Selmer Muse Bb/A Clarinet - EVO

The Selmer Muse is a shiny new addition to the Selmer Paris lineup, launched in 2022. Selmer says the development team included orchestral players from around the world alongside their own designers, and that they spent over four years on it, chasing the stuff that nags every clarinet: intonation, ergonomics, and reliability over time.

The newly-designed bore of the Muse creates a sound that I would describe as "Milky, but with projection" — though I guess that pretty much describes every infant I've ever met.

In terms of ergonomics, the Selmer Muse features a redesigned keywork system that enhances playability and comfort. The placement and shape of keys are optimized — no tendonitis factory here — reducing fatigue and promoting a more natural hand position. From my own experience, this is true. I have big hands, and I randomly hit fork keys all the time. In fact, I usually have to re-record the demo videos I make a few times because of this. With the Muse, I literally did all of them in one take. Katherine has thin fingers and feels like it's more comfortable too. So I guess all the marketing is true. Way to not lie to us, Selmer!

The Muse also comes with Selmer's EVOLUTION system — a resin lining in the upper joint that prevents cracking without changing the sound. (I've played EVOLUTION and non-EVOLUTION Selmers side by side. I couldn't tell the difference.) Selmer backs this with a 10-year warranty on the upper joint, which is... a lot of confidence.

How it plays

The big news is the bottom of the horn: the 19-key version includes a (manual) low E/F correction key — one thumb key that fixes both notes. The dashboard shows it working: the low E actually reads sharp (GASP! THE HORROR!), and the F sits just a hair under. On almost any clarinet without this vent, those two notes run flat enough to make you wince. Other clarinets handle it a bunch of different ways: an automatic low E/F vent (Vision, Zenit), an automatic low-F fix (the Lumière, Essence), or a right pinky-activated vent bolted onto the pinky stack (Tosca, Tradition). Selmer uses your right thumb, which handles both notes. Some people like it, some hate it. As a bass clarinetist, it's... okay.

The twelfths are the other headline. They're the tightest of anything I carry — every clarinet I've measured, not only the Selmers.

What to watch: the low register goes flat when you push the volume, more than many horns I carry. It's steady at soft-to-medium dynamics, so it's a matter of keeping your air and voicing honest when you lean on it.

Resistance: 6/10, Medium

Want to hear how it handles air and dynamics? In the audio player below, listen to the Weber first (wide dynamics, wide color), then the Berlioz (wide dynamics, narrow color), then the Gershwin (narrow on both). You can hear how the timbre responds to me as a player...warts and all.

Before you decide

The Privilege is the Selmer I reach for when I want a bright, open horn that blends without any single note poking out. There are others, with different tradeoffs, so here are other options I'd recommend across the shop.

If you want that French brightness but with the industry-standard name behind it, the Buffet R13 is brighter still — though its scale is looser and the twelfths stretch. You trade the Privilege's even scale for the most familiar sound in the business.

If you want the free-blowing feel and the wide palette but tighter tuning top to bottom, the Uebel Rêve projects like crazy and holds its pitch a little better when you get into the louder dynamics.

If you want a similar bright, blending sound that stays steadier under volume, the Yamaha CSVR has an even narrower pitch spread and doesn't drop as flat when you get loud. 

And if you're feeling Canadian — a bright horn with the tightest tuning I sell — the Backun Model Q is more focused and better in tune than any of these, though it feels different enough in the hands that some players think it feels too weird.