In-Depth Comparison: Selmer Supreme vs. Series II
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- An in-depth look at the Selmer Supreme vs. the Selmer Series II - the differences between the two saxophones, inherent tuning qualities, and things to consider for anyone thinking about taking the plunge!
Equipment used: Selmer Supreme alto saxophone (2021), Selmer Series II alto saxophone (1996), Selmer Concept mouthpiece, Vandoren M/O pink gold ligature, Vandoren V12 alto saxophone reeds size 3, Breathtaking neck strap.
I agree, the Supreme has a more warm sound. It is nice. Nice review!
Great job Reese, I enjoyed your more conversational style for this comparison. There’s no going back now, the Supreme does great things for your sound! 👍
Thank you my friend!
Thanks a lot, very interesting! I just changed from series II to supreme. What I think: intonation on supreme is much better from alone 😊and sound is more warm and a little bit fuller.
Great Job. Thanks for the video!
Thank you, Reese. Very helpful comparison! I have a Series II Jubilee and just purchased a Supreme. It’s not taken me too long to adjust to the Supreme, which is good.
Thanks for the comment! I can imagine that the Jubilee is a much closer jump than my '96 Series II was. How are you liking the Supreme?
And on a side note, I thought of this comment again the other day. One of my students owns a Series III and the octave mechanism is the same as the Supreme. So I'd imagine that the switch from the Jubilee II to the Supreme is probably not as drastic as it would be from an older II.
@@rburganmusic I absolutely love it, Reese. You're right that the transition from the Series II (Even the Jubilee) is tougher than from the Series III. I took the Supreme to Matt Hess for a tune-up yesterday, as I bought the demo horn used at the JEN conference. He thought it was in really great shape, so I'm encouraged.
The right side palm keys are slanted like that on my late model King Zephyr tenor, ca. 1970. I like that and the fact that it cost about 1/6 as much a new Selmer. I like the low left side palm keys. Not a key-riser guy. I do not bend my fingers as much as you. I would say the Zeph is a perfect sax except for the pinky table, particularly the low C# key touch, which is small and stiff. When I owned both it and a Mark VI, I kept going back to the Zephyr for its big sound.
The slanted side keys took a little getting used to but I like them now. A lot of the newer Yamahas have side keys that slant upwards rather than downwards!
Both are great saxes. The Supreme sounds a bit more smoother and mellower. You should compare the Supreme with the Reference 54.
Yeah, that's a good call for us Jazz players
That would be a great video..need to get my hand on a Reference 54. I played the Kookaburra model once and wasn't a huge fan. It played fine but just wasn't quite the sound I typically like.
I'm not a big jazz player, but I've heard mixed things from them on the Supreme. Some people really like but it can be a little constricting tonally so some jazz players are not fans. As always, it comes down to personal preference.
The Series III right hand side keys are similarly slanted like the Supreme keys, but they're less sculpted; they're like a straight diagonal.
Thanks for the info! I have a few students who have the Yamaha Custom EX II and after making this video I looked at their side keys too. The EX slants the opposite way, with the side Bb key being the highest off the body. Interesting stuff!
I have a series 2, from 2006, and although the supreme is a top instrument, for me it doesn't justify the difference of more than 2000 usd for the series 2.
I also have a Mark 7 from 1980 and I certainly wouldn't trade it for a Supreme, but tastes can't be discussed.
Thanks for covering the ergonomics and intonation with that display. Some things I would of liked to see covered is the amount of adjustments that could be done, quality of construction, material thickness difference if any, metal composition, robustness of construction - really all the things that can justify the high price.
NB: I never understood why the octave key are usually so high.
(On another instrument such as violin 1mm difference is noticeable difference 😀)
I will say that the quality of the construction is top-notch. It comes with metal resonators by default and plays straight out of the case. Naturally, you’d want to take to a tech to set it up anyways as shipping can cause these instruments to fall out of adjustment. Now that I’ve been playing for a bit I’m noticing the felts under the left hand stack are moving from their default position, but that’s not a big deal as any tech can repair that quickly with no problem. Other than that, I haven’t had any issues with the construction of the instrument.
If I knew the composition of the metal, which I don’t, I’d probably be legally obligated not to share! I think it’s worth the price they charge but I know some will disagree. To each their own.
@@rburganmusic Thanks for your replay. Good to hear. It seems there is a long waiting list. I wonder if taper of the conical bore is less compared to other models to improve intonation? Or maybe a combination of taper, tone whole size and placing, pad height. Are there even any differences in taper across models and manufacturers, if so, by how much? What specifically makes intonation better from one model to the next? That's enough questions 😀
@@zeniktorres4320 it’s a complex topic for sure. I think the taper of the neck is a major factor. I put the Supreme neck on my series II and intonation was much improved. The series II neck on the Supreme made the intonation much worse.
@@rburganmusic Thanks. Interesting.
The side keys on my Reference 54 are 100% perpendicular to the body. The E key also doesn't have that curve at the top, it's a completely straight key just like the other two
Thanks for the info! I have a 54 tenor but haven't had the chance to play the 54 alto.
@@rburganmusic I'm surprised it's different on the tenor! Both the alto and tenor mark VI (which they're modelled after) have the same thing I have from what I can see in pictures online. Photos of the tenor 54 do look different from my horn.
Another thing I noticed is that the chromatic F# key is an oval on the tenor, but on my alto it's round. Again something where the alto follows the VI design while the tenor does not.
@@robbertzzzzz interesting. Yes, coming from my Series II, I felt like the tenor reference 54 matched that configuration almost exactly (except for the front F key)
Excellent review the Serie 11 neck would wreck the improved intonation i think .
You are correct, that neck definitely affects the tone quality and intonation very much. I would be curious to hear how the Series III neck behaves on the Supreme as well. I've heard of players using a III neck on their Series II and experiencing improvement..my suspicion is that the Supreme is not backwards-compatible in that regard.
i’m going from a custom ex to a supreme, this is gonna be interesting once my supreme gets here!
Has it arrived yet? I'm curious to hear your thoughts coming from a Yamaha.
@@rburganmusic it has, and i fell in love with it. it reminds me of the ex in many ways, but maintains the “selmer sound” if that makes any sense. overall improvements are the low notes, ive never had a horn that had such a responsive low range and high range. the tuning in the supreme is certainly a lot better than the ex.
@Ashton Stewart how do you like your supreme so far? I am thinking to get supreme or series 2. Some people bash the supreme and dont like the sound of it.
@@op14435 i personally love it, i get hate for it by my peers as well. if you’re in high school for reference, i know it’s the player and not the horn but i got first part in the state of florida on it, so it obviously sounds good if a good player is using it. sorry it’s a ramble but if you play it and like how you sound that’s ultimately what matters most :)
@Ashton Stewart thanks. I was thinking between supreme vs series ii. Im trying to get back into playing. I played back in the day probably for like 10years but never on a selmer.
Thanks Reese for the great in depth review. Nice playing. Even on my mobile phone I could hear a difference. I thought there was more presence in the sound of the Supreme. I can’t wait until the Tenor version is released. Does anyone have any predictions as to when? 😊
Thank you! My guess would be that we’re still probably a year or so away. I was told that a decade of R&D went into the alto, and there’s no telling how supply chain disruptions have messed up Selmer’s timeline.
Yeah, a year seems to be the consensus of opinion. That I can wait, lets hope its not ten years!
Spoke to a dealer yesterday and could be a soon as May of this year. Very soon.
Many thanks. Loved the comparison. What is the app you are using as a tuner for the comparison?
Thanks! The app is called Tunable. It also has a recording session feature that records your playing and gives you analytics. I love it!
Really interesting video, every day I’m leaning more and more torwards buying a supreme (from my custom82zii) I’d say Yamaha wins in the intonation of the low range, but they are doing great things with this horn. A bell ring or mute whatever you want to call it will fix that either way lol.
Love it!
SII is little darker. The stacato is more precise in the Supreme, of course. God job. Thanks.
Thank you!
Thank you very much.
Intonation is excellent-what’s the resistance on a scale of 1-10
I agree, intonation is much improved. I think the extreme ranges of the supreme (pinky/palm keys) are a tiny bit more resistant than on my Series II. However, I like that because I feel like there is naturally more body to the sound of the palm keys. At least that’s what I’m hearing. Now that I’ve been playing it for a few months I’m not noticing a difference in feel low to high - it’s likely I learned some voicing habits for my old horn that I’m unlearning because they are no longer necessary.
Long story short, the Supreme just plays!
@@rburganmusic this is a great review - - I just watched it again. I can hear the difference in the intonation on your left hand above the G. I play an R54 and I am particularly a jazz player who used to be an avid classical player. The R54 is very warm so i’m really interested at how this thing plays. I also have a R36 tenor with a R54 neck- what an amazing combination. It’s definitely the best tenor set up I’ve ever played and that includes the Mk VI’s I own. I haven’t played the supreme and I’m definitely going to take my R54 alto down there and r e a l l y compare it- again, a great video.
Thanks! Love my R54 Tenor too
As a series II player myself, I really hope yours is in bad need of a service because the tonal difference is a little devastating! (And I could never afford a Supreme)
The Supreme looks a bit like the Selmer Reference.
Nice job in comparison. Honestly I heard no difference. For you I’m sure it’s the weight and ergonomics, but sound wise I didn’t hear a noticeable difference.
My saxophone is a Glory student model, (like 200 on amazon). The side keys (Bb, C, E) are just plain strait. Do not buy this sax I've had it one year and I'm already looking for a replacement lol
You sounded better with Supreme!
Thanks!
What’s your serial number range?
My Series II is 544xxx and the Supreme is 826xxx
Curious, what tuner app is that?
It's an app called Tunable. I really like it for practicing and teaching vibrato!
@@rburganmusic Thank you!
The price of Supreme doesn’t match the quality.