[segaleon]

I've got a wonderful Drake mouthpiece for my soprano, and just got the Drake ring ligature that goes with it. I've never tried one of these, and have to say it seems like a strange way to hold the reed to the piece.

1. When I pull the ring down to tighten it, unless I hold the reed very well, it moves it down from where I originally wanted the reed to be aligned.

2. Once the ring is in place, I can see that the ring is holding it by the outer edges, not as a regular pressure plate would (e.g., FL or Vandoren ligature).

Overall, seems like not the best solution to holding a reed firmly in place.

What experience do you have with this type of ligature, and am I missing something?

 

[RandyJ]

"1. When I pull the ring down to tighten it, unless I hold the reed very well, it moves it down from where I originally wanted the reed to be aligned."

Yea, that makes sense.

"2. Once the ring is in place, I can see that the ring is holding it by the outer edges, not as a regular pressure plate would (e.g., FL or Vandoren ligature)."

There are all kinds of ligs out there.

"Overall, seems like not the best solution to holding a reed firmly in place."

Your concerns would be how does it sound and do you like it. If you find it bothersome just use another ligature.

 

[Nefertiti]

I haven't been a fan of the ring ligatures just because I adjust the ligature to help the reed respond differently. Reeds are so varied and different. Sometimes I need to put the ligature high on the mouthpiece and sometimes low to get the best out of the reed. You can't do that with a ring ligature.

 

[Pete Thomas]

What experience do you have with this type of ligature, and am I missing something?

I tried a few of these and really liked them.

 

[Jazz Is All]

I haven't been a fan of the ring ligatures just because I adjust the ligature to help the reed respond differently. Reeds are so varied and different. Sometimes I need to put the ligature high on the mouthpiece and sometimes low to get the best out of the reed. You can't do that with a ring ligature.

same here

 

[zorrosg]

I haven't been a fan of the ring ligatures just because I adjust the ligature to help the reed respond differently. Reeds are so varied and different. Sometimes I need to put the ligature high on the mouthpiece and sometimes low to get the best out of the reed. You can't do that with a ring ligature.

My last ligature purchase was a Bois ring ligature for tenor. I quite liked it at first, thought it sounded 'promising' so bought another for my soprano. Then soon after I stopped using it.

I think the reason Steve Neff cites above may be the reason why I lost my taste for it. Depending on the mouthpiece in use, the ring lig would sometimes sit hit and sometimes sit low, there's not much you can do there in terms of adjusting the position. But mainly, one cannot the tension the reed tight enough, so putting on the mouthpiece to the saxophone invariably shifted the reed position, and then the reed and lig would have be repositioned again. I'm more used to adjusting the reed position on the mouthpiece before it goes on the sax, not after.

But I may return to it one day - one never knows about these things.