Klarinet Archive - Posting 000210.txt from 2005/08

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Ah, ligatures....Gold vs. Silver
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 13:11:21 -0400


Geoff Secomb wrote,
>Some time ago, I acquired a trial/comparison box
>of BG ligatures to try them all out. I normally play
>either a Harrison or Vandoren Masters (black.) I am
>as wary of these claims as anyone, but there was a
>noticeable difference in feel and response between the
>'leather' ligatures in gold and silver, and between the
>'Tradition' model in gold and silver.

Aside from accidental manufacturing variables, do we know that the choice
of gold or silver is the only difference between the gold and silver
ligatures within the same model names? Is it possible that, for instance,
when the company manufactures the "Tradition" model, a factory inspector
picks out ligatures that seem better and sets those aside to get the gold
plating?

I ask because some sax players believe that in the 1920s and 1930s, Conn
selected better saxophones within a model name for the more expensive
surface finishes, and chose the saxes the factory thought were best for the
gold plating (as opposed to silver plating or lacquer). For all I know,
this story may be hokum-smokum, because it's clear from the old catalogues
that saxophone customers for all the major brands could order what finishes
they wanted, including bare-assed, oops, I mean bare brass, for people
accustomed to the bare brass saxes common in the 1910s. If some renowned
musician ordered bare brass in the 1930s, I can't imagine the company
sending out anything but the best.

But at any rate, it's possible that, given unforseen variables in the
manufacturing process, ligature manufacturers do perceive differences from
one individual ligature to another within a model name. If so, does
someone select for quality when deciding which ligs get the gold plate?
Has anybody *asked* a manufacturer's rep?

Lelia Loban

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