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Vandoren Masters

Ed

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
I've been annoyed at my Bonade ligature for the last couple of months and while I prefer a Selmer Paris lig and cap I don't have an extra one around at the moment so I slapped on one of the Vandoren Master ligs I have on hand for tonights practice session. I forgot how good these ligatures are at letting the reed vibrate. Easy to adjust as well. My only complaint is that I find that they won't last a lifetime like a good Selmer Paris ligature as the Vandoren Master ligature tends to stretch a bit over time.
 
The Optimums can leave an indentation in the reed if cranked down too hard. That's one of the reasons I moved back to plain Selmer metal ligatures.
 
Ed Svoboda said:
The Optimums can leave an indentation in the reed if cranked down too hard.
Can and does leave an indentation. But I've not noticed any difference in the reeds playability that couldn't be fixed by loosening the knob. But then maybe I don't tend to crank the reed down that hard.
 
Gandalfe said:
Vandoren Optimums are my favs and so far, in the last five years, I haven't had to throw any away. Luv the one knurled knob adjustment and they look way cool. Downside? They are prohibitively expensive.

The man who owns an Eppelsheim bass finds an Optimum lig prohibitively expensive? :emoji_smile:
 
Merlin said:
Gandalfe said:
Vandoren Optimums are my favs and so far, in the last five years, I haven't had to throw any away. Luv the one knurled knob adjustment and they look way cool. Downside? They are prohibitively expensive.

The man who owns an Eppelsheim bass finds an Optimum lig prohibitively expensive? :emoji_smile:
Fair enough, but I'm really referring to show stoppers for most of my friends. All of my reed instruments have them already. :cool:
 
I have a Vandoren Optimum for HR soprano and I DO like the ease of applying it to the reed/mouthpiece. But when all is said and done, I always return to the old metal Selmer-Paris ligs on all my horns. The two-screw/two-band Selmers work better for me than any other ligature - and the tone and resonance is superior to all others, too. Of course, this is talking small degrees of difference, but that's how I hear them. DAVE
 
Dave, do you find that for the most part, that you set and forget the reed once you get started. When I started using these ligs I used them to adjust, especially as I was learning to play the clarinet. But now, once the reeds on, it's pretty much a done thang for me. So the ease in adjustment with the Optimum really don't come into play anymore.

Still, there is the cool factor. :D
 
The masters i've found to have thin bands, and thus you could stretch them. The Optimum, which has a plate the same as the Masters doesn't really stretch - or it's not noticeable.

I do not tighten the snot out of the ligs to cause any issues. If you think about it, how much pressure does vandoren recommend for their optimum ligs. basically I look at it like this, if you use the one with the 4 points, and if you tighten it enough to have the 4 points dig into the reed in which case it's essentially a flat plate, then you are above the recommended tighteness. You should be able to adjust it so the 4 points are not digging into the reed, and use the same tightness for the other plates.

i've found the old Selmers add a degree of edginess to my tone and I usually opt for the Vandoren optimum with the masters type plate. But it all depends. the Selmers tend to squeeze the reed from the sides alot, where as the Vandy pushes from the top of the reed towards the mpc and puts no pressure on the sides. Some of hte later selmers though have more of an indentation for the reed where as my old ones just are simple round ligs with no indentation for the reed.
 
Sometimes I will make small adjustments after playing for a while. The reason would be that when I put the mouthpiece and reed together, the light wasn't as good as at the actual place where I'm situated in the band and I'll see that the reed needs to be moved a bit, etc., etc. I'm a fiddler anyway, so in that regard, the Optimum makes it easier to fuss with it all.

I've never paid much attention to ligature tension. I've tried it loose and I've tried it tight and I've tried it moderate, and frankly, just like those dumb Optimum plates or the Rovner EDII plate-thickness or the location of the Winslow studs, it makes little difference to me. The actually reed quality seems more important than any plate, stud or ligature-tightness.

In my experience, when the reed is a good one, if the ligature marks up the butt-end, it doesn't matter. So, I usually tighten the lig as tight as I can get it and play. That way if I have to make tuning adjustments, the lig doesn't slip and move the reed when I move the mouthpiece. DAVE
 
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