 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jez
Date: 2004-11-25 16:00
I recently acquired one of these and think it looks splendid, but unfortunately when I got it home I found all the instructions were in Japanese. You can obviously put the little studs in different configurations which would be fun to play with. Can anyone tell me the best way to remove/replace them. There's a little white sheet of hard plastic in the spare bits box that I can't work out the purpose of.
Help please.
jez
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Author: ken
Date: 2004-11-25 19:41
I am putting my ignorance on display but I believe the plastic could be a pad, "wedging-removal" tool, or similar. Depending on its size, you might use it to squish down the pads and pop off the table retainer rings (and watch it, they will carom wildly across the room). My 2 ligs [that live in a shoe box] are 10 and 13 years old respectively; no plastic sheath, ever came boxed with mine. My ligs came with spare pads in a little container filled with cornstarch; I also vividly recall using my jewelry screwdriver to pry off the metal rings when changing configurations.
Japanese? My information is likely outdated; I have not been in touch with John Winslow for 14 years but the directions' language could indicate he sold his patent-company. I had heard the man had health issues in 2001 but recovered. It might explain why in latter years, Winslows were more difficult to acquire and in slight demand now by hardcore collectors. And, they've always been more popular among saxophonists, than with the clarinet crowd. v/r Ken
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-11-26 13:47
Close-up photos would be nice to see....
Bob Draznik
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Author: William
Date: 2004-11-26 14:51
I have several Winslow ligatures and, even though John showed me how he used that little plastic "tool", I never had much success. The C clamps always sprung off unto the rug and became lost. He calls them "Jesus Clamps" because that is what many clarinetists say ("J.... C.....") everytime he dropped one--including me!!.
My advice, throw the tool away, find a small needle-nosed pliers and try this method for removing the JC's and the studs: 1) put the ligature on your mouthpiece (with the reed) and tighten it so that the c-rings become elevated (as for normal playing); 2) use the small needle-nosed plier to grasp the c-ring and pull it backwards off the stud; 3) when all of the c-rings are removed, hold the mouthpiece with the plate facing downward and gently loosen the lig. You may then remove the ligature from the mouthpiece and the studs will stay in place until you want to completly remove them from the plate.
For assembly, go in reverse order: 1) arrange the studs in the desired positions with the plate facing downward so that gravity holds them in place; 2) when you have all of the studs on the plate where you want them (for clarinet, I like the "four corners" arrangement with no stud in the middle--for sax, four corners with the stud in the middle), gently slip it onto the mouthpiece with the plate facing downward to let gravity hold them in place; 3) then tighten the ligature to raise the studs; 4) grasp a c-ring with your needle-nose plier in the middle so that the prongs face forward and then force it back into position on the stud. Once you have done this for each stud, your ligature is back to playing condition.
To help hold the reed in position while the mouthpiece is inverted, John uses electricians tape. I just moisten the reed and that seems to hold it in place long enough--but if it is a good reed, be careful not to inadvertantly nick it.
Also, Johns older ligatures had a small bolt in the middle postition to hold the plate onto the band. If yours is like this, I will have to look at one of my older ones to be accurate in my advice, but what I rememberr is that it simply held the different plates securily to the band and was necessary when using the four corner stud position.
I currently use Winslow's on all of my sax mouthpieces--I have models for both metal and rubber on soprano, alto and tenor--and I like the four point position with the stud in the middle. On clarinet, I like the four corner arrangement. I do not use all six studs on any of my instruments. John only played the saxophones and used to use middle on top and two on the bottom--sort of a triangle. Sometimes he played with just one stud in the middle. But I never like those configurations--it was too easy to dislodge the reed while playing and the resonace didn't seem quite right to me. But that is the beauty of the Winslow ligature. You can experiment with all of the different stud arrangements--and also with the different bumpers (hard and soft)--to discover the stud arrangement that produces the sound and response that is best for you. (Black bumpers are hard--grey bumpers are softer)
Another word about John's ligatures--one size does not fit all mouthieces. He made different sized bands to accomodate the variing demensions of different maufactureres mouthpieces--especially metal versus rubber. In the beginning, he had mouthpieces from everyone laying in his shop, all with reeds held in place with electricians tape, and he would customize every ligature for the specific mouthpice it was supposed to fit. In his more recent ligatures, however, he had his measurements "all figured out" so he could be more efficient in producing his finished product. But the main point here is that his ligatures were designed to fit specific manufactureres mouthpieces, and were not designed to be a "one size fits all" product.
Another point for all of you Winslow ligature people (and then I will quit--promise) is that the studs and bumpers are interchangable between all of his recent ligatures. In some of the older models, the length of the studs is different, but in the newer thinner models, the studs and bumpers may be used where ever needed--sax, clarinet, etc.
For any more specific information on John Winslows ligatures, you may contact me directly. Jez, hope this info helps a bit.
Post Edited (2004-11-27 15:00)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-11-27 15:08
Attachment: Winslow 1.JPG (314k)
Attachment: Winslow 2.JPG (270k)
Jez ... I was given a few Winslow ligatures and replacement parts in the 1980's and just looked at them again. Here are the enclosed instructions ...GBK
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Author: jez
Date: 2004-11-27 20:06
Many thanks esp. to William and GBK for the help.
It's great that we can rely on BBoarders to go to so much trouble.
It never occurred to me that I should tighten it up so much that the studs are forced proud of the body. My instinct is that it seems excessive, but I'll give it a try.
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Author: William
Date: 2004-11-28 18:39
"My instinct is that it seems excessive, but I'll give it a try."
John Winslow told me that the number one mistake most users of his ligs make is to not tighten it enough. When properly secured, the c-rings should be in a raised position off the backplate. Avoid, however, overtightening to the extent that the bumpers are completely squished down. If you see the rings rising off the plate (like the width of a couple of playing cards), then it is tight enough.
If the Winslow ligature is not tightened properly, the resulting sound will lack resonance and the reed will seem sluggish. What I do, when tightening the ligature, is to place my left hand thumb on top of the plate and excert downward pressure to relieve the screw of "tightening" stress. John thought this was a good idea, but did not include it in his instructive materials. Another thing John likes to do is too occassionally lubricate the thread of the screw with ordinary cork grease.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-11-28 19:58
Jez et al - FWIW, the only US Patent to W when I searched USPTO using "Winslow AND ligature", was # 4,428,271 which might give some help, I didn't bring it up, too busy. This broad search, brought up a lot of "false drop" mainly because of other meanings of lig. The retrieved pats whose titles relate to insts MIGHT ! have some comments, in discussing their "improvements" over W [as citations] , of some value. Luck, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-11-29 17:48
Both Larry Combs and I used Winslow ligatures for a while -- probably the only thing we have in common.
I found that it played best for me with all 6 studs installed.
I eventually went the other way, to a very light metal ligature, or string. When I listened to tapes of my playing, I found that the Winslow deadened the sound. If I want to tone things down, I use a Rovner or Rovner Lite. My theory is that the less that touches the reed, the better. Also, string doesn't gouge the reed bark and the mouthpiece surface the way the Winslow does.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-11-29 19:58
Dern those Japanese, I was going to suggest either a slow [or low] wind, as the word's source, ?who's on first?? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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The Clarinet Pages
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