 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mark Horne
Date: 2007-04-10 00:20
I've managed to collect a number of clarinets and saxes recently, and I'm looking to upgrade the ligatures for several of them. Since I'll probably only play one horn at a time, I could get by with one premium ligature of a given size. For instance I had purchased a Vandoren optimum for Bb Soprano clarinet, and when I later got one for alto sax (rubber mpc), I found that they were the same size. In summary - would the following rubber mouthpieces generally take the same size ligature:
Soprano sax = Eb soprano clarinet?
Alto sax = Bb soprano clarinet?
Tenor sax = Eb alto clarinet?
I've already covered my ligs for bass and contrabass cl.
Perhaps some of you doublers have been down this road before. . .
I'll welcome any insight you can provide. Mark
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Author: kilo
Date: 2007-04-10 01:06
Generally ... but that's all. For instance, the Bb clarinet mouthpiece is usually more conical than a rubber alto sax mouthpiece with a similar diameter. You can get a synthetic fabric or leather lig to stretch and conform to the shape; you can do the same with a metal lig by bending it — but when you try to put the altered lig on one of the other mouthpieces it may not really fit the same way it once did; you may notice gathers and bumps or find a tell-tale saliva trail along the table due to uneven pressure. I guess it depends on the specifics — the particular shape of the mouthpiece, the elasticity and memory of the ligature material, and throw in some good luck too.
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-04-10 13:39
it's been a while since I reviewed this but I have been down this road already but not for a complete clarinet line.
my Vandy Optimum alto sax does not fit my Bb clarinet mpcs. Are you sure that your Bb and alto sax Vandy are the same ? (either that or i'm thinking of my sop sax optimum)
I also do not think my Vandy Optimum for soprano sax fits my Bb clarinet other wise I would be using I would think - i haven't spent the $$ on one for clarinet yet, I went the Rovner route but think that somewhat deadens the sound slightly.
The problem with the Vandy Optimum is that they are shaped to a particular style of mpc. For instance a Vandy Optimum for tenor sax will not fit a streamlined tenor sax mpc, and does not fit snugly all my other "regular" tenor sax mpcs either. You can somewhat get it to work but it does not hold for any extended period of time.
The Optimums seem to have a well defined metal band and the design does not conform well to various mpc body shapes, such as a Rovner which seems to have more flexibility at. Have you seen all the various Rovner sizes out there?
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Author: Mark Horne
Date: 2007-04-11 05:26
Thanks for the input. I suppose there is enough difference in the shape of the mouthpieces that switching back and forth with the same ligature on different instruments would eventually result in problems. However, it has been interesting trying different lig/mpc combinations and seeing what happens - some sound surprisingly good!
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Author: D
Date: 2007-04-11 18:19
This is why shoe laces were invented.
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-04-12 02:02
i use shoe laces on my shoes. Putting lacesless shoes on my clarinet serves no purpose ... or for that matter laced shoes on my clarinet.
You could also look at creating "inserts" to make the diff Optimum ligs work on different mpcs, but that would get combersome on it's own right and may alter the design especially if the angle of the plate is diff than the angle of the reed.
at the cost of the optimums I equiped all my primary saxes mpcs with them and then went the Rovner route for other sax mpcs and clarinet. Those optimum certainly are expensive especially if you want the cap. I ended up just using one of those plates all the time anyways. They are nice to experiment with your sound though when you have nothing else to do.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-12 06:07
On soprano clarinet I use the exact same ligature that a local alto sax player uses. When I used a different ligature some years ago the same alto sax player tried it and it worked good also. These ligatures worked on every clarinet mouthpiece I've ever tried them on. The alto sax had a Selmer hard rubber mouthpiece. This tells me that clarinet ligatures will work on at least some alto sax mouthpieces (any mouthpiece that is about the same as a Selmer hard rubber).
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-04-12 11:01
I sometimes mix up my Rovner alto sax and clarinet ligs. The sax one has a brass colored screw and clarinet the silver.
which lig do you use clarnibass ?
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-12 16:06
Steve, the ligature I use that the alto sax player use too is the Oleg. The ligature I used some years ago that also fit his Selmer alto mouthpieces is the Vandoren Optimum. The Vandoren Masters which I also use sometimes also fit his Selmer alt sax mouthpiece.
Post Edited (2007-04-12 16:14)
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-04-12 20:41
That's interesting. The clar Opt may fit the alto sax but not vice versa .. hmm .. I'll pull out my alto sax Optimum and try it on the clarinet and take some pics .. maybe it does fit !?!? it's been a couple years since I tried.
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-04-13 00:24
okay - I see how the alto sax optima can fit the Bb clarinet. But fully tightened down. And the plate curvature does not match a clarinet reed and it only holds it near the crest of the curve.
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