And for $119.99, they aren’t all going to be sold in the next 8 hours.Forestone started in late 2007 with a group of people anxious to develop a better reed and release players from all known problems with cane and bad sound plastic reeds. If on the other hand, you want the original Selmer Magni-tone ligature, you only have a few hours before the auction is over. Matt Stohrer has more info about them on his site, and is also selling them if anyone is interested. However, I did notice that Borgani has remade them, as is currently selling them under the Flexitone Adjustable label. I haven’t been able to find anything that indicates how long Selmer sold these Magni-tone ligatures for. (It’s quite possible that the ligature was already in production at this time.) Unlike many patents drawings, this one actually looks like the final product. This is what the original patent drawing looked like: Be adjustable without having a tightening screw.Have a uniform ring around the mouthpiece and reed.Stretch to conform to the shape to the mouthpiece to which it is applied.Overcome the above-noted problems of conventional ligs.Therefore these new, soon-to-be-called Selmer Magni-tone ligatures were designed to: A stifling of the vibration of the reed and mouthpiece, thereby dampening the instrument’s natural tone.Warping of mouthpieces because of the pressure exerted.The unyielding pressure exerted by regular ligs, which can “crush the resilient fibers of the reed and indent the surface of the reed”.It turns out that US Patent 2200054, was issued to none other than George Bundy et al., assignor to Selmer USA, on May 7, 1940.Īccording to the patent application, the ligature was designed to overcome the following problems associated with conventional ligs: Right?… That is if horn sales are any predictor of collectors’ wants in the accessory market. Not so fast… In order to pull in the big bucks from collectors, the Selmer name needs to mean Selmer Paris. This means the price automatically is 3 to 4 times that of what you would see on a similar item sans the Selmer name.) ? Today the seller is asking $119.99 at the Buy It Now price. The item you will receive is like the one in the photos.ĭid you happen to note the original price on the box? It cost $1.00 way back around 1940. This is new in the original box with insert instructions. Up for bid is an original Vintage Selmer MAGNI-TONE LIGATURE for clarinet and alto, tenor, and bari saxes. The one shown on eBay comes complete with the original box and instruction sheet, and appears to have never been used. Today I happened to see a seller on eBay who has 7 of these Selmer Magni-tone ligatures for sale. I knew nothing about them at the time, and until today, didn’t know that they were adjustable for alto, C melody, or tenor saxophones, as well as Bb and alto clarinets. In the case was an old Selmer mouthpiece, and one of these ligs. He was using a Selmer Cigar Cutter that had belonged to his Grandfather. My only experience with these ligatures was a number of years ago, because a student of mine had one. Furthermore, you don’t see many of these original ligatures around today anymore either. While it was revolutionary when it was invented, it didn’t spawn a great deal of (any?) imitators. Take for example, the Selmer Magni-tone that was for sale starting around 1939. Just as reed technology has improved drastically over the decades, so has the technology surrounding ligatures. Regardless of what type of reed you choose to play though, a proper fitting, good quality ligature is key for ensuring that your reed plays its best. And while some people worship at the shrine of the cane reed god, others have made the switch, and are playing some variation of man-made fibres. Love ’em or hate ’em, they are to a huge degree responsible for our sound.