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Saxophones Are Selmer Baritones as good as the tenors, particularly the MKVI?

Very interesting question and I'm looking forward to some informed opinion... Have such beasts passed over the benches of our tech members?

From what I've gleaned from comments on the Café over the years... There's probably more value in the name than the playing
 
I've got MkVI tenor, alto and low Bb baritone. The bari is good but not great - it's nice and easy to play with a good action and decent ergonomics but the tone is not as outstanding as some other baritones (such as the Conn 12M or "The Martin").

I suggest you read this review of the MkVI baritone by @Stephen Howard .

My best bari is a Selmer SA80 Serie III which is wonderful - Selmer baritones have certainly improved since the MkVI. When I played a gig in a pub I took my MkVI instead, just in case it got knocked over or something. But my VI looks beaten up as it was a high school instrument in the USA before I got it.

Rhys
 
From a technical perspective they're fine. Nicely built, a good modern action. Not much to complain about.
From a playing perspective (mine, anyway) they've always struck me as being a soloist's horn. Y'know, standalone in front of a trio. Somehow they seem to get a bit lost within a section.
They're also a bit 'inbetween'. For out-and-out punch and clarity the Yamaha wipes the floor with the Selmer. For pure lushness and low-down grunt, a decent Martin will run rings around it - and even a Conn Crossbar will put up a bit of a fight (though I tend to feel this is an overrated bari).

In terms of what baris the pros (and advanced players) are bringing in, the Selmer shows up rarely
 
rhysonsax said:
I've got MkVI tenor, alto and low Bb baritone. The bari is good but not great - it's nice and easy to play with a good action and decent ergonomics but the tone is not as outstanding as some other baritones (such as the Conn 12M or "The Martin").

I suggest you read this review of the MkVI baritone by @Stephen Howard .

My best bari is a Selmer SA80 Serie III which is wonderful - Selmer baritones have certainly improved since the MkVI. When I played a gig in a pub I took my MkVI instead, just in case it got knocked over or something. But my VI looks beaten up as it was a high school instrument in the USA before I got it.

Rhys
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Thanks man, that's very informative and I note how SH says that the low A bari has a lot more punch and oomph than the low Bb one, so that is the one to get I suppose.....assuming you can afford it. About that I found it a bit eye-opening that he gave a price of 2,000 pounds for one of these when over on Sax Gourmand our old buddy (sic) what'shisname says 6 to 7 of the grand American bills. Quite a disparity in valuations, no? What's up with that?
 
Stephen Howard said:
From a technical perspective they're fine. Nicely built, a good modern action. Not much to complain about.
From a playing perspective (mine, anyway) they've always struck me as being a soloist's horn. Y'know, standalone in front of a trio. Somehow they seem to get a bit lost within a section.
They're also a bit 'inbetween'. For out-and-out punch and clarity the Yamaha wipes the floor with the Selmer. For pure lushness and low-down grunt, a decent Martin will run rings around it - and even a Conn Crossbar will put up a bit of a fight (though I tend to feel this is an overrated bari).

In terms of what baris the pros (and advanced players) are bringing in, the Selmer shows up rarely
Click to expand...
Thanks for answering here Stephen. I just read your review of the Bb one and comments on the low A and that model seems better. However, I imagine it still can't match a Comm III low A bari, or can it? I myself would lean towards the Martin any day....my tenor is a Comm III and I have never wanted a Selmer ever. However I was asking for a friend who isn't on this forum and doesn't have very good command of English and is a Selmer minion in other sizes. I myself have avoided that sect, and stuck with the American saxes. They're my sound all the way.
 
Jazz Is All said:
Thanks man, that's very informative and I note how SH says that the low A bari has a lot more punch and oomph than the low Bb one, so that is the one to get I suppose.....assuming you can afford it. About that I found it a bit eye-opening that he gave a price of 2,000 pounds for one of these when over on Sax Gourmand our old buddy (sic) what'shisname says 6 to 7 of the grand American bills. Quite a disparity in valuations, no? What's up with that?
Click to expand...

If you look at the date of the review it was done in August 2002, so that value (actually quoted as £2,500+?) applied 18 years ago. I'm guessing it would be more like £4,500 here in the UK now.

Rhys
 
Jazz Is All said:
Thanks for answering here Stephen. I just read your review of the Bb one and comments on the low A and that model seems better. However, I imagine it still can't match a Comm III low A bari, or can it?
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Depends on what you mean by 'match'. The Selmer is a more nimble and sprightly horn, and has that almost tenor-like feel to the action. In that respect it trumps the Martin. But the Martin has so much 'authoritah' and is a far more engaging blow.
Trouble is, once you get into the realms of how a particular horn sounds and blows, it all becomes personal opinion.
However, over the years a consensus often develops - and the consensus on the Selmer was that it was OK...but nothing special.
 
rhysonsax said:
If you look at the date of the review it was done in August 2002, so that value (actually quoted as £2,500+?) applied 18 years ago. I'm guessing it would be more like £4,500 here in the UK now.

Rhys
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It does say £2500+ 😉

2002! My, that's a long time ago - one of the first reviews.
Funnily enough it kinda proves a point. I've been going through my early reviews and revamping them with new pics and blurb as and when the right horn comes in and time allows. But in all these years I've seen so few MkVI baris (in reasonable nick, at any rate) that the opportunity had never arisen...or they've come in when I've not had the time to do an update.

But given the way things are going these days, I expect I'll be knee-deep in the buggers this time next week...
 
My low A MkVI is amazing (I know, we all think that about our own instruments). I’ve compared it it to Yam and Yani, and despite their superb ergonomics, my Selmer has always come out on top. I love it’s compact, focussed sound. It seems to have a direct kind of precision which punches you in the face, rather than the more spread sound of the Yamahas.
 
Stephen Howard said:
It does say £2500+ 😉

2002! My, that's a long time ago - one of the first reviews.
Funnily enough it kinda proves a point. I've been going through my early reviews and revamping them with new pics and blurb as and when the right horn comes in and time allows. But in all these years I've seen so few MkVI baris (in reasonable nick, at any rate) that the opportunity had never arisen...or they've come in when I've not had the time to do an update.

But given the way things are going these days, I expect I'll be knee-deep in the buggers this time next week...
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In which case you might be kind and send me a small commission or agents fee for causing the upsurge in that line of business. In less polite terms that's called shilling or hyping but these days they call it "influencing". All you need is some 18-year-old young woman of the Emo persuasion who plays bari and after a week on Snapchat and Twitter, she'll have you drowning in Selmer baris for repair work. She'll be bari Influential.
 
Since you're asking about a VI + others, my 2 cents is simply that condition is fairly critical as most older Baritones have heaps of knocks and repairs. Heavier action also = wear. I'm sure you're clever enough to check any horn thoroughly, but a newer horn with less wear just seems like a good bet. The Yamaha suggestion I think is a good one. My personal inclination is towards a Martin, but you'd need to expect to spend lots of $$$ on most old baritones to put them in good condition. A zillion years ago I was in a High School big Band that toured other schools some hundreds of miles away) and I played the Baritone. So the Baritone got tossed into the bus and would often come out fairly tweaked (I think it was a Conn). While others were rehearsing and setting up I'd try to bend keys back into position and stop all the leaks. It was a typical school horn so fairly trashed, even though it was probably less than 10 years old. I really hated it and have never played a baritone since (59 years ago) ...and don't miss it.
 
For me it's just the ergonomics that are better on mk vi (low Bb) compared to a Conn 12 M or a "The Martin". I had a really beaten up mk vi that had been on the road with the guy I bought it from. My next bari was a Weltklang low A. Today I play a gutsy "The Martin Baritone". Very good tone/sound but the ergonomic is not good for me. Toneholes in-line and bell keys on left side ... .

If you are going to spend £ XXXX or $ XXXX on a baritone I think you should spent the same amount on a really good case. Most bari cases are crap. Even the cases to the new and expensive baris. Sax playes use spend money on baying good cases for thie sopranos, altos and tenos but bying plastic cases with small wheels for their expensive baris.

Buy better cases for your baris. If if you are just take your bari for a jam at the local pub. A Flightcase (Light or Road) with insert that is shaped for your bari. I would like a Flightcase Light with an insert shaped for my "The Martin Baritone" with bell keys on left side.

 
Nick Wyver said:
Which is something I have to respectfully disagree with. :tongue-out:
My B900 is still my favourite bari.
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Sure thing - like I said, it's a personal opinion. In terms of build the Yani is almost right up there with the Yamaha...and only the Yamaha's incredible switch-like low A mech keeps it off the top spot.
 
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