 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ALLAN
Date: 2001-12-13 19:56
I have been playing clarinet for two years and wonder which type of ligature I could buy to help improve my playing.
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Author: RonD
Date: 2001-12-13 20:18
practice may improve your playing and a different ligature may improve your tone.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-12-13 20:44
A different ligature will only change the response and overtones of the reed.
Practice is the only thing that will ultimately improve your playing.
If you ask 10 clarinetists to recommend ligatures, you'll get 20 different answers. There is no absolute "right" ligature. On this board, we have discussed everything from Bonade to Rovner to BG to shoelaces to rubber bands and everything else in between. You will find die heart devotees on all sides.
Try a few different options. Don't play ligature roulette game. Settle on one. Spend the time saved on practice...GBK
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Author: Benny
Date: 2001-12-13 23:01
My personal preference is the Bonade. I have a Rovner but I don't really like it because it isn't responsive enough. Try lots of ligatures and see which one you like the best.
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Author: Gene Wie
Date: 2001-12-14 00:44
I'd have to second the vote for the Bonade. It works well, is relatively inexpensive compared to the fancy doodads from BG and Rovner, and actually fits in most cases with a cap on it. =)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-12-14 04:13
My very favorite lig is the Peter Spriggs floating rail, which works like a Bonade that's always in alignment, even on unevenly cut reeds.
Peter <b>is</b> a sponsor, but I'd like it anyway ;^)
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2001-12-14 09:08
Are there different types of Bonades? I have one with the screws "on top" (is that what you call inverted?), are there any "normal" Bonades?
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2001-12-14 11:50
"screws on top" == "inverted"
Both versions should give equivalent results.
Like mouthpieces or toothbrushes, selecting a ligature is a personal decision. My feeling is that the most secure reed-to-mouthpiece attachment without damaging either will give the best results. I have a cigar box full of ligatures, and the Bonades seem to stay out of the box most.
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Author: William
Date: 2001-12-14 15:32
I used the Michelle Laurie "Magic Window" ligiture for years because it worked well on my Bay mpc with its concave table. Now that I am using my old Kaspar, which has a flat table, I am using a new VanDoren Optimum with its parallel rails insert. That set up works the same as the Bonade "Inverted" but without the eternal hassel of readusting the bands so that they do not come in contact with the edge of the reed. This re-adjustment ritual has always been a problem with the Bonade ligs, but in spite of it, they are perhaps the most used ligitures among top pros currently playing. I just like the way that the VD Opt. plays like a Bonade and maintains the correct profile without constant adjustment via needle nose pliers every time you use it. Note, if I could not afford the VD lig--pricey at about $65.00--I would definately be using the original Bonade inverted, or my old "Magic Window." Also note that this applies only to my clarineting--I still have a set of Winslow custom ligs (made for me by John)--one for each of my mpc set-ups--that I use exclusively on all of my saxophones. Have fun with your lig search and Good Clarineting!!!!!
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Author: RonD
Date: 2001-12-14 17:27
I started with the Bonade inverted version but it scratched the heck out of my MP. if they could make a inverted lig that would not damage my MP I would still be useing it. I went out and bought a Vandoren Optimum and it holds the reed properly and does not require constant adjustments to keep it from damaging the MP Plus it goes on if a flash and secures the reed without constant fideling around.
I would use a string if it could go on faster.
Bottom line , Its just not that important unless you are a concert musician and I can now spend more time practicing insteading of looking for the latest gadget to improve my playing ability.
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Author: RonD
Date: 2001-12-14 18:21
Sorry, I just have to slow down when typing.
* in a flash, not if a flash
* Instead, not insteading
One more comment, only a few of the posters on this board can really tell the difference between Ligs, I am not one of those select few yet. If we as a group were that talented at least the majority would agree on the best Lig to use. It seems to me that the selection of the " best ligature" is just a mental exercise that we use to bolster our own self image. Better to spend more time in serious practice than to keep looking for better equipment.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2001-12-14 21:50
I use the Vandoren Optimum with the crinkly plate (I think it’s the floating rail one? It’s referred to as #1 out of the three). I didn't pay $65 for it, though- I got it in Montreal a few years ago for a little under $40 courtesy of a good exchange rate.
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Author: sarah
Date: 2001-12-14 21:56
I am by no means, in anyway a professional. I am just a college student, but I can tell differences in ligatures. The one I use now is rather bright. In a lesson I tried another one and it was a bit rounder. A ligature does make a difference, but wont make you play better, it will change the sound slightly though. (IMO)
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Author: Ginny
Date: 2001-12-15 00:26
I was happy, as was my son, when we got our Vandoren optimums. Instantly better tone, a marked improvement, without any practice was so ever. I liked the Rovners, but for reasons beyond me, my son's clarinet played out of tune with it and the particular mouthpiece he was using.
I sure would pay $20-60 for an improvment that might take me 20 hours to achieve!
I suggest you go to a shop, with a tuner and a friend and try a bunch of ligs out. We have had several very nice expeditions to try out equipment. Vandoren optimums, Bonade, and Rovner come up a lot.
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Author: Gene Wie
Date: 2001-12-15 10:19
RonD brought this up: every single inverted Bonade I've ever owned has carved a nice straight groove on the logo area of the mouthpiece (on the opposite side of the face). Anyone have any fixes for it besides slapping a plastic sheet over the mpc? It's tough trying out new ones with my Bonade since I can't risk scratching them (or I'll never get to return them in the required "like new" condition).
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Author: Jim S.
Date: 2001-12-15 14:25
Several Years ago (15 or so) someone was suggesting, in addition to filing through and removing the center of the Bonade reed pressure band, sticking strips of leather on the pressure points and on the opposite side of the ligature. This should protect the mpc from scratches. I found the abandoned ligature in the bottom of my tool box. I decided at some point to return to my Buffet ligatures, maybe because I was still finding scratches. I can't remember. However, I still use small pieces of cork (actually synthetic wine cork) to cushion the reed at four pressure points so the ligature doesn't hit the reed at the edges. At some point in my past ligature frenzy I apparently felt this was a better solution.
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Author: Andy
Date: 2001-12-16 11:35
How about a simple Vandoren black thing. The one where the screws are on the opposite side to the reed. Simple and seems to work fine for me.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-12-17 01:39
My impressions( all ligature I have and tested for long time):
1)Bonade non-inverted, gold plated: Bought 25 years ago. Sounded good.
2)Bonade inverted, nickel plated: Bought about 5 years ago. It is deformed.
Needed some pench work. Did they change manufacturing places?
Difference of un-inverted and inverted Bonades is that inverted one makes reed
keep to vibrate longer.
3)Rovener, dark and light: I hated both. They seem to get rid of some partial tones.
The timber of tones became monotonous.
4)Luyben plastic: Cheap and my tone became cheap(er?) too.
5)Charles Bay: good. They are made of very thin and precise plates. You can easily know those are made by those people who know what they are doing.They offer three sizes. Two plating, gold and rodium. two types: one is with two strips of small diameter rubber rings to make softer tone.
6)Harrison: Matched very much with my Kasper. (I lost it with my RC.)
Now Harrison stopped its manufacturing business.
7)Vandoren optimum:Strangely, I felt the same thing with Rovener. Three plates come with it. I did not like any of them.
9)B&G France: Revelation. Unlike Rovenar, it has a small gold plated plate to touch the reed. Sounds become brighter. Maybe good for such music as Rossini.
10)Ishimori hand made cupper: I now use this. Can get very crispy and deep tones. Only available in Japan.
My suggestions:
1)stay away from present Bonade if you do not like pench work and unless you know what shape it should have in relation with mouthpiece and reed.
2)seek a Harrison if stores near you have their inventories.
3)Bay or B&G Revelation will be next choice. Bay is expensive but deserves its price.
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