Who here owns/plays a super 20 silver sonic alto ?

It's completely personal, assuming both are good examples.
I've always thought of the difference as this: saxophone is a cross breed between reed and brass. Selmer is more reed, King is more brass. Maybe the S20 has more fundamental in the sound, the VI has more harmonics?
To me the VI is more complex and refined. In the right room the King's are incredible.

I've been told that by some repair guys that Kings can be a little more finicky when it comes to getting setup right and probably require a little more maintenance.

If you can try it for a few days do that. If you can get someone whose ears you trust to give an external listen do that too, or make a simple recording so you can hear the sound externally, not through the bones in your head.

I haven't had my S20 for very long and it hasn't really grown on me to the point where it's #1. Though I like it, I would take the VI to most gigs.
As you probably know, given 2 horns in equally good condition, the VI's are worth more. The relative values depend on vintage and condition on both horns.
It's like being faced with a menu that has lots of things that are great.
Up to you.
But, if you particularly like the VI you have, I'd bet that you'll regret getting rid of it later.

super20dan said:

i dont know about adderly but i suspect the same thing and he later switched to a mk6

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Hm. I don't recall ever seeing Cannonball with a VI, I believe he was playing on his custom Super 20 right to the end. You can see him here in 1974 (he passed in '75) playing his face off with that telltale octave key right under his nose: . As to Bird, he would play ANYTHING! Perhaps you were thinking of Johnny Griffin, who played a Super 20 tenor for many years, then switched to a Selmer.

The same day I bought my first Super 20 alto in 1972 (after playing an SML Gold Medal for 4 years), I tried 3 Mark VIs and 2 Super 20s, the horn I chose had the best intonation and the right sound for me, and I've been hooked ever since. I never could quite get the sound I wanted out of a Mark VI, and I have tried plenty of them over the years. Apples and oranges. The VI is definitely a more tanklike object, as super20dan says, but to me it is all about sound. And, I must say that my horns have held up very well over the years - I gig with them all the time.

I don't own a Silversonic, but I do have a silver neck alto with pearls from 1962, it's the prettiest horn I own (my bari is definitely the ugliest, but it's still a Super 20!).

nhsaxes said:

Hm. I don't recall ever seeing Cannonball with a VI, I believe he was playing on his custom Super 20 right to the end. You can see him here in 1974 (he passed in '75) playing his face off with that telltale octave key right under his nose:

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He actually did play a VI