Vandoren LC51BP Clarinet Ligature

The Vandoren ligature fits well on the clarinet mouthpiece, and the tightening screw is easy to grip. However, that alone is not enough for it to function properly. The area where it contacts the reed is designed with two longitudinal indentations in the metal, which are intended to act on the reed and press it down. It is not true that the ligature touches the reed at only two points, because it also touches the side of the reed. Since a significant drawback is that the ligature has a stamped, angular space defined by the width of the reed (matching the reed’s width and approximately its height—and this is a weak point), this isn’t an ideal solution, because tightening the ligature doesn’t effectively press the reed against the mouthpiece plate via the two small molded recesses; instead, the metal strip of the ligature is primarily stressed to “straighten” this curved molded section into a flat line. This works only for reeds with a higher heel, such as Vandoren Rue Lepic. Conversely, with Légere reeds, which have a low heel, the ligature does not hold the reed firmly enough to prevent air from escaping from under and around the reed. Even when the screw is tightened to the maximum, the reed does not seal against the plate; and moreover, when tightened with such force, the ligature naturally deforms around its circumference. An earlier model of this ligature with two screws had only those two longitudinal molded ridges acting on the reed’s heel; these actually touched the reed at two points, and otherwise the ligature had a regular oval shape. This previous ligature was also usable on an alto saxophone mouthpiece, which is not possible with the ligature under review due to the predetermined reed width, according to which the ligature is curved. This means the user would have to buy a second ligature for the alto saxophone (equipped with an equally nonsensical square fold for the reed). I’ll return this ligature after the first use. It’s well-crafted, but it doesn’t always fulfill its intended purpose 100%.