 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Meri
Date: 2001-05-29 23:27
Having been experimenting with a hair-elastic style of ligature regularly for the past couple of months (using three of those you would normally use for ponytails) I have been wondering whether metal ligatures tend to crush the reed fibers,even with just enough pressure to supposedly hold the reed, which shortens their playing life. It does not seem the string and elastic ligature have the problem of crushing the reed fibers, since the material is much more flexible than most, if not all, metals.
Have any of you suspected that the ligature may be shortening the playing life of the reeds, or tried the elastic-ligature idea?
Meri
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2001-05-30 00:03
I tried the elastic lig on a couple of saxophone mouthpieces and found the experience fairly unfulfilling.
The famous British bass saxophonist Harry Gold, from the Harry Gold and his Pieces of Eight, claimed that the resonance and indeed vibration of the mouthpiece itself is important in the final sound all else withstanding. Elastic ligatures dont seem to bring this aspect of the mouthpiece into play IMHO.
Metal ligs have been around for a long time and a lot of people great and small have used them without detrimental effect. Just how long do you expect a reed to last anyway?
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Author: Jim
Date: 2001-05-30 04:28
I'm presently using a plastic Gigliotti lig that was fairly inexpensive and won't develop enough pressure to crush anything. I like my sound with it, so if reed crushing is a concern... (Actually the thing gave me the fits at first, I had played with the "old" metal ligs for so long, that there was something very satisfying about torqueing them down that I was missing.)
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Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2001-05-30 04:55
Over the past few years, I've used the Rovner which I liked better than the Bonade, and the Olegature, which I liked better than the Rovner. I have tried a couple of Vandoren Optimum ligatures and liked them even better than the Olegature.
I think that it's probably more a matter of how people use them than of what they're made of.
Allen
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-05-30 04:55
1)The surface pores of reed fibre should be closed by nail or other round material such as fountain pens to lengthen the reed life.
2)Too much fastning pressure should not be applied to the screws.
If this is right, metal ligature does not do different things than other material ligatues. I think ligatures should have enough mass.
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Author: SALT
Date: 2001-05-30 05:34
"Just how long do you expect a reed to last anyway?"
I had a ten box of vandoren reeds that lasted me a little over two years.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-05-30 12:40
Hey Meri,
I have also experimented with this "Pseudo-string" ligature method.
I use the Viton O-Rings from plumbing supply houses. They need to be round in cross section. The only downside I see to this with the traditional French facing is a tendency for condensate to form between the reed and the mouthpiece table.
A snug fit keeps this out. (I suppose it reduces the clearance.)
I really liked the sound of this (have you tried making a string ligature, yet?) but found the elastic unpredictable. The Rovner stuff is a good compromise, and doesn't get loose in higher temperatures.
Scrunchi with no metal part, right?
Which one sounds better (heh-heh) Brown or Black?
anji
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Author: William
Date: 2001-05-30 15:20
If you are leaving indentations in our reed, then you are probably overtighening the screws. Just "snug" does the job. FYI--a box of V-12s lasts me about two months (or less) during our symphony season. According to Ben Armatos (Reed Wizard guy and NYC Pro) info from his book, a good reed should be at its "peak" for about ten hours of playing. Mine tend to go dead sooner so my boxes don't go as far. Many clarinetists use "good" reeds far beyond their "time" and develope embouchure, tone and pitch problems as a result. A reed is somewhat like the US Flag--just because you can still see its colors, doesn't mean that it hasn't freyed and faded to warrant proper disposal (with honors, of course!!). Good Clarineting (and a "salute" to the GOOD reeds)
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