Vandoren Optimum Series Saxophone Ligatures Alto W/ Plastic Cap

I have been playing for 5 years, and have previously used a leather ligature, but found this did not always hold the reed in place. This ligature includes 3 plates, and they all hold the reed securely. The plates are not easy to change, as they need a bit of careful brute force to remove them, but they are worth it to alter the ease of playing, and tone.

This made a distict difference to my performance, particularly when I managed to change the base place for number 2 rather than the number 1 that was prefitted. The first plate does reduce any squeaks but it is a bit limiting on the sound. Plate number 2 allows the reed to move more freely. A few squeeks may occur initially but, toning up the ambrasure will deal with that. I have not tried plate 3 yet and that is my first quibble, the plates are a real b*g**r to fit. Perhaps an additional gripe, it was a tad tarnished. Must have been in the shop a while. Wiped clean with a suitable silver cloth, and yes, although this is often described as metal, it is in fact silver plate. My final gripe, the plastic vandoran cap supplied with it is a real piece of rubbish. Fortunately my existing cap still fits.

This is a popular ligature and for good reason. It does the job it's meant to - it holds the reed to the mouthpiece securely and as long as your mouthpiece table is flat, it creates the perfect seal. I'm a fan of one screw ligatures for the simplicity. Some people like the precision you can get with varying the tightness of two screws, but I like to just get playing! The plates are a nice idea but I don't hear any major tonal differences. The Optimum with any of the plates will naturally feel different to a fabric or leather ligature. Articulation feels cleaner and I find notes in the extreme registers to speak more freely. I've got one for tenor and alto and they fit a wide range of mouthpieces. Yes, some people may not like the bold 'V' cut out and want something boutique and unbranded, but if you don't care about looks and want to get playing, you need this in your musical arsenal!

This is a great product and made even better by its adaptability.

Having used the original ligatures on both my Symphony 1010s for many years, I thought I would try a change. I chose this one as it appeared to have maximum flexibility. I found the sound quality noticeably improved with a good reed compared to the originals, and markedly better response speed. Higher notes were more reliable. The ligature seems sturdy but it is quite new. Changing the contact plates was fiddly, but did vary the sound produced. The position of the ligature on the mouthpiece was more sensitive than with my original ones: two millimetres lower than the ideal position and it was a quite unstable response. Correctly positioned it was a worthwhile upgrade.

This works so well with the TL5 mouthpiece and I like the variety of tone shading that comes with the different plates.

Brilliant piece of engineering this is awesome I love it it really did change my tone for the better glad I bought this to accompany my B45 vandoren mouthpiece

My sound improved dramatically with the use of this ligature. I am using it with a Vandoren M30 mouthpiece and Vandoren 3 reed. The mechanism for changing the plates is really easy to sue. I expected it to be much more fiddly. It certainly is well worth the money

Diese Blattschraube bringt es wirklich! Die drei Plättchen für das Blatt erzeugen unterschiedliche Möglichkeiten des Spielens. Aber in jedem Falle spricht meine Chalumeau, wofür ich die Blattscharube verwende, jetzt deutlich leichter an. Ich habe zuvor mit anderen Mundstücken als dem beigefügten Rico 5B experimentiert, aber weder das Vandoren 13Lyra, noch das Yamaha 4C haben eine Verbesserung der Ansprache gebracht, im Gegenteil! Das Vandoren Optimum hingegen bringt eine klare Verbesserung der Ansprache. Abgesehen von dem Komfort, nur mit einer Schraube das Blättchen festziehen zu können! Fazit: Sehr zu empfehlen.

Legatura (LC07P) per sax alto, fatta molto bene; molto funzionale, si inserisce e si stringe in un attimo restando bella ferma anche dopo aver suonato per qualche ora. Nell'annuncio non è specificato (almeno al momento), ma sono presenti a corredo tre diverse placchette intercambiabili a secondo del suono che si cerca. Prodotto caldamente consigliato.

Perfect for v16 tenor sax small chamber mouth piece. Great quality.

I use optimum ligatures on all of my clarinet and sax mouthpieces. I really enjoy the resonance they allow and 'customizations' with the three different plates they come with. Definitely recommend you try them if you're looking for a new ligature combo.

It took me half an hour to remove the initial plate. I didn't have time to return this order.