Our mission
With musicians for musicians
As the universal reference for saxophones and clarinets, Henri SELMER Paris has been accompanying music lovers from around the world for over a hundred years, providing mythical models that have shaped the sound of generations of musicians.
Founded in 1885 in Paris’s Montmartre district by the clarinetist Henri Selmer, the brand draws upon the expertise of musicians to design, innovate and improve its range of instruments. Henri SELMER Paris also owes its success to the precious savoir-faire of the artisans at its Mantes-la-Ville workshops, where all the instruments have been made for over a century.
Always attentive and at the service of instrumentalists, SELMER aspires to free the creative breath within every musician, no matter their musical genre and their needs.
“My best reference is the ever-increasing favor that professionals show for my instruments“
Our values
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Excellence of sound
The constant search for flawless quality in the legendary SELMER sound is at the heart of our work, guiding all our activities and services. This excellence is supported by our history and our passion for music. -
Love for our craft
In our French workshops, we carry on traditions of mastery in rare craft techniques, with a commitment to authenticity, honesty, and continuous improvement. -
Serving musicians
We remain open-minded and attentive in our constant ambition to satisfy every musician, no matter their musical genre. Our desire to innovate allows us to respond to the ever-changing needs of musicians from around the world, always providing exceptional instruments. -
In synch with our teams and partners
The rhythm of our actions allows us to move continually ahead, to respond to the beat of the world, and to lead our teams and partners so that we can constantly breathe new life into the business.
INNOVATION AT THE SERVICE OF TRADITION
Key figures
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475
Employees
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139
Years of existence
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700
Musician ambassadors
Serving excellence
THE FOUNDING INSTRUMENT
The clarinet was the first instrument developed by Henri SELMER, renowned clarinettist at the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine and the Opéra Comique.
Thanks to the constant relationship maintained with generations of clarinettists of all cultures and all levels, the Henri SELMER Paris House is able to offer each artist an original choice adapted to his musical personality.
Located in Mantes-la-Ville (France) for a century, today our workshops are the only factory in the world with the know-how to manufacture the entire clarinet family.
THE UNIVERSAL REFERENCE
The SELMER name is above all associated with the saxophone, which represents more than half of our activity.
Since the release of the Model 22 in December 1921, each new model, from the Cigar Cutter to the Mark VI, including the Super Action and the Balanced Action, has highlighted the innovative strength of the Henri SELMER Paris House.
The contributions of the greatest names in jazz and classical and contemporary saxophone, from John Coltrane and Marcel Mule to Kenny Garrett and Claude Delangle, have gradually enriched the SELMER saxophone, with a sound that has become THE reference throughout the world.
Henri SELMER Paris remains the only factory in the world with the know-how to manufacture the widest range of saxophones (sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass).
A MAJOR HISTORIC ACTOR
Over the years, many mouthpieces have marked history (Air flow, Soloist…). Today, the experience gained in the making of wind instruments is a further endorsement of the know-how of the Henri SELMER Paris House in the field of mouthpieces, the intimate knowledge of the instrument being the foundation for the design of a truly efficient mouthpiece.
A major accessory, Henri SELMER Paris offers a wide range of openings and tables for its mouthpieces (saxophones and clarinets). Each musician can thus, depending on their instrument, their morphological characteristics and their musical repertoire, obtain an optimum sound result.
A renewed heritage
Henri SELMER Paris returns to its roots by relaunching the production of reeds for clarinet and saxophone, the first activity of founder Henri Selmer back in 1885.
Each reed is carefully crafted on traditional machines designed to maintain our high quality standards.
These reeds are available in strengths 2 to 4, and are calibrated by ¼ strength between 2.5 and 3.5 to reduce dispersion and so offer musicians a greater number of good reeds in the same box.
Made in southeastern France from organically sourced cane, they are packaged ecologically, without plastic, and come with a recyclable, compostable and ergonomic reed holder.