Its ridiculous. If your going to sell a miracle cure at exhoborent prices then it better work. I wouldnt even think that R & D could account for the prices on these ligatures.
Soprano Ligature Bench Tests
Marketing Ligatures . . . .
I spent the weekend in Melbourne seeing my family, and taking the opportunity to visit Melbourne Brass and Woodwind in Ormond. I spent almost 2 and half hours there trying several different soprano pieces (by choice) and several ligatures (by suggestion).
The ligatures I tried were a BG L51 Tradition Soprano Sax Ligature ($160.00), H-Ligature ($55.00) Vandoren Optimum Ligature ($139.00). My control was a standard Yamaha 2 screw ligature ($20.00) on a Yamaha 7C Soprano Mouthpiece with a Rico Jazz Select 3S reed.
I will say that each ligature changed the sound in a different way. Each bought out different qualities in the sound. None of these qualities made the sound better. Therefore none of these ligatures made the sound better. Every time I went back to my control, the sound was better than with any of the above ligatures.
What surprised me the most was the cost of the BGL51 given the material taken to manufacture it and the net result on the sound which proved negligible at best. The Vandoren Optimum and H-Ligaure seemed to be of better structure and quality, but again both of them had a negligible impact on the sound.
My conclusion is therefore that the Yamaha 2 Screw Ligature not only provided for a better sound but it did so at a fraction of the cost.
I spent the weekend in Melbourne seeing my family, and taking the opportunity to visit Melbourne Brass and Woodwind in Ormond. I spent almost 2 and half hours there trying several different soprano pieces (by choice) and several ligatures (by suggestion).
The ligatures I tried were a BG L51 Tradition Soprano Sax Ligature ($160.00), H-Ligature ($55.00) Vandoren Optimum Ligature ($139.00). My control was a standard Yamaha 2 screw ligature ($20.00) on a Yamaha 7C Soprano Mouthpiece with a Rico Jazz Select 3S reed.
I will say that each ligature changed the sound in a different way. Each bought out different qualities in the sound. None of these qualities made the sound better. Therefore none of these ligatures made the sound better. Every time I went back to my control, the sound was better than with any of the above ligatures.
What surprised me the most was the cost of the BGL51 given the material taken to manufacture it and the net result on the sound which proved negligible at best. The Vandoren Optimum and H-Ligaure seemed to be of better structure and quality, but again both of them had a negligible impact on the sound.
My conclusion is therefore that the Yamaha 2 Screw Ligature not only provided for a better sound but it did so at a fraction of the cost.
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Dave thats so true; Its tantamount to reinventing the wheel when it already works eprfectly. Then you factor in the RIDICULOUS and OUTRAGEOUS cost ??? I bet the R & D budget is close to zero for most of these ligatures.Another nail in marketing's coffin. While I agree that ligatures can make a difference, the cost of these new contraptions is outrageous. DAVE
The price is indeed outrageous especially when you consider the materials involved. i couldnt imagine a HUGE R & D budget for these types of things, therefore marketing maybe a major factor to the inflated prices. Also the prices themselves, may in fact be the marketing or pricing startegy. The more you pay, the better the product must be, which is true in some cases.Whatever their merits, I agree that the price for new "high-tech" ligatures is outrageous. I bought a Francois-Louis many years ago when they came out, I think for about $75-and that's as much as I'd ever pay for a ligature.
1 - 4 of 6 Posts
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