Jody Jazz has acquired Rousseau Mouthpieces
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I hope this is good news. I would love to see the entire Rousseau line carried forward with better QC, but as with any acquisition they will need to evaluate what makes business sense and whether having product overlap makes sense.
My guess is that JJ will position Rousseau as the company's entry-level or "value" line. "Great for both students and pros on a budget!" etc. Then if you want a higher-end piece, you move to the JJ brand for jazz/commercial, or Chedeville for classical.
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I suspect that's at least partially correct, but I've always thought there might be some overlap even within the Rousseau lineup. For instance, you have the R and NC lines for classical and the SJ and the JDX lines for jazz. For your "value" line, do you you need two models for each style? I think they'll look at the sales and see if it makes sense or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if one or more Rousseau models were cancelled eventually.
They are in terms of price, which will be the main basis for the positioning (also, I said "higher-end" rather than "high-end" in an absolute sense). All Rousseau classical mouthpieces except bari sax retail for less than $100. You can get a Rousseau Jazz JDX HR alto piece for $78 and a Rousseau Studio Jazz HR tenor mouthpiece for $92. The cheapest Jody Jazz piece of any kind is $189 at retail. Plus, having Rousseau in the lineup might enable Jody Jazz to increase the prices on the JJ brand to make it seem more "premium."
Yes, that's quite plausible. There may be some fat here to be cut. And Rousseau also has a third classical model, the RC, but only for alto sax.
The QC on these pieces actually used to be better when they first started coming out (I read in several places that ER and his students used to hand finish each of the pieces). I have a few examples of the earlier ones and have had a couple of the new ones on trial (kept one for awhile).
The difference in the finishing and playability is noticeable. Aesthetically, the older ones are more streamlined and the tips and rails are very nicely finished (they actually outplay a lot of the more expensive mouthpieces out there based on my experience... I believe saxaholic has some reviews of these pieces on SOTW). The recent ones typically have one rail thicker than the other and very uneven/crooked finishing. They're still not that bad, though, particularly for the price you pay. To be clear, I'm talking about the SJ and JDX models. I've never tried the classical models.
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I did a review on the entire JodyJazz line many years ago. Really enjoyed his mouthpieces on alto. The JJ DVNY is still the best metal alto mouthpiece out there, IMO.
Haven't reviewed the Rousseau pieces. I had a few that played well but most were pretty inconsistent for me.
I must admit it's an interesting move by Jody. If hes looking to get into the "student" market I am curious how he will uphold the "JodyJazz" values of QC while still keeping the cost of the mouthpiece under $100. Even then...is the Rousseau name still popular enough in mouthpieces to make it a profitable venture? Who knows.
- Saxaholic
You're right, I confused you with SaxyJ: https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showt...ew-Corner-Eugene-Rousseau-Studio-Jazz-amp-JDX
I don't know exactly when the production changes happened, but the newer models are bulkier and have rougher finishing compared to the earlier ones.
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I made an offer. With plans to destroy any remaining stock before it ended up choking a turtle in some ocean somewhere...
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I think it fits in with his move toward a more classical, or at least middle of the road, line. As with the Chedeville brand he brought out last year.
Depends on whether the deal is structured as an equity purchase or asset purchase. With the former, you get the company and everything it owns and owes (subject to certain carve outs). If the latter, you just pick and choose which assets you're acquiring (usually the assets that are necessary to run the business - equipment, inventory, IP, customer lists, etc. - and you only take on the liabilities associated with those assets.
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Bingo!
When I was thinking of putting out a classical piece I heeded the warning of a number of experts in the field who informed me that I best be ready to go to a zillion trade shows and schools to get my name accepted. The word I got suggested it is a very closed market and difficult to breach.
I heard that a couple of times and forgot it since Im not inclined towards that type of marketing.
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Sure. But, more specifically, what does Jodi need and Rousseau has - and which it's worth buying the company for as opposed to developing it themselves.
Others have already noted that Jody appears to be making a move into the classical mouthpiece market. From what I know Rousseau is a known brand in that market segment. It's easier for Jody to leverage the Rosseau brand in that market than to rebrand a "Jody Jazz" classical mouthpiece line ("Jody Jazz" and "classical" don't seem to go together and the classical sax market might be very hesitant to accept a Jody Jazz branded classical mouthpiece). When executed properly, acquisitions can be the most effective way to enter into new markets (you have a ready-made market, customer base, supply and distribution chain, etc.).
Note: Mergers and acquisitions is my primary practice area.
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