Why Ligatures Matter? It’s NOT How You Think…

Today, I want to talk about saxophone ligatures. You know the little device that holds your reed onto the mouthpiece. 

There are so many different ones to choose from, and apart from the basic cheapo two screw model, each one claims to improve your sound in a whole range of ways…

In this article, I want to show you what’s important for me in a ligature, and why they matter, but not in the ways you may think…

I’ll also tell you about the ligature I’m currently using and why.

Watch the video version of this post below.

Why So Many Ligatures?

So, I’ve got quite a few ligatures that I’ve collected over the years. 

Most of them last a lifetime so they just sort of accumulate over time.

The diameter and shape of different mouthpieces varies so sometimes you need to get special sizes to fit. For example, a ligature for a metal tenor sax mouthpiece won’t fit on a hard rubber tenor mouthpiece.

And some mouthpieces just have an odd shape, like the metal Otto Links that have a ridge on top.

Sometimes you may even need to get a ligature for another instrument to fit your mouthpiece. For example, I use a clarinet ligature on a particularly small alto sax mouthpiece, and a tenor ligature on one of my baritone sax mouthpieces.

Should I Get a Fancy Ligature?

If you have been playing saxophone for any length of time, you have probably heard, from someone that you should get a nice ligature to improve your sound, or response, or intonation, or whatever.

Maybe you read this on the internet somewhere, or heard it from a teacher. Perhaps you heard it from a salesperson in a music store, or maybe just from a fellow sax player.

Let’s have a look at just some of the amazing things ligatures can do for your sound according to the companies who make them…

Actual Sales Copy from Leading Brands of Ligatures

• Perfectly centered sound
• A rich, colorful sonority which produces great resonance. Pressure along the fiber of the reed facilitates an unbelievable blowing ease. Incredible ease of articulation
• fuller and rounder sound
• strong projection
• precise sound control
• more defined harmonic partials
• fine tuning sound color
• this ligature generates a range of sympathetic vibrations that enrich the player’s sound
• will be perfect for those who don’t want to work too hard to produce a free and deep sound
• Focused tone, softer, deeper and flexible sound, homogeneous in all registers
• sound waves travel much faster and without loss through the more homogenized metal alloy, resulting in a richer, more natural sound with improved resonance
• Excellent intonation, response, projection and articulation
• Adjustable tone…freedom from the paradigm of dark or bright
• Durably constructed of highly-tempered, impeccably-polished, space-age metal alloy, the Platinum is as beautiful as a piece of fine jewelry

I don’t even know what a lot of that is supposed to mean and let’s be honest that’s pretty much all a bunch of bullshit…

Nobody really believes all of that stuff anyway though right? And they have to write something on the box…

What About Gold vs Silver Plating?

I really have to draw the line when it comes to the different platings…

One ligature company claims that the silver plate makes a brighter tone, while the next company says the gold plated version gives the brighter tone and a third company says something else totally different.

That’s like saying the color of your car is going to make it drive faster.

Can we all just agree please that the color and finish of a ligature has absolutely no impact on your sound whatsoever.

So as long as we are being real….

What difference does a ligature make, and how should I choose one?

Here’s my list of criteria…

• For me, an ideal ligature is well made, and will last a lifetime. 

• It will fit on a range of mouthpieces, so I don’t have to buy another one just because the circumference of my new mouthpiece is slightly different, 

• It will be easy and fast to get on and off, It won’t budge when I put my mouthpiece on or take it off the neck. Even with a tighter fitting neck cork.

• it has a cap that is easy to get on in the dark without damaging the reed

• It should tighten with 1 screw.

• If it comes in different finishes to complement the look of my instrument then that’s a nice bonus too.

Most importantly though, it should hold the reed onto my mouthpiece really well.

There are some very popular ligatures out there that have some glaring faults that I’d like to point out here as examples of what I don’t like in a ligature.

Check out the Silverstein Works Cryo 4 ligature. It costs between $280 and $330 depending on the options you choose. 

At that price it should be really good at holding my reed on the saxophone right?

Well after using it for about a year, it’s stretched out so much that it no longer holds my reed onto the mouthpiece at all. It never did a very good job from the beginning as I had to constantly tighten it. And if I were to take my mouthpiece off the neck, it would slip out of place every time.

Below is the Francois Louis Ultimate ligature. It’s cool, but the thing that really bothers me with this is the plate which holds the reed is a jagged piece of metal, that if it comes into contact with the table of my mouthpiece will leave a nice scratch. This is something that will happen constantly unless you are extremely careful. 

My Favorite Ligature

Recently I started using this Duo Ligature by BG They just sent it to me to try.

Now I didn’t notice a difference in my sound of course, but I did notice a very welcome stability with how it holds my reed onto the mouthpiece.

I do a lot of testing of saxophones, mouthpieces and reeds, so I’m constantly putting the mouthpiece on the neck and taking it off. 

This ligature provides an excellent grip with very little tightening required. You can tighten this screw with just a very small amount of pressure and it still holds the reed on there well without ever slipping.

It also fits a much wider range of mouthpieces. The alto version also works on clarinet. It also fits that smaller alto mouthpiece I showed you earlier that I previously had to use a clarinet ligature on.

Plus, it also fits my more narrow tenor mouthpieces like this Berg Larsen.

There are 4 different finishes too, the one I have is the Rose gold, which I think looks great.

It is built really well as are all the products from BG and comes with a nice cap that I can slip on and off while on a dark stage without worrying about damaging my reed.

My one complaint is having the website printed on the side of the mouthpiece cap. It’s a little tacky. 

Now it’s definitely on the expensive side, but as i expect it to last a lifetime and since it fits a range of mouthpiece sizes for me it’s worth it.

Why Do You Have All the Expensive Stuff Then?

you may be saying to yourself: This guy is always telling me that expensive gear won’t make me a better sax player, yet, he has all the most expensive stuff. Why is that?

I’ve been building my collection of sax gear for decades and I have all the fancy stuff because in addition to being my profession, playing saxophone is my hobby, and it’s fun to play around with all this stuff.

So If you don’t want to spend upwards of $100 on a ligature which let’s face it, is a kind of unreasonable amount of money to spend on something so basic, I recommend you get a Rovner for about $20. 

It also does a great job of holding a reed on the mouthpiece as well as all of my other criteria.

Another option that I like and have used for many years is this M|O ligature by Vandoren for about $40.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below…

Interested in more about mouthpieces? Check out “Play Testing 6 Metal Tenor Mouthpieces.”

Also be sure to follow BetterSax on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to stay up to date with us for news, giveaways, and other saxophone tips and tricks.