NO NO NO !!!!! lacquer has nothing to do with anything ,,,,ligatures do since how they hold the reed is very important ,,,,,nothing to do with vibrations but everything to do with how a ligature helps the reed create a perfect seal against the mouthpiece rails and tip with mouthpiece in place take the neck off your sax,,,close the end off with your left hand and from the reed end suck all the air out of the neck ,,,,remove your mouth and the reed should be glued to the mouthpiece ,,,,remove your hand and the reed should snap back violently,,,,how the chamber reacts to the snapping back determines the tone of the piece ,,,so the ligature is important ,,,forget the lacquer or plating or non lacquered it is all balderdash !!!! if you do not believe ,,,many sites test different materials in flutes ( an instrument smaller in bore than sax so the material should make more difference ,,but does not)