ligs to try, and sure enough, they were all better than the one
I was playing. So maybe there's something about metal fatigue? After
that, I replaced my ligature regularly.

Last summer at ClarinetFest, I tried the BG gold plated metal ligature
(can't remember the model name) and was amazed. They look a little
"cutesy" (each side of the ligature is a slanted upper case "B"), but
they work as well or better than the Bonades. The "rails" are formed by
bending the metal (a little heavier gauge than on the Bonades?), thus
eliminating the need for soldered rails, and supposedly (according to the
designer) allowing for more resonance in the sound. Also, the sides of
the ligature stay off the sides of the reed, unlike an aging Bonade. I
tried about 6-8 ligatures, and the guy was ready to unpack more if I
wanted to try them (guess he's accustomed to dealing with nutty
clarinetists!), but all of them were amazingly consistent. They're
pricey, but for me I found them to be an improvement over the Bonade.

Of course, YMMV, I'm not on the payroll of BG Products, etc...

David

p.s. I have an Optimum. I use it with soft reeds if I have a show to play
(or Pops) and it dampens the brightness of the reed enough to make it
bearable. I know some people who use it successfully, but for me it's too
dead sounding in general, even using the most vibrant plate.

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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