 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2011-06-25 22:09
Well... it is the third time this has happened to my Vandoren optimum.
https://photos-1.dropbox.com/i/xl/PyXVkmXfY3crvL7LaTQVINAjAua40GK2BYTAWRyEHo0/8237625/1309129200/ede7c75
I've always loved my optimum but this is the last straw. In addition to this break reoccurring, I also have had 2 of them split on me down the side.
What would you recommend for a new ligature? I'm planning a trip to WWBW in Indiana so I can try a handfuls, but direction would be appreciated.
Post Edited (2011-06-25 22:09)
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2011-06-25 22:10
Unrelated note: Why doesn't Hyperlinking work via <a href="">TEXT</a> ????
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2011-06-25 22:50
Try this one then: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/270828_10150224741236958_500121957_7625922_3013176_n.jpg
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2011-06-26 00:28
I has failed on 2 other plates though. I think the combo of Zinner blanks and vandoren reeds makes it an awkward size and gives a tension that causes it to break. Then again... hasn't happened to others in my studio.
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Author: Buster
Date: 2011-06-26 00:38
Any decent repairman can silver-solder that quite easily. (I've repaired broken ligatures this way myself.) Silver-solder is expensive in bulk, but due to the small amount used + the cost of time it would take them, I still think you'd end up with more money in your pocket instead of buying a new lig. Just an option. (You could even solder it yourself with 50/50 or 95/5, but it wouldn't be as strong. JB-Weld is another viable option- cheap and quite strong.)
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Author: cjshaitan
Date: 2011-06-26 10:50
wow this has never happened to me in 14yrs of playing with the opimum
sort of makes you wonder what else ur r doing with urs
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2011-06-26 18:26
Verrrrrry Interesting.
On mine, the shoulders of the ligature (under the round threaded pieces which are drawn together by the oppositely threaded screw adjuster) apply force against the top of the removable plate (1 of 3), leaving the plate perpendicular member (which broke off for you) free-floating without any force applied (using Rico GC, Reserve, VD V12 and 56, Gonzalez reeds). However if I really tighten the adjusting screw, the round threaded pieces (and the ligature which surrounds them) comes in contact with the perpendicular member and probably exert a force on the perpendicular member to stress the solder joint.
If I am right, perhaps try the following:
1. do not tighten so much to contact the perpendicular member on either side;
2. if you really need to tighten that much, place a shim (e.g. thin piece of metal or plastic) between the ligature shoulders and the top of the plate
-so that in either case you do not draw the round threaded pieces in contact the perpendicular member.
Good luck
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Author: Buster
Date: 2011-06-26 21:28
TJTG,
One question to follow up on a point BflatNH made.
Do the plates break when you're making (fast?) clarinet changes? If the ligature is over-tightened in the manner BflatNH suggested, you may be applying a tangential force (sorry) to the plate. If done with enough force, or gradually weakened over time, the solder joint could snap.
Remember, the joint between the where the plate and perpendicular bar meet is only soldered at the sides of the joint, not underneath. Too much force can snap it off.
If you want, I may have that plate laying around somewhere. I don't need it so I could send it to you (no charge of course, just helping out a fellow clarinet-er.) Contact me off-line if you want.
-JH
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2011-06-26 22:53
Well then, regarding tension. How tight is too tight? I try to tighten it enough to not loosen during quick Bb to A changes. Could I possibly just solve it via some tape on the mouthpiece to artificially bulk it up?
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2011-06-27 02:20
Assuming you don't want to slide the ligature down a bit, or try the shim mentioned above, or getting thicker reeds, then bulking may be all that you can do. (Maybe your mouthpiece is unusual in that it has less circumference - in that case maybe contact VD for advice or different ligature.)
But the purists may argue that interposing tape (or something else) with characteristics significantly different than the metal of the ligature or the composition of the mpc may change the playing characteristics of the ligature/reed/mpc combination. Be prepared to experiment with this. You may even make it play better.
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Author: DougR
Date: 2011-06-28 21:31
Slightly off topic, perhaps: after playing on an Optimum for maybe five years, I instantly improved my sound by a) removing the mouthpiece patch and b) switching the optimum for my old high school ligature (a no-name non-fancy pot-metal job) and there's a lot more resonance and live-ness in my sound all of a sudden. I think Optimums may work for some people, but on my m'piece it was muffling, rather than "darkening", my sound. (Of course my embouchure and air production have changed a lot in the last 5 years, so maybe there's something in that as well.)
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