MV11 Good numbers (Continuation)

[Andrew D]

Alan
I'm using a 70s 7* link metal which i have been using for 20 years on and off, interesting thing though when I had my previous Mv11 I could almost use most mps with good results & ended up with an vandoran blue A45(I think) which gave the horn a more focused sound. I feel I am going down this route again with mpcs, AG any suggestions on this? mainly r&b/jazz setup i'm looking for. My millenium taking a back seat for a while but overall the jurys still out. Soon as I get to record with this horn I'll post some mp3s. BTW I'll be trying a 143xxx MV1 that someones bringing over for me, somehow i don't think it's gonna happen, from experience with mv1s

[danm]

Andrew, I have been using a metal Link,JJ*8, or a Selmer D Soloist. My VII plays well with any mouthpiece that I have tried. They just sound different. I wish my Conn Chu was less fussy about mouthpieces. I played my VII last week for about 500 people with no mic using Plasticovers and the JJ* 8 and eveyryone said it sounded loud and great. By the way mine is a silver MKVII alto M258XXX. Lovely horn in every way. :lol:

[Grumps]

I have a 198,xxx VII tenor and I've found the Ponzol M2 (110) to be a very versatile mouthpiece for this horn. I also used the M2 to test play a few VI's and really liked the sound as well as the feel of what I was doing. Give the M2 a try. A lot of folks on the forum like them.

[Grumps]

Check that....

298,XXX VII tenor.

[AG]

Andrew, I play in two bands, concert and big band; moonlight a little on a country/western gig sometimes. I did use a Rovner Deep V-ram 30 7 for the rare occasions I played any rock or R&B. Those occasions were so rare I traded that piece. The ones I have for my VII alto are Runyon SR 7, Soloist D, early 70's HR link tone edge 6, Meyer NY Ltd, and a Runyon Custom Spoiler 7. For the formats I play in these pieces all work well for me. The Meyer works well for jazz with the silver neck.

[danm]

AG, it is strange that I have never met you and we almost the same stable of mouthpieces for the MK VII alto's that we play. Love these emoticons :mrgreen:

[AG]

Scary isn't it.... :lol:

[Andrew D]

Danm, it's amazing what you can do with this horn, 500 people+....... these horns are really special not to take anything away from you the player :wink: ohh and them harmonics :twisted: never played any alto that could play them high notes the same way.

I do have a little problem with the bottom cluster my little left hand finger gets stuck when going from c"1 to B1, is there a fix for this??

Just for the record mines a 265xxx 8) [/img][/code][/list]

[danm]

Andrew I could not tell you how that left hand pinky cluster is on a normal MK VII. Mine has the MK VI left hand cluster. I had some pics up on my website some time ago I think AG got a chance to see them. I don't know how the normal one feels as I have never played another MK VII alto yet. The only thing I can think of it thet because I have a silver horn they must have had this cluster laying around and used it when they built my horn, or the former owner had it done, more unlikely because it looks original. These VII's have a sweet tone don't they?

[AG]

VII altos are so very sweet.........fantastic! :D

[Andrew D]

Well the left had cluster isn't too much of a problem although I will try to get it improved when i visit my tech.
I had my friend over with a new custom z alto, really nice horns with a great sound, in fact the best yam sound I've heard and played, needless to say we put both horns through the paces.

I starting to wonder if i'll ever play a better sounding Selmer. Truly a joy to play & that sound has a thousand personalities!!

[AG]

All of us VII players are familiar with the big, rich bottom end sound of the horn, but I recently was told the reason for this was a larger bow on the VII than on the VI. Anyone familiar with this larger bow thing? The bow to me doesn't appear larger, but that can be deceiving. Just curious.....would this be a standard feature from the onset of the VII production?

[Andrew D]

You are right for sure with regards to the V11 bell, the rich sound which emits from the Mv11s lower end gives for want of a better word 'balls' to the sound, this combined with a very free blowing horn is sheer bliss.

Btw I had a gig last week and my clip-on mic went down :cry: So I had to play acoustic and to my delight the MV11 just handled the additional air to get the volume and it turn out to be a great gig for me :D

It's crazy at the moment and developing into a problem because everytime I go out to play I have to take both the Mv11 and the millenium along with a load of PA equip...... how am I going to resolve this problem as I only have one alto stand :wink:

[AG]

Rofl.....Andrew, you stinker, I wish I had that problem, both a good VII and a Millenium alto. I believe they make stands for two horns. Back to the VII; actually, after talking with a knowledgeable technician, it seems more likely the bottom end response and "big sound" comes more from the taper and bore of the VII neck at the fat end. ( I at least have a sterling silver Millenium neck for my VII.) :lol:

[Andrew D]

Hi Alan, Is it only the taper of the neck theat makes the difference? I was under the impression that the bell was bigger although this was a presumption on my part and maybe not fact. Either way the MV11 has a bigger sound, I may take the MV11 for it's 1st service in the next couple of weeks, are they any tweak improvements you know of that may even further enhance my enjoyment of this fine horn?

[CashSax]

Well here's a good one ..I killed my fine Silver 262XXX Alto a couple of yrs back by trying Noyeks on it..It went from the Best Alto I ever played to one of the worst..that horn has been played nil since I did that..Luckily my old Conn (now sold) and a Cball Big Bell took up the slack..but I'm biting the bullet and tomorrow it's going in for brown domes like it had before..they are a KILLER horns.. I remember it well :cry:

[AG]

Cash, I remember when you were having those Noyeks put on and wondered at the time if you would like em.....now we know. I had no experience with em either and was curious as to how they would sound. Think you're right to go back to the original resonators. As to the big bottom end sound I suspect there's more to it than just the neck. While the neck plays a big part in it there must be other factors; I've got three necks for my VII alto. When using the other two (a late VI & a silver millenium) the horn still retains a lot of it's lower end sound but not as much. There may be a difference in the bell. Andrew, try the Millenium neck on your VII and let me know what you think. As for special tweaking I've always refined or changed "sound" thru necks and setup, just made sure the horn was leak free and properly regulated.

[CashSax]

Yeah AG, I kept thinking well it'll break in or some #$%# like that, but it never happened I took it on a gig the other nite to make sure and it reeked..i'm taking it to the guy that did it for me, to undo it.. also dropping off my mint '49 SBA tenor for it's FIRST repad (all orig thank you!!) :wink:

[AG]

I saw where you found that mint SBA tenor....lucky you. They're great horns. Hope the tech gets your VII sounding right again.

[Stacey]

My main horn (i.e., the only one I can play very well) is a 312xxx Mk7 alto. (I also have a Series III soprano and an old Conn C-mel). I can't help noticing that no one here has claimed a VII with a higher S/N, so I must have gotten one of the last VII's off the line. I know it was made in 1980, and I've seen S/N charts that say anything up to about 315000 is a 7, but mine seems to have certainly been a late one.

Anyway, I didn't actually buy the thing until the fall of 1983, but it had been sitting in a music store "new" until I bought it. At the time, they were already well into making SA80s, but I was totally clueless - I'd read "Selmer Paris is the best", so I went and bought a "Selmer Paris". I've been VERY happy with the VII ever since, so maybe it's a good thing I DIDN'T get a SA80 Series I.

So - I play with the Selmer C* mouthpiece that came with the horn, as well as the generic Selmer ligature. I use either #2 or #2.5 Hemke reeds, or occasionally a #2 or #2.5 Vandoren.

I've owned and played the beast for almost 20 years now, and the pads, springs, and felts are showing no signs of dying anytime soon.

The horn is definitely better than I am. I'm yet to reach the point where I ask something of it that it can't deliver. Of course, that MAY say more about ME than about the horn...

Oh - and the thing is plain gold lacquer. After 20 years, the finish looks kind of "unhappy".

[Stacey]

Forgot to mention -

A while back, I bought a used Dukoff D8 metal mouthpiece for the horn, too. Given Dukoff's reputation for dramatic inconsistency, I must have gotten one that was produced while the Quality Control guy was napping. It needs a good "Jon Van Wie-ing", but I haven't ever gotten around to having the piece reworked. My horn rejected that mouthpiece like a virus, that's for certain!!!

[AG]

Stacey, the earlier VII altos with the M before the serial no. are suppose to have the MKVI body tube, the change to N is considered to be a newer body tube. There are, however, no hard, cold facts from Selmer to absolutely prove that. Just mainly the word of folks back then who were in a position to know; is your late VII engraved? Some of the later ones had the French "butterly" engraving and the blue S on the neck, while some early ones were dark lacquered with American flower engraving and then a lot of the middle to later range horns had no engraving at all and no blue S.......a few variations along it's 7 yr prod. run. Some of the late VII's are pretty darn nice horns, sounds like you got a good one.

[CashSax]

Aha, my 262XXX silver VII altos' an M series..Blue enamdl S, M7 below that.. minimal floral engraved no butterfly like my VI tenor ?? Tech and I discussed going to metal domes but I figured be safe rather than sorry..I loved the orig brown dome sound so back we go.I' ll have both the SBA tenor and VII alto in about 2 weeks..can't wait.. 8)

[AG]

Cash, be sure and let us know how it turns out with the orig resos. Good luck.

[Stacey]

AG,

My horn is definitely a late one, from 1980. I don't recall an "M" or an "N" or neither or both, to be honest (and I'm not with the horn at this moment).

My VII does NOT have any engraving at all (except of course for the standard logo stuff and of course the S/N info). Comparing it to my nicely engraved Serie III soprano, I wish the alto WERE engraved.

The neck DOES have the "S" and the MK7 logo, but the "S" has no blue (again, unlike my soprano, on which both of the necks have a nice blue "S").

I certainly think it's a good horn, but all I can really say is that it's better than me! That's the same logic I use with my $200 set of golf clubs - the day I get "as good as my clubs", then I'll upgrade, but not before then. I'd rather save the bucks and retire one week earlier (MANY years from now).

Maybe one of these days, when the alto decides it's had all it can stand, I'll send it off for a nice "Steve Goodsonizing", and will have Steve add some custom engraving.

[AG]

I think you'll find it has a N before the ser. no.. Probably best to keep the horn all original as far as value is concerned unless you plan to keep it always.

[Stacey]

I DO plan to keep it always. It's been with me for 20 years, and never let me down (although I know I've disappointed IT a few times).

Anyway, with my current debt level, it's very unlikely that it'll be getting any major overhauls or custom engraving anytime soon. Ralph Morgan pretty much got my last $180 in disposable income.

But I finish my MBA in November, and at almost $800 per credit hour, that should help life quite a bit... :D

[Chris-Sax]

Hi, I think i have an early MK7 Alto - mine is M259xxx. I have had great success with my alto set-up! The mouthpiece i use is a custom made Freddie Gregory (HR) with a Winslow ligature! i mostly use Rico jazz 3's but lately iv been getting funky with some Rico plasicovers!!
Thanks Chris! 8)

[AG]

Good to hear from you, Chris. Seems there's quite a lot of VII players out there. I'm about to buy a Gregory 4A-20 from a bari-player I know who sold his alto. Haven't tried it yet, but he's going to bring it to our next rehearsal. Should be interesting.... 8)

[Andrew D]

I tried out the 143xxx MV1 for maybe 1-1/2 hours and I got to say this was the best MV1 I have played to date & I have played at least a couple of dozen, I was very surprised how close the MV1 and MV11 were, It took me a little while to fully appreciate the differences between the two & they looked almost Identical apart from the MV1 & MV11 logo on the neck and brace, it had the same engravings on the bell. Soundwise the MV1 had a more focused tone which I liked and seemed to have a better response, however my MV11 has more than few leaks which my tech showed me which obviously would impair response.

I have been thinking about buying this MV1 for the past week or so.............a premium price tag for a good horn, my MV11 is a great horn and has some things I prefer including the rice bottom end but..................we'll see :?



Btw My tech has lowered the action on my Millenium and I had a pad replaced :shock: this sax is nearly new and some of the pads look shot, it playes even better and tuning is still spot-on. My tech has a website up and running and for those in the UK the url is [url]http://www.thewoodwindworkshop.com/


Cashsax how's the MV11 now you have removed the Noyecks? I am also thinking of changing resos although my tech thinks I should wait since the pads are nearly new.

Alan I tried the millenium neck & visa versa and it seems to give more focus to the Mv11 sound and maybe a little sweeter tone. I think I prefer the necks on there own horns but it would be interesting will try some recording to confirm the differences.

[AG]

That is my experience with the silver millenium neck on the VII too, Andrew.....more focus, sweeter tone. Btw, I picked up a Gregory 4A-20 Los Angeles piece for my VII; interesting sound, sort of a vintage orchestra/dance band sound, warm & resonant.

[Chris-Sax]

AG, from the sounds of things, it looks like MK7 Alto's are more desirable than there Tenor counter part! Is this true? is there such a diffrence in there charactoristic sound? I was thinking of getting a MK7 Tenor to match my Alto, but im not sure i will get the same results/happyness!!! i currently play a Keilwerth New King tenor which i love!!!! 8)
Thanks Chris!!

[AG]

Chris, I've never played a VII tenor, but I have heard a few players that do.....they sounded really good, but then it's more the player than the horn. The VII tenors were not well received due to the keywork changes and new neck angle when compared to the VI, but then is anything that well received when compared to a good VI. Yes, the earlier altos get very good reviews. The earlier VII tenors (the M serial numbers and earlier the better) are "thought" to be the better ones. All I can tell you is to try one before you buy. It is after all a Selmer Paris horn, and the price is very reasonable.

[AG]

Btw, there are several VII tenors on ebay now if you wanna take a look; they're better horns than they get credit for. :)

[CashSax]

The verdict is in..my VII alto has been resurrected..HOORAY..!!! that killer fat and juicy warm tone is back in spades..an expensive lesson to be sure..oh yeah the SBA tenor is *OK too (*see "SBA..wow) 8)

[AG]

re: SBA......just Ok? (rofl) glad to hear your silver alto is back to normal.