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Selmer Sax :: SaxReviews.com :: Saxophone Reviews

Selmer Saxophone Reviews

Who are the BIG 4 Sax Manufacturers?

Selmer Paris France, Yamaha, Yanagisawa and Keilwerth are the 4 big guys in the Saxophone world and to be honest, each make some really great Saxophones. This reviewer has favorites from each of these companies.

Selmer Saxophones

Selmer Saxophones have been the standard for many years. My first Tenor Sax was a great Selmer Mark VI from the 60's. Just about every pro Sax Player in the World has owned or played Selmer Saxes at some point. The old Selmers are sought after as collectors items. The Cigar Cutters date from around 1930 to 1935, Balanced Action range from 1936 thru Super Balanced Action Selmers made thru 1954. The famous Mark VI was made from the mid 50's for 20 years and truly marks the heyday of the Selmer Years. I remember the new Mark VII Saxes had little respect when they hit the street in 76-77 and Selmer had a new Super Action 80 and 80II out shortly after the failed Mark VII with USA models finding better prices but no real buz on the street.

Selmer made a few changes in the 80II and these later became the Series II Selmer still available in 2005. When the Series III hit the street the Classical Sax World jumped on it. You can check the online forums and still see many college players playing Selmer Series III Saxes today. I never gave Selmer another thought until the latest Selmers hit the Sax World in 2003 and 2004.

With the New Reference Saxophones, Selmer has moved back into the game as a Great Saxophone Manufacturer. The Selmer Reference Alto is an amazing Alto Sax. Now available in Lacquered and Matte Finish, this is an Alto Sax that would make any ears happy. My favorite was the Lacquered Alto Ref. The Reference Tenor comes available as the Ref 34 and Ref 54, modeled after the Famous Balanced Action and Mark VI Saxes. These are both Great Saxes! I first feel in love with the Ref 54 and this last year at NAMM, I would have taken the Ref 34 right off the show room floor if I could have. Either of these new Reference Tenor's would do it!

The Selmer Bari Sax is still the standard for the World to beat. It is a Great Baritone! The Selmer Soprano's are the only weakness in the sax line. The New Sterling Straight Soprano was very expensive and totally lame. For the record, The rest of the Series II and Series III Saxes tested did nothing for this writer. The Reference line is a total winner and comes at a time that Selmer really needed to step up to the plate before the Japanese buried them. Great job SELMER!

Individual Reviews are coming for Selmer Saxophones. We have tested all Reference Models, Series II and Series III available models. Check back for reviews on all of these. In the meantime you can consider writing a review by checking out the Review Questions page.

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