[High Fly]

It seems overall, that the reverence for MK VIs stops at the door of the home of the Selmer baritone. Any particular reason for that?

I'll second guess here and say it doesn't rock out enough or at least project well as a tool for jazz soloing, at least relative to others out there. A classical style sound?

If that is the case, especially for let's say higher up serial #s, is it terminal?

I'd guess that the intonation and ergonomics/action is second to none (or at least equal to the best), so what can be done to make it a better speaking or "differently speaking" horn?

I've suddenly come across a possibility of a nice 1970 VI at what might be a good price (relaq_shiny, very good play condition, not beat up, no major dents, OK wooden case). BTW, what is a good price for such an object?

 

[KeithL]

This has been my personal experience with the 6-7 vintage Selmer baris I've played. The vintage American horns just seem to have more beef when it comes to the sound. That being said there are some really good playing Mark VI baris and guys/gals that sound fantastic on them. However, in general the VI bari didn't sweep in and take over the way the Mark VI altos and tenors did.

If the horn your looking at is in really good mechanical and cosmetic condition and plays well I'd think the price would likely be $5000 - $6500 for Low Bb and a bit more for a Low A model. I'm basing that on my knowledge of one recently sold and repaired at Sax Alley that cosmetically wasn't very pretty but ended up at the bottom of that range once fully restored mechanically. Of course, as usual it depends a lot upon where you are in the country and how desperate the seller is, etc.. Baris are a real pain to pack and ship and shipping damage is far more common than with other saxes so many folks would rather not go through that trouble if they can avoid it.

 

[1saxman]

Listen to the great baritone sounds on pop records, like Motown. You're listening to the Selmer baritone for the most part. Projection and clarity are harder to get with any baritone but its up to the player to find the set-up they need - its not the horn unless you run across a bad one, but in general they are the cream of the crop. If you're talking about jazz soloing in the mulligan style, its going to be hard to get that on a Selmer but that's only a small segment of the world of baritone playing.

 

[LostConn]

My friend has a Mark VI low A baritone, and he gets tremendous projection from it.

 

[jgreiner]

I certainly wouldn't say there's no love. Pretty much every bari player I've ever worked with plays a VI (of course, there are a few exceptions). I think it's more of the fact that there are far fewer "dedicated" bari players out there than alto/tenor, etc. As with any horn, I think the mouthpiece/reed combo is what makes the biggest difference.

 

[lostcircuits]

There is a guy in the Colorado Springs Contemporary Big Band who plays a silver plated MK VI bari and it sounds just really great.

 

[soybean]

I think there is a lot of love for the Mark VI baris. It’s just that they’re kind of rare… In comparison to alto or tenor. Also, many were made without low A so that certainly restricts its use in today’s music. To my opinion, their tone is the best. The intonation was pretty good but you will get better intonation from the modern big three: yanagisawa, Yamaha, Selmer (serie ii or iii).

 

[Grumps]

I certainly loved the two I got to play with my college jazz band. Miss those horns.

 

[Dr G]

Yeah, “no love” is a false start. Mk VI baris are solid horns. I really liked the Low Bb Mk VI bari that I played.

Several of my friends were on Selmer low A baris for quite a while, then they discovered the Yanagisawa B-992 about 15 years ago, and sold their Selmers. At that time, you could buy a new B-992 for the price of a used Mk VI.

 

[B Flat]

Apart from the awkward left pinky table, I really like mine.
Mines a late MKVII serial numbered VI Low Bb.
I’ve had a few baritones including Yamaha 62 and 61 models, Yanagisawa B6, two The Martins, an Early Conn 12m and a King tempo and a later 11m.
I feel like the VI will be one I hold onto if I can get the pinky to work for me.
I still own the B6, the YBS61 and one of The Martin horns.

 

[High Fly]

Apart from the awkward left pinky table, I really like mine.

I feel like the VI will be one I hold onto if I can get the pinky to work for me.

Can you elaborate a bit on this?
Is it related to a long throw of the Bb? or is it something else?
Is it not the same general design of the VIs in other horns?

A big reason I'm considering one is that I'm tired of clunky and tough left pinky tables!! I generally don't mind a long throw as long as its not a fight too; I think it can be moderated with some epoxy platform-ing (I have 121k VI tenor)

Also: I included the "?" in the title because I don't sense the near sacrosanctity of the VI bari as for the others, as a general observation, amongst the tribal fathers here and elsewhere.

 

[B Flat]

I think if you like a tenor VI, you’ll also find a Baritone VI comfortable in respect to the pinky table.
I have never like the VI tenors in that regard as they feel way too close for me.
It is perhaps worth mentioning that I’m a reasonably tall guy at 6’2” and my hands are a XXL glove size.
So this is probably where my issue is.
Along with the tilting table which I have never thought an improvement in any way, especially on Baritone.
I love the sound and the fact that I can use a wide range of pieces on the VI and it is still old school enough to not be too bright and harsh like some.

 

[StefGrani]

I don’t know to whom that sentence is addressed, but I, a proud owner of one of those VI/VII Selmers (with low A), I am certainly in love with that horn. Personally, I have no problems with the ergonomics of the left pinky keys. The only “problem” I have is the right pinky C key, which for my hand is a bit low (because my pinky is long compared to the rest of the fingers). The horn has a wonderful warm full tone, which naturally is significantly affected by the mouthpiece. That I can say as a fact, because I have so many mouthpieces (Selmer S80-D, Otto Link TM 6, Mayer M7, Otto Link STM 7 and a Rico Metalite M7). The first three are from the 70’s and the two others brand new. I just played with the new STM 7 with Rico orange 2.5, Vandoren Java (red) 3.0 and a Legere Signature 2.25 and they are so different. I’m nowhere close to settling with the sound yet, which IMHO from here on is a reed issue. The mp is very free blowing, but my lungs can cope with that.

In any case, it’s a lovely horn with endless possibilities. I have only found one limitation with it. It’s the guy blowing into it. I’m not going to part ways with it in my lifetime and my advise to others is follow suit. They don’t make these things anymore...

 

[Bari Sax Guy]

My 1977 MKVI Bb is a great horn. After an overhaul it took many trips to see Emilio (who did the work) to get it right. Bob Drinkwater finally fixed my issue with the left hand pinky table -
they opened up when pressed into play, and my left pinky would get stuck in the gap.

One sax guru suggested crimping the rod to draw the keys together. Bob solved the problem - he said he did something with the corks - I didn't get any more detail, but the LH
table is nice and tight.

 

[ZenBen]

Yeah, “no love” is a false start. Mk VI baris are solid horns. I really liked the Low Bb Mk VI bari that I played.

Several of my friends were on Selmer low A baris for quite a while, then they discovered the Yanagisawa B-992 about 15 years ago, and sold their Selmers. At that time, you could buy a new B-992 for the price of a used Mk VI.

Did you get the chance to compare the 992 to a 991, 901, or any other Yanagisawa?

 

[B Flat]

I don’t know to whom that sentence is addressed, but I, a proud owner of one of those VI/VII Selmers (with low A), I am certainly in love with that horn. Personally, I have no problems with the ergonomics of the left pinky keys. The only “problem” I have is the right pinky C key, which for my hand is a bit low (because my pinky is long compared to the rest of the fingers). The horn has a wonderful warm full tone, which naturally is significantly affected by the mouthpiece. That I can say as a fact, because I have so many mouthpieces (Selmer S80-D, Otto Link TM 6, Mayer M7, Otto Link STM 7 and a Rico Metalite M7). The first three are from the 70’s and the two others brand new. I just played with the new STM 7 with Rico orange 2.5, Vandoren Java (red) 3.0 and a Legere Signature 2.25 and they are so different. I’m nowhere close to settling with the sound yet, which IMHO from here on is a reed issue. The mp is very free blowing, but my lungs can cope with that.

In any case, it’s a lovely horn with endless possibilities. I have only found one limitation with it. It’s the guy blowing into it. I’m not going to part ways with it in my lifetime and my advise to others is follow suit. They don’t make these things anymore...

Which sentence are you referring to?

 

[B Flat]

My 1977 MKVI Bb is a great horn. After an overhaul it took many trips to see Emilio (who did the work) to get it right. Bob Drinkwater finally fixed my issue with the left hand pinky table -
they opened up when pressed into play, and my left pinky would get stuck in the gap.

One sax guru suggested crimping the rod to draw the keys together. Bob solved the problem - he said he did something with the corks - I didn't get any more detail, but the LH
table is nice and tight.

I’m pretty sure that my issue with the table is more the need for an adjustment by me, as I’m not used to having the table so close as it is on the VI.
By close I mean it’s placement as a whole in regards to the G touch piece.
It feels like my left pinky doesn’t move as freely when it is forced in so close to my ring finger.
This is probably why I always really quite liked the ergonomics of my old MKVII Tenor.
Yet the tilting table on that was also something that I never really understood the benefits of.
The horn as a whole is really very nice and I’m sure I’ll get more comfortable with it in time.

NB: Interestingly I have just realized mine is a 79 Model.

 

[dzve]

When I saw cecil payne play at smoke he had a low A selmer MKVI,it was beyond good.

 

[StefGrani]

Which sentence are you referring to?

The “No love for Mk VI baritones?...why?”. It gave me a feeling that somebody had said (posted) it or it is something floating around among pro-players. I obviously need to get more familiar with the stuff going on here.

 

[B Flat]

The “No love for Mk VI baritones?...why?”. It gave me a feeling that somebody had said (posted) it or it is something floating around among pro-players. I obviously need to get more familiar with the stuff going on here.

Gotcha.
Not sure if it’s actually a thing or if VI Baritones just aren’t spoken about as much as the Tenors.
As someone said earlier, they’re probably less common than the tenors.
And I guess Baritone players as a whole are less common too.