![]() ![]() Woodwind instruments: saxophones, clarinets and mouthpieces ![]() He can be reached at: Henri Selmer Paris Industry Douglas Pipher is a Canadian saxophonist, collector and researcher who has spent the last several years studying Selmer instruments with the goal of improving our understanding of Selmer history through primary research. Douglasâ ongoing primary research continues to extend the scope of the improved chart, into the Mark VII range and beyond. But itâs does allow for a far greater level of confidence for Selmer owners and enthusiasts. Selmer serial numbers clarinet serial number#The improved serial number chart is by no means flawless. In building as complex an instrument as a saxophone, there are many reasons why and individual saxâs completion date could be delayed by days, weeks or months. Individual saxophones with custom finishes or features would naturally take longer to build, thus delaying their completion date. The more unusual types of saxophones, such as the Sopranino or Bass, were often sold months or even years later than one might expect. This meant that US-Market horns shipped earlier than others. The US-Market horns, for instance, were not normally engraved, padded or lacquered in France. Different distributors had different specifications, which affected delivery times. The majority of the horns in this range which were sold in 1928, but clearly not all of them. But many saxophones from 7300 to 7800 were sold in 1927. As mentioned above, the 1927 range was determined to be 5300 â 7280, so the 1928 serial number range logically started at 7281. Why is the new chart not 100% accurate? A look at the 1927 chart to the left makes the answer quite clear. For searches of Alto or Tenor only, the accuracy rose to 86%. Repeating this process for each year up to 1975 resulted in the development of a chart with an average accuracy of 82%. The most accurate serial number range for 1927 was finalized as 5300 â 7280. By taking a closer look, right down to individual instruments, the starting and ending points of the range were modified as needed. This range became the initial boundary for 1927 production. Between the 53 range, most of the saxes were sold in 1927. The range from 7300 to 7800 also showed less than half of the sales in 1927, with most of the remainder being sold in 1928. The chart at left shows that less than one quarter of the saxes in the 5000 to 5299 serial number range were sold in 1927. (5000 â 5099, 5100 â 5199 etc) and the total number of 1927 sales within each group was calculated. Next, they were grouped into serial number ranges of 100. Beginning with a list of all the actual 1927 sales, they were sorted by serial number. Fortunately, the primary shipping data could now be used to rebuild the serial number chart from scratch. ![]()
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