Last Monday, I went to the Boston Sax Shop to pick up my alto from getting some long-overdue maintenance, and decided to bring my tenor setup with me to try out a few horns Jack had in his shop that I might never get the chance to try again: a fully restored full pearls Silversonic Super 20, and n Inderbinnen tenor. While I was at it, I figured I may as well try some more tenors to see how they stack up against my 1977 Mark VII. The following horns are listed in order of how much I liked them.
Before we begin, I'd like to state that none of these horns were bad, and this is just my subjective preference based on what I like in tenors. I like dark, freeblowing, buzzy horns with a wide textural rage. I mostly play experimental music, and I'm not looking for something focused or even. You might really love the horns that did nothing for me, and that's cool! I'm not saying these horns are the best or the worst, just that I liked some more than others.
With that out of the way:
7. 1947 King Silversonic Super 20
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $10,500
IS IT WORTH IT? Sadly, no. This really breaks my heart. I've wanted to try a Silversonic tenor for ages, and I don't think I'll ever find a more perfect one than this. It's full pearls, and it was completely, beautifully restored and maintained. It looks like it was made yesterday, it's one of the mot beautiful saxes I've ever seen! And it sounds so boring. I honestly can't remember what this sax sounded like.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Absolutely not.
6. Inderbinned Raw Brass
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $10,000
IS IT WORTH IT? Not on your life. This was the reason I brought my tenor stuff, because honestly: when else am I gonna get to try one of these? Besides, its previous owner was Troy Roberts, who's an awesome player. And honestly? It didn't do anything for me. It sounded good, sure, but a lot of horns sound good. If you want something with Yamaha keywork and a dark, fat, sound, save yourself $5-7k and buy a Custom EX.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Nope.
5. 1963 Selmer Mark VI
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $6,800
IS IT WORTH IT? Really, that depends on you. No bones about it, this is a really nice horn. It's got silver plated keys, it doesn't need any work, it feels slick as hell, and $6,800 is on the low end for buying Mark VI in a music shop in Boston. But at the end of the day, it's just not what I want out of a tenor. It's too bright and too focused, and it doesn't have any grit to the sound at all. I doubt it's gonna stick around long, but I won't be buying it.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Controversially, no.
4. 1957 Selmer Mark VI
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $9,500
IS IT WORTH IT? Not for me. Look, this is an awesome VI, and it comes close to doing what I want a tenor to do, but $9,500 is a lot to pay for a horn. It honestly just sounds a lot like my Mark VII, just with slicker keywork. I paid $2,200 for my tenor back when I lived in Oregon, and if I wanted to sell it in Boston, I could get $4,500 for it. So at minimum, I'd be paying an extra $5,000 just for slightly nicer keywork and the mystique that comes with being able to pose with a Mark VI. That's not worth the money.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Sorry Mark VI devotees, but it's a no.
3. 1942 Martin Centennial
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $2,900
IS IT WORTH IT? You're god damn right it is! This is a great deal! Not only does it look gorgeous, it sounds incredible and has the most stable altissimo of any sax I've tried.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? No, but if I didn't have my VII, I'd think very seriously about buying this.
2. 1956 Selmer Mark VI
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $7,800
IS IT WORTH IT? You bet it is. Look, there's no getting around the fact that this is probably the ugliest of the 5 Mark VIs in BSS right now, but it sounds amazing. This was a horn someone really cherished, and you can see why. Honestly, this is probably the best Mark VI I've ever played.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Ooooh, if I were a little more financially stable, I'd think about it. But only if another sax didn't catch my eye...
1. 1931 Selmer Super Sax
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $4,000
IS IT WORTH IT? I would ****ing sell my soul for this horn. Yeah, the keywork is a bit weird, but it's nothing $2 worth of Sugru can't fix. Besides, the sound of this horn is indescribable. This horn is FAT and BOLD, but retains an extraordinarily wide expressive and tonal range. This is everything I've ever wanted out of a tenor. It's perfect.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? I did!
Before we begin, I'd like to state that none of these horns were bad, and this is just my subjective preference based on what I like in tenors. I like dark, freeblowing, buzzy horns with a wide textural rage. I mostly play experimental music, and I'm not looking for something focused or even. You might really love the horns that did nothing for me, and that's cool! I'm not saying these horns are the best or the worst, just that I liked some more than others.
With that out of the way:
7. 1947 King Silversonic Super 20
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $10,500
IS IT WORTH IT? Sadly, no. This really breaks my heart. I've wanted to try a Silversonic tenor for ages, and I don't think I'll ever find a more perfect one than this. It's full pearls, and it was completely, beautifully restored and maintained. It looks like it was made yesterday, it's one of the mot beautiful saxes I've ever seen! And it sounds so boring. I honestly can't remember what this sax sounded like.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Absolutely not.
6. Inderbinned Raw Brass
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $10,000
IS IT WORTH IT? Not on your life. This was the reason I brought my tenor stuff, because honestly: when else am I gonna get to try one of these? Besides, its previous owner was Troy Roberts, who's an awesome player. And honestly? It didn't do anything for me. It sounded good, sure, but a lot of horns sound good. If you want something with Yamaha keywork and a dark, fat, sound, save yourself $5-7k and buy a Custom EX.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Nope.
5. 1963 Selmer Mark VI
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $6,800
IS IT WORTH IT? Really, that depends on you. No bones about it, this is a really nice horn. It's got silver plated keys, it doesn't need any work, it feels slick as hell, and $6,800 is on the low end for buying Mark VI in a music shop in Boston. But at the end of the day, it's just not what I want out of a tenor. It's too bright and too focused, and it doesn't have any grit to the sound at all. I doubt it's gonna stick around long, but I won't be buying it.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Controversially, no.
4. 1957 Selmer Mark VI
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $9,500
IS IT WORTH IT? Not for me. Look, this is an awesome VI, and it comes close to doing what I want a tenor to do, but $9,500 is a lot to pay for a horn. It honestly just sounds a lot like my Mark VII, just with slicker keywork. I paid $2,200 for my tenor back when I lived in Oregon, and if I wanted to sell it in Boston, I could get $4,500 for it. So at minimum, I'd be paying an extra $5,000 just for slightly nicer keywork and the mystique that comes with being able to pose with a Mark VI. That's not worth the money.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Sorry Mark VI devotees, but it's a no.
3. 1942 Martin Centennial
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $2,900
IS IT WORTH IT? You're god damn right it is! This is a great deal! Not only does it look gorgeous, it sounds incredible and has the most stable altissimo of any sax I've tried.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? No, but if I didn't have my VII, I'd think very seriously about buying this.
2. 1956 Selmer Mark VI
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $7,800
IS IT WORTH IT? You bet it is. Look, there's no getting around the fact that this is probably the ugliest of the 5 Mark VIs in BSS right now, but it sounds amazing. This was a horn someone really cherished, and you can see why. Honestly, this is probably the best Mark VI I've ever played.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? Ooooh, if I were a little more financially stable, I'd think about it. But only if another sax didn't catch my eye...
1. 1931 Selmer Super Sax
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $4,000
IS IT WORTH IT? I would ****ing sell my soul for this horn. Yeah, the keywork is a bit weird, but it's nothing $2 worth of Sugru can't fix. Besides, the sound of this horn is indescribable. This horn is FAT and BOLD, but retains an extraordinarily wide expressive and tonal range. This is everything I've ever wanted out of a tenor. It's perfect.
WOULD I SELL MY MARK VII FOR IT? I did!