In 1954, the saxophone world was shattered by the arrival of an  instrument that soon became legendary: the Mark VI. Today, Douglas  Pipher dives into the archives of the most emblematic saxophone ever.

"In the spring of 1954, March 19, to be exact, a single saxophone was  packed up and shipped to Selmer US. This instrument number 53,727, was the first Mark VI to be sent..."

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-mark-vi

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 Sometimes called Super Balanced, the Super Action is to some extent a  transitional instrument falling between the Balanced Action and Mark VI.  Douglas Pipher tells you more about its specificities.

"When a number of modifications were made to the Selmer saxophones in  early 1947, the American distributor decided that a new name was needed.  They came up with the name Super Action..."

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-super-action

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On the eve of the Second World War, Henri SELMER Paris enjoyed  an international popularity, thanks in particular to the success of the  mythical Balanced Action, whose sales continued to increase. Douglas  Pipher explains how the company was able to continue its activity, in a  very limited way, from 1939 to 1945.

"In 1939, Germany, France, and England all declared war on each other.  On may 10th 1940 the Germans attacked through Belgium into France. On June 14th 1940, Paris fell to the Germans. We could think that  production would likely stop cold, but amazingly, in a much smaller  capacity, Henri SELMER Paris was able to produce musical instruments throughout the war... "

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-production-during-war

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 Today, Douglas Pipher examines the history of rare and little-known  instruments...

"We're going to talk today about the very last two iterations of the Selmer super sax  series. The first one was a number of Radio Improved instruments that  were built well into Balanced Action production. I call these the late Radio Improved. The second is probably the most iconic niche product SELMER made, known as the Dorsey."

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-last-super-sax

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 It laid the foundation for the modern saxophone, established itself in  the American market and was adopted by jazz giants such as Coleman  Hawkins and Paul Desmond... Discover the history of the Balanced Action. 

"In April of nineteen thirty five, Henri SELMER Paris introduced a new  line of instruments. A line that essentially is realized as the birth of the modern saxophone.  The instrument that changed everything. I could go on and on and on...  Everybody watching this video probably understands and agrees."

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-balanced-action

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 In 1934, the Henri Selmer Paris workshops began the smallest production  cycle in the history of the company: the Radio Improved. Discover the  history of this Selmer Super Sax (SSS).

" The third generation of the SELMER Super Sax has become known as the Radio Improved  for an obvious reason : they all had the words Radio Improved, stamped  on the bell, in English. The production ran from mid nineteen thirty  four to late summer nineteen thirty five. This is one of the smallest  identifiable production runs that SELMER produced... "

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-05-radio-improved-1 

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Our guide Douglas Pipher tells us in this new episode about  the mythical Cigar Cutter, the first of the SELMER Super Sax. 

"Anyone who's interested in old saxophones is aware of the SELMER Super Sax,  the SSS logo on the instrument. It has become synonymous with the  octave mechanism that was introduced at the same time which resembled a  cigar cutter that clips the end of your cigar. So the saxophone became  known as the Cigar Cutter. "

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-4-cigar-cutter

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 For the third episode of this  series dedicated to the history of Henri SELMER Paris, Douglas Pipher  tells us about the range of instruments produced from 1928 to 1931,  known as the "Large Bore".

" In 1928, Henri SELMER Paris decided to stop putting a model stamp on  their instruments. So the next range of instruments, from 1928 to 1931,  have become known as the Large Bore. This is because the bore at the top of the body, where the neck is attached, changed for the Altos, and the Altos only..."

FULL VIDEO ON https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-large-bore-sax

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 Through a fascinating and highly-documented web-series, collector Douglas Pipher recalls the history of Henri SELMER Paris and his legendary saxophones... This second episode focuses on the models 26 and 28. 

"In the spring of nineteen twenty six, SELMER had made enough small adjustments and improvements to the instrument to validate a new model. So accordingly they replaced the Model 22 with the Model 26..."

FULL VIDEO on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/brand/history-notes-02-models-26-and-28

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 Henri SELMER Paris offers you a new web series on the history of the House, in collaboration with saxophonist and collector collector Douglas Pipher. A true living encyclopedia, he will provide you with a wealth of precious and often little-known information on the historic SELMER saxophones.

In this first episode, let's discover the history of the first SELMER saxophone !

History Notes : the concept

Douglas Pipher is a Canadian saxophonist, arranger, composer and collector. Passionate about music and jazz, in particular, his interest in the history of Henri SELMER Paris began in the early 2000s, following the purchase of a mythical saxophone: the Radio Improved. He then began a tremendous amount of research work in order to list all the instruments produced by Maison SELMER, spending years photographing and archiving thousands of instruments. On several occasions, we have exceptionally opened the doors of our private archives to give him access to historical documents and allow him to carry out his research.

For Henri SELMER Paris and all the enthusiasts, Douglas Pipher has accepted to share the fruit of his investigations in a new web-series: History Notes. He retraces the history of the House through its legendary saxophones, from the Model 22 to the Super Action through the Super Sax and the Mark VI... You will also know the difference between serial number and body number, and learn more about production & marketing throughout the world.

FULL video on https://www.selmer.fr/en/beyond-the-sound/category/selmer/history-notes-01-model-22

Distributed by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.