There is so much hype around Silverstein ligatures - and so many critics saying they are just snake oil - I was reluctant to try one. I’m now really glad I did. They arrive beautifully presented and obviously well made. The photos don’t really give a sense of how rigid the strings are - this makes them really easy to fit onto the mouthpiece. And then, they really open up the sound, especially in the altissimo register. Expensive, yes, but this is a basic model and it’s great. I’m not convinced the really expensive models would be any better - but who knows.