New @ LCWB: Chedeville SAV Clarinet Mouthpieces

Back in December 2020, we announced that we were working closely with Mark Walton to launch Steuer Reeds onto the Australian/New Zealand market. What we didn’t reveal back then is that we had started a second project with Mark: to find a suitable replacement for the discontinued BG B1 and B2 clarinet mouthpieces. Mark always was a big fan of the BG mouthpieces, and with reason. They were, without a doubt, one of the most popular mouthpieces of the past few decades.

BG used the much loved Zinner blanks for their clarinet mouthpieces. Unfortunately, a few years ago, the Zinner brothers decided to retire, and as no-one was found to continue their work, their factory closed. The direct result of this was that the worldwide stock of BG B1 and B2 mouthpieces gradually ran out. As an alternative option wasn’t offered at the time, we decided to ask Mark to help us find a mouthpiece that would fill this newly created gap. He was immediately on board.

Starting from the specs of the BG B1, which Mark really liked, we set out to find a number of mouthpieces that resembled the BGs – or at least, on paper. Mark tried them all and reported that some of these came surprisingly close. However, that essential je ne sais quoi, that little element of magic, was still missing. Until we decided to try the Jody Jazz clarinet mouthpieces.

Jody Jazz is particularly well known for their incredible saxophone mouthpieces. What many players don’t know, however, is that they also make excellent clarinet mouthpieces, known as the HR* (pronounce as HR Star).

As the tip opening and the material of the old BG B1 corresponded to the tip opening and material of the Jody Jazz HR* #2 clarinet mouthpiece, we decided to order one. Mark was instantly intrigued, and we knew we were “on to something”.

After we sent Mark’s initial feedback back to the States, Jody Espina, President and Founder of Jody Jazz, personally modified the mouthpiece even more, this time making the tip rail slightly thicker than the one on the original Jody Jazz HR*s. We were offered a second prototype, which Mark tested as soon as they arrived in Australia. He immediately fell in love with this latest version of the mouthpiece, and we were excited to have found a product that so closely resembled the BG mouthpieces.

We reported Mark’s latest feedback to the Jody Jazz team, along with the suggestion to market these mouthpieces not as jazz mouthpieces, but rather as classical mouthpieces. Our colleagues in the United States took this on board and decided to rebrand these mouthpieces as the Chedeville SAV Clarinet Mouthpieces. This has now become a completely new line-up of brilliant, affordable mouthpieces that didn’t exist a year ago.

If, like Mark, you absolutely love(d) the BGs, you should definitely try the Chedeville SAVs. We keep tip openings 1-3 on stock and order them on a regular basis. If stock has temporarily run out, you won’t have to wait long to get your hands on one of these mouthpieces. You are invited to pre-order them by simply purchasing the product on backorder – you can find them here. The mouthpieces with tip openings 4 and 5, as well as the Jody Jazz HR* clarinet mouthpieces, can be ordered upon simple request. Send us a message and we’ll get the ball rolling for you.

The Chedeville SAV mouthpieces come in 5 tip openings. Tip opening #2 is similar to the old BG B1, and tip opening #1 is similar to the old BG B2. Jody Jazz continues to make the HR* for clarinet, which is available in 10 (!) different tip openings.

We are incredibly proud and humbled to have played a small part in this creative process, and very grateful to Mark Walton and the team at Jody Jazz and Chedeville for their assistance in making this happen.