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Re: Clamp that sucker down!

Author: maxopf
Date: 2015-03-02 10:09
Attachment: Loose.png (75k)
Attachment: Medium.png (75k)
Attachment: Tight.png (75k)

You may have seen a somewhat recent post of mine where I measured the effects of different ligatures on upper harmonics using the Tonal Energy app on my phone. For those who didn't see it, Tonal Energy is an iPhone chromatic tuner app, but it also has a sound analysis that function that, among other things, allows you to judge the loudness (in dB) of your sound's upper harmonics.
After reading a recent thread entitled "Clamp that sucker down!," I decided to do another similar test, this time to judge the effect of the ligature's tightness on the reed's sound.

Process: I positioned the reed on the mouthpiece, placed the first ligature (a VD Optimum w/ vertical rails plate) over the reed, and tightened it just enough that it barely held the reed on. I then played a C below the staff at forte, "paused" the analysis, and took a screenshot. I then repeated this process with the ligature tightened to a moderate tightness and to a greater-than-average tightness, checking the analysis each time to make sure I was playing the fundamental C at the same volume. I repeated the experiment with a Rovner Versa X (metal exposed), a Rovner Dark, and a string ligature, to see if the effects were different for non-metal or semi-metal ligatures.
The mouthpiece used for this was a Clark Fobes CWF, which has a very slightly concave table; I would not be surprised if a mouthpiece with a flat table behaved differently, but I don't have one available to try. Reed used was a Peter Leuthner French Cut Professional #4.

Conclusion: Occasionally a harmonic or two would louden slightly upon tightening the ligature, but the net effect was that tightening the ligature actually damped the majority of the upper harmonics. I have attached images of the diagrams for the Rovner Dark ligature, as they most clearly demonstrated the damping trend. My only background in physics is the high school physics class I'm currently taking, so I can't provide a definitive explanation for why the harmonics are damped upon tightening the ligature. Clearly, though, the bark end of the reed plays some role in the reed's ability to vibrate.

Note: This does not mean you should leave your ligature really loose or really tight; leaving it loose could cause the reed to shift, and leaving it tight could damage the reed or ligature.

Post Edited (2015-03-02 10:17)

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