[sugaki]

I'm a cheapskate when it comes to ligatures. I do think ligs make a diff with response and playability, but that compared to other factors (embouchure, mpc, etc) it's more minor. Tonal differences seem even more subtle. Now I don't mean to turn this into "do ligs make a diff thread?" (for the love of all that's good PLEASE take that elsewhere), but bottom line, I don't want to spend lots of $$$ on a lig.

Having recently bought an Otto Link STM, I'm seeing how terrible the lig is. Not tonal qualities or whatever, but it's just a royal pain to get the stupid thing to seat on the reed properly. This got me thinking--why not fab some railing to make it sit better? Seeing the Marc Jean ligature, I also wondered how wooden rails would impact the sound.

But my STM's off to Matt Voss for refacing, so I've decided to tinker with an old conventional LeBlanc two-screw as a test bed. I made the railing out of bamboo, shaved it down to half, and plan on sticking it on the opposite end.

Here's a pic of my handywork so far--what do you guys think? Has anyone ever tried something like this? Have no idea how it'll turn out, wondering if there has been others who tried this before attaching the railing on.

 

[Thomas]

Let's hope it works better than the MJ lig....it was a waste of $$ and time on my Jazzmasters. Re the STM lig. The way to make them work is to file the nubs off the corners of the plate. Then it'll work just fine and "sound/respond" just as the older models do.

 

[Enviroguy]

Try the Bonade invert lig. It already looks like the one you made but with metal rails. And the screws are on the right side. If you watch eBay, you can usually pick one up for around $20 USD. But for an STM, the Selmer Jazz lig works pretty well. The old original Florida STM ligs work great to. But the moderns ones need a little filing.

 

[sugaki]

Let's hope it works better than the MJ lig....it was a waste of $$ and time on my Jazzmasters. Re the STM lig. The way to make them work is to file the nubs off the corners of the plate. Then it'll work just fine and "sound/respond" just as the older models do.

Why did you have a negative experience with the MJ lig?

Well this bonade-style lig is just a test, I'm using a BG tradition that I like for my HR Meyer piece. Realizing that clearance becomes an issue when adding railing. Florida STM ligs are pricey--and on the fence about Selmer 404s since it seems like a fix for the reg STM lig shouldn't be that labor intensive?

 

[clarnut]

I played the Marc Jean for a time and thought it was a great ligature. It had a great blowing feel and nice response and resonance.

A friend made a lig of that type using pieces aof old reed and loves it

 

[Nefertiti]

I love the MJ ligs. I find that they brighten and liven the tone up a bit. What are you using for the rails? Looks like pieces of reed or something. The wood bars in the MJ are pretty darn hard. I was afraid the wood would crush but they are as hard as nails.

 

[Tom Walsh]

i don't mean to go off topic but i was gonna look into a MJ ligature and therefore i find your comment a little off putting. can you elaborate somewhat?

 

[sugaki]

I'm using bamboo, which is similar to reeds (arundo or something?)--picked it cus' it's durable and hard. Took a bamboo skewer, chopped it and filed it down =P Going to coat the surface of the railing with a protective finish. Doesn't seem to have compressed--if it did it's not noticeable.

So put my bonade-wannabe with the rails on my Meyer, and wow. Didn't expect it to improve how the sax played. I knew it was a stuffy lig comparing it to others--it didn't seat reeds well (probably cus it got bent out of shape a bunch of times and my rebending it back), and now it's as responsive as my gold-plated BG tradition lig. Sounds the same too, and keeps the reeds secured a lot better. In light of this, planning on filing down those four points on the STM lig, then putting rails in.

 

[toughtenor]

nice work. BTW as Thomas already mentioned there are several ways to get the STM lig to work, filing of the nobs in the corner like he did or? and taking a pair of plyers and bend the corners up a bit.

 

[sugaki]

Dunno if it's the case with other STM ligs, but the plate seems to easily turn as you turn tighten the knob to seat the reed. I'll try filing down the knobs, using pliers sounds kind of scary though--I can undo the railings, but a bent plate would be hard to fix if I screw it up. Thanks for the advice!

 

[silverselmer]

Looks cool. I had borrowed a friend's MJ ligature for my bari and loved it but the one that MJ sent to me didn't fit properly (wasn't built straight) and so I haven't been able to use it. The language barrier hassle was enough to keep me from sending it back to get it adjusted...not worth the time and $$. Been using a BG inverted lig since then and it is almost as good. So if you get a MJ that is great it will be REALLY great but when they don't fit it just isn't the same...

 

[bariandyf]

Hi
I made the following mod to a standard Link STM lig, also being aware that the newer ones with the pips don't hold the reed secure as you tighten the knob, and that when they are filed off, the rivet then presses into the bark of the reed.
Basically I took a new Link lig, held it in a vice lengthways, cut through the riveted part of the knob/screw so the plate came off, then removed the knob, filed the end flat, drilled and tapped into it an M3 hole (I think it was M3), and then fitted the plate and screw from an FL lig for HR tenor mouthpieces that I wasn't using.
The result is pretty good. The reed is more held much more securely, tone opened up, I think it works pretty well. Is there are difference between this (which is a fair bit of work) and the Selmer 404 lig I also use, yes, some, not a lot, but there is a difference.
Hope this is of interest.

 

[Thomas]

Hi
I made the following mod to a standard Link STM lig, also being aware that the newer ones with the pips don't hold the reed secure as you tighten the knob, and that when they are filed off, the rivet then presses into the bark of the reed.
Basically I took a new Link lig, held it in a vice lengthways, cut through the riveted part of the knob/screw so the plate came off, then removed the knob, filed the end flate, drilled and tapped into it an M3 hole (I think it was M3), and fitted the plate and screw from an FL lig for HR tenor mouthpieces that I wasn't using.
The result is pretty good. The reed is more held much more securely, tone opened up, I think it works pretty well. Is there are difference between this (which is a fair bit of work) and the Selmer 404 lig I also use, yes, some, not a lot, but there is a difference.

This is a fine fix for the Link lig but I'm sure many don't have the tools or skills to make such a modification. Some folks use a punch to seize the rivet to stop the plate from twisting. If the rivet is pressing into the reed you might be tightening the lig a lot more than necessary to hold the reed.

 

[sugaki]

This is a fine fix for the Link lig but I'm sure many don't have the tools or skills to make such a modification. Some folks use a punch to seize the rivet to stop the plate from twisting. If the rivet is pressing into the reed you might be tightening the lig a lot more than necessary to hold the reed.

Ooh, gotta try hole-punching the rivet.

 

[Mike Cesati]

I love the MJ ligs. I find that they brighten and liven the tone up a bit. What are you using for the rails? Looks like pieces of reed or something. The wood bars in the MJ are pretty darn hard. I was afraid the wood would crush but they are as hard as nails.

Yes I just got a MJ today and it 's great. I agree totally. I noticed a difference from the first note.

To the original OP , nice job on the lig. How is it working for you?

 

[Sebastian]

I don't think it's as straightforward to make your own version of this lig. First of all, you have to have the right gauge of brass, then the right size and weight of screws, the same type of wood he uses to make these and of course the same angle that the wooden rails are set at. Honestly, they're not all that expensive when compared to a FL Pure Brass etc. I think this one is worth it to buy outright.

 

[JackLi]

I don't think it's as straightforward to make your own version of this lig. First of all, you have to have the right gauge of brass, then the right size and weight of screws, the same type of wood he uses to make these and of course the same angle that the wooden rails are set at. Honestly, they're not all that expensive when compared to a FL Pure Brass etc. I think this one is worth it to buy outright.

Yup, not to mention if you have a mouthpiece that's sized a little smaller/bigger than your typical piece Marc can custom size one for your mouthpiece.

 

[Oric Muso]

My Link lig works fine. Sometimes they need a bit of 'bedding in', but they work as well as anything.

 

[daigle65]

Yup, not to mention if you have a mouthpiece that's sized a little smaller/bigger than your typical piece Marc can custom size one for your mouthpiece.

That's right, Marc made me a custom ligature for my alto clarinet mouthpiece. It fits perfectly.

 

[sugaki]

I don't think it's as straightforward to make your own version of this lig. First of all, you have to have the right gauge of brass, then the right size and weight of screws, the same type of wood he uses to make these and of course the same angle that the wooden rails are set at.

Well I have no MJ lig for reference, and because of that I'm not going to say it sounds/performs the same as one. But my philosophy is that ligatures do little for changing the tone. For me it's more about the seating, the response and feel of playing. And even if they can change tone, I prefer if the lig is tone neutral. At this point any deficiencies with playing would be with myself and not my lig.

As for gauge of brass, weight of screws, for STM ligs Marc Jean actually reuses the STM lig and modifies it, so it's not an all-new lig. Since he talks about symbiotic vibration with the wooden sticks, my guess is the stick material's similar to arundo or bamboo. Of course I don't know, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. My bamboo seems to be doing the job fine =)

To the original OP , nice job on the lig. How is it working for you?

I love my cheapo-DIY MJ--it transformed my cruddy Leblanc lig into a competent lig. I've gone back and forth trying to hear/feel any difference with my fancier $80 lig, and there's none. If anything the DIY lig's a bit better. I notice it stays a lot more secure when moving the mouthpiece for tuning. I only use the BG lig cus' it's a lot prettier, lol.