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Vandoren BD4 HD Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece

Vandoren BD4 HD Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece

The Vandoren BD4 HD is in the middle of the pack of the group of the current Vandoren Black Diamond HD mouthpieces, with a medium tip opening and medium-long facing. I'll admit I'm a little perplexed why the HD4 is a "bigger" mouthpiece than the BD5, but hey, I'm sure there's a good reason I'm not aware of.

So wait, what the heck is HD? Are mouthpieces now measured the same way my television resolution is? 

No, in this case "HD" stands for "High Density." The material used is a different, more dense mix of rubber and...I don't know what. So I asked Vandoren what the material is. Everyone at Vandoren kind of smirked and shrugged. I'll just call it Vandoren Voodoo Rubber™ and move on.

But one thing I gotta tell you — these mouthpieces are HEAVY. Here's a photo of the same mouthpiece (a BD5 in this picture) in both a non-HD and HD variety. 

As you can see, the HD mouthpiece is a little under 50% heavier than its on-a-diet sibling. 

So what? What difference does the HD material make?

I tried a BD6 in both HD and Regular (SD?) varieties. I feel the sound I get from the HD has a presence, a core, a center, maybe even projection, that the SD version does not. If feels more responsive to the same reed. Basically it took my sound and made it "more" my sound. I'd like to hear your feedback if you try this back to back. Put it in a review, even if you didn't buy it from me, so we can all learn from each other.

TRIALS? In this case, yes.

Normally, I don't do Vandoren mouthpiece trials. I'm going to make an exception here, and say yeah, you should give this a try. I won't charge you anything other than 2-way shipping if you decide to return it — assuming you put the teeth cushion patch on that I provide, and use a ligature that won't scratch the mouthpiece. (If it's scratched, well, I can't re-sell it so I'm going to have to send it back to you, and you'll own it.)

In short, be careful, and we can take care of each other. Contact me if you have any questions about all this!

Deets: 

  • Tip Opening: 115.5 (Medium)
  • Facing Length: Medium Long

 

$206.00
$206.00
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Customer Reviews

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C
Craig
BD5 to BD4 HD

I currently play on BD5 (notHD). I like the ease of production and flexibility of tone and embouchure. But I was looking for a bit more "heft" as well as better response on high notes and articulations. So I got a BD4 HD. I like it and am keeping it. It has a tighter focus that I think is good for orchestra projection. It also articulates really well and the altissimo speaks better. On the other hand it's less "warm" and flexible, which I expected; for me, larger tip openings do that. My BD5 reeds are too hard for the BD4,so maybe going down in strength will also help the flexibility. Im not sure everyone would need to go down in reed strength. What seems a fairly big difference to me may seem less to someone else....so in my case, I have switched both the tip and facing length, AND gone to HD. So two changes. But I feel the same as Earspasm, the HD seems heftier in sound and focus, more than my tip change could account for. My takeaway is that I love the BD5 for chamber playing and the BD4 might be better for large group(with a slightly softer reed). HD-wise I think it will make a difference on orchestral playing and projection.

J
John Klinghammer
It’s good!

Compared to my regular BD4, this HD version holds the sound together much better as I play into the higher range of the instrument. Seems to produce a more even scale, and even more focus in the low register as well. Of course everyone’s results may vary, and there was a notable difference between the two that I tried (only bought one) but if you play vandoren mouthpieces and esp if you play BD mouthpieces, the HDs are worth a serious look.