Articles & guides
Guide
Where to find the serial number on a woodwind
The common hiding places on saxophone, clarinet, flute, bassoon and oboe — and why the body number beats the case tag.
2026-10-16SaxophoneSelmer Paris saxophones: the eras, from Model 22 to the Series III
One continuous sequence since 1922 — how to read the era, and the model, from a Selmer Paris serial number.
2026-10-16Trap guideThe three Selmers: Paris, USA and London
The number-one trap of saxophone dating — three companies with one name and three unrelated serial sequences.
2026-10-16CodesWhen letters carry the date: the code systems of the woodwind world
Lorée letters, Heckel CREST strings, Conn block counters and the Artley "prefix plus 50" rule — the serials that are not plain numbers.
2026-10-16ClarinetDating a Buffet clarinet: the chart, the sequences and the E11 problem
From the letter-suffix numbers of 1885 to the last published row of 1997 — plus the student models that are not Buffet numbers at all.
2026-10-16