David Gould Plays BD5 Bass Clarinet Mouthpiece and V21 Bass Clarinet Reeds

David Gould Plays BD5 Bass Clarinet Mouthpiece and V21 Reeds

So, in-between video shoots, we decided I should play test and talk about the BD5 bass clarinet mouthpiece, which is a new product from Vandoren. In addition to the bass clarinet catalog (that I think will make many people happy), what I found (with limited trials of this mouthpiece), is that it’s a very full and compact sound, yet rich. I wouldn’t say it’s a small sound or an extremely large sound, but it’s a really beautiful bass clarinet sound. For all of the people that are worried about measurements and numbers and all that sort of stuff, it’s something that’s very middle of the road. It’s not particularly open at all. It’s not super close either. I think it falls somewhere in the long lines. But what separates this mouthpiece from the others, like the BD5 for clarinet, the inside of the mouthpiece is very different. The chamber and baffle and all, create a different sound (or what we’re used to) from a Vandoren bass clarinet mouthpiece. I’m trying it here with V21 reeds—another new product from Vandoren. I think many people like it. It’s a conical reed, it’s got essentially the vamp of a V12, the shape and body is a little bit different for bass clarinet—much like the V21 reeds for clarinet. I think it’s a very clean, pure sound, that gives the player a lot of power—almost as if it’s adding another gear to your transmission.