The Reference 54 alto below is Selmer’s antique finish. Therefore, it is up to the buyer to carefully research the model of Selmer in question, and carefully compare it to the saxophone they are considering buying. It should be noted on the later editions of the Reference 54 alto from Selmer, the chromatic F# key and high E high do more closely resemble those of the counterfeit saxophone.
The Reference horns don’t have double arms on the low Bb, B, and C keys.
While necks might have been lost and replaced, what immediately jumped out at me was the double arms on the bell keys and some of the key shapes.It should have one that has a Selmer logo on it like this… There is no original Selmer neck with the horn.The model only comes in antique and dark lacquer. The finish is not one offered by Selmer for its Reference 54s.The tenor is very easy to identify as a counterfeit: Counterfeit saxophone #1: fake Selmer Reference 54 tenor I just happened across these while perusing Craigslist to see if I could find a vintage sax bargain, but instead I found horns to illustrate my counterfeit article.īoth horns were sold by the same seller-ostensibly because he has throat cancer. There might be Yani and Yamaha fakes in the local market as well, but I wasn’t looking for them. It just so happened that the two saxophones for sale in Vancouver this summer, were both Selmer knockoffs.
Would you know how to spot a fake-regardless of the brand? Selmer, Yanagisawa, and Yamaha saxophones are often copied and sold as the real thing. Why? Well even if you’re like me, and don’t generally buy horns online, you could still encounter fake horns. Then of course I took off on holidays for over a month.Ī thread on the Woodwind Forum about a knockoff Yani reminded me about the in-progress article, so this morning I began nearly from scratch, to get my head around all the permutations that distinguish a fake from an authentic Selmer Paris saxophone.ĭuring the summer I came across a couple of ads on Vancouver’s Craigslist, which should get all of us-regardless where you live-thinking. That article got so complicated to research, that I put it aside while I was playing in a musical. What a marketing idea for the forum!įor instance, Mustela nivalis would indicate that the horn was weasily blown, whereas Mustela erminea would show that it was stoatily unplayable.Yes, there are most definitely counterfeit saxophones in Vancouver, CanadaĪ number of months ago I started writing a fully illustrated, updated piece on how to spot counterfeit Selmer Paris saxophones. It could become known as the Cafesaxophone Rating system, especially if a couple of symbols were craftily introduced to ensure this.
goatee beard and sun glasses would obviously be bebop/post bebop, a pair of jeans minus seat would point to blues, and full evening dress would indicate either classical music or expensive restaurant muzac (ambiguity here and there is inevitable, unfortunately) and so on. Yet others could indicate the genre of music for which the horn is best suited, i.e. smiley sun = bright tone, a torch = dark tone). The Buescher 400 “ top hat and cane” model alto sax has been around for some time, so that makes two established ratings already.įollowing this theme the following symbols could be used: white gloves, white bow tie, stiff front shirt, wing collar, opera hat, spats etc - but others could also be usefully employed to make a comprehensive system.įor instance, some symbols could indicate build quality, others tonal qualities (i.e. It seems generally accepted that white gloves equals the lowest build quality and dubious playability. We seem to have an embryonic grading system here for saxophones, rather like the star ratings for hotels.