it plays great. lots of full rich mid frequency tone. the ebony colored wood is a little darker. i prefer the lighter (?type) colored wood. articulation with that is crisp. it was warmer and more free blowing than my copper Ishimori and much much warmer than the vandoren optimum. the problem i have however is the fit. with any ligature, you want it to hold the reed firmly. some prefer it up near the vamp and some prefer it lower. the problem with this ligature is that it is not adjustable i.e. it will only fit on one spot on the mouthpiece. so if you like to vary the placement of your ligatured up or down, you really cant do that with this one. also you have to size it with all the types of reeds you play (if you play more than one type) because the thickness of the reed will effect where the ligature sits on the reed. the sound and the response are the selling point