 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RosewoodClarinet
Date: 2005-05-13 00:26
I am happy with my collection of several ligatures, but I am just curious. Seems like it is impossible to find the Kaspar ligatures any more, but I see some people mentions about this ligature. How does it look like and sound like??
Thank you.
RosewoodClarinet
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Author: RosewoodClarinet
Date: 2005-05-13 05:15
Actually, it was so easy for me to search for the information...I forgot doing this....I just read previous threads here at the BBoard. Now, I know what it is like.......
But, is there anyone who want to make a copy of this???
RosewoodClarinet
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2005-05-13 12:55
What does it sound like?
I dropped one....it made a thunking sound on carpet. YMMV
Seriously, characteristic is: what the (ligature) offspring would be if you mated (a) Bay with (a) Bonade. (There's a picture I wouldnt want to envision)
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-05-13 16:30
The Kaspar ligatures had 3 bands around the back rather than the usual 2. I've read that they were quite light. Although he is said to have given them away with new mouthpieces, they have gone for startling prices at auction.
The design corresponds with the ligature I got from Kalmen Opperman, based on the inexpensive Martin. The only alteration is to bend the metal slightly with needle-nosed pliers so that it doesn't bind the edges of the reed.
I think that the lighter the ligature, the less it interferes with the vibration of the reed.
Ken Shaw
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-05-13 17:14
I've had a few Kaspar ligatures. They were included when I purchased 2 different Kaspar mouthpieces in the 1960's. I used the ligatures for a while and then sold them off to other clarinetists who offered me prices which I thought were too high. Oh well... it must be the Kaspar mystique which surrounds them.
I could never understand the attraction and commotion concerning them. They were certainly efficient ligatures, possibly a bit lighter in weight than most standard ligatures, but for me they tended to play freely but too bright. Thinking back, perhaps putting a bit of cork on the inside bands might have rounded out the sound.
If you like metal ligatures, I think that currently there are many excellent choices (Bonade, Spriggs, Harrison, Bay, etc...) which will accomplish the same goals as the Kaspar ligature, but with a bit more advanced 21st century technology and design ...GBK
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Author: Chetclarinet
Date: 2005-05-13 21:03
Kaspar ligatures actually were made by Frank L. Kaspar of Chicago and Ann Arbor, not Frank Kaspar of Chicago and Cicero. They are in various weights--some have reverse screws, some are unplated brass, others are German Silver. Many of these ligatures have numbers 1,2, 3 on them indicating the size of the ligature. Also. Frank L. Kaspar made these fine ligatures for saxophone mouthpieces, both hard rubber and metal. I currently play Kaspar ligatures on my B flat and A clarinet and my rubber and metal saxophone mouthpieces. They are absolutely "Superb" and actually have the word "Superb" engraved on them. Some of these ligatures are heavier than the vintage Bonade ligatures of the same time period, others are a bit lighter. With my Kaspar mouthpieces, these ligatures, in my opinion, help with projection, response,articulation and control. The closest ligature visually to these are the Charles Bay ligatures, although the Bay ligatures are made out of a much lighter material.
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Author: Llewsrac
Date: 2005-05-13 22:10
Fortunate to have had a section of Kaspar mouthpieces and ligatures for my high school Clarinet section. Needless to say they performed very well over the years. As newer styles of ligatures came on the market we would try various makes and models, but in the end always returned to the Kaspars. In my opinion, they are truly "Superb" and well worth the search. The ligature is a very critical piece of your equipment, and the Kaspar ligatures rate very highly.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-05-13 22:47
Llewsrac wrote:
> The ligature is a very critical piece of your equipment
- and there are those who feel it's not as critical as you would think ...GBK
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Author: Llewsrac
Date: 2005-05-13 23:38
Perhaps those that do not feel the ligature is a critical piece of equipment feel so because they have not experienced hearing the difference in the tone produced by different ligatures. As in tuning, an acute ear is helpful.
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2005-05-14 02:45
I had a Kaspar ligature, that I got from the Ann Arbor Kaspar when I bought a mouthpiece from him...way back when....
I sold the ligature. It was nice, but there are so many choise now a days that are just as good, if not better.
I have a Bay Rhodium ligature that I always keep coming back to, no matter what else I try.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-05-14 12:01
Hi,
I have a whole stable of ligatures but, just as Walter does, keep coming back to a modified Gigliotti. I used a Dremel to remove all the material from the two rails that touch the reed except the very end sections. Talk about a cheap ligature. My mod is just like cutting the center out of a Bonade. However, I have a couple of very rare Portnoy ligatures which, although of the same configuation, are somewhat dead.
An old Luyben from the 1970s is also very pleasing.
HRL
PS I wonder if the Rhodium or other lighter weight materials make a difference. Evidently Walter has experienced something.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-05-14 14:29
Ah, Rhodium, Rh to you chemists, a fairly "exotic" metal, about twice as dense as Iron, and half as dense as Platinum. Quite non-reactive, prob somewhat rare/expensive. Major use seems to as alloy with Pt. 'Nuff? Couldn't find any musical patents to Kaspar. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2005-05-14 14:38
I have a Kaspar non inverted made of german silver but without his logo on it.....It may have been from his source and left unfinished.
It is slightly thicker than a Bay (uncoated Rhodium---what IS Rhodium anyway???) , but still very pliable.
It is my favorite, is very old, and I fear someday its threaded receiver posts will snap away from the straping metal.
I got a Portnoy recently...it has Bonade like bars, but there are four of them arranged like the dots on a Harrison. It works well, but the metal is much thicker and the tonal character changes much more depending on where you position it on the reed and how much you tighten the upper vs the lower post
I know GBK likes fabric.
I like metal.
Potato/potahtoe (Dan Qualye notwithstanding)
At least ligatures (new) are cheap when compared to overall costs, so have fun and explore. Are the inflated prices on the collectable ones worth it...likely not.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2007-11-16 08:07
I have a gold one. I have never seen another like it.
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Author: Chetclarinet
Date: 2007-11-16 13:44
Frank L. Kaspar made both gold and silver ligatures, some inverted, some not. He also put numbers on some of them--1,2, indicating size. I have used these ligatures for the past 35 years and although I have tried all of the available ligatures on the market at one time, or another, I still come back to these beautiful ligatures. It may be the metal, the design, or both, but these ligatures for assist me in playing ppp dynamics without losing focus, are great for fast articulation and are very stable.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-11-17 04:00
"Fortunate to have had a section of Kaspar mouthpieces and ligatures for my high school Clarinet section. Needless to say they performed very well over the years. As newer styles of ligatures came on the market we would try various makes and models, but in the end always returned to the Kaspars. In my opinion, they are truly "Superb" and well worth the search. The ligature is a very critical piece of your equipment, and the Kaspar ligatures rate very highly."
holy moly, what high school did you go to?
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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