Keep it Together – Key Ligature Suppliers Chime in on the Trends of the Day

It seems simple enough, right? Single-reed woodwinds need something to keep the reed attached to the mouthpiece in order to produce sound. String, shoelaces, wire, and even tape have all been used to satisfactory effect throughout history. What’s there to add about ligatures in the modern age, really?

As it turns out, quite a lot.

Many of today’s players and engineers argue (some with quite convincing data to back up their claims – do a Google search) that the material, design, and application of a ligature can have a significant impact on an instrument’s tone and playability.
MMR touched base with some key suppliers of contemporary ligatures to learn about trends in this important – and surprisingly fascinating – segment of the B&O accessory market.

MMR: What trends have you been noticing in the market for ligatures – trends in design, materials, marketing, buying habits of end users, et cetera?

Brian Go: Silverstein Works, as a company, is very new to the industry and it was that much more important for us to do our homework. From our short-term perspective, if anything has been identifiable, it’s that there actually are no trends in this part of the industry! Musicians’ tastes and preferences are so varied, and there is so much variety available to them that when it comes to the ligatures, themselves, there’s not much that sticks out.

When it comes to marketing, we’ve felt that there is a lot of opportunity for creativity. For example, there are traditional methods like getting endorsements, advertising, et cetera, but the advent of social media has yet to be truly taken advantage of in this industry. One thing we’re definitely trying to do is bring those traditional elements of this culturally diverse industry to a more modern platform, both in our marketing and in our approach to our customers. We don’t get traditional endorsements either; all the artists who use our ligature and endorse our company do so purely because of their support of the product and the people. And it goes both ways – we’re able to use modern platforms of marketing to show our audience something special about these great artists as well. Something to look out for in marketing trends may be an increased presence in how the industry connects with people through social media.

When it comes to buying habits, one thing that has become increasingly obvious to us is that price is never a deterrent if your product performs. There is a lot of subjectivity when it comes to a musician’s preferences, but if you take that out of the equation and once a musician finds something they like, price is the least of their concerns.

Theo Wanne: The primary purpose of the ligature is to hold the reed securely against the table of the mouthpiece, thus allowing the window to seal as the reed vibrates creating the sound wave. While only the front of the reed moves, the entire reed resonates. Some ligatures dampen this resonation, and some allow them. Allowing the reed to vibrate freely has become more and more the point of ligature design. As such, more unique designs, including more bulky and complex designs, are being accepted into the market.

A unique new ligature on the market is the Silverstein Ligature. It combines body rails like the Francsois Louis ligature, but instead of stainless steel wire holding the rails together, it uses cloth rope. This is a unique concept, combining old- and new-school thinking. This ligature is very expensive, but seems to have a nice following now.

There are two main things the ligature can do for the sound: freedom of resonance and adding core to the sound. The trick is to do both, as we don’t want the sound to thin out when adding resonance, and we don’t want to dampen the sound when adding core.
As is common in our industry, one trend to bring back successful designs from the past. Examples are the Harrison H ligature by Rico and, more currently, new versions of the vintage Brilhart three-band metal plate ligatures coming out of Korea and Japan.
Most players have a number of ligatures, and are searching for different ligatures to help dial in their desired tone.

Roger Eaton: From a volume standpoint, there’s no question that basic metal ligatures at lower price points continue to dominate the market. This isn’t surprising, since the number of new woodwind students needing ligatures far exceeds the number of more experienced players looking for a new/better/different ligature in any given year. There may be some teachers or school programs recommending nicer step-up ligatures to their students, but from what we can see it appears that the majority of beginners out there are still going for the old standards.

Within the step-up and professional ligature market, there seems to be a continued leaning towards the softer ligatures. Specialized metal ligatures do have a consistent small following, but the cloth, leather or leather-like ligatures regularly outsell their metal counterparts several times over.

George Reeder: Because of continuous updates, upgrades, new patents, and greater performance levels, Rovner’s “textile” ligatures continue to be highly sought-after. Rovner ligatures are made in the USA of USA-made components. The ligature material and hardware are made to our specifications and go through a series of treatments and proprietary processes to ensure their durability and to imbue them with energetic response. Two Rovner ligatures in particular have been dispelling certain myths. The first is that “fabric” ligatures create a duller, more covered sound. Our most recent addition, the Van Gogh, is a very large ligature that uses a lot of material. Players who try it are quite often astounded by its big, robust sound. The other myth has to do with metal ligatures. By appearance alone our only all-metal ligature, the Platinum, might give the impression that it produces a bright sound. But again, when players try it, the feedback we get is that it is dark, warm and centered.

Jody Espina: The ligature category continues to be one of the most diverse and interesting segments of the woodwind market. Just when you think there is nothing left to do, someone comes out with something new. The trend is: diversity in ideas.
Chris Scialfa: It’s quite varied. Standard nickel-plated ligatures are still quite prevalent, but more modern designs made of various materials continue to make their way into the marketplace. There also seems to be an increase in the number of single-screw ligatures being marketed today.

Adam Weems: There has not been a ton of change in ligatures over the past few years, with a few exceptions. These exceptions seem to mostly be combining technologies of different ligatures into one, like what Vandoren did with M|O.
From a purchasing standpoint I see the strongest part of the market being in the mid-range, as far as price, and the classic style of ligature. This seems to make sense, as that is where most of the players are – students who are upgrading out of rentals into step-up instruments.

Andy Blanco: A few high-end ligatures with complicated, unusual designs have started showing up. However, we don’t see the market moving in that direction. We see professionals, educators, and hobbyists moving to simpler designs at moderate prices.
 
MMR: What have you noticed with respect to price-point – what’s selling best in 2014?

CS: Lower price-point models will forever sell well, as those models dominate the student market. That said, you’ll always have seasoned professionals who are willing to spend more for a more unique or superior design, as long as they feel it will help them achieve a more beautiful or complex sound. The majority of ligatures sold, however, probably fall somewhere in between, as the intermediate to developing market has the greatest number of potential buyers for a step-up ligature. 

BG: Silverstein Ligatures are at the relative high end of the ligature price spectrum, but one thing we’ve noticed is that price becomes less of a concern in the face of the performance of the ligature and their overall experience with a company. When a musician is truly satisfied with their instrument – any part of their instrument – price is no object. Of course, there has to be real value there and your product must perform; musicians are quick to let you know if something doesn’t work! But when it does, they become your best supporters. One of the biggest driving factors behind our success in the past year has been the incredible encouragement and reactions of the people that have tried and loved our product. If your product performs and you treat your customers with respect, the people in this industry can be very supportive. We always try to keep in mind that price is an indicator of the value of their experience with a company and strive to show it.

AB: Mid-range prices are the most popular. We’ve had a great year with our M|O ligatures that are priced reasonably, available in several finishes, and use simple yet highly effective design.

GR: With Rovner ligatures, the price belies the performance. The brand has shown growth across the board, at all price points within the line. Our philosophy has always been to engineer our products first for performance and then for manufacturability, resulting not just in affordability, but making them an excellent value for every dollar spent.

 JE: If you are buying an aftermarket ligature, price doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem, if a ligature is interesting enough. Again, diversity of price is the trend.
 
MMR: In the past year, what specific ligature models have been your hottest sellers?

BG: Silverstein Works still has just the one model, with variety provided in the form of different colors and material. Popularity and sales have thankfully increased very rapidly, which we attest to the performance of the ligature.

AW: Since Conn-Selmer, Inc. is a distributor, we have the opportunity to work a lot different manufactures and see what the market trends tend to be. Over the last few years, Bonade, Rovner, and Selmer USA have led the pack. 

JE: I’m not aware of sales numbers, but the interesting ligatures that I’ve noticed in the past couple of years include, Silverstien, the new ligature from Lakey, Floram Popa, the new metal platinum ligature from Rovner, The Duo ligature from BG, and at JodyJazz we have the Ring ligature for our DV series, which I like a lot. 

AB: Our Optimum Ligatures continue to sell incredibly well. And our newest design, the M|O has had a big year. Our introduction of the M|O LITE for clarinet and now alto sax has created significant interest as well. The M|O LITE is a high performing ligature made from a composite material which is very durable. The combination makes it great for students as well as more advanced players. The price point is also very attractive. 

CS: Our H-Ligature continues to be the go-to ligature for both the developing student and professional markets. 

GR: Without fail, at every show we attend there’s a player who digs around in his pocket and pulls out a Rovner Dark that he’s been playing for decades and refuses to give up. We celebrated our 40th anniversary this year, and it all started with the Dark. The Dark and the MK III are extremely strong in the B&O market. Advanced players find the combination of textile and metal gives great performance, so for them the Versa holds great appeal. However, our Next Generation models, the Versa-X, the Platinum, and the Van Gogh are making great strides in the pro market. With regard to the OEM market, our Star Series ligature offers a cost-effective, performance-enhancing option that helps give their customers an extremely positive playing experience when play-testing or purchasing their products.
 
MMR: What are your expectations for the ligature market in the coming months?

RE: While Yamaha doesn’t have anything to announce in the way of new ligatures at the moment, we are now offering the full lines of both Vandoren and Rico accessory products to our dealers. This includes the Vandoren Optimum and Klassik ligatures, as well as the Rico H-series ligatures that recapture the popular Harrison design from the past. This is part of our renewed focus on Band & Orchestral accessories at Yamaha as we seek to expand the options available for our dealers and increase our share of the accessories market.

BG: It’s difficult to foresee any drastic changes for the ligature market in the immediate future, so we hope things continue as they have for us. That said, ligatures are constantly evolving. We see that evolution only accelerating so we expect even more variety. Perhaps with the success of our ligature in a short period of time, we will see more string- or cord-based ligatures with a minimalistic design concept.

CS: We expect to see more variations on classic designs as manufacturers look for new and innovative ways to help allow musicians to spend more time on developing their musicianship and technique, instead of struggling with equipment. Ligatures, like mouthpieces and reeds, can play a key role in changing the color, resistance, and response of one’s sound. 

GR: We don’t think in terms of months, but in terms of years. For the past five years we have concentrated on bringing new products to market while strengthening our brand. We think of Rovner’s “classic” models as high-performance generalists whose excellent performance will keep them in the game. But our Next Generation ligatures each possess unique characteristics and bring something different to the playing experience, so for the foreseeable future we will be concentrating on target marketing those models.

AB: With school back in session, we see entry priced ligatures like the M|O LITE being strong. The professional market is a constant year around. In that market we see consistent growth in the entire M|O line.
AW: Over the last few years the ligature market, from our standpoint, has slowed a bit, but it is still fairly steady. I do not see a huge swing either up or down. 

JE: I visit music stores around the world and the Japanese woodwind specialty shops are always amazing to me because of the amount of different products they carry, like mouthpieces and ligatures. To me, the smart retailers make themselves destinations like no other place where the teacher, student, player, amateur can look for that thing that can keeps them going forward and being excited about playing. This excitement helps the player practice more and more practice makes the world a better sounding place with happier people.

MMR: Do you have any recent or upcoming product introductions that you’d like to discuss? Any other significant developments for your organization on the horizon?

JE: Last year we released the the Jet alto and the Giant tenor, both of which have exceeded my expectations in how popular they have become. We’ll be fleshing out those lines in the coming year as well as some new things over the next couple of years. We are also completing the expansion of our Savannah, Georgia factory, which is tripling our floor space, adding our third and most advanced CNC machine, as well as building a showroom with a performance space which will make our factory a real destination for players and performers.

AB: With regard to the topic of ligatures, our M|O LITE will be significant. The new V|NECK saxophone straps and their big brother, the Vandoren Harness, are flying off the shelves. Our coveted metal V16 tenor sax mouthpieces also continue to sell well. We also have two new products coming that are revolutionary, but we’re not quite ready to discuss them. Stay tuned!

GR: We have introduced the Rovner Rectangular Bore Clarinet Barrel, which offers professional features at an affordable price. More importantly, nothing else like it exists in the barrel market. The rectangular bore can be rotated so that the player can adjust the instrument to suit his or her needs instead of struggling to self-adjust to play the instrument. With the rectangular bore, you can change the instrument or the mouthpiece, and by adjusting the barrel continue to get optimum performance. Like Rovner ligatures, the Rectangular Bore Clarinet Barrel can often elevate the performance of a sub-par instrument while offering superior intonation and greater ease of play. There are other new products on the horizon, too, but since they are still in development, those details will have to wait for the next roundtable. 

​BG: We at Silverstein Works are working hard to build a brand that our customers will be proud to be a part of. We’re working on several new products to help lay that foundation for the future, and looking forward to bringing a fresh perspective and creativity to this great industry steeped in culture and tradition. Look for us at NAMM and Musikmesse!

CS: We’ve recently launched our new D’Addario Reserve Reed line with offerings for Clarinet (Reserve and Reserve Classic) and Alto Saxophone (Reserve). We continue to add to our established line of Reserve Clarinet mouthpieces with new offerings that cater to the European market (X10E and X15E models, both pitched at 442), and we released our first Select Jazz mouthpiece for Alto Saxophone this year. As we enter 2015, our accessories line will gain an incredible new look and we’ll be introducing our first D’Addario Woodwinds accessories products, as well.