Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2021-07-15 19:29
I am playing both the BD4 and BD7 with essentially the same reeds, but they are Pilgerstorfer Dolce 3.5-4.0 not Vandoren.
I used to play a Vandoren B40 with Traditional 3.0 reeds and that worked great. Since then I switched to Pilgerstorfer Dolces and haven't looked back.
I think that these very open mouthpieces (1.20+) require a very thin tip. The Pilgerstorfer reeds (like the VD Traditionals) are thinner at the tip (0.09mm) than the V12/V21 (0.10mm), or the Rue le Pic (0.11mm). I tried a box of RLP 3.0 reeds on my BD7 and had the same experience that you did--all the reeds felt too heavy.
Given this experience, I would try Pilgerstorfer Dolce 3.5 or VD Traditional 2.5-3.0, or any similar reeds that have a thinner tip (e.g., Behn Aria 3.5?).
One word of warning: while the BD7 plays/sounds/tunes great in general, I have found it more difficult to play above high-G (G6) than the BD4/BD5. It performs best with balanced reeds that have a thin tip and have been broken in properly. With such reeds, it feels/plays like many closer-facing mouthpieces.
Bob Barnhart
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