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Marc jean Lig

9K views 31 replies 21 participants last post by  Allen Ponton 
#1 ·
Man the Marc Jean is an amazing lig. I got with my teacher( great player) last night who uses an Acoustimer , I'm on a Reso. He has the FL lig so I tell him to try the Marc Jean. He flipped . I noticed an immediate difference. He did too.

SO... I try the FL , muffled compared to the Marc Jean , he had me play for him and he played for me. Absolutely improves sound, resonance . He's ordering one . It's just no comparison.
I never messed much with ligs and always had a 2 screw style standard. I'm a believer and so is he. I know there are big opinions all over here on this but I experienced it first hand . Marc Jean lig on an acoustimer style Klum mp is Fantastic!!! That much I'll testify to.


I know there are lots of experts here who say ligs do not matter and only the player notices a difference blah, blah , yada yada . BUT This get together proved how much difference a lig can make . The look on my teachers face when he switched from the FL lig to the Marc Jean was priceless. When I put on the FL it was like the reed died , he was listening to me and he said WOW , I say I know it .... what a change. So for all the skeptics we were not drinking we weren't high, we didn't drink any Kool aid , we simply did a side by side test and the Marc Jean is a terrifc ligature and absolutely improves resonance , volume.

Flame on know it alls
 
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#4 ·
I agree. I did a review of a mouthpiece a few months ago. When I first got the mouthpiece it was amazing. Big, huge sound. I went to do the recording for the review and could not get a good sound out of it. I almost gave up but then I remembered that the first day I was using the Marc Jean lig on it. I put it on and sure enough the mouthpiece came to life and played great again.


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#6 ·
The Marc Jean ligs sure opened up the sound on my Lamberson, and they are individually and beautifully made by a great craftsman . They don't move, like FL's, when you "tune " either !

My teacher also tried one, and said the same

"If the cap fits ........................................."

Blowhard2
 
#7 ·
The Marc Jean ligs sure opened up the sound on my Lamberson, and they are individually and beautifully made by a great craftsman . They don't move, like FL's, when you "tune " either !

My teacher also tried one, and said the same

"If the cap fits ........................................."

Blowhard2
They also don't scratch and leave marks on the mouthpiece.
 
#8 ·
Oh man, now I'm really curious. I was one of those who tried a lot of ligs and finally settled back on a standard 2-screw lig with the observation that the only important thing about a lig is that it fit properly. But I still have an open mind (or maybe I'm just a sucker for any potential improvement in my set-up, lol). But I'm tending to believe you guys, at least to the point I now want one of these things.

One question, does anyone in the States carry them or do you just order direct?
 
#9 ·
Oh man, now I'm really curious.
But I still have an open mind (or maybe I'm just a sucker for any potential improvement in my set-up, lol). But I'm tending to believe you guys, at least to the point I now want one of these things.

Yes, this is the SOTW effect taking hold:mrgreen:

I e-mailed him directly, told him what piece I wanted it for, was quoted a price, paid via paypal & had it within a week. That was a year or so ago, don't know if its different now.
 
#15 ·
I e-mailed him directly, told him what piece I wanted it for, was quoted a price, paid via paypal & had it within a week. That was a year or so ago, don't know if its different now.
Similar to my experience - Marc was not familair with the dimensions of a small bodied, Tenor M series Lamberson piece I bought , so I measured the taper diameters and distances with a digital vernier, sent them to him, with a sketch, by E mail, and he made a special which was dispatched to UK in a reasoablke time ( the plating took a while, I believe ) .

Great service from a great craftsman, who makes a great product, and, as others have remarked , the ligs are esthetically pleasing too!

Blowhatrd2
 
#10 ·
I had the same experience when I recently tried these ligs with Ted Klum's mouthpiece at the Montreal Sax Expo. These ligatures really make a difference! They really let you get the full potential of the reed and mouthpiece. Plus Marc has really put a lot of thought into the design - there are strips of cork that grip the top of the mouthpiece without scratching, which is such a simple solution to a common problem but one I'd never seen before. Plus, they are aesthetically very pretty - not weird or flashy looking like some ligs, but simple and elegant.

I'm buying one for my alto for sure.
 
#16 ·
Marc is very proud of his ligature, it's his baby. He even made the soldering tool himself out of a door hinge.
He's very conscientious about his work and always looking to improve. Last time I was at his shop, he was working on a new one screw soprano model.
 
#17 ·
I agree 100% with Mike. I bought a FL Ultimate about 5 years ago when they were being hyped up on this very forum, and was happy with the response it gave me. The Marc Jean I just got to pair with my Acoustimax achieved that ... times a billion. Granted I've never played another top tighening lig with some form of lower pressure plate, but the difference I noticed on my trusty old Meyer G was night and day. I am of the school that feels a lig does not directly change your sound, but this MJ lig seats the reed perfectly on the mpc, and the wood rods that hold the reed open the response significantly. It's like the mpc I've come to know and love got an instant tune up. I'm kinda glad I ordered the Acoustimax before I tried this lig... it might've made me shed on the Meyer another month or two before taking the plunge! Glad I didn't lol I love this acoustimax and it's potential.

The two wooden rods ARE NOT parallel on the MJ lig and it bothers the hell out of me... until I start playing :D
 
#18 ·
Ok, I received the MJ lig in the mail today. Very fast service, since I ordered it just a week ago. As I said in my earlier post, I've been using a standard 2-screw lig which fits my mpc very well and I've been happy with it. I've also played several fancy ligs including a FL, Optimum, various rovners, etc. I've never noticed any significant differences, except the 2-screw fit best and maybe gave a slightly better response.

Now, I have to say after just the first trial today on my 3 different RPC mpcs and the Tenney Jazzmaster, this MJ lig is noticeably better than any of the others. Not a HUGE difference, but a bit better response and a more resonant feel (which is actually a big thing to me, even if it's subtle). I went back and forth between the standard 2-screw (my previous favorite lig) and the MJ, using the same reed, and on all 4 of those mpcs I noticed the same subtle improvement in response. I really have no idea if the sound or tone would seem different to someone listening, but the feel alone is enough to convince me this is a superior lig. I do detect a slightly more 'open' or resonant sound that may or may not be in my head. Not brighter, but a bit bigger maybe. And once I got it seated in and adjusted I really liked how it fit and how nice and snug it holds the reed. It's also well-made, looks nice, and I appreciate the simplicity of the design, especially since it works.

I'll need a few more days (and I have 3 gigs this weekend to really test it out) to be sure, but my first impression is very positive. I can honestly say this is the first time I've noticed a real difference in new lig. Yes, it's subtle, but it's there for sure.
 
#21 ·
Now, I have to say after just the first trial today on my 3 different RPC mpcs and the Tenney Jazzmaster,

I bought and tried the MJ lig. I used it for 3 days on my Jazzmasters and learned to despise it. Sucked all the life out of what I like the Jazzmaster for. Right back to the old Selmer 2 screw and all is well.
 
#19 ·
these are great ligs but I ordered one for my berg larsen bari that not only was too small, but also isn't soldered together completely straight and really doesn't work at all...so the lesson learned is make sure marc jean understands exactly what mouthpiece you have or it'll cost you $80. the language barrier makes ordering very difficult. would be nice if he made a bunch and had a US distributor.
 
#24 ·
Well I was excited to see George Garzone and Arnie Krakowsky using these . 2 top tenormen up here in Boston. You may have heard of them.....
George commented that his reeds even seemed to last longer and I actually concur. But what do I know .
Lance Bryant ( another great player) and myself ( noboby special) use the Marc Jean lig on TK Acoustimers and we were knocked out.
 
#27 ·
I use the Marc Jean on my TM Early Babbitt Otto Link tenor mouthpiece. I have been really impressed with the amount of control I feel I get with it. I just play on LaVoz Med - Med Hard reeds, but I feel like the lower end of my horn is more easily sustainable at softer volume levels with the Marc Jean than with my FL Ultimate. I like the FL, but the Marc Jean has become my main ligature. Before I got the lig from Marc I was on the fence as to whether or not I really believed that it could change much - but it's been one less thing I have to think about or be concerned with. I'm planning to get one for alto too. I first heard about them on Steve Neff's website. I would highly recommend them to anyone who is really concerned with sound and ease of play.
 
#28 ·
Well, I bought one for a tenor hr mpc., Jan. 29/12, impressed by the raving reviews on here.

Marc said it would ship in two days.
I got it 2 1/2 weeks later, shipping between us takes four days.
I live approx 300 mi. away, and in the same country.

It was waaaay too small, couldn't even take the screws. Sent it back. He received it in four days.
He said he would send a few to try, and I could send back those that I did not want.

Well, here it is Mar16/12, still no ligs. More excuses. A good month and 1/2 since payment.

Be prepared for a huge possible cluster ****.
He raised his prices, is slow to respond to emails, and obviously needs help doing the one man operation.
 
#29 ·
I have a new model I just got from Marc. It's for a metal link. He sent me one a few years ago but I wasn't too crazy about it because it tightened from the top with a know like a link ligature. The problem was that there was no give or take. You just tightened it and then it would stop and you couldn't turn the knob anymore. His new metal link ligature is shaped like a link and has two screws on top that tighten like his hard rubber version. I have to play it some more but so far I really like the response of it.
 
#31 ·
Great, no problem at all. I was worried when I got it that there might be some compression to the wood but they look great. I think it's been a couple years now maybe?

I think Marc said that he gets the wood from the rails from an ancient Inca temple that he found while exploring in South America. Scientists believe that the wood might have been given to the Inca's by visitors from another planet. It is impervious to fire and can withstand any amount of pressure put on it. It's resonant properties are beyond compare.
 
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