It's excellent as a ligature. It doesn't stand in the way of the reed. You'll get the best out of the potential of your reed brand. This ligature holds the reed firm on the mouthpiece and is easy and quick to use. It's short of 5stars due to its build (brass) quality which makes it a bit fragile but this malleability also makes it fit the mouthpiece very well. If this one breaks, I'll buy the same as a replacement because it delivers excellently in function as a ligature.