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Re: Kaspar Mouthpiece Reproductions

Author: The Doctor ★2017
Date: 2015-07-14 00:25

I hope that our requests to honor the trademark will soon bring about a better appreciation of the true stature of Chedeville and Kaspar.

I am not a mouthpiece artisan so I have little knowledge of what a true representation of the heritage of Kaspar and Chedeville might be but some noted mouthpiece makers have expressed interest in using the trademarks on what they think is the authentic Kaspar and Chedeville sound and playability in today's clarinet world.

Unfortunately these namesakes had become diluted by many mouthpieces in the maketplace using the name or the "style" so that everyone was confused with advertising using Kaspar and Chedeville and the namesakes had become somewhat insignificant.

There are those that feel that the material of the mouthpiece makes a difference in the sound and others that feel that architecture trumps all other aspects. Mouthpiece makers manipulate so many variables in making a mouthpiece that a mouthpiece from each maker is unique to that maker. It is not our wish to put constraints or exclude anyone who wishes to create their interpretation of an antique Kaspar or Chedeville mouthpiece.

This being said, we have invested a huge amount of time and money in recreating a replica of the Chedeville rod rubber which is very expensive to produce and the investment in measuring and creating CNC programs to mill this rod rubber and then scaling the process. We have also acquired examples of what some expert players consider excellent Chedeville (both Charles and Henri) mouthpieces and examples of the two Kaspar's done in different settings to use as models for recreations. In clearing the playing field, unfortunately using a lot of expensive attorney's fees and making some friends and makers angry, it was only our wish to once again elevate the namesakes to a more clear and higher standard of excellence.

(I hope this does not sound like a sales pitch but only a clarification of where we would like to see Chedeville and Kaspar used to the broadest segment of the woodwind community.)

We intend to collaborate with several mouthpiece makers and use these trademarks and logos on the best signature work of todays artisans while giving credit to the makers. We will sell Chedeville and Kaspar mouthpiece blanks CNC machined from our rod rubber to makers who wish to use them and collobrate with makers under a license agreement to use namesakes and an individual's exclusive logo on their work. We will also continue to sell our own recreations of Chedeville and Kaspar mouthpieces. We feel that our time and expense justify a return on investment. It remains to be seen if this will be a productive business model.

In this way we hope to revive and refresh this generation's experience with the Chedeville and Kaspar namesakes. We hope to not hide these candles under a bushel but let them shine.

L. Omar Henderson, Ph.D., CEO Golden-Henderson, llc

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Kaspar Mouthpiece Reproductions new

DavidBlumberg

2015-07-13 01:58