MK VI reputation

[sorn]

Hi

I heard many people talk about MK VI as the best sax ever made. They also said Selmer Ref can't compare to the VI.

Does anyone recall what they said about MK VI when the VI still be in production line between '54 -'74 ? Espcially in later year, let say after '70, did they compare '70 VI with earlier VI ? Did they really like the VI ?

Did they compare the VI with SBA or BA at all ?


Thanks

[Joe]

Sorn, I really didn't start to become horn savvy until high school, around 1970. Yes, even then players considered Selmer the best horns, especially on alto. We were also aware that the older VI altos seemed to sound and play better than the later ones.

From what I've heard and read, Selmer just wasn't that big a player before the VI's. Conn, Martin, and King ruled the day before the VI's came along. I would have to say the BA and SBA were no better than fourth in player preference at the time. Think about the numbers. In the 20 years before the VI, Selmer made about 35,000 horns. In the same 20 years, Conn made about 250,000 saxes. In the 20 years of VI preduction, Selmer sold almost 200,000. At the same time, other sax makers were going out of business.

Remember, before the mid 1950's, players were looking for big, dark, rich sounds, not the more nasal quality of Selmer. It was only as music got louder and brighter that Selmer became THE horn to have.

[JL]

Back around 1971, I was looking for a horn and was told in no uncertain terms that the only horn to get is a Selmer (meaning MK VI). The usual statement was something like "there is Selmer and then there are all the rest." Of course it was no more true then than it is now. Nevertheless, I've been playing my MK VI tenor for over 20 years and still find it to have a certain "something" that I can't find in other horns.

[sorn]

so they loved the VI since it arrived. Can i say it good by itself ? not because people talk about it.

Can Selmer Ref be the VI in the next 20 years ?

[Razzy]

JL, I know what you mean about that "something". Granted I have limited experience, but after 2 years on a late-production VI tenor (which is supposedly inferior to the earlier ones), I have had enormous fun with playing with the tone quality and projection of the horn. I've tried Yanis, newer Selmers, and Yamahas in classical and jazz situations but none of them have the flexibility that my VI has. Using a moderate, leaning toward bright setup (meyer 6, Java 3's, vandoren optimum), I am able to achieve a more lush and full classical tone in the wind ensemble and a much brighter punchier sound in the jazz band, all using the oral cavity and breathing changes. However, especially with the new Selmers and Yamahas, I found that the tone always wanted to be bright and cutting, regardless of how I personally altered it.

[Anonymous]

There has been, for many decades, a tendency for people to desire a Selmer sax that is a couple generations old. Back in the 1970s, when i first started wheeling/dealing saxes, the Selmers of interest were the cigar cutters, and later Balanced Action(what we today think of as the 'Super Balanced Action', the horns from late 1940s-early 1950s, between the real B.A. and the Mark VI).
While a lot of people did play Mark VI, just because of the much higher production numbers of around 200,000 horns in total for the Mark VI, nobody really got hot & heavy over them, as you could still buy a new one, and the used supply was adequate. I used to pick up Mark VI altos/tenors for anywhere from under $200 to around $600/700.
There was such a change in design/tone for the Mark VII/Super Action 80/Series II-III ,etc. that some people were turned off and started going with the earlier stuff.

My personal opinion is that the Mark VI stuff is over rated, but then, that's just my opinion, and is also influenced by what type of tone i'm after; your mileage may vary.

There IS a noticeable diff in tone for the various vintage Selmers, so depending upon what type of playing you're interested in, you might wanna try some of the other goodies, in addition to the Mark VI.

[Gregg W. Jackson]

In 1961, my freshman year in high school, I was ready to get a good tenor. My band director recommended the Buescher 400. He thought that the Mark VI tenor was too heavy, although he thought that the Mark VI alto was OK.

[Vortex]

As with all vintage horns, picking a Mark VI is a gamble. The only way to tell if it's a good horn or not is to play-test it. Also, all Mark VI's are characteristically flat, and the musician has to use his emborchure to force it into tune. The Mark VI does have a really sweet tone, but when it comes to ergonomics, reaction, and versatility you really can't beat the newer selmers.

[BobD]

The Mark VI does have a really sweet tone, but when it comes to ergonomics, reaction, and versatility you really can't beat the newer selmers.


I agree with the tone comment but the new Selmers have nothing over the VI when it comes to versatility and ergonomics. And response(if that is what you meant by reaction) is not as good as a VI.

[scale_master]

all Mark VI's are characteristically flat

I don't understand this....could you elaborate?

Thanks,
B.

[JL]

The Mark VI's are flat?? Not in my experience. I've been playing one for many years and although I've had to work on my intonation just like any sax player, I have never noticed a tendency for the horn to be flat. If anything, I find myself playing a bit sharp when I blow harder and unconsciously bite too much. But the horn itself has very good intonation.

[Jeff D]

During the production run of the model Mark VI there were 3 (some say 4) distinct design changes. This is why the ones from the 50's play differently from those in the 60's and from those in the late 60's-70's. Notice I didn't say "play better or worse".

To paraphrase Wynton Marsallis (apologies for any misspelling) you will always sound like you no matter what horn you play on. The question is which horn does it easiest for you. For me it is not the Mark VI (gasp, kneel, genuflect). I find them (from any era) to be satisfactory but nothing I do cartwheels over.

In any production line there are good ones and bad ones. For example, the Mk 7 I am currently selling on ebay (along with int. clar and flute) plays better than any Mk VI I have touched--I am a repair tech so I have touched a lot. Perhaps I have different enough tastes that it is just me. When it comes down to it, what matters is how well your musical interpretations are conveyed to the listener. If you can do that with a King Voll-true then go with that. I feel the Mark VI mystique is way over blown and it prevents people from trying other options.

JD