 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Meg
Date: 2000-11-07 00:06
Does anyone have any advice on ligatures? I am currently playing a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece with Vandoren V12 reeds in strength 3. I have a buffet R13 clarinet and the ligature is the last step as you might say. I don't even know what my ligature is right now. It's the one that came with the first clarinet I ever bought. It's metal. My teacher has recommended Luyben (is that the spelling?) I am planning on ordering a couple of different ones from the Brasswinds and Woodwinds catalog and trying them out before deciding.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-11-07 00:24
I am partial to the Spriggs floating rail. My son uses the Pyne woven sometimes.
Both Peter Spriggs & Pyne/Clarion are sponsors. I haven't tried the Freedom Ligature yet - they also are sponsors. It'd be nice if you tried out some of the Sponsor's products. Perhaps they won't work for you - but perhaps they're the best things since sliced bread!
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-11-07 00:42
Meg, at the very least, make sure to try the Luyben and Rovner ligs. The ligatures mentioned above are good also. My personal favorite ligature is old German method of string. It isn't the most convenient method out there, but the sound and response are far better. -- Nate Zeien
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Author: Lindsay
Date: 2000-11-07 02:25
Well, Meg, I must say that I'm partial to the "new" generation of ligatures....the ones that have metal inserts, specifically interchangable metal plates and such. I am finding (I just got my new Rovner Eddie Daniels II this past week) that the flexibility of this ligature lets me customize the ligature to each reed. It's really cool. I've also used the BG Super Revalation, and the Original Rovner Dark, and the Eddie Daniels (the old model).
Hope that helps!
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Author: Gavin
Date: 2000-11-07 06:29
Meg, I have a B45 mouthpiece, but play on mitchel lurie 5 1/2. Ligatures do make a difference. I've played on a BG ligature for almost 10 years, although the first one I got became "threaded". IMHO, it is a vast improvement on the metal things that come with new clarinets.
Recently at a pit production, the trombonist was horsing around and hid my ligature. No problem, I just took of one of my shoelaces and tied it around the mouthpiece and played with it for the second Act, much to the amazement of the trombonist (who couldn't play at all without his slide...).
Doc Marten shoe laces I found are actually very well suited to being ligatures. They even come in a variety of bright colours which I proceeded to use on subsequent nights of the production. The sound produced is different. A matter of personal choice, and perhaps a matter of choosing the ligature for the type of music you are playing. There is a book by David Pino in which "string ligatures" are explained. I read this many years ago and decided to keep it in mind in case anything happened to my ligature.
The downside is that it takes longer to slap on a reed and you have to be very careful when changing instruments (ie from A to Bb and vice versa). The Doc Marten shoe laces in the bright colours cost me all of $3.00 Australian. That's US$1.50. Cheaper than reeds! Well worth a go, as the ligatures mentioned above are probably quite expensive, although I will probably try them out some time.
Have fun experimenting!
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Author: Pam
Date: 2000-11-07 11:52
I am currently using the Rovner lig. My teacher uses the one in the WW and BW catalog that comes with all the buttons you can move around and really likes that one. I may get one of those myself.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-11-07 12:16
I also used the old no-name, 2-screw ligatures for years. After hearing Jim Lande play splendidly on a shoelace ligature, I tried that and found that it did improve my tone. The shoelace has a great advantage for people who play vintage instruments, because it gives complete flexibility of matching up various reeds and mouthpeices. I don't have the patience to adjust the darned thing for everyday practice, but the shoelace did convince me that the old 2-screw cheapies had to go -- especially since most of mine were battered and probably putting uneven pressure on the reed.
I use two Bonades now, the standard type and also the inverted. IMHO they're both excellent ligatures, depending on the mpc. (I 've been playing mostly on an old hard rubber no-name, a hard rubber Sumner Accousticut and a Hite Premier.) One caveat with the Bonade inverted is that it will scratch the back of the mpc. When I bought it, I ran my finger over the insides of the plates on about half a dozen of them in the store and chose the smoothest. Some of them had terrible little razor edges. (Why aren't they *all* smooth? It wouldn't be the biggest engineering feat in the world to clean up the edges, on a ligature that retails for $20-25!) I followed a tip David Niethamer left on the klarinet e-list and put ordinary clear package tape on the backs of my mouthpieces as protection. The clear tape lets the logo (if any) show through so I know which mpc I'm using. Some people use a bite patch the same way, or coat the inside of the ligature with various things.
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Author: BAC
Date: 2000-11-07 16:57
I now use the Vandoren Optimum ligature. This is a very nice ligature in that it has one screw with a double track mechanism. There are three interchangeable pressure plates so you can customize for each playing situation/reed type or sound option.
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-11-07 17:36
I have tried many ligatures, and in my opinion none is remotely as good as the Spriggs Floating Rail.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-11-07 17:47
Meg - You sure are getting o lot of good advice from our collective experience, most of us have tried out a number [but short of the great wealth] of ligs available, most of reasonable cost. I prefer [like Lelia] the older Bonades, the Luybens, the Gigliottis [all inverses] to the Rovner and copies. The best local cl'ists seem to like the Spriggs, just havent tried it. For my bass, I have a M Lurie which is great! Try all you can get your hands on, I'm sure most are excellent, even if psychology is the deciding factor. Don
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Author: William
Date: 2000-11-07 18:05
I use Winslow ligs, but they are expensive and hard to find. (John Winslow lives in my home town) If i didn't use his ligs, I would dfinately go back to my old M. Laurie or inverse (screw on top) Bonade. IMHP, the newer, more expensive ligs don't get much better than those.
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Author: lee
Date: 2000-11-07 20:14
I have also tried many ligatures and i have had most success with the BG Super Revelation ligature. I was inspired to try it when I went to a Metropolitan Opera concert here in New York and I heard Ricardo Morales using one so I figured I should try one and I always rave about it. But also I have had success with an old Banade Lig,and a Pyne/Clarion string woven lig.
All of these ligs are great so go out and try as many as possible,and dont worry you will find one and you to will be hooked to a lig. that you could give advice about
like this.
GOOD LUCK!!
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Author: Evan
Date: 2000-11-07 21:51
I have tried almost all of the ligatures that people swear by out their, rovner, luyben, spriggs, bg, lurie, vandoren optimum, bonade. Hands down the most responsive, best ligiture I have ever played on is the one that comes with new leblanc clarinets, you do't see them too often at music stores ( the kind with an L on them). It can be ordered from leblanc and, my god is it wortth any price or inconvenience. I own two and they both are amazing.
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Author: Meg
Date: 2000-11-07 22:21
thanks everyone for your responses! I'll let you know how it turns out
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-12-16 18:00
i am dying to get my hands on the original eddie daniels rovner. i tried one when they first came out but was poor then and couldnt afford it. they were like a bonade-rovner and gigliotti all rolled into one.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-12-16 19:54
The Versa should spec out the same. Barring that, you might be able to pick up an original off EBay.
……………..Paul Aviles
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Author: Paul Globus
Date: 2021-12-16 20:01
I learned how to tie a string (shoelace) ligature many, many years ago when I was playing for a summer in Austria. I can still do it and get the reed in place almost as fast as I can with a modern metal, leather or plastic ligature. But the "Klassik" string ligature from Vandoren -- not often talked about or promoted that much, as far as I can tell -- is also an excellent option and I now us it almost all the time. You should try it:
https://vandoren.fr/en/clarinet-ligatures/
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2021-12-16 21:33
I have to laugh.
"Meg," the OP, may be old enough by now that her child finds fit to ask her question.
And yet despite the passage of time, my answer would likely be the same, which is that while I am a bit concerned over her use of such an open mouthpiece (B45), that this is her best ligature:
https://store.weinermusic.com/collections/2731-bb-clarinet-caps-ligatures/products/standard-bb-clarinet-ligature
and these her best ligature perfectors:
https://store.weinermusic.com/collections/3694-bba-clarinet
I say this, tongue in cheek, because I like how the clarinet resonates best over "the money that remains in the bank" for more important things, like etude books.
Look, at the high end of play, ligatures do add value. Still more, for all my talk, I play a Vandoren M/O...but not because of how it plays, but rather its double threaded ease of quickly getting reeds on an off with less spins of the tightening/loosening mechanism.
Ten years from now, I'd guess, my answer will still be the same.
People, clearly a ligature that reliably holds a reed is key. Clearly there are crap ligatures. But what do I know that Drucker didn't, playing the stock ligature that came with his clarinet?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-12-16 22:17
I believe Drucker used a Bonade. However there ARE response and tonal characteristics (variations of what overtones are emphasized or suppressed) that can be brought out with one ligature over another. Today we have numerous fine players using Legere plastic reeds and there are clearly better ligatures for those (plastic or various printable resins). Do not discount the value of experimenting with ligatures out of hand. But yes, if you are a sloppy, undisciplined player, a new ligature is not going to help.
………….Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2021-12-16 23:56
I've been using a standard Bonade ligature for decades with my Vandoren 5RV mouthpiece. Perhaps I'm just not as fussy as I was in younger years. In college and after I tried many ligatures, even the Benny Goodman one with the big bolt. Backward bolt plastics, even waxed string that Russianoff had me into. IMHO, there is not enough difference in any of them to be of concern. No doubt many will disagree.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-12-17 03:41
paul-the current versa dosnt have the ribs that isolate the body of the lig from the mpc like the gigliotti has. the orig ed lig had these ribs also. i search ebay often for one. no luck so far.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-12-17 06:57
Hmmmm.............
Not sure I understand the "rib" thing. I have a bunch of Gigliottis (good match for Legere) and the "ribs" of the Gigliotti run vertically (ten close raised rails internal to the ligature to raise the cinching of the ligature from the mouthpiece and provide a Bonade like contact with the reed). The Eddie Daniels is a faux leather pouch that binds across the entire mouthpiece. There is a metal plate that has horizontal grooves but basically its shape holds the reed at the left and right edges. Perhaps the Versa does not have the grooves but that would not functionally change how it secures the reed.
One other thing that I should emphasize in these ligature discussions is that you can effectively take the ligature differences almost entirely out of the equation by leaving it really really loose. By that I mean that if you tap on the side of the reed it will rotate dramatically out of place. This allows a LOT more resonance from the reed at the cost of NOT securing the reed in such a way that you can remove the mouthpiece handily to swab out the horn. You'd have to do that at the barrel.
Trade offs
........................Paul Aviles
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-12-17 18:18
you have to see the original ed lig to understand i guess. they are quite rare now it seems . the ribs held the lig away from the body of the mpc just like a gigilotti does. only the orig ed version has these .
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-12-17 19:31
Sorry, ok, got it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuRmAtgHtF0
Can't say that I ever knew this existed. But it really doesn't look like it would be much different from a very good metal ligature or Silverstein (probably the most metal sounding ligature of all).
Of course it would be interesting to hear how it sounds with cane.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chetclar
Date: 2021-12-17 19:43
I have played Harrison, Kaspar or Bonade ligatures for the past 50 years. The original Harrison ligatures, either gold or silver are great, but unfortunately the metal is too thin in spots and they tend to break easily. The modern Bonade ligatures tend to slip and are not as well made as the vintage ones and the original German silver Kaspar ligatures are “Superb” and are my all time favorites. The original ones are the best, and hard to find. However Theodore Johnson, through Central Music Company of Ohio still has some copies that look exactly like the Kaspar ligatures, but with thinner metal. These are very excellent also and relatively inexpensive.
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Author: r small
Date: 2021-12-17 21:11
I like Selmer ligs. Metal. Two screws underneath. As it should be.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-12-18 02:05
yes paul glad you saw that. dale is THE ligature guru. i got to play one of those orig ed ligs when first came out and was blown away. should bought it tho i couldnt afford it really at the time. it was like 80$ then when a standard rovner was under 20$
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Author: Hugues Fardao
Date: 2021-12-18 12:18
I'm on a Vandoren M/O since years, I love it : quick to set up, lightweight, all I need from a ligature.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2021-12-18 15:33
I used a Rovner Dark for three years and now use string. It is special clarinet ligature string, but still just a piece of string. I find I can cross the break legato much much better with it.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-12-24 05:36
i discovered that the hite ligature works well on bass clarinet. it has improved my articulation in the extreme low range . i had a ligature show down using the same reed and my best mpc {bay} ligs were bonade reg, inverted- rovner mk3, rovner dark, bg tradition and the hite. the hite gave me crisper attacks on the low notes.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-12-25 02:25
Minor differences. They can add up though. But as I stated above, leaving a ligature really really loose (a slight touch to one side will allow the reed to rotate 30 degrees off axis) gives you close to maximum vibration of the reed and gives you the most vibrant sound for that reed and mouthpiece. If you prefer to tighten down quite a bit, different ligature designs are better and worse with regard to how well they allow the entire reed to vibrate.
………….Paul Aviles
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2021-12-25 03:00
yes leaving the lig loose gives better vibration fro the reed but there is the chance the reed can move during a preformance
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Author: marcia
Date: 2021-12-27 21:38
>yes leaving the lig loose gives better vibration from the reed but there is the >chance the reed can move during a performance
And the certainty that the ligature and reed will come off when removing the mouthpiece to change instruments, if that should be required.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-05-09 06:11
recently scored a nos harrison silver plated bass clarinet lig. i was excited as i loved my harrison on clarinet and soprano sax. well i am very dissapointed in the bass harrisons preformance. it actually dulls the tone making my tone darker. not what i want from a ligature and not expected from the harrison desighn. killer looks tho. i am having great sucess still using the hite lig for bass clarinet. lively feel- crisp attacks and improved tone in the low register . the hite is understated in appearance but there is technology at work here-just hard to notice. slight ridges around the lig isolate the lig from the body of the mpc and under the screws there are slight bumps that serve as 4 contact points for the reed. its subtile tech but seems to work .
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