Mouthpieces created for clarinets and saxophones
Over 100 Years of making Music
Over 100 Years of Making Music
Leadership
Timeline
Jesse James Babbitt and his brother, Rollie, founded the jj Babbitt Company, Inc. in 1919. Jesse owned and managed the firm until 1951.
Eugene (Bud) Reglein, Jesse Babbitt’s nephew, joined in 1939, eventually becoming CEO and owner. Bud died in 2005, after serving the company for over 65 years.
William (Bill) Reglein, joined Babbitt in 1967 making deliveries. He later became president and owner. Bill retired in 2007 after 40 years of service and died in 2019.
Rocco (Rocky) Giglio joined the company as vice president of operations in 1999. He became president and chief operating officer (2007) and retired in January 2020.
Steven (Steve) L. Rorie—a 40-year music industry veteran—joined jj Babbitt in December 2019 as president. He purchased the company from the Reglein Family Trust in 2021.
Leadership
Timeline
Jesse James Babbitt and his brother, Rollie, founded the jj Babbitt Company, Inc. in 1919. Jesse owned and managed the firm until 1951.
Eugene (Bud) Reglein, Jesse Babbitt’s nephew, joined in 1939, eventually becoming CEO and owner. Bud died in 2005, after serving the company for over 65 years.
William (Bill) Reglein, joined Babbitt in 1967 making deliveries. He later became president and owner. Bill retired in 2007 after 40 years of service and died in 2019.
Rocco (Rocky) Giglio joined the company as vice president of operations in 1999. He became president and chief operating officer (2007) and retired in January 2020.
Steven (Steve) L. Rorie—a 40-year music industry veteran—joined jj Babbitt in December 2019 as president. He purchased the company from the Reglein Family Trust in 2021.
Through the years…
The jj Babbitt Company, Inc. is the industry’s oldest known manufacturer of mouthpieces for clarinet and saxophone. During its 100-plus years in business, jj Babbitt has produced millions of mouthpieces and remains the world’s most prolific manufacturer of these products.
The firm was founded in 1919 by Jesse James Babbitt and his brother Rollie, who set up shop in Jesse’s 2-stall garage in Elkhart, Indiana. The workforce consisted of five men and their mascot—a Bulldog named Chopper. Using a combination of quality materials, careful craftsmanship, and dependable delivery, jj Babbitt quickly established a reputation for excellence in the manufacture of mouthpieces.
In 1939, Jesse Babbitt’s nephew, 19-year-old Eugene (Bud) Reglein, joined the company. He designed and built several manufacturing machines, some of which are still used in production today. A beloved industry legend, Bud would later become a partner and, eventually, owner and CEO.
As the years passed, jj Babbitt expanded its regular product lines to include custom designs and private labeling for individuals who wanted to design and market their own line of mouthpieces. In 1950 the growing company moved out of Jesse’s garage to a larger facility nearby and—in 1981—took up residence at its current location at 2201 Industrial Parkway in Elkhart, Indiana, a city once known as “The Band Instrument Capital of the World”.
In 1967, William (Bill) Reglein, Bud’s teenaged son, began learning the family business by working in virtually every station of production, sales, design, and delivery. He was the third generation of the jj Babbitt family to own and manage the business. He took over the presidency in 1999 from his father, Bud, who remained involved as chairman as well as advisor and mentor to his son. Although the father and son pair dedicated their careers to producing millions of mouthpieces, neither of them played saxophone or clarinet.
The Acquisition of Meyer Bros.
The company continued to expand throughout the 1970s and 1980s by purchasing the name brands and businesses of other mouthpiece manufacturers and moving their production to its Elkhart facility. The most notable brand acquisitions were Meyer Bros. in 1971 and the Otto Link brand in 1977.
In 1999, Rocco (Rocky) Giglio joined the company as vice president of operations. Rocky brought 40 years of industry experience to jj Babbitt. He also offered the unique perspective of nearly 50 years as a well-known professional musician. He was proficient in all woodwind instruments, in particular saxophone and clarinet. At this time, Bill Reglein moved to the position of president while his father, Bud, stepped into an advisor role, serving until his death in 2005.
The Legacy continues…
In celebration of its 80th year in business and to mark the millennium year 2000, jj Babbitt introduced the New York (NY) Meyer alto sax mouthpiece in 1999. A reboot of the original free-blowing NY mouthpiece, this popular model was brought back based upon player requests. It has superior control and playability. Designed for saxophone players at all levels, the NY Meyer enables musicians to achieve the sound and playing comfort they desire.
Acquisition of Hite, Inc.
In 2005, Babbitt purchased David Hite, Inc. of Estero, Florida. Mr. Hite had worked with jj Babbitt for 30 years producing privately labeled mouthpieces, produced by jj Babbitt and hand finished by Hite and his wife, Jean, under the brand names Premiere (an easy-play mouthpiece for student use and a staple in many school music programs), and J&D Hite, mouthpieces for professional musicians. Finishing efforts were moved to Elkhart, Indiana and these models joined the jj Babbitt product lines. In 2015, jj Babbitt added the Portnoy mouthpiece brand to its lineup.
In commemoration of its 90th year in 2009, jj Babbitt introduced the Otto Link Vintage mouthpiece for tenor sax. Three years of extensive development, testing and evaluation by professional musicians helped identify and recapture the unique yesteryear sound of early Otto Links. The year 2019 marked jj Babbitt’s 100th anniversary as a premiere creator of mouthpieces. That year, Bill Reglein passed away in October. In December, Rocky Giglio welcomed Steve Rorie, to the company as president. Rorie brought with him 40 years of experience in the music industry. His goal is to preserve the successful history, heritage, and traditions of jj Babbitt while adding technology and automation to stay closely connected with the ever-changing needs and desires of today’s musicians.
In 2021, Rorie purchased jj Babbitt from the Reglein family’s trust, through Diana Reglein, widow of former owner and president Bill Reglein. Rorie and Diana Reglein were both determined to keep jj Babbitt operating in Elkhart with its current team intact.
During its 100-plus years in business, all jj Babbitt products were—and are—manufactured completely in its Elkhart, Indiana factory. The company has designed and produced millions of mouthpieces, in more than 1,000 different models and is legendary throughout the world for superior craftsmanship and quality control, as well as exceptional value. The company’s products have helped players from novice, to student, to professional—and from virtually every music genre—to not only discover the joy of making music, but also to develop the proficiency to create their own unique sound. The firm’s products are sold internationally to instrument manufacturers, distributors, and players.
The only company in the United States to mold its own mouthpieces from scratch, jj Babbitt continues to adhere to tough quality standards and keep its long-term commitment to excellence.
A community minded business, jj Babbitt is an annual sponsor of the nationally known Elkhart Jazz Festival held each year in June. Other sponsorships include the VH-1 Save the Music program and California’s Museum of Making Music gallery sponsorships.
The firm distributes professional products worldwide and is an OEM supplier to major instrument manufacturers. Mouthpiece lines include Otto Link hard rubber and 24k gold-plated metal mouthpieces, Meyer and Meyer Bros. hard rubber, Guy Hawkins, Wolfe Tayne, and Portnoy models as well as the Premiere student line by Hite, and J&D Hite professional-level hard rubber and metal mouthpieces. Purchasing information is available from local music dealers.