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1957 Mark VI neck on 1967 Mark VI tenor - will it work?

3K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  rehoppe 
#1 ·
My main horn is a 1957 Mark VI tenor.

I have an extra Mark VI tenor neck that was also made in 1957. I am considering the possibility of adjusting it to fit a 1967 Mark VI that is my backup Selmer.

The 1967 tenon is narrower that the 1957 one, so the 1957 neck would have to be adjusted by a technician to fit the 1967 tenor. I wonder if this would work. My idea is to make the 1967 tenor play closer to my 1957 VI, soundwise. Should I expect any issues resulting from the adjustment (for example, intonation issues)? If it doesn't work as expected, I might have to widen the 1957 neck again to bring it back to its original diameter and work as a backup neck for the 1957 VI (the main reason why I bought this extra neck). As is it right now, this second neck fits the 1957 VI perfectly.

Your advice, based on your experience and expertise, is appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I had a Mark VI Tenor Sax neck tenon resized so that it would fit a Balanced Action. It is relatively easy for a technician with a 'fitting tool' to do, and was inexpensive as I recall. In the case of the VI to BA swap, the tenon was too big, had to be made smaller in diameter. Unfortunately, you won't know if it 'works' the way you want it to or not until you actually have it done and play it. Good luck !
 
#3 ·
Thank you for your feedback.
I guess I did not explain myself correctly: just like in your case, my 1957 neck tenon is too wide for the 1967 Mark VI, so it would have to be narrowed.
When I ask "will it work", I am thinking more about sound, that is, will a 1957 Mark VI neck work on a 1967 tenor sax? I am aware that technically the operation is rather simple.
In your case, did the sound, intonation and/or playability of the horn change? Did any "strange" issues arise?
 
#4 ·
I had a 1950 SBA and my 105 Mk6 tenor at the same time. The necks fit each other perfectly. When swapped around with a couple of players and different mouthpieces, the sound quality went with the neck. I would imagine that even after resizing the tenon, the '67 will sound/play like the '57 with the second neck.

Seems like a worthwhile plan.
 
#6 ·
The VI I got in high school back in 1987 had a mismatched neck - in my case a ‘68 VI with a ‘57 neck. I never noticed until a tech pointed it out. He wanted to trade me a late 60’s early 70’s VI neck with no serial # for my ‘57 neck. After playing his neck I said no. The ‘57 neck on my tenor sounded richer, more full-bodied.

Contracting the tenon is an easy job for a tech with the right tool. Let us know the results if you do it.
 
#7 ·
To follow-up...

The Mark VI Neck played 'different' than the original BA neck. I can't really describe it any better than that. But it was not 'that much different' than the BA neck. I used the Mark VI neck for a couple of years but eventually started using the original BA neck again. Maybe today I'll try the Mark VI neck again and refresh my memory ?
 
#8 ·
Your advice, based on your experience and expertise, is appreciated.
One way to see how different the pitch would be is to make a sound into the neck by blowing into the mouthpiece end like a trumpet. Compare the resulting pitch between two necks. If they sound really similar it'd likely be a good fit.

The short of it is it depends on the horn, as vintage Selmers are pretty variable. My SBA neck on alto works better pitch-wise than the original neck on my '54 Mark VI. On my SBA tenor the 5-digit VI neck works decent, just not as good in pitch as the original SBA neck.
 
#9 ·
My main horn is a 1957 Mark VI tenor.

I have an extra Mark VI tenor neck that was also made in 1957. I am considering the possibility of adjusting it to fit a 1967 Mark VI that is my backup Selmer.

The 1967 tenon is narrower that the 1957 one, so the 1957 neck would have to be adjusted by a technician to fit the 1967 tenor. I wonder if this would work. My idea is to make the 1967 tenor play closer to my 1957 VI, soundwise. Should I expect any issues resulting from the adjustment (for example, intonation issues)? If it doesn't work as expected, I might have to widen the 1957 neck again to bring it back to its original diameter and work as a backup neck for the 1957 VI (the main reason why I bought this extra neck). As is it right now, this second neck fits the 1957 VI perfectly.

Your advice, based on your experience and expertise, is appreciated.
Yes, this should work and more than likely will make your 67 sound much like your 57. Necks are more important than the rest of the sax. In order of importance it goes player, reed. mouthpiece, neck, sax. Enjoy your new remade sax! Phil Barone
 
#10 ·
'In order of importance it goes player, reed. mouthpiece, neck, sax.'

That is so freakin' true we all should just get it tattooed on the back of our hand. Your mouthpiece is too bright? Learn to play dark. Want more resistance for that certain sound? Use a harder reed. Anyway, I believe the MK VI neck in 1957 was still being revised, while the 1967 was the final revision. Ideally I would want a late VI neck for the '67 (14x,xxx) and keep the spare '57 neck completely original and ready to use on the '57 or sell at a really big fee. Also on the '67 any Series III neck could work. I'm using a Sterling III neck on my '71 (186xxx) which is dynamite.
 
#11 ·
A few years ago I picked up a ‘61 neck to try on my ‘69 MkVI tenor. It fit loosely, so I tested it with tape around tenon to get a better seal. It sounded good enough to have the tenon expanded to fit right, and I also had the ‘69 neck tightened up at the same time. After this work was done both necks sounded the same, and they both sounded good, so I sold the ‘61 neck. Before the tenon adjustments the necks played with different resistances, and I was surprised find how similar they became after the tenon work. Once you have the ‘57 neck modified I’m curious to see if you have the same results I had. Also, I’ve been told that the opening size of the small end of the neck has a big effect.
 
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