Adjustable String Ligature for Saxophone and Clarinet by nocluewhatimdoingple

Last crawled date: 2 years, 11 months ago

For the longest time I wanted to try a Silverstein Works ligature, but the prohibitively expensive price kept me away. This ligature, while not a direct clone of the Silverstein design, incorporates the main aspect that I think makes them interesting - the string. It's a single continuous piece of string that loops through the ligature. The design allows the string to evenly apply a consistent clamping force to the reed unlike other ligatures that might apply force unevenly and allow slight leaks.
This ligature works exceptionally well and has replaced my Rovners. I have also found my Rovner mouthpiece caps just barely fit over this ligature which is a nice little bonus.
To make this ligature you will need at a minimum:
M3x30 screw
M3 wingnut/thumb nut
String
A note about the long screw
Be very careful with the threads on the screw - the M30x30mm screw I used is fully threaded. I wasn't very careful and ended up scratching my mouthpiece with the threads on the screw. Most M30x30mm screws you buy will be partially threaded and those shouldn't be an issue, but if you use a fully threaded screw like I did, be extra careful putting on and taking off your ligature or you might scratch your mouthpiece.
String
My first prototypes of this ligature were made using twine as the string and I simply double knotted the ends of the string to keep it in place. The twine worked just as well as the black kevlar string I use now.
The holes on the end of the ligature can be used to lock the string in place using M3 screws. However, standard screws like the ones I have shown in my pictures will cut into the strings. A non-marring set screw should be used if you don't want to damage/cut your string. Again, these don't have to be used - just putting a knot in the ends of the string works good enough to keep the string in place. The main advantage of the screws is they make it much easier to fine tune the length of the string to fit your mouthpiece.
The string channels in the ligature are 3.1mm in size. I am using a 2.1mm thick black Kevlar string, but any string in the ~2ishmm size range should work reasonably well. Other alternatives to consider would be paracord and Spectra/Dyneema/UHMWPE strings. As mentioned, you don't even need to buy these fancy strings. If you've got some twine in your house that will do the trick. It won't look as nice and might not last as long, but it will let you try this ligature out to see if you want to spend a few more bucks on a nicer string.
Stringing up the ligature
Pulling the string through the holes in the ligature can be a bit of a pain. To make this job much less painful I recommend preparing the end of your string so it does not fray. I have found both super glue and Elmer's glue do a great job.
Sizing the string to your mouthpiece
The method I have settled on for getting the string length correctly matched to my mouthpiece is tightening the thumbscrew until the two string holders are touching. Then I pull the string tight to the mouthpiece WITHOUT a reed. This gives me enough string that when I loosen the ligature I can easily get the reed on the mouthpiece, and when I tighten the mouthpiece I get as much tension as I could possibly want.