Update June 2024: Well these didn’t age well. 
The Claude Lakey Compass Ligature is no more. Why? I don’t know for sure. My guess is that they broke too easily, and that people took them at their word, and tried using the same lig on alto and then on bari sax. Over and over, and over and over, again.
Truth be known I have 2. One I bought at Matterhorn Music when I worked there, and the other one I was given from the owner of the shop, when they were discontinued, and he couldn’t get rid of it.
Do I like the Compass lig? Yes and no. I use it on one of my Runyon bari blanks that has been customized for bass sax. It works alright. But I gotta’ say, I like my Rovner ligs better. Less fuss. Less muss.
At this point I’ve left this article here just for historical reference, since all the links on Lakey’s sites are broken. 😉
Yesterday I got an email from a friend who told me he got the new Claude Lakey Compass Ligature. He said that it lives up “its hype of 30% more volume and improved tone. ”
Truth me told, I had not heard of these Compass Ligatures until my friend sent me a link to the Claude Lakey website. I’ve been using and been happy with Rovners for so many years (25+), that I haven’t even looked at another ligature. Jeez, I sound like I’m married to the things. 😉
However, since I’m not married to my ligatures, and my eye has been known to wander from time to time at new gear, I did some investigating of these new Claude Lakey Compass Ligatures.
According to the Claude Lakey website:
The Compass ligature utilizes the most advanced design and technology to create the world’s first universal ligature. Powered by BOA Technology.
Source: claudelakey.com
I wanted to find out more about this Boa Technology, so a quick Google search turned up their website. Very interesting. I had no idea that worldwide, 25 million products already utilized this patented closure system made of steel lace, nylon guides and a mechanical reel.
Like I said, very interesting, but does this mean it will work for a woodwind ligature? And even if it does hold the reed in place, will it really live up to Claude Lakey’s claims:
Direct your energy through your reed with the revolutionary Compass ligature. Using aircraft grade stainless steel lace and BOA Technology’s patented reel system, it will outperform any leather or metal ligature. The Compass provides uniform pressure around your mouthpiece while enabling your reed to breathe freely, giving 30% more volume with less effort.
- Lifetime Warranty
- Universal (No really. Any mouthpiece, any reed, just try it)
- Aircraft grade stainless steel lace
- BOA Technology patented reel system
- 30% more volume, less effort
- Optional plug-and-play pressure plate system! (Coming Soon!)
In an effort to find out if these claims were true or not, I went to the largest (English) saxophone forum on the ‘Net, to see what the players on Sax on the Web (SOTW) had to say. Surprisingly, not as much as I would have thought. The thread on these ligatures goes back to May 2013, when Claude Lakey first announced the product.
At the time of writing there were 51 posts on the thread, with only nine of those belonging to actual owners of the Compass Ligature. Of those nine owners who had one however, only one person was not satisfied with the product. That’s pretty darn good customer satisfaction.
The general consensus seemed to be that the Compass Ligature does increase one’s volume, and that it does fit a wide variety of saxophone mouthpieces—although no one has said it fits their Runyon Custom soprano as well as their Conn Eagle baritone. I guess maybe those extremes will be up to me to try out. I’ve always been a bit of a shit disturber. 😉
So the top view of ligature, and the three caps that are included with it, look like this…
Claude Lakey has also been kind enough to put together a slick video that shows us how this state-of-the-art Compass Ligature works…
Will I buy one? Most likely. Like I said at the outset, I’m not wedded to my Rovner ligatures, and let’s face it, for $39.95, it’s worth a try.
Even if the Compass Ligature only works on a few of my mouthpieces, I think it would be worth it. Given that Rovners have gone up so much in price, these Claude Lakey ligs are looking like a real bargain.
I like my compass ligature a lot but just one thing to mention, a couple of times mine fell off after being tightened, after putting it on the mouthpiece just push it a little further on.
Interesting. Thanks for that info. I never did get one. My friend who has one does like it, and says he really notices an increase in his volume when he needs it. He has never mentioned the issue you just did though.
Just yesterday I noticed a new twist on the traditional string ligatures. There were ads for them on facebook. I forgot the brand, but IIRC, there were a couple different types available.
I remember something that Miles Osland said years ago on the Selmer Sax Forum—before it became defunct—when speaking about ligs. His view on them was that any lig is a good one if it does the job of holding the reed on the mouthpiece securely. Period. I think there is something to be said for the simplicity of this.
I am curious if not all this focus on gear takes away from our focus on proper technique. Just putting that out there for possible discussion….
When you change gear it takes a long time to get used to it. :cuckoo:
During this time there is no need to focus on other gear, only on technique.
Fast changing of gear is the thing you should avoid. :beat:
With a pefect technique gear is less important, before that gear can improve your sound.
I like the Italian saxophone sound and my lig makes it easier to reach.
It cuts a corner of some years but is not perfect on the Osland criteria, it is a bit wobbly.
On the other hand it does not damage the mouthpiece.
When my technique is good enough I might go back to a traditional lig, just as all present members
of the Italian saxophone orchestra. :toast: :toast:
What Italian saxophone are you talking about Theo? What Italian saxophone orchestra?
It is an Italian like saxophone sound from my Hohner President tenor with some sharp sounding gear.
The Italian sound can be described as the German dark notes combined with a lively French cantabile.
Here is one example from the Italian saxophone orchestra grouped around Roberto Molinelli.
There is also an Italian saxphone quartet.
To stay with the topic, they all use traditional ligs.
I emailed you several pictures of my extensive ligature collection. Feel free to publish the pictures anytime. Please contact me back
Here’s one more
I agree that ligs hold the reed to the mouthpiece. Period. Some will do a better job than others, and there are subtle differences between what they can do.
I don’t like the prices that Rovner is charging for their ligs nowadays. Like I wrote in the article, for just under $40, these seem like a real bargin. I’ll likely try one because I can always use a new lig or two for my various mouthpieces.
Do I think it will a one-size-fits-all solution? No, but then nothing can be. If they do a decent job however, then at $40 they are likely a decent product at a decent price.
Different ligatures apply pressure to different points on the thick part of the reed, which is not necessarily as flat as you’d like. Mouthpiece tables vary as well. This means there often ARE real differences between ligatures — until you change the reed, at which point one of the other ligatures could well become “better”. If you take reed flatness out of the equation (use a synthetic) and use only mouthpieces with the same shape of table (ever so slightly concave of flat seems to be the order of the day, as even a tiny bit convex causes no end of trouble), then it would be a simple matter of finding one that holds your reed still without having enough damping force to suck energy out of it.
Until then, people are going to argue about ligatures, when all they can really establish is what ligature works best on their particular mouthpiece, with their particular choice of reed. If the mouthpiece is in the correct condition, and the reed isn’t too far out of whack (because they are somewhat compliant), then there will be very little difference between ligatures. At that point, factors like convenience come into play: Does it pop off when you tune? Is it easy to change a reed rapidly mid-set? Does it have one screw or two? (All other things being equal, one is more convenient but two probably accommodate imperfect setups better.)
30% more volume is only 1 dB extra.
You can get that by cleaning the inside of your ligature.
Still it is an achievement to make a ligature that fits anything from 20 to 40 mm diameter.
There is something silly about lig talk.
You carefully select a saxophone and after that you change the sound by a relative inexpensive ligature.
From the theory that the sounds comes from the player you should first select the reed mouthpiece and ligature before looking for a saxophones.
Only that feels silly.
Just like this youtube item: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ghMCiV8hTg
I think it shows the right attitude towards ligatures, they are not the world, but they are a part of it.
As I recently invented a new type of ligature I have read all 50 patents on this subject and I am astound by the amount of creative force used on this item.
Looks to be somewhat similar to Rovner’s “Clamping on the Pins”.
When I came back to the “Dark Side” so much had changed. The current Rovner wasn’t even out way-back-when so I got one and found I liked the sound with the “alternative” way of mounting.
At least, until I found the ultimate ligature & mouthpiece. And they are made for each other, literally.
Still, at some point I’d like to try a Sigurd Rascher.
An an alternative for a Rascher mouthpiece the Henton mouthpiece (pre Rascher) is mentioned.
Henton was the first to record altisimo.