Rovner "Dark" Tenor Sax Ligature Review

I've been using Rovner ligatures on nearly all of my instruments for years.

The ligature is a device that holds the reed onto the mouthpiece. It has to be fastened strongly enough to hold the reed in place, but flexibly enough to allow the reed to vibrate.

The standard ligature is made of metal, is round and has screws on the same side of the mouthpiece as the reed. Early on, I noticed a problem with metal ligatures: they bend. I had a tough time keeping metal ligatures unscathed. I'm klutzy, and once a metal ligature is bent, it doesn't sound right.

The Rovners are made of fabric, and the single fastening screw is at the back of the ligature. There is nothing to bend out of shape. The fabric helps fasten the reed, but also let it vibrate. The dark model, the one I use on tenor, had a bit more fabric and this is supposed to darken the sound, or make it more mellow with less of an edge. That is the sound I covet on Tenor and the ligature helps.

I also sue Rovners on alto sax, soprano sax, baritone sax, clarinet and bass clarinet. I usually use the dark model, but I am using the lighter model (with a cut out front) on soprano and that gives me the bright sound I am looking for.

I recommend these to all my students who struggle with metal ligatures.