[hellas]

I searched and read many posts on Selmer Mark VII alto and to a large extent, Mark VII was bad just because it didn't like Mark VI. And its dark tone was favored by many classical players.

Thus, is it still good for classical playings when compare with modern Selmer?

 

[ericdano]

Don't believe everything you read. You really ought to play test any horn before judging. I played a GREAT Selmer VII that the local community college had. It was leaps and bounds better than the Super Action Series II Alto they had.

 

[Dave Dolson]

I bought a new MKVII alto for my daughter when she started high school. She is now in her late 40's and still plays that MKVII in big bands and smaller combos - all jazz. The horn is a player and suitable for anything she'd want to push through it. DAVE

 

[Stretch]

I read on this forum somewhere that Arno Bornkamp plays a Mark VII tenor in the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet.

 

[drakesaxprof]

I played a Mark VII alto for 20 years--and it excelled in every musical context from classical to jazz to everything in between.

 

[beezer]

I played a Mark VII alto for 20 years--and it excelled in every musical context from classical to jazz to everything in between.

So why did you dump it?
Dave

 

[nachoman]

One of my buddies gets a awesome rock & roll tone from a MkVII...... They can rock, for sure

 

[hakukani]

I've never had a sax that tried to tell me what music to play on it.

 

[paulwl]

Very seldom is a good classical sax unsuitable for other music. Even the New Aristocrat, still the prize property of the Rascher school, was used by Charlie Parker for awhile, altho no one found out about it for 50 years.

I have heard some say that the Super 20 isn't a good classical horn. But they never seem to explain.

 

[drakesaxprof]

So why did you dump it?
Dave

For my classical use, I wanted an even better scale (perfect C# octave), and improved ergonomics, and found a SIII Millennium Edition that was fantastic. That was ten years ago, and a student of mine is playing that one now, as I am on a gold-plated SIII.

 

[AG]

here's an example of a Mark VII alto being played by Masato Honda for jazz in "Fly Me to the Moon" (if the link works)

 

[hellas]

Thanks for the comments!

BTW, I just had a question came to my mind, what would you choose to play classical style of music, Mark VII or 875EX? And for Jazz playings, Mark VII or 82Z?

 

[Dave Dolson]

No offense intended, but didn't we all just answer your question with our replies to your first question?

Find a good playing saxophone, then use it in whatever style of music you wish to play. I have seven altos in my closet, all of which would suffice in any setting. I'll bet a good jazz player could take any of the models you mentioned and make them scream (or wrench tears depending on the type of jazz being played), and the same goes for a concert-classical player. It ain't the horn. DAVE

 

[hellas]

Dave, I've got it, thanks!

 

[JackLi]

or you know Steve Coleman, plays some mean stuff on his MKVII before he switched to his Ref54

 

[SteveMarz]

As JackieLi said, Steve Coleman was playing incredibly on his MrkVII - all of his recordings with Dave Holland's group, and many recordings with Steve's own groups.
It can depend on how the individual horn plays. I once got stuck without an alto for an out of town gig (long story there). But in short, I had to choose between a MrkVI borrowed from a music store, and a friend's MrkVII. The MrkVII won the shootout, and I played it on the gig. I wasn't in love with the giant LH spatula keys, but the horn played well.

 

[Blowhard2]

If a silver MK7 alto is good enough for UK Jazzman Soweto Kinch , that's good enough for me!

Blowhard2

 

[kfoster]

I know some great players who use Mark VIIs for playing jazz. The instrument has not stopped them from getting unique individual sounds.