Jody Espina wanted to market classical saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces, but understandably didn't think they would fit under his "JodyJazz" brand. So he purchased the once-famous Chedeville mouthpiece company. (I don't think the company was entirely inactive, but certainly it's had a low profile in recent years.) It appears that this was more than just the acquisition of a trademark; Espina claims to have obtained valuable facing-curve data and know-how, as well as a formula for "proprietary" hard rubber than he has attempted to recreate. Here's an interview from NAMM 2019:
This article also provides some background: http://www.musicincmag.com/News/2018/031418/031418_JodyJazz.html
You can find information about, and demos of, the mouthpieces themselves on Chedeville's excellent new website: https://chedeville.com/. Everything looks very promising, except the prices. The mouthpieces list at $450 for alto or soprano, $475 for tenor, and $495 for baritone. Slight discounts probably will be available from the usual retailers, but there's no question that these will be among the costliest classical mouthpieces around. Will classical players pay these prices for "artisan" pieces? I wouldn't, but I'm just an amateur. (Well, I might try a used alto model if one ever became available.) Excellent options from Vandoren, Selmer, and now D'Addario are available for one-half to one-third of Chedeville's prices. Most classical guys seem satisfied with one of those, perhaps with a bit of custom facing touch-up for another hundred bucks or so.
The Chedeville RC mouthpiece is priced between the Dahlke RC at $350 (another RC -- confusing) and the Dahlke RS at $675. I still have never run into an account from someone who's tried a Dahlke piece. I would assume that JodyJazz's superior marketing will prevent the Chedeville mouthpiece from being similarly ignored, but someone still has to go out there and actually buy one.
Has anyone here tried a new Chedeville RC mp?
This article also provides some background: http://www.musicincmag.com/News/2018/031418/031418_JodyJazz.html
You can find information about, and demos of, the mouthpieces themselves on Chedeville's excellent new website: https://chedeville.com/. Everything looks very promising, except the prices. The mouthpieces list at $450 for alto or soprano, $475 for tenor, and $495 for baritone. Slight discounts probably will be available from the usual retailers, but there's no question that these will be among the costliest classical mouthpieces around. Will classical players pay these prices for "artisan" pieces? I wouldn't, but I'm just an amateur. (Well, I might try a used alto model if one ever became available.) Excellent options from Vandoren, Selmer, and now D'Addario are available for one-half to one-third of Chedeville's prices. Most classical guys seem satisfied with one of those, perhaps with a bit of custom facing touch-up for another hundred bucks or so.
The Chedeville RC mouthpiece is priced between the Dahlke RC at $350 (another RC -- confusing) and the Dahlke RS at $675. I still have never run into an account from someone who's tried a Dahlke piece. I would assume that JodyJazz's superior marketing will prevent the Chedeville mouthpiece from being similarly ignored, but someone still has to go out there and actually buy one.
Has anyone here tried a new Chedeville RC mp?