METALS and FINISHES 1 MACHINE Both models can be made both of 925 silver and brass, including all finishes. 2 CORDS Also called "Mother Element", Satin 925 silver Satin brass it is the mechanical heart of ligature. Polished 925 silver, Polished brass, rhodium plated CLASP LONG CORD Locks the Positioned at the rhodium plated Polished brass, gold plated BUSH SCREW loop back of the Adjusts the Polished 925 silver, (guaranteed 3 micron 24k gold) mouthpiece Guarantees gold plated good tension of the (guaranteed 3 micron 24k gold) operation and cords life of the screw 925 stamp which certifies the silver quality. TURRET SHORT CORD ENGRAVING Cord Positioned at the Indicates the anchorage front of the LOOP Allows anchorage to front of the mouthpiece ligature Z M21 Z M16 the turret of the Z machine

USE AND ASSEMBLY WASHER Allows the screw to BRASS CLASP 925 SILVER CLASP turn on itself to STEEL SCREW tension the system Secure the washer by assembling the whole MANUAL ALTO SAXOPHONE SOPRANINO SAXOPHONE screw system TENOR SAXOPHONE SOPRANO SAXOPHONE PLUG BARITONE SAXOPHONE Ab PICCOLO CLARINET They are BASS SAXOPHONE Eb PICCOLO CLARINET interchangeable CONTRABASS SAXOPHONE RUBBER Bb CLARINET Non-slip The cords are static and made of highly Eb CONTRABASS CLARINET resistant technical materials. Product distributed by: All the parts mentioned rubber disk BASS CLARINET [email protected] www.musiccenter.it are replaceable. 1 CONTRABASS CLARINET 2 3 www.zacligature.com [email protected]

3 RESONATOR FITTING OF THE CORDS INTO THE RESONATOR RESONATOR SIZES 4 CORD ANCHORAGE ZR1 - Soprano saxophone ZR2.1 - Bb clarinet 1. Insert the cord into the 2. Slide the inserted cord to fit it and A appropriate slotted channel, position it correctly at the center ANCHORAGE There are two cords with two different lengths: pressing it with the thumb. of the resonator. SLOTTED CHANNEL the shorter cord must be anchored on the Where the front where is engraved, see description on cords must be page 1 and reference on the side (ref.A L1). anchored Insert the cord into the turret (ref.B). Rotate the cord 90° (ref.C). ZR1.1 - Eb piccolo clarinet IDENTIFICATION ZR3 - Tenor saxophone - Eb contrabass SUPPORT CODE Identifies the clarinet EDGE size of the Tracks resting resonator for on the the desired - Ab piccolo clarinet reed ZR1.2 instrument Sopranino saxophone B C

EBONY RESONATOR CORD ORIENTATION The cords can be oriented towards the outside of the Z Machine (ref.E), or towards the inside (ref.D). Different combinations are possible: METALS and FINISHES • both the cords oriented towards the outside, ZR2 - Alto saxophone • both the cords oriented towards the inside, Brass 925 Silver • a cord oriented towards the inside and one towards the outside. Depending on the orientation chosen, the cords can be moved along the reed ("cord position" on page 12) so that the type of resonance can be varied.

925 stamp which ZR4 - Baritone saxophone certifies the - Bass saxophone silver quality. - Contrabass saxophone D E - Bass clarinet - Contrabass clarinet The ebony resonator is only provided with the cords incorporated Other finishes can be made on request. and this resonator can not be released from the cords. All sizes are also available for ebony resonators including cords. 4 5 6 7 LIGATURE ASSEMBLY 3. Slide the ligature on the mouthpiece by pushing with your fingers ASSEMBLY EXAMPLES 5 FIRST USE 6 until the rubber is positioned on the back of the mouthpiece and the 7 cords or the resonator are positioned in the middle of the reed. The ligature can also be mounted in less conventional positions, to achieve When ligature is used for the first time, it is very important to first perform 1. Couple the reed to the mouthpiece. different sound results. this simple procedure to allow the cords to settle as much as necessary for optimal use. STANDARD LIGATURE ASSEMBLY

1. Insert the ligature into the mouthpiece without coupling the reed. The Z is positioned towards the front of A the mouthpiece. See description on page 1 and reference on the side (ref.A).

LIGATURE ASSEMBLIED ON THE BACK A The Z is positioned towards the back of 4. Finally tighten the screw to adjust the tension of the cords. 2. Tighten the screw to allow the cords to settle at the best. the mouthpiece (ref.A). 2. Insert the ligature into the mouthpiece. For this assembly, the short cord and the long cord must be inverted.

LIGATURE THAT RESTS ON THE REED

Never insert the ligature if it is rotated 180° and inserted with the mother element that rests on the reed. 3. Finally disassemble the ligature and reassemble it as desired, complete with reed (”Ligature assembly” pages 9-10). 8 9 10 11

INSERTION OF MORE RESONATORS 8 CORD POSITIONS It is possible to insert more than one resonator into the cords in order to 9 LIGATURE ADVANTAGES obtain different types of sounds and vibrations. Once the Ligature is inserted (see pages 9-10) the cords can be moved ref.D ref.E • 3 resonators (ref.A), along the reed in different positions. 1) The ligature system is • 5 resonators (ref.B). based on 3 points of Point of support 1 The front cord affects the hardness of the reed, so if it is positioned at the support: front, the reed becomes harder, as the vibration angle of the reed itself - Point 1: on the back of the decreases. If the front cord is positioned towards the center of the reed or mouthpiece. towards the back cord, the reed tends to become softer, as it increases the vibration angle. ref.A - Point 2 and 3 on the reed. The back cord affects the resonance of the reed, so it can be positioned CORD POSITIONS WITH RESONATOR according to the needs of the musician. Ligature complete with resonator. Some examples of how the cords can be placed are shown below: Also in this case the cords+resonator can be moved along the reed, in • cords in standard position (ref.A), different positions: • both cords forward (ref.B), • both cords backward (ref.C), • cords and resonator in standard position (ref.A), • both cords towards the inside (ref.D), • cords and resonator forward (ref.B), • both cords towards the outside (ref.E). • cords and resonator backward (ref.C). It is also possible to order these solutions with 3 or 5 resonators in the ebony version. The 3-point system makes sure that when the cords are tensioned, the Point of support 2 Point of support 3 ref.A pressure on the front cord ref.A is equal to the pressure on the back cord, so that z-cords with cords with - Metal, brass or 925 the pressure on the reed different sizes. silver resonator is distributed evenly. In Consequently the (full-bodied and this way the reed is in the ligature adapts to each projected sound). ref.B best condition to vibrate mouthpiece of any freely. single-reed woodwind - Ebony resonator (warm instrument. and balanced sound). This principle is valid both for ligature mounted 3) It is possible to vary With these 3 solutions, by ref.B ref.C with only the cords and the ligature setting varying the ligature ref.B ref.C with the resonators. obtaining different setting, it is possible to resonances of the reed increase the duration of 2) The Z-machine with the 3 main the reeds and the element can be used on solutions: number itself of the reeds all clarinets and used. Be careful that the resonators to be inserted in addition to the main one soxophones, since it is - Only cords (very free possible to replace the have a specific dimension, therefore they must be ordered specifically. sound). 12 13 14 15