Selmer Super Balanced Action Tenor Mouthpieces

The Selmer Super Balanced Action (SBA) tenor saxophone, produced roughly from the late 1940s to early 1950s, is celebrated for its warm, rich, vintage tone with excellent projection and complexity—qualities that p

air well with mouthpieces emphasizing roundness, darkness, and focus rather than extreme brightness or edge.

Vintage Recommendations

These older pieces often complement the SBA's inherent dark, singing character, evoking classic jazz eras (e.g., swing and bebop influences).

• Otto Link Tone Edge (hard rubber) — Widely praised as an excellent match, with tip openings like 6, 6*, 7, 7*, or even 8 providing a full, warm sound with good projection and intonation. Players frequently note it brings out the horn's round, resonant quality without brittleness.

• Vintage Selmer Soloist (short shank or early long shank models) — Inspired by 1940s designs, these offer a centered, warm tone with versatility for jazz or classical leanings. A C* or D facing (possibly refaced/open for more openness) is commonly favored on vintage Selmers like the SBA for its focused core and singing upper register.

• Otto Link metal (e.g., early Babbitt or Super Tone Master variants) — Some players test these for a vintage dark sound, though hard rubber versions tend to be more consistently recommended for the SBA's warmth.

Other vintage options Jazz Morgan (refaced) or certain Selmer Airflow models, though these are less commonly highlighted specifically for the SBA.

Modern Recommendations

Contemporary pieces that honor vintage vibes while offering better consistency, playability, and availability.

• Selmer Jazz Tribute (metal, e.g., 7)* — Explicitly praised as a great fit for the SBA, delivering a balanced, warm, dark vintage-inspired tone with excellent intonation and roundness. It's designed to evoke golden-era jazz legends while using modern manufacturing.

• Selmer Soloist (current reissue) — Based on 1940s originals, it provides a warm, centered sound with direct volume and versatility across jazz and classical. Many find it evokes the golden age while being more reliable than vintage stock.

• Selmer S80 (e.g., C or slightly more open like D/E)* — A classic reference for broad, full, warm tone; it's stable and works well for general performance, though some prefer larger openings on tenor to avoid stuffiness.

• Selmer Concept — Offers high precision, richness, and consistency with a darker, controlled sound due to its design; it's noted for good results on vintage-style horns.

• Other strong modern contenders — Vandoren V16 or similar for a touch more brightness if needed, or Theo Wanne models for enhanced vintage warmth, though Selmer's own lines often integrate best with the SBA's acoustics.

Famous players associated with the SBA tenor include:

• John Coltrane, who used an SBA (notably in the serial range around 40,000) for many of his early influential recordings before switching to a Mark VI around the mid-1960s.

• Ben Webster, who played Selmer Balanced Action models and transitioned into the SBA era as part of his setup evolution.

• Modern players who favor or have prominently used SBAs include Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner, Seamus Blake, Chris Cheek, Tony Malaby, and David Sanchez. These players often cite its superior tone and response.

  
  

Regarding mouthpieces and facings, specific historical details for SBA-era players are sometimes anecdotal or based on technician reports, as many experimented or modified pieces:

• John Coltrane primarily used a metal Otto Link Tone Master (often a 5* or 6 facing, sometimes custom-altered by technicians like Frank Wells) with relatively hard reeds (around Rico #4). He occasionally used other pieces like Brilhart Ebolin or short-shank Selmer during transitions, but the metal Link was key to his intense, projection-heavy sound on the SBA.

  
  

• Ben Webster favored metal Otto Link pieces, such as a 9 facing, paired with medium-hard reeds (e.g., Rico 3.5).

  
  

• For modern SBA users like Branford Marsalis or others in that lineage, preferences vary widely today (often larger-chamber hard rubber or metal Otto Links, Berg Larsen, or custom pieces), but no single universal facing ties directly back to the SBA era—many draw from classic jazz traditions like Otto Link 7* or similar open facings for projection.

Ultimately, the SBA responds beautifully to mouthpieces with medium-to-large chambers and moderate-to-open facings (around .095–.110" equivalents) to enhance its natural darkness and avoid sharpness in the upper range.

Personal testing is ideal since preferences vary by embouchure, reeds, and playing style—many players pair it with medium-strength reeds for optimal balance. If you're chasing that classic Lester Young or early bebop warmth, start with an Otto Link hard rubber or the Jazz Tribute.