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Silver 1974 mark Vi

2K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  milandro 
#1 ·
There is a nice looking silver Mark VI on Ebay right now, but I didn't think they made VIs in Silver, Maybe it is a European thing or what I think its a relaq. Can anybody help me out on this before I bid on it i would like to know what the deal is.
 
#2 ·
I have a silver plated Mark VI alto, French build, no engraving. I've seen many US builds in silver, with and without engraving, alto and tenor. My alto has a 'sweet' and centered sound that probably has more to do with the tube and not from being silver plated, very loud and bright if I push it, which is probably due to me and my setup.
 
#7 ·
A large amount of Selmers VI ( I wouldn’t know if most Selmers that is probably a question for Douglas Pipher to answer) have not only been made in Silverplate ( and there is even a tradition of those whom think that they are better and those whom think that they are worse) but also a small amount in Nickel plate.

Silverplate and Nickelplate were very much more popular in Europe since many marching bands used ( now the trend has changed) that finish. Selmer also had black, white and pink lacquer finish. In the US Silver could have been adopted by bands such as the Navy which had a requirement for silver look instruments.
 
#13 ·
I dunno,

I'm a bit grumpy today (my other half will tell you thats normal and she'll notice no difference) and I'm likely taking this off topic and down a very heavily trodden path but MKVI's reached legendary status and I'm happy there are reasons for that. Other horns too will be valued by their owners for personal reasons. So what ever the make and model of horn, you'll prefer the way one plays to another which is why we like to play test a few when purchasing and that preference wont be consistently unanimous.
God forbid anyone gets a dog of a MKVI & Dog of a Slant Sig mouthpiece eh??
I think what I'm feeling is that the community is bored with legendary pieces of kit and would rather sing the praises of capable yet lower rated and lower priced gear by mentioning that not every MKVI or Florida Link deserves the applause.
In its own right thats OK by me but there is usually a failure to recognise that not every $1800 Taiwanese, japanese, chinese etc horn will appeal and work consistently either.
I guess I'd rather embrace the fact that a certain vintage of horns were much more hand made and have stood the test of time favourably rather than bashing a legend. Just for the record my favourite horn is my King Super 20 but in my mixed up world of reasoning I play my MKVI way more.
 
#14 ·
My intention was never to put down the Mark VI I love my VI alto, but I also just sold a dog of a Mark VI Tenor. I made the mistake of buying it without trying it first. It just didn't respond even close to my alto and another good friend of mine who is a great player compared it with his VI tenor which was the same vintage year said the same thing. Luckily I didnt lose any money, because as we all know VIs hold there value better than most vintage horns. There are good and bad horns in every vintage. I have a vintage Cleveland tenor super 20 that plays great with no intonation issues in the top registers, which a lot of other Kings I have played have. I guess the moral of the story is don't buy any horn without trying it first if possible.
 
#17 ·
Hi Saxzman,

I can assure you they most definitely made silver-plated Mark VIs. In Canada, all the new Selmers were Paris assembled (and engraved - I never saw a non-engraved Mark VI sold new in Canada). They shipped to Toronto and then were distributed throughout Canada. In 1976, when I finally had enough dough to buy a new Selmer alto, there had only been Mark VIIs for sale for almost two years. I didn't like the VIIs. I asked several shops if they could find me a new Mark VI through Selmer in France or anywhere in the world. Well, there was one. In Toronto, sitting for a couple of years in the warehouse - nobody wanted it. I did. I got it for $700, about the same as a new VII then.

i could not believe this horn when it arrived. Opening the dark green leather case it was the most astonishing thing I had ever see. Sitting on black velvet, the silver plate was unworldly. My god - what a thing of beauty. I've seen dozens and dozens of silver-plated horns over the years, none of them had this quality of plating and finish. The horn was a lovely player, with better than average tuning. Too bad I never had a great mouthpiece for it.

In time, I spent more hours cleaning and polishing it than playing it - and I play 80% to 90% tenor anyways.

So yes, they made some fantastic silver-plated Mark VIs. As a historical note, it's also quite possible that this was the last Mark VI sold out of the Selmer worldwide warehousing. A year later I found a silver-plated tenor to match in New Brunswick - but it had been sitting in the store there for 3 - 4 years and didn't play well - probably leaked like crazy. If it wasn't leaking then it was a mediocre VI at best.

Sold my alto in 1980, and yes I do miss it. Hope you find a great one.

Sonny S
 
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