Reed slips off mouthpiece

[wgilbertpt]

So I decided to learn the sax at age 36(I would practice a little in middle school on my brothers sax and enjoyed it). I bought a use Bundy II that came with case, mouthpiece etc. The mouthpiece is a Yamaha that was new in box. The reed retainer? was from a pile of them the seller had in a drawer. He gave me the wrong one first and it wouldn't clamp. I returned that one and was given one that said "alto sax". Problem is it wont stay on the mouthpiece. Just trying to tighten it down causes it to start sliding off the end even with trying to apply even pressure from each screw. Reed too wet? Doing something stupid?

[singlereed]

Its called a ligature and maybe it is too big and won't secure the reed? Maybe put something on the mouthpiece to bulk it out (e.g. sticky tape).

The best idea is to get a Rovner ligature, they are fool-proof, very reliable and perform better than most cheap nasty ligatures. They cost about $25. Other than that, go back to the seller and ask for one that fits or drop by any sax dealer.

[colibri]

Make sure you are using alto sax reeds.

[Beowulfmk]

Even my olegature holds reed well..Your ligature is probably too big.

[bruce bailey]

If the mouthpiece is plastic and not rubber, even if the ligature fits OK, it can slide around due to the smoothness of the plastic. You can glue a thin layer of cork or rubber or even paper to the inside of the lig top and it will help keep it tight.

[Sigmund451]

I second the Rovner recomendation. Online at woodwind and brasswind you can get them cheaper. Also Ebay usually has them for the standard size HR mpc.