Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2022-06-15 17:53
Attachment: Eddie Daniels.jpg (427k)
Attachment: Carbonissimo.jpg (11k)
Attachment: Vandoren Carbon.jpg (32k)
Attachment: Avis.png (325k)
First the required disclaimer:
[Equipment will not imbue one with better sound or technique if one does not already have a good sound. In fact, to hear critical differences amongst clarinets, mouthpieces and ligatures one needs to have a good basic sound. If that remains elusive, you can start with this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYBzMOm7EJQ]
It is also important to note that I have tested these ligatures only on Legere Euro Cut and Signature Soprano Sax reeds. Cane is no longer a material that I use for reeds.
Two and half months ago I received my first carbon fiber ligature which is the Eddie Daniels by Jewel. This is a more a "plate" within a faux leather ligature much like many Rovner or BG. I assumed that any special effect would be muted at best. I was wrong. In the first moments it was dramatically clear that the sound was much more resonant. It was not just an enhancement of the upper partials which is the typical effect one gets with better ligatures (helpful as that is) but it was an enhancement of the all frequencies, particularly the fundamental of the note (ALL the notes). This was mostly noticeable down in the lower chalumeau where the low "E" and low "F" became really rich (notes that are traditionally slightly muted with Legere). It also became obvious that dynamics widened with louder louds and softer softs. Even the crispness of articulation became much clearer.
Rather than rush out with this news for Legere users, I decided to settle in over time as well as experiment with another mouthpiece. Using a similar lay but entirely different mouthpiece design, I got the same results (to include the fact that the ligature seemed to want to be set a little lower than any of my others paired with Legere. Rather than sounding best right at the line of ligature (on either mouthpiece, ruling out a specific table issue) the carbon fiber ligature preferred to be a little lower. I believe that the greater resonance begs for more of the reed to vibrate freely. Here I must throw out that as with any ligature really, the carbon fiber ligature responded best left as loose as practical.
Then (of course) I had to compare this result with any other carbon fiber ligature I could get my hands on: Carbonissimo, Vandoren CARBON and the Avis Carbon Fiber (very hard to get a hold of these days for geo-political reasons). These other ligatures are of a much thinner material and have different architectures mainly in that they are completely carbon fiber material. I hasten to add that they ALL have the same character though these thinner ligatures have less of the "fundamental" of the note. This is actually the center of the marketing for Avis ligature seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNttOc46sI
So it seems to me that the thicker the carbon fiber material (the progressively higher numbers for the Avis are progressively thicker material) the more the fundamental of the note is emphasized. I therefore disagree with their premise of the "softer/harder" reeds. Though the effect is something like what they say, it is more that the "fundamental" requires more energy to suss it out and therefore may seem as though the reed is made stiffer.
That said I only have the Avis #2 that I acquired off of Etsy. If ANY OF YOU have the Avis numbers #3, #4 or #5 and are willing to part with them I will buy from you stat! I still want to confirm through those ligatures what I see comparing the majority to the Eddie Daniels.
Bottom line is that the Carbon Fiber material used as the point of contact for Legere reeds allows the user to achieve the desired resultant sound with much less effort. The various architectural differences from ligature to ligature make tiny differences (mainly in practicality of use) but it is the material that is key. Perhaps the best approach for some manufacturers would be to create carbon fiber plates. This should work well for the Zac Ligature, the Vandoren Leather (or Optimum?) and BG.....to name a few.
...................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2022-06-15 17:58)
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