Owning a vintage Saxophone is commonly an expensive ongoing affair and you have to be braced for all the вЂpeculiaritiesвЂ™ of ageing keywork, odd and intermittent problems, and slightly challenging intonation problems. ThatвЂ™s no problem, but weвЂ™re now seeing vintage SelmerвЂ™s either go for silly money, or (and this is more usual) starting to show their age. I know there will be those of you out there reading this who remain firmly in the вЂњyou canвЂ™t play jazz without a Selmer MKVIвЂќ camp. Out of nowhere, these Saxes suddenly had a zest about them that weвЂ™d been dying to hear for years, talking of whichвЂ¦ The вЂVintageвЂ™ Elephant In The Room They also removed some of the plates running down the tube that the pillars were previously soldered onto. However, they lost various bits of unnecessary weight from around the bell/bow and bow/body bands. They kept the special blend of brass that has been one of the key ingredients for years which helps produce вЂtheвЂ™ Selmer sound. I mentioned in the video that essentially Selmer took their Saxophones on a crash diet. However, from the depths of despair, they made a raft of subtle changes, didnвЂ™t really tell anyone (communication is not their strong point!) and suddenly we noticed SelmerвЂ™s coming through that played absolutely beautifully. There had been quality issues (and admittedly thereвЂ™s still only one winner in French vs Japanese manufacturing but they have improved greatly), strikes within the workforce, the threat of closure and more. In fact, until they made the changes in about 2014 across the range, you could argue that modern Selmers were stodgy and not much fun to own or play. IвЂ™ve sat with Simon many times in our videos and he sounds great on everything, BUT, IвЂ™ll always remember this video we shot and how that Selmer sound was just was so rich, fat and luxurious and filled the room immediately.Д«ut why? Modern SelmerвЂ™s havenвЂ™t always received critical acclaim from players, and from me either. Within 5 seconds I could tell you blindfolded that this is a Selmer Ref 54. So, now IвЂ™ve nailed my colours firmly to the mast, letвЂ™s try and get into the pertinent question of why? For me, itвЂ™s all about tone, just check out the sound Simon makes on this Tenor in the video demo above at 01:14. But, as someone whoвЂ™s been doing this for nearly 20 years and played hundreds, if not thousands of Saxophones, hereвЂ™s my admission: When push came to shove, and I had to put my own hand in my pocket to buy a new Tenor in 2015, I bought the Selmer вЂ“ and am delighted I did! Why Selmer?

WeвЂ™d all have our own favourites in this list, and thereвЂ™s a host of amazing options above.

In this instance, if youвЂ™re looking for a premium level new Saxophone IвЂ™d suggest this would be a worthy list to consider: Whether weвЂ™re talking musical instruments, sports players, cars or whatever it may be.

When we seek to measure the вЂgreatnessвЂ™ of something itвЂ™s always relevant to its competition.

Selmer reference 54 alto registration