 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Matt_Clarinet
Date: 2014-01-31 05:59
When I use thick blank reeds, they are often too tight. When I slide the (leather) ligature over the reed, I have to apply quite a bit of pressure to get it over the reed, and when it is on properly, the screw is opened as far as it can go, but the ligature is still too tight. Does anyone know whether there is a way around this problem, or how detrimental it could be to have the ligature so tight. This also happens with medium blank reeds very once in a while as well.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-01-31 07:04
Are you certain it's a Bb clarinet ligature? What mouthpiece?
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-01-31 07:18
What ligature?
Off hand I can't think of a leather ligature that would be small on any Bb mouthpiece. If it is actually leather, the material will stretch a bit with use, but I am with the above suggestion that it may be an Eb ligature or sax ligature.
I did run into sizing issues with the Oleg Gold ligature. Twice, from two different vendors I was sent what should be an Eb ligature size in lieu of the desired Bb mouthpiece size.
Some folks (including me in cold weather when reeds tend to misbehave more) like to really clamp down on the reed. This is not necessarily a bad thing. When your reed is not prone to warping up at the middle, leaving the ligature as loose as possible (literally so that you could tap the reed off to an angle) will allow more of the reed to vibrate creating more resonance.
...............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2014-01-31 07:19)
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Author: Matt_Clarinet
Date: 2014-01-31 03:32
I'm using the Vandoren Leather Ligature (Inverted), for Bb Clarinets. I tried it on another mouthpiece, and it fit perfectly. I'm using the Vandoren CL4 Mouthpiece, and it says that the Vandoren leather ligature should fit onto it. Has anyone else used this mouthpiece and ligature together and perhaps had the same problem and knows of a solution?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-01-31 17:31
I'm using mine right now! The CL4 is a rather narrow mouthpiece, with the only oddity about it being the body under the ligature is more oblique than the rest of the mouthpiece's dimensions would suggest. I am currently using the thickest "plate" (the hard leather) with Vandoren Rue Lepics and the ends of my ligature almost come completely together! The ligature has stretched over the years of use (slightly) but there should be NO problem with this mouthpiece.
Wait, let me edit this a bit. If both items of yours are brand new you probably have two problems. One: the materials are sticking to one another a bit. Try rubbing a bit of baby powder (the pure talc kind) on the inside of the ligature. TWO: the ligature has not been "fitted" to the mouthpiece yet. Take a reed that' not so good (just in case) and put everything together and crank it down pretty good. Now just leave it for a day. You know, the reason the Vandoren Leather ligature comes with a form, is so that you don't just set it squished in your case and let it take on an abnormal form.
..................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2014-01-31 17:37)
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Author: Matt_Clarinet
Date: 2014-02-04 01:50
Paul, I tried what you suggested with leaving the ligature tightly on the reed for a while to get it to stretch. So far it's made a big improvement, and it fits on much more easily, with room to tighten the screw to the right amount of grip. Thanks for the advice.
••|| Problem Solved ||••
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