Selmer Paris Super 80 Saxophones Refresh – “Jubilee”

In 2010, Selmer Paris celebrated their 125th anniversary as a manufacturer of professional woodwind instruments. They named their celebration “Jubilee” and used it as an opportunity to change things up a bit. While Selmer Paris offers a complex line of woodwind (and formerly brasswind) instruments, they are best known for their saxophones where they have held a dominance in the hearts and minds of players since the mid 1950’s.

Enter the new “Jubilee” Super Action 80 Serie II & III saxophones (yes, “Serie” is the proper designation, not “Series”).

Mainly Cosmetic – But a Few Real Changes…
For the most part, the Jubilee changes are primarily cosmetic. However, the sopranos had some noticeable ergonomic improvements. While I have not had any “official” designation from Selmer as to exactly what they did here, we find that both the Serie II & Serie III sopranos were noticeably more comfortable in the hand. The right hand thumb rest has been slightly repositioned and the keyboard layout feels a little more “open” for lack of a better term.

Whatever they did, they did a good job as I never loved the feel of the Selmer sopranos when compared to other horns such as the Yanagisawa. The Selmer’s always felt too small in my hands (I’m 6 foot with average sized hands). Now they feel great.

Improved Lacquer
From the cosmetic standpoint, the regular lacquer on S80 horns always bugged me. They always used a standard clear lacquer that really is unimpressive. Most manufacturer’s had moved into some sort of gold tinted lacquer which in my opinion always looks better.

Selmer has now officially done away with clear lacquer. They do not use it in production at all any longer. They have replaced it with what we call a “Honey Gold Lacquer”. Its beautiful. It is too early to tell if the lacquer is any more or less durable than the older clear lacquer, but I would be shocked if it wasn’t at least as good as the clear lacquer. Hopefully it will be better.

Other Finishes
The Jubilee models are now all available in the various finish options that Selmer has always had. These include Black Lacquer, Silver Plate, Brushed Matte & 24K Gold Plate. The black lacquered model and the brushed matte really impress. The black lacquer now has a coat of the new honey gold lacquer over top the black lacquer. To me, this adds a beautiful sheen to the black. I always considered black lacquer to be one of the least impressive finishes as regular black lacquer looks rather flat and dull. Now, it is dark, rich and really makes the new engraving stand out.

The brushed matte finish also has a great look to it with the honey gold lacquer over the brushed finish. I always have liked brushed finishes as they seem to hide the smaller, lighter scratches that every horn is bound to get better than any other finish.

I do not feel that any of these finishes “play” any better than the other. I do find that someone playing the horn might get a different “feel” when playing one finish over another, but I find that the sound that the audience hears is unchanged.

New Engraving
This is the most obvious difference to most people. Most would agree that the Super 80 engraving was outdated. Selmer had actually changed the engraving a little bit over the years, but stylistically they stayed with the same feel and overall look as you can see in the image here. The new Jubilee engraving is a very ornate “straight-line” engraving which is much more difficult to do well. While some may not prefer the new look overall considering how floral it is, most will agree that it is a better quality engraving overall.

The new engraving really pops out on the black lacquered models!

Overall Impression
In the end, Selmer has always made great saxophones. The new Jubilee models are the new standard for Selmer and while they are overall the same sax, they really give off a new first impression. One thing to note is that all Jubilee models use the tone hole & pad improvements that Selmer implemented a few years ago. A good level tone hole and a great pad like the Pisoni Pro that are used by Selmer makes a world of difference once the horn is properly setup, especially on the heavier Serie II models.

So when compared to a Serie II or III that was made prior to the tone hole & pad improvements, the Jubilee models are more responsive and alive than the older horn. When compared to a Serie II or III made in the past few years (assuming it is setup well), the Jubilee will play right on par.

Regardless of whether you have an original Serie II, newer models or the Jubilee models, one fact remains: Selmer Paris makes great horns! If you have an older Selmer sax that you would like to have modernized with precision tone holes and the harder Pisoni Pro (or Kangaroo skin) pads, then take a look at a Kessler “Pro Shop” Overhaul! No need to buy a new horn if you simply want better performance!

A full listing of Selmer Paris Jubilee models can be found on our Selmer Super 80 Jubilee page on our website.