Selmer Signature or Supreme | Which tenor sax is best?

  Signature or Supreme? Let’s face it, Selmer is probably the most famous saxophone brand out there, payed by legendary players.

But should you choose a Selmer Signature or Supreme?

If you’re looking to buy the best new saxophone, chances are that you’re going to start looking at Selmer. However, perhaps like me, you’re a little bit confused by this choice of Signature or Supreme.  I mean, two flagship models – what’s the difference?

14 day free trial

And which is going to be right for you? And anyway, are these saxophones even worthy of all the hype?

So first off, let’s have a listen to how they play side by side. 

Play Side by Side

Now quite a few of our students at Sax School Online already have one of these saxophones. So I wanted to try them for myself, and I reached out to Selmer. Very kindly, they loaned me these two saxophones, but I do have to give them back at the end of the week. Although I’ve been having a brilliant time playing on them over the last few days.

And I’ll let you know at the end of this video if I would consider actually buying the Signature or Supreme myself, and also perhaps what alternatives you might consider. 

By the way, if you’re curious to know how all of our lessons and tutor support can help you play saxophone better, go grab the 14-day trial. It’s still running. 

Why Signature or Supreme?

Look, I’ll be honest, I was pretty confused at the start about why the Signature even exists. I mean, there was all that hype about the Supreme when it came out and that crazy price tag as well. And then they bring out another new sax.

Well, here’s why. 

Selmer Saxophone Line-Up

So basically Selmer is streamlining all of their models into just three offerings.

So moving forward, there’s going to be their Axos. This is their entry-level saxophone. but really it’s priced the same as the bottom level of the pro sax market. So it’s similar price to a Yamaha 62, I suppose.

Then there’s this Signature, and this is replacing a whole bunch of previous models. So the Series 2, the Series 3, the Reference 36, the Reference 54 – all of those are going.

And in their place is this new Signature, which Selmer says is the evolution really of the Series 3. So it’s kind of like the next step for that saxophone. But interestingly, it’s also got a lot of the innovations that they developed for the Supreme, which we’ll cover in a sec.  

The Supreme

14 day free trial

So that brings us to this bad boy, the Supreme.

Now this sax is apparently a brand new design all the way up. It’s got loads of changes from the dimensions, to where they place the tone holes, to the mechanism. Basically they have worked on lots of stuff that you can’t actually see.

So how do these saxophones feel to play?

Playing the Signature tenor sax

So, starting with the Signature, this really feels familiar in my hands. It’s definitely got that modern saxophone feel, which I like, although the action for me is super-heavy, which I really don’t like.

So, personally, if I did buy one of these, I think the very first thing I’d do is take it to the repairer and get them to lighten the action. I mean, that’s not an expensive job. But to be honest, if I’m spending $10,000 on a saxophone, do I really want to make any changes?  I don’t know if I do, if I’m honest.

However, the action is really smooth on this, and it’s a massive improvement over my old Dave Guardala tenor that I’ve been playing for 30 years.

So, Joel was here yesterday and blew both these saxophones. He wasn’t a super fan of the key work. But you know what? I disagree. I like the key work and I think it feels really nice. Particularly on the Signature. I really like the spatula F key. That feels comfy.

I think the altissimo pops out really well. The intonation is amazing.

And I really like the feel of these pearl key touches. I mean that just feels quality to me.

But the other thing I really like is the tone. I think it’s super clear. I think it’s very very flexible and makes me want to play in all sorts of different styles on this saxophone.

Have a listen. 

Playing the Supreme

So what about the Supreme? Well, to me, it feels very different to the Signature under the fingers, almost maybe like an older style saxophone. Perhaps they’re trying to recreate that Mark VI  feel instead of a modern horn.

So there are lots of subtle key work differences on this saxophone too. For example, the shape of the F is different and there’s an extra little linkage on the side F sharp. And there’s something about the left-hand table that feels a little bit different. Perhaps it’s just a little bit closer to the body.

Selmer says that this saxophone was 12 years in development in their quest to design their best-ever saxophone. And to be perfectly frank, I guess they felt that they needed to do that, since it’s the classic Mark VI Selmers that’s probably been killing their business for years because they’re so popular. So of course, they’re trying to create a saxophone that can replace that Mark VI and hopefully will win over all those rabid Mark 6 fans to this new Supreme.

The Sound of the Supreme

Now, unfortunately, this particular one that they sent me doesn’t play great. There’s there’s a couple of leaks on it that I’ve not been able to sort out. But even with that, I have to say the tone is really amazing on this saxophone. I do love it. I think the intonation is awesome, just like the Signature, although there is an issue on this particular sax with the high E, which would be sorted out by a good repairer pretty quickly.

The altissimo again feels fantastic. It pops out really clearly, as well as all the overtones.

I also think this is a pretty versatile sound, but I find myself for some reason wanting to play jazz sounds whenever I pick up the saxophone. I’m not sure why. 

The Innovations

Now I mentioned before that the Signature has got lots of these new innovations that were developed for the Supreme. So both saxes have this cool new neck receiver. It’s got this floating ring thing that can move around. And it tightens at three points. It’s a really clever and actually really simple idea for getting a tight neck joint, which is very, very important actually.

Also, there are some new clever Teflon bits in the octave mechanism, which apparently makes it lighter and faster. And I have to say it does feel really good on both of these saxophones. 

Also, I love the mother-of-pearl key touches. Both have that and they do feel lovely. And I’ll be honest with you, some of the cheaper saxophones that I’ve tested  can be a bit disappointing when feels a bit plasticky under your fingers.

Engraving

Now I’ve got to talk about the engraving which looks absolutely stunning on both saxes, especially in this dark lacquer.

So the Signature has this really cool saxophone motif on the bell, and a really cool modern-looking design all the way up the body tube. Now this is machine engraving, by the way, which is a completely different look from the classic hand engraving that we’re all familiar with. But I do like it.

The Supreme takes all this a step further with a beautiful flower design all the way around the bell and all the way up the body tube. 

Plus you get this Henry Selmer signature on the top of the bow. Very, very nice.

There’s absolutely no doubt that these are great-looking saxophones. But have you got a favourite yet? 

The Price

Now, of course, we’ve got to talk about the price, and I hope you’re sitting down.

So the Signature comes in at just around $10,000.

And the Supreme is an extra $1,000 at around $11,000. I mean, that’s eye-watering.

But if you want to spend a bit more, you can also get these horns in a brushed finish, antique lacquer. Or you could choose black lacquer, which looks cool with the gold keys.

Or you could spoil yourself with a silver plate or solid silver. Or go completely nuts with a gold-plated model. But I’ll be honest with you. At $30,000 that costs as much as an entire brand-new set of pro-Yamaha horns.  I know which ones I’d choose.

14 day free trial

The BAM case

Now both of these saxophones come with this new BAM case. I love BAM cases. I think they’re absolutely the best cases out there. I’ve used them on tour myself and they’re super secure.

They’ve got loads of padding inside and lots of protection for your saxophone. Plus there’s excellent storage for your neck and all of your extra bits. And on the outside, there are a couple of really cool storage pockets. You’ve got one at the front and then a massive one at the back plus some really cool shoulder straps. This case would be super easy to live with on the road. 

Signature or Supreme – Which one should you choose?

So which of these saxophones is my favourite and which should you go for?

Well, to be honest with you, I don’t think you could go wrong with either of these. If you simply want the best, well, you probably have already decided to go with the Supreme.  

But personally, I feel like the Signature would be more my style. I love the modern feeling. I think this is a great working horn. This is the sort of sax that you could have for a lifetime and do pretty much anything with. Maybe it’s just because it’s more familiar to me.

And you know, let’s face it, I do like modern horns. I prefer the feel of modern horns. So that would definitely be my choice. But at the price of basically a small car, there are quite a few alternatives that you could consider to either of these saxophones. 

Alternatives to the Signature or Supreme

So Yamaha, Yanagisawa, and most of the other brands have great saxophones that cost a fraction of either of these.

And to be honest, there are also some really great new brands like Atlantic London that I reviewed recently. It costs maybe a third of one of these saxophones, and it plays amazingly well right out of the box.

Or you could also consider a used pro sax, which will always be better value. And if it’s well maintained, it will also last you a lifetime. Go check out my other tenor sax reviews below:

Yanagisawa

Yamaha,

Selmer

OW Lineage

Hopefully, they’ll help you. 

And when you’re ready, come and check out Sax School Online with a 14 day free trial.

14 day free trial