 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Windy Dreamer
Date: 2018-12-07 18:21
I have several metal ligatures that slide up while playing. The worst one slides without playing. Yesterday I watched it slide 1/4 inch up the mouthpiece in as little as 5 seconds after setting it. I am considering sanding the inside or possibly adding a few drops of nail polish to the inside rear of the ligatures. Also considering glueing in a small thin piece of leather. What is the best way to deal with slippery metal ligatures ?
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-12-07 19:06
I've actually found this often to be mouthpiece-dependent. For instance, my Bonade ligatures slide up on one or two of my mouthpieces and not on most others.
I usually stick a mouthpiece patch to the back of the mouthpiece. Adding something - leather or rubber - to the back of the ligature can work on some ligatures, generally non-inverted ones. I have glued strips of cork along the back rails (where the screw eyelets are) of a couple of my inverted Bonades. I imagine leather or rubber would work there, too.
Karl
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2018-12-07 19:48
I use a metal ligature on a crystal mouthpiece. To get things to "stay put", I use some of that cheap, thin, granulated cork sheet glued (using contact cement) to the inner back of my ligature. I've done this with two different ligatures over the years (the first ligature wore out before the cork did, and I'm still using the second ligature).
I like Karl's idea of the mouthpiece patch too!
Fuzzy
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-12-07 19:49
If you are snugging them on and they slip, they are too large for your mouthpiece. Are they Alto Sax or Alto Clarinet ligatures? The above fixes by kdk are appropriate for helping them to work.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-12-07 21:57
Ken Lagace wrote:
> If you are snugging them on and they slip, they are too large
> for your mouthpiece.
Some mouthpieces' sides are more sloped than others. I think Windy Dreamer is describing a ligature that tightens (snugs) properly but shimmies up over a short period of time, not one that slips off, i.e. when you try to move the mouthpiece, because it's too large and doesn't grip even with the screw(s) fully tightened. This can happen with a standard size clarinet ligature that just doesn't fit the shape of the mouthpiece. The solutions are either to find a ligature that doesn't slide on the mouthpiece you're using, put something between the ligature and mouthpiece surfaces to provide more traction, or put in something even bulkier (a thicker patch or cork) to make the ligature fit tighter. This third option may defeat the design of a ligature meant to contact the reed only at certain points by changing its shape.
Karl
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-12-07 22:01
Thanks Karl, After 70 years of playing clarinet on many dozens of mouthpieces and hundreds? of ligatures, I don't remember any one slipping. Never too old to learn something new!
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2018-12-07 22:36
This is/was a very common occurence with the nickel Bonade inverted ligatures. Standard practice has been to scuff the inside of the back side of the ligature with sandpaper to give it enough grip to keep from sliding up.
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Author: Windy Dreamer
Date: 2018-12-08 01:20
I just finished glueing a .5 mm thick piece of leather to my worst ligature. It is about 3/4 inch long and is concealed beneath the bottom band of the ligature. The sound transformation of the Bundy it is mounted on is phenominal. I had a loose thick piece of leather there before.It gave the Bundy a limp lifeless tone while preventing ligature slippage. It is amazing how leathers of different thicknesses and stiffness can so dramatically transform a clarinets color.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2018-12-08 02:52
As mentioned, I always sand the inside lightly and it works like a dream. To my ear and feel, sometimes adding cork or leather changes the response of the ligature. some like the result, but I prefer the metal as is.
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Author: Windy Dreamer
Date: 2018-12-08 04:07
I tried sanding the ligature with both 160 and 600 grit sandpaper. Neither one could mark it. Adding anything to the ligature definitely does alter the sound. I have also noticed that even a .3 mm pad on top of the mouthpiece softens tones. The .5 mm leather I added to the ligature was the thinnest I have. I am definitely pleased with the effect that it had on the Bundy. The next time I add .5 mm leather to a ligature I hope to try 1/4 square inch to see if it is possible that a small piece would not alter sound while also preventing slippage .
It is possible that this cheap generic ligature is not specifically designed for a b mouthpiece. When completely tightened it is almost completely closed over top of the reed. Another problematic ligature closes with a narrow gap on top and a wide gap on the bottom of the clamp area.
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2018-12-08 04:36
I like the inverted Bonade ligatures, but found the slipping problem to be exacerbated by my conversion to Legere reeds, which are both slippery and thinner than cane reeds.
I experimented with several materials and have settled on 0.5mm TechCork (I get mine from MusicMedic) as the right blend of firm but not too sticky. Locationwise, I have tried both vertically (behind the screw/nut tightening mechanism) and behind the bands that circle the mouthpiece at the top and bottom of the ligature. The both work equally well.
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Author: Burt
Date: 2018-12-09 19:49
I use a plastic Luyben ligature - no problem with slippage, even with Legere reeds.
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Author: monnarush
Date: 2018-12-10 16:30
Talking about ligatures can anyone tell me why some are put on with the screws toward they player and some are turned backward away from the player. I have seen this on youtube. When I learned to play in high school we always had the screws toward the player. What does turning it backwards accomplish?
Thanks hope everyone is having a good Monday morning
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-12-10 19:28
Well there is also the idea that screws placed away from the player then only apply downward pressure on the reed rather then a pinching sort of tork as well. I would point to the Vandoren Optima as an example of why it is not about getting the screw away from the chin......all the time.
................Paul Aviles.
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Author: marcia
Date: 2018-12-10 19:53
"Would it spoil some vast eternal plan.........?" (With respect to Sheldon Harnick) if clarinet mouthpieces did not have sloping sides? It would solve the ligature slippage issue. Would it have an adverse affect on the acoustics?
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