My Series II is 544xxx and the Supreme is 826xxx

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!

Thank you for watching!

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.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks for listening!

Thank you, my friend!

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.

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!

You are correct, this mouthpiece is a concept. The saxophone in this video is a Selmer Series II, but I just recently switched to the Selmer Supreme.

@@rburganmusic Nice, I play on a custom 82zii and have for a while, I’ve been planning on really trying out some selmers, (I play both classical and jazz) to compare them. How do you like the supreme as apposed to the II, and if you’ve tried any other selmers or Yamahas, feel free to compare those, or tell me what you prefer lol

@@keananok I actually have a whole other video that really dives into the difference between the Series II and the Supreme, but long story short I love the Supreme. My Series II is from 1996 so it's a huge jump forward for me in terms of tone and intonation. I like the Yamaha Custom series, they put out some great saxes! I just prefer the tone of the Selmer saxes, and I think the Supreme is extremely sensitive and flexible in terms of tone, while somehow not sacrificing the core of its sound. At least it is more so than my II. If I had to pick something other than Selmer, it'd be the Yamaha Custom EXII with the V1 neck.

@@rburganmusic Wow. Thanks for this. I know the supreme is expensive, but I’ll have to think more into this. From your description I’d think I’d like the supreme a lot. I know a lot of pretty virtuosic players are switching to them in both jazz and classical. I really like the V1 neck as well, my custom z came with one but I also tried a G1.

@@keananok I need to correct myself here. I'm using the Supreme in this video. When I replied earlier I thought I had recorded this video on my Series II but now I just double checked and this is indeed the Supreme.

Thanks! I fell off my recording schedule (life happening and such) but it’s good to hear that. Best of luck as you prepare!

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

Thank you!

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.

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.

Thanks!

No Problem, you sound really good btw

It's an app called Tunable. I really like it for practicing and teaching vibrato!

@@rburganmusic Thank you!

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)

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!

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.

emphasize meaning just blow faster air through it

Thanks! The app is called Tunable. It also has a recording session feature that records your playing and gives you analytics. I love it!

Thank you my friend!

Thanks for the comment! I would say that store is probably about an hour or so away from Galveston. It’s located in north west Houston inside the 610 loop.