D'Addario H-Ligature & Cap, Alto Sax, Gold-plated (HAS1G)

I am a retired band director and perform regularly in all kinds of musical groups from concert bands to jazz bands. I have taught clarinet throughout my entire career. Here is my impression of the D'Addario H-Ligature. I haven't had the clarity of sound and the response from the reeds in quite a few years. This ligature gives the reed the freedom and opportunity to clearly produce quality sound on all the pitches from low E to super C. Compared to the original H designed clarinet ligature, it is pretty nice. It is a bit bulkier with the "H" shape design that rests on the reed. My memory of the original H designed ligature was that it was a bit finer it its detail. But, it has been quite a few years since I used one of those. If you are looking for a good response of your reed across the entire spectrum of the clarinet pitch range, this ligature is a good choice.

I purchased this ligature to use on an old Florida Link that I purchased in the early '70s. So far, I like the way it functions, and seems to affect the sound in a positive manner. (Ligatures do make a difference although not as major a difference as some folks state.). I had to shape the lig on the mouthpiece by setting it up with a reed and then tightening the screws to force lig to fit the contours of the mouthpiece. After that process, the lig lines up perfectly and I see no need to put cork or anything alongside the ridge on top. I have only used it for a few weeks so I cannot attest to its durability over time. The price seems reasonable for what you are getting and compared to other ligs. I have used a Rovner on the Link as well but I often had a problem with the reed slipping when adjusting the mouthpiece. No problem with this H-Lig.

I'm currently using this ligature on a Beechler Bellite 8 alto sax mouthpiece. While not tight-fitting, it does fit and hold the reed in place. I believe this is the setup used by Eric Marienthal! This is the standard-issue ligature for the Jody Jazz Jet mouthpiece, and a majority of my usage has been on that piece. It's free-blowing and it makes minimal contact with the reed which allows for a good amount of vibration and excellent response. For the most part, I believe most ligatures are the same regardless of what the manufacturer touts, but I most certainly can tell a difference between this and the Rovner I typically use on my Beechler. This ligature is brighter and the response is much greater. It's a great ligature for the price and I do highly recommend!

It comes with the ligature and cap for the mouthpiece. The ligature is very shiny. It's an H ligature so the screws actually face away from you instead of towards you. It has definitely (and surprisingly) improved my sound compared to my last ligature. If you need a new ligature and thinking about this one you should get it. It looks very nice and fits well onto my clarinet mouthpiece.

I like this literature a lot for other mouthpieces. It’s advertised to fit a certain mouthpiece and simply put does not. On a different jazz mouthpiece I use it and it works wonderfully. However, I bought it for a metal Otto Link tenor mouthpiece. My mouthpiece has the ridge on top and it does not fit very well. I was worried about having to bend in shape of the literature for something I was trying out first. If your mouthpiece does not have a ridge on top then I would suggest looking at a different ligature. Bg France universal jazz fit perfectly with no issues with the ridge. If you’re wanting to use this ligature for any other mouthpiece, I would say go ahead for the money. It’s wonderful. I do like this literature on many many other mouthpieces.

We'll see how it goes long term. First few times using it, it's hard to get the ligature to match the shape of the mouthpiece. You have to tighten it and let it shape itself to fit. Meanwhile, the reed is slipping several times. The tone and playability seem pretty solid for the ligature so I'm hoping it will adjust itself to the exact shape of the mouthpiece.

Very well made ligature based on classic design allowing easier 5C and 6Cs and a rich resonance in the lowest notes. It should be noted this ligature influences greatly the sound and reed resonance based on its' positioning ( up / down ) on reed mouthpiece combination. This is mainly due to the mouthpiece table design of a particular mouthpiece which may be either flat or slightly concave. A flat table designed mouthpiece is less affected, however a mouthpiece design having say a .0002" to .001" deep gradual concave valley dip located under where the lower half of the reed is clamped creates variations on the reed vibration sounds. Each ligature position tried will influence the angle of the spring board created by the clamping action of the ligature on the valley and give a different reed response. These changing spring board angles created, change the main reed tension adding openness to the reed when it does vibrate. Sliding the ligature up or down by 1/16" degree increments allow the point of the clamping action contact in the concave valley to be different creating colored patterns of reed sound vibrations. Do Not over-tighten ligature and experiment with positions up to +- 1/8". Just thought this may be interesting to some.

Received ligature but was missing a thumb screw. Luckily I had another D'Addario ligature I wasn't using and took one from it. The ligature fit my 10Mfan Black Widow tenor metal perfectly and works great. 5 stars for the ligature, 1 star for missing screw. So a 3 star it is...