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I Hate Rovner Ligs. There I Said It!!!

9K views 71 replies 39 participants last post by  J.Max 
#1 ·
Why? Because you never know when they are tight enough as the cloth, fabric or whatever that material is gives when you turn the screw. You can crank the damn thing down til your fingers fall off and even then the reed can sometimes move. Ain't nobody got time for that!!! This is impossible with a standard 2 screw lig, which are tight when they are tight. The reed is not going to move. That's why I like them best.

Two screws = a totally clamped-down reed and a air-tight seal so while I'm at it why don't I also say that I think one-screw ligs suck big time as do any of the push on napkin ring type things, including those vintage Selmer metal deals that scratch your mpc and cut your fingers when you try to adjust them. Tried one of those one time and said Thanks, but no thanks. And napkin rings are for formal dinners, which is where they should remain.

Totally my opinion. You are free to disagree but it makes no difference to me cause I been there and dealt with all that and ain't got time to waste on dumb designs.
 
#2 ·
Amen!

I would also take a metal two-screw lig over any of the other ligatures you mentioned. Personally, my ligature woes have been cured with Ishimori ligatures. They are solid, do what they're supposed to do, and most importantly they come in many sizes so you can get a perfect fit for any mouthpiece out there.

I hate the way my reeds respond with a Rovner, and I find subtoning and altissimo almost totally impossible with them.
 
#3 ·
Love my Versa big time! Just when you think it couldn't get any tighter you get that very satisfying quarter turn more.

Two-screw ligs? Jeez, who's got the time for that nonsense?
As my dear ol' Grammy used to say: "Life is too short for two screws".
 
#8 ·
To each his own. I find them more difficult to use and less able to get a pop test on any reed that my have slight warpage due to long-term playing. And the reed can't possibly shift out of position as it can with a FL type lig or a Rovner when you grap the mpc to adjust it's position on the neck.
 
#9 ·
I like metal ligs as well and prefer standard two screw ones if I can get them to fit my mouthpieces. I know that reeds swell while I'm playing and I don't feel that the fabric ligs keep the reed from pulling away from the table as well as a metal lig does. As a result for me, the resistance seems to always increase about 15-20 minutes into playing as the reed swells.
 
#68 ·
Me.
It's killing.

I like best the Versa-X over the standard Versa.

I have had three "standard" Versa (different sizes... for different mouthpiece) and I've always had that feeling like I can't understand what happens on the mouthpiece: hard to describe but I've never been comfortable.

I have one Versa-X size for metal piece (X-3ML, which fits STM, and many more metal pieces) and it's killing: fast, great feedback... nice freeblowing feeling.
 
#13 ·
Why? Because you never know when they are tight enough as the cloth, fabric or whatever that material is gives when you turn the screw. You can crank the damn thing down til your fingers fall off and even then the reed can sometimes move.
Note that some Rovners are metal, you can't generalise.

Re: the fabric ones, the reason you state I find is commonly the one given by people don't like them, but as soon as they discover that you need to make sure the mechanism is working, i.e. not binding, properly oiled, then there is no issue at all. They tighten up nicely and stay tight. The fact that fabric forms better to the mouthpiece taper is definite plus. For me it is great design but does need to be used as advised.

Still anyone is entitled to hate any ligature of course, no specific brand is compulsory.

I did find with some of the Rovner copies (e.g. Faxx) then the mechanism can be very dodgy, the retaining nut turning with the screw instead of being held properly. I would steer clear of these.
 
#38 ·
Re: the fabric ones, the reason you state I find is commonly the one given by people don't like them, but as soon as they discover that you need to make sure the mechanism is working, i.e. not binding, properly oiled, then there is no issue at all. They tighten up nicely and stay tight. The fact that fabric forms better to the mouthpiece taper is definite plus. For me it is great design but does need to be used as advised.
This was my thought too- if you're tightening a screw and it's not getting any tighter, then try lubricating the screw.
I've come to love the simplicity of Rovners and their ability to fit any mouthpiece and reed combo.
 
#15 ·
I have used the same Rovner light for probably the last 6 years.

It is the only ligature I've tried that specifically does not move when I adjust my mouthpiece on the horn.

It also seals the reed to the table better than the Various Rico and Selmer metal ligs I've tried.

And they are damn hard to break. Unlike my Francois Louis.
 
#23 ·
Why? Because you never know when they are tight enough as the cloth, fabric or whatever that material is gives when you turn the screw. You can crank the damn thing down til your fingers fall off and even then the reed can sometimes move.
I too am irritated by ligatures. If you've tightened the screws and the reed moves, your ligature doesn't fit. I spend more time trying to find and adjust ligatures to my mouthpieces, than I do about anything else save blowing the damn thing.
 
#24 ·
2 screw lig guy speaking.

There were several players I knew in college who had Rovners and they complained all the time about them being stretched out of shape, hard to adjust, and so on. But they were convinced that they were getting a better sound and put up with it. They had to buy replacements. I tried them, saw no advantages, and ended up superstitious about the "stretched out of shape" business, and will not touch them. I thought the reed tended to slip around, too. That goes for the cloth and/or leather type, I do not recall now what material they were made from back then. All this was reinforced just a few years ago in jazz band:

alto player: my ligature is stretching out of shape. I gotta get a new one. Have you got one I could use?
me: sure. Try this one. ... Good. Glad it fits. Ever since college I have been superstitious about those Rovners and will not use them.
alto player: why not?
me: they stretch out of shape.
alto player: [light bulb appears over head]

I have a Brilhart baritone mpc with a conical shape that is hard to match to any of my many 2 screw ligs. That problem was solved with this:
http://www.wwbw.com/Rovner-Metal-Pl...currency=usd&gclid=CKrg8Le26tQCFRK2wAodA90IIQ

It is metal and it don't stretch out of shape. I am not having any trouble with slipping or adjusting, either. Fits lots of different mpcs.

But if I had had a 2 screw lig that fit, I would never have purchased it. Indeed, I bought it at saxquest after hunting for a 2 screw that would work. The sales guy said "what about a rovener?" and when I told him about the slipping and stretching, he said "this one won't stretch." It fit, and that is good enough for me.


I like this guy.
 
#25 ·
Nobody forces you to play with a Rovner; if you don't like them, don't use them.

Stretching was an issue for me with leather ligatures, but not with the fabric Rovners. I also like the reed response better with a fabric ligature (e.g. Rovner light) than with a two screws metal one.
 
#31 ·
You know, it just goes to show you that what works for one might not work for another. No need for Dogmatism.

FWIW, I have used Rovners on all my mouthpieces for decades regardless of horn, with no problems - ever.
 
#32 ·
I've never struggled with Rovners, but all my mouthpieces have flat tables and balanced facings which helps establish a foundation which is robust to minor variations.

At least for me...
 
#33 ·
Well, I don't really hate them. I have 3 and just don't like them as much as my two-screw ligs. I just got p.o'd because I was trying a lot of different reeds and the damn old fabric Rovner I got with my Martin kept slipping and shifting around no matter how much I cranked it down. Then of course I had to kill my fingers and wrist to unscrew the damn thing. That's what I hated and clearly a metal Rovner would be a different kettle of fish. I just find 2-screws to be such a no-brainer that you can put them on and adjust them in your sleep.
 
#35 ·
Have you tried to buy a new Rovner and see how it works? Perhaps the old one has been overtightened repeatedly and the fabric stretched. Just because the screw-mechanism on a Rovner can be tightened ad infinitum, doesn't mean that it is a good idea to do this. It is almost impossible to destroy a Rovner ligature, but overtightening it repeatedly may be an exception. Or perhaps you used the wrong size. It is commonplace on SOTW that people complain about that the screw on Rovners damaging mouthpieces, but this stems solely from using the wrong size. Metal ligatures don't last forever either, they also don't come in one-size-fits-all, and many of them are ridiculously expensive. I use Rovners except for a very vintage metal Otto Link alto mouthpiece. For the latter, I got a FL because of the ridge on top. The FL is tricky to use, in particular with a synthetic reed.
 
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