Selmer 1400

About the Selmer 1400

The 1400B is built from Resonite, Selmer's ABS plastic formulation finished to resemble satin wood, which keeps it stable and weather-resistant compared to a grenadilla-wood body - an important trait for an instrument that will spend years in school bags and under uneven practice-room humidity. Its .590-inch bore is molded with straight tone holes rather than undercut ones, a simpler and more affordable approach to manufacturing that still supports a genuinely full sound. The 17-key, 6-ring layout follows the standard Boehm fingering system, built with drop-forged nickel-silver keys and stainless-steel springs for durability, while leather pads and a two-part barrel help with sealing and intonation fine-tuning. A resonance chamber built into the bell is aimed specifically at firming up projection and clarity in the clarinet's lower register, a range where cheaper student horns often sound thin.

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Sound character of the Selmer 1400

The combination of a wide, free-blowing bore and a resonance chamber in the bell gives the 1400B a fuller, more projecting sound than its price point would suggest, with noticeably firmer clarity in the low chalumeau register where thinner student instruments tend to struggle.

What owners of the Selmer 1400 say

Reviews consistently describe a surprisingly rich, full tone for an entry-level instrument, paired with construction solid enough to shrug off the bumps and humidity swings of regular school use. The complaints that keep coming up are ergonomic rather than tonal: the fixed thumb rest doesn't suit every hand, and the keys can bend out of alignment if the instrument gets knocked around, which happens often with a first clarinet moving between young players' hands. On balance, it comes across as a dependable, affordable choice for beginning students and motivated intermediates, with the response unevenness across registers being the main thing that nudges more advanced players toward an upgrade.

Playability & handling of the Selmer 1400

The wide .590-inch bore is consistently described as free-blowing, which helps beginners fill out a full tone without needing a lot of air-support technique yet, and it's credited with helping younger players build lung capacity over time. Wider pinky-key spacing is aimed at smaller student hands. The fixed thumb rest is the one ergonomic compromise that shows up repeatedly in feedback: it works fine for an average hand but isn't adjustable, so it can get uncomfortable for players whose hands fall outside that range. More advanced players sometimes notice the response isn't perfectly even across every register, and the nickel-silver keys, while durable in normal use, can bend if the instrument is handled roughly - a realistic risk given it's often a first instrument passed between careless young hands.

Recommended accessories & strings for the Selmer 1400

A hard rubber mouthpiece and an ABS case come included, enough to start lessons immediately. Standard upkeep for a plastic-body student clarinet applies: cork grease for the joints, a pull-through swab after playing to clear moisture from the bore, and a stock of beginner-strength reeds, since reed quality affects this clarinet's response as much as the instrument itself.

Technical data for the Selmer 1400

Price history for the Selmer 1400

Cheapest seen: 93 EUR  ·  Most expensive seen: 190 EUR

The history of the Selmer 1400

Manufactured domestically in Elkhart, Indiana, the Selmer 1400 targets true first-time clarinet students with an oversized, resistance-free bore ahead of technique refinement.

About Selmer as a manufacturer

The line traces back to George M. Bundy, a student of Alexandre Selmer who took over the New York store when Selmer returned to France and, in 1927, founded the American Selmer company in Elkhart, Indiana - the self-styled "band instrument capital of the world." Selmer USA added its American-made "Signet" student line in 1940, and the Bundy Band Instrument Corporation, founded in 1958 in Bundy's honor after his 1951 death, became the name carried on Selmer's student-level instruments once it merged into the parent company in 1965. In 2002, United Musical Instruments merged with Selmer to form Conn-Selmer. It's worth distinguishing this American manufacturing arm from Henri Selmer Paris, the separate, independently run company behind Selmer's professional clarinets and saxophones - the two share family history but have operated apart for decades.