But there is the loose end caused by Malcolm Gregory's ex-son-in-law starting a separate business (Gale Products, Inc.) along with several of the principals of Rico Products. That business failed within a year and some of its assets were sold to a local jewelry salesman (Cesar Tschudin). Tschudin partnered with Elmer Beechler's business (Remlé Musical Products ) for about a year, that joint venture ended, and then years later Tschudin sold the remains of his business to Charles Bay. As part of the purchase, Bay ended up with some of the original Gale Products, Inc. molds. People have speculated that he may have also ended up with the Rico "M.C. Gregory" molds, in part because Bay hinted at that years later. Bay provided no corroborating evidence. We could find no corroborating evidence. There was no direct contrary evidence until a few days ago.
Charles Bay passed and months later things started showing up on Ebay that were listed as being from his estate. It was kind of odd in that his son, Jonathan Bay, continues on with a well respected mouthpiece and ligature business, yet the items sold on Ebay were clearly being liquidated by sellers who didn't have a clue as to what they were selling, other than the items were claimed to be from the Charles Bay estate. It would appear that his son decided that the items had no value to the ongoing business and maybe little value overall such that the could simply be liquidated by someone without any idea of the item's value, or even purpose. The listings said things like "I think this is a saxophone mouthpiece" or a "mouthpiece shaping tool mold." Things like that.
Having yet to find a shred of evidence (or even likelihood) that Malcolm Gregory was ever affiliated with Gale Products, Inc., or later with Cesar Tschudin making mouthpieces that Tschudin also branded as "Gale," we can now look at the molds that were in the possession of Charles Bay and see if there is any possibility that they are the Rico Gregory molds. Nine molds appear to have been sold so far on Ebay, most of them for tenor saxophone (no clarinet molds, as it appears that the Rico Gregory clarinet pieces were always produced from JJ Babbitt blanks). I contacted the seller about the molds and he said that there are no more.
Here is the first one.
This one is interesting mainly because it is so different from the others. It appears to have been gouged out of two solid blocks of steel.
The table area wouldn't be flat, the shank isn't symmetrical, the casting would be rough, and there would be a huge seam flash, all of which could be milled off with hours of finish work. The purpose of molding is, of course, to eliminate the subsequent milling. When you compare this first mold to the following ones, you will wonder if this one was ever used more than a few times. It does have a shank plug that has a ring to create a space for a subsequent metal shank band, but that's not enough for me to believe this mold has anything to do with the Rico trademarked M.C. Gregory Model A or B (not even an attempt to mimic a Rico piece).
Here is a more refined mold with much more complex milling and machining in its fabrication.
We have seen this model of mouthpiece before. It is a version of the Gale "Companion," which had a cone-shaped shank and no metal band.The alto mold above was created by drilling a cone shaped hole through two joined blocks of steel. Then an exact fitting cone shaped piece of steel was shaped to make the beak and another shaped to make the reverse shaped shank and neck opening. A plate was added on both halves to create a flat table. And, as above, a section was formed for the chamber plug to be held in place with pins. Note that the pin arrangement for the chamber plug on this mold is different than for the first mold. A careful examination of the chamber plugs for the Gale molds sold on Ebay shows that they are not interchangeable and the molds are stamped as to which chamber plug works with which individual mold.
Along with the molds, there were some blank mouthpieces from the Bay estate that showed up on Ebay. Most of them were chipped or had some other defect. Some of them may even be from other makers and just ended up in the same box. Regardless, you can find the "band-less" cone-shank Gale "Companion" (like the mold above) in the blank selection shown below.
There were no clarinet mouthpiece molds, so it is likely that all Gale clarinet mouthpieces were based on blanks obtained from Babbitt or another manufacturer. The above mold would produce the alto piece that is in the top row 5th from the right. When polished, it would produce a finished mouthpiece like this.
Here's another alto mold. This one has a fitting to create a spot for a metal shank band. It also has a fairly short cone-shaped shank. Note that the separate chamber plug could not be used on the alto shown above because of yet another different guide pin pattern.
This mold was listed as "30-16," with 16 possibly referring to the chamber size. The chamber plug is actually stamped #1. You can see where the chamber plug meets the shank plug that it is smaller than the shank opening (which has been rounded off to make a smoother connection. The chamber sizes in the various Ebay auctions were 16, 18, and 20, which is the same designation that Rico used on its "M.C. Gregory" line of mouthpieces. That makes some sense, as we now know that Rico Products, Ltd. was involved in the ill-fated start of Gale Products, Inc.
I don't think that using the Rico chamber designation is enough to claim that these are really Rico "Gregory" molds or to make the further leap that Malcolm Gregory ever worked directly with any of the various Gale business ventures. The lack of any connection is even more obvious given that Mr. Bay knew nothing about the various Gale business ventures or the individuals involved.
Like the previous mold, even though this next mold has a spot for a shank band, the shank itself is a simple reverse cone, not the graceful flared cone used on all of the Rico M.C. Gregory line of saxophone mouthpieces.
The above mold could be the mold for a Gale mouthpiece like the alto shown at the bottom right.
This picture shows some clarinet blanks. No clarinet molds were sold, and Bay stated that Cesar Tschudin purchased his clarinet blanks from J.J. Babbitt. That may also be the case for the Rico Gregory line of clarinet pieces.
The next mold is for a tenor. It was listed as mold #492, as that was a number stamped on the mold block. Most all of the molds had numbers stamped on the exterior that are probably impossible to decipher.
This would make the tenor version of the conical shank Gale.
None of the molds seem to indicate a Gregory Model A, Model B, or Master. And although chamber designations are stated, each mold was sold with only one chamber plug and none of the chamber sizes seem to be interchangeable. Some of the shank plugs do not seem to fit correctly at the band area and might create a bit of work to clean up the area for a shank band.
The only Charles Bay mold that I thought vaguely resembles a Rico M.C. Gregory mouthpiece is this one for baritone.
It is possible that this is the mold originally used to make a Gale mouthpiece played at one point by Gerry Mulligan, assuming his was a #20 chamber size (the only chamber plug sold with this mold) that had a metal shank band (as this mold would require). Of course, Mulligan also used other mouthpieces. This website shows a Gale baritone (which were all banded) and then Mulligan playing an unbanded mouthpiece that appears to be a Riffault Superfini. I've never heard that Mulligan sounded bad early in his career when he was actively recording, so despite the internet lore, it wasn't the Gale mouthpiece that made him famous.
Maybe it's time that we looked closer at the claim that Bay purchased any "M.C. Gregory" trademarked molds as part of his purchase of Cesar Tschudun's Gale (CTG) mouthpiece business. Bay purchased in 1969. In 1971, The Purchaser's Guide to the Music Industries still listed Gale Products, Inc., the dissolved corporation started by Maier, de Michele, and Satzinger. Frank de Michele died in 1954. Satzinger died in 1971. Maier was basically retired from Rico. And, of course, Mr. Bay didn't realize that any of them were involved with starting Gale Products, Inc. In 1971, Bay's mouthpiece business was not yet listed in The Purchaser's Guide.
A trade listing in The Purchaser's Guide to the Music Industries is available to anyone who subscribes to Music Trades magazine, a monthly trade publication for retailers and wholesalers. As part of your subscription form, you can provide a blurb or two about your business. A business can also, for an additional cost, place paid advertisements in Music Trades and The Purchaser's Guide. Unlike a paid advertisement, the business blurb can lie dormant for years and is simply inserted in the next annual edition of The Purchaser's Guide. In the case of Gale Products, Inc, the corporation was still listed as active in 1971, complete with a long abandoned business address, despite the corporation having been administratively dissolved by the State of California in 1949.
In 1973, Bay obtained a subscription to Music Trades and changed the old Gale Products, Inc. listing to refer to Bay-Gale Woodwind Mouthpieces. The new listing stated:
Gale Products of Hollywood, Calif., formerly the manufacturer of Gale mouthpieces as well as the Master Model Gregory for the Rico Corp., was acquired in 1969 thereby making available to Charles Bay the excellent Gale saxophone (legitimate and jazz) mouthpiece line, and also manufacturing equipment to increase productivity without sacrificing quality.
Bay had purchased what he thought was M.C. Gregory's business (Gale Products, Inc.), from what he thought was Gregory's family attorney who was still running the business after who he thought was Gregory's daughter Gale had taken over the business but had, he thought, died in a house fire. Ergo, he thought that he had bought the company that used to make the "Master" by Gregory for Rico. Because he believed that M.C. Gregory had a company that made the "Master" for Rico he concluded that Gale Products, Inc. made the "Master" for Rico. Unfortunately, the facts show that the M.C. Gregory Saga isn't connected to the Gale Products, Inc. Saga. Mr. Gregory was an employee of Rico and designed several mouthpieces for Rico that bear his name as a Rico trademark. But in order to purchase the company that made the "Master" by Gregory, Mr. Bay would have had to purchase Rico Products, Ltd.
There were other interesting things in the revised listing in the Purchaser's Guide. The 1973 revision of the Gale Products, Inc. listing states that the acquisition of Gale only made available to Bay the ability to manufacture "the excellent Gale saxophone (legitimate and jazz) mouthpiece line." First, I have never heard or seen evidence of Gale having a legitimate and a jazz line of saxophone mouthpieces. More important, in 1973 absolutely nothing is said or implied in the Purchaser's Guide that Bay could produce an M.C. Gregory brand mouthpiece with what he had purchased from Cesar Tschudin.
It seems that the story may have continued to evolve such that, years later, some thought that Bay might be able to produce Gregory mouthpieces. The molds recently sold on Ebay have put the fantasy which originated in The M.C. Gregory Saga to rest. None of the molds sold on Ebay are Gregory molds and, as we have seen, the requisite M.C. Gregory chamber plugs are in the possession of Judy Beechler Roan, as shown in this prior blog.
Also, the above photograph of the actual Gregory alto, tenor, and baritone chamber plugs makes it obvious that none of them will work in the Gale molds sold from the Bay estate. The part of the chamber plug that forms the "window" is clearly shown. Each has a threaded hole tapped in it. On the Gale molds from the Bay estate shown above, the window area of every chamber plug is a tab with holes to accept the alignment pins. I would suggest that first, without the Rico Gregory plugs one can't make a Rico Gregory mouthpiece. Second, the Rico Gregory plugs will not work in a Gale Products (or Cesar Tschudin) mold. So much for wishful thinking based on an inaccurate Saga.
Had Bay attempted to produce an "M.C. Gregory" mouthpiece with what he had purchased from Cesar Tschudin, he likely would have learned the full history. The final sections of the The Purchaser's Guide contain tables of various trademarks and trade names used by the subscribers to Music Trades magazine. The brand names of "Master," "Gregory," and "Gregory Master" are all listed as the trademarks of Rico Products, Ltd. We now know that Malcolm Gregory was an employee of Rico, but Rico claimed both his name and the various model designations (including the "Gregory Diamond") as their own trademarks. Had Bay announced the production of an "M.C. Gregory" mouthpiece prior to the dissolution of Rico in 1992, he would likely have received a cease and desist letter for trademark infringement from "a real attorney" for Rico Products, Inc.
The End.
Well, not quite . . . . By the mid-1980's and through the 90's, the allegation that Gale Products, Inc. had produced the "Master" by Gregory was dropped from the listing in Music Trades. The allegation has since reappeared, claiming that Bay now produces "Gregory clarinet and sax mouthpieces." Actually, anybody could start making M.C. Gregory brand mouthpieces now. Rico dropped its rights to the brand name in 1992 when it was dissolved, so the name is available without any likelihood of trademark infringement.
In a similar vein, somebody has recently trademarked "Chedeville" mouthpieces, although the new mouthpieces are completely unrelated to the original Charles Chédeville mouthpieces. So it is not uncommon to play off of expired trade names. The same could be true with a new line of "M.C. Gregory" mouthpieces. It would be an M.C. Gregory mouthpiece in name only, but it would be possible to renew the trademark and likely create a viable mouthpiece business. One could even use the "Gregory Diamond" logo. Here is what an example might look like.
* The pictures of the Gale Companion molds do provide some insight into how the Gale "Triple Rail" was produced. It still isn't clear whether that design was one of Carl Satzinger's ideas or something that Cesar Tschudin came up with later. I'd vote for the former. Like the embossing stamp with the Satzinger designed Gale logo (see Part V), it could be that Tschudin's purchase of some assets from Gale Products, Inc. did not include the Satzinger chamber plug required to manufacture the Triple Rail, as it apparently was not sold to Bay or later sold on Ebay.
Were one of the chamber plugs shown above cut in half lengthwise to the chamber, a shim the size of the saw kerf could be inserted in the guide pin/shank area. This would allow unvulcanized rubber to be compressed in between the two halves of the chamber plug. Each half of the plug would be removed, leaving a strip of rubber down the center of the chamber. Getting the alignment perfect might be difficult and it would require some additional finish work. Since the center rail added nothing from a performance point of view, it is easy to see why the additional complexity caused the Triple Rail to be rare and ultimately phased out. And for successful Gale Products Inc. business partners like Roy Maier and Frank De Michelle, finding out that their new partner (Satzingr) had wasted time and effort developing the Triple Rail mouthpiece would be a clear indication that the new venture was in trouble. Time to abandon the idea of a line of Gale mouthpieces (which they did in 1948). They apparently didn't care if somebody else later chose to use the identical name for an unrelated mouthpiece business (as Tschudin and Bay subsequently did).
