Description

The Selmer Paris Concept TT, serial number 92568, is a very interesting late-production Selmer—and the serial number puts it near the end of Selmer’s trumpet-making era.

One of the later-generation Henri Selmer Paris Concept TT trumpets, produced near the end of Selmer’s historic French brass production.

Selmer Concept TT #92568

Manufacturer: Henri Selmer Paris
Model: Concept TT
Key: Bb
Bore: approximately .461–.462”
Design: Twin Tube (TT) leadpipe
Era: approximately 2009–2010
Made in: France
Status: discontinued; Selmer ended brass production by January 2011.

The serial number is particularly interesting. The surviving-instrument database shows Concept TT examples around #92442, while #92544 is documented as a 2009 Selmer instrument, and production ended by early 2011. So #92568 is very likely a 2009–2010 horn. I would describe it as circa 2009–10, rather than claiming an exact year.

Why the Concept TT is special

This is one of Selmer’s genuinely innovative professional trumpets.

The TT means Twin Tube. The leadpipe is constructed in a way that gives the horn a distinctive combination of open response, stability and tonal complexity. A surviving Concept TT #88915 is documented at .461” bore with the Twin Tube leadpipe.

Players tend to describe the TT as:

• Very open-blowing
• Rich and complex rather than bright
• Excellent center to the sound
• Very responsive
• Extremely smooth, quiet valves
• Broad dynamic range
• Strong low-register response
• Particularly good for jazz, commercial and orchestral crossover work

One detailed modern example describes the TT as having a rich tonal color, fast valve action, flexibility and an unusually open, resonant feel.

The really interesting thing about #92568

It’s late.

That’s actually a selling point.

Selmer introduced the Concept TT around the beginning of the 2000s, and there are surviving examples throughout the 88xxx–91xxx range. By #92568, you’re dealing with one of the last generations of the Paris-made Concept TT. The surviving serial-number database even identifies #90732 as a .462” Concept TT and the “last model made in Paris”—although later TT examples demonstrate that Selmer continued producing some after that point.

Selmer’s brass production finally ended in January 2011.

How it compares with your earlier #90190

This is particularly interesting because you have already had me research your Selmer Concept TT #90190.

Your #90190 is approximately 2001–2003, whereas #92568 is approximately 2009–10.

So you essentially have an early-generation TT and a very late-generation TT.

I’d be interested in comparing the two because there were production changes during the TT’s life. In particular, there are player reports concerning changes in the bracing around the 890xx–899xx range, and later horns can differ somewhat from the earlier examples.

Current value

This is where I think the TT has become more interesting.

Selmer hasn’t made professional trumpets for years, so these are becoming specialty/vintage-modern French professional horns rather than simply “used trumpets.”

For #92568, assuming:

• excellent valve compression
• excellent slide fit
• original leadpipe
• no major repairs
• excellent silver Plate  finish