Saxophones Mark IV or Mark VI which is better?

[Yanno]

Ive been thinking it over as im about to acquire a Mark VI,
What do people think
Are Mark VII's better?
Generally speaking Mark VII's are more sought after- and pricey.
But VI's are nicer? Well I think so.
Any opinions- like to hear from everyone.

 

[griff136]

What's a MK IV?

 

[Yanno]

What's a MK IV?

Sorry, got my roman numeral's completely wrong
I meant a Mark VII (7)
Basically im trying to see which one is better?
Or perhaps an SBA?
Sorry for confusion.

 

[old git]

Lotus Seven every time. The Five with its 100E sawn in half front swing axle, weaved all over the place on bumps.

 

[VirusKiller]

I don't think that anyone on this site can answer your question as it's so much down to personal preference and also the individual horns themselves (there are superb and also-ran MkVIs and I'm sure the same is true of the VIIs, BAs and SBAs).

I believe the sound of the earlier horns is generally darker than later horns, but that may also be too much of a generalization. The later horns (VI and VII) have more "modern" actions, but it was all an evolution from BA --> MkVII.

 

[griff136]

"Bang for buck"as they say in the States I would have to go with the mark 7. You can pick one up for under £1500 - half the price of a Mk6 - unless you pay saxophone specialist shop prices which in my opinion are way over priced. If youre lucky enough to have a mk7 with a serial number prefixed with the letter M then its a Mk6 body and mk 7 keywork. Great horns IMHO and the best value for money Selmer you can buy.

As with any model of horn you can get good players and pigs.

price wise generally:

Sba Tenors go for around £3500 upwards
Mk 6 tenors go for around £2500 upwards
Mk 7 tenors go for around £1500 upwards

Ive had both a mk 6 and Mk 7 and they had their own character and I liked them both. I sold my mk 6 and bought a mk 7, I now have a SA80 series 2 which is now a keeper for life.

 

[Yanno]

I wouldnt mind having an SA80- but again it's to do with price- if a second hand one popped up then i'd surely make an offer.
I hardly ever see Mark 7's come up for sale, and like you said 6's are pricey- however ive seen two advertised for £1200 and £1300- maybe too good to be true?
I shall probably have to do what you did, get the 6- and maybe purchase newer later.
Thanks for the advice.
Yanni

 

[rhysonsax]

If youre lucky enough to have a mk7 with a serial number prefixed with the letter M then its a Mk6 body and mk 7 keywork. Great horns IMHO and the best value for money Selmer you can buy.

I didn't know that about the M prefix - is it definitely true ? I just bought a tenor MkVII for £1000 and it has the M prefix. It's a very fine horn indeed.

price wise generally:

Sba Tenors go for around £3500 upwards
Mk 6 tenors go for around £2500 upwards
Mk 7 tenors go for around £1500 upwards

I would say that the price for MkVI s is a generally a bit higher than that at the moment. Probably in the range of £3k to £4k, depending on condition. Or is that just the asking price and people end up selling for less ?

Rhys

 

[bariandyf]

Hi Yanno
have a look here :- www.misales.com in the sax section - there's a whole load of selmer tenors for sale, mark 6's and 7's, series 2 and 3's

good luck

PS - I bought a mark 6 last year and it's fantastic, but if I was to buy a back up horn then I'd look seriously at a series 2 or probably a series 3 - have a look on youtube for Jay Thomas's review of the series 2 and series 3, he seems to really like the 3 (especially with the silver neck!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNgpUwLj7_8

 

[Yanno]

Hi Yanno
have a look here :- www.misales.com in the sax section - there's a whole load of selmer tenors for sale, mark 6's and 7's, series 2 and 3's

Im on there nearly everyday checking to see if one comes up- quite inclined to get the Yani A992UL on there.
Just have to keep my eye's peeled-
In fairness, from looking around- i dont think i can get a VI just yet with the money i have... But if i find a Mark VII or series 2 for around the £1000 range...
Thanks for the help

 

[Col]

I've had my Mk VII for about three months now and it just gets better.
I'm amazed that my other band members keep commenting on the tone, I've got used to the ergonomics (got large-ish hands), it's solid, reliable and totally lovely.
Also it was affordable, a lot of horn for a reasonable price.
I've had a Series II, Mauriat and Borgani and in my mind it beats them all - but each to his own.

 

[ATG]

don't forget that the Mark VII has a different bore & taper than the VI. it is capable of greater altissimo & a louder more powerful horn than the VI with different keywork. I've had both a long bow VI alto & a VII alto M255XXX. I prefer the VII over the VI long bow, but YMMV. the differences in the VII & VI tenors are much more pronounced, especially the keywork. if you want to hear a good VII alto being played & what one can sound like try youtube....Masato Honda playing Fly Me to the Moon with Lena Park. Masato is awesome & his VII alto sounds fantastic. I don't recall whether it was a tenor or an alto you were looking for.

I think this is the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z51Bz8sIZyU

 

[griff136]

I didn't know that about the M prefix - is it definitely true ? I just bought a tenor MkVII for £1000 and it has the M prefix. It's a very fine horn indeed.

from what I can gather from various sources on the net it seems to be a belief rather than fact.

Either way they are great horns and a tenor at £1k is a snip if you ask me. Great horns!

 

[ManEast]

The MK7 is a heavy horn and thus the Alto's pan-out better than the Tenors. I have played a few MK7 Alto's that would pass for a keeper.
IMO...Lot's of modern Tenors inc the MK7 suffer from being too heavy. However last year I had the chance to play Saxlickers M stamped MK7 Tenor. It was by far the best MK7 Tenor I have ever played. better than alot of 6's I have played...But that does not happen very often.

Art Pepper played a 7 Alto towards the end of his carrier.

Yanno...be very careful. get some help.

 

[Yanno]

Im still waiting for a 7 Alto to turn up locally- then I have a good chance to go and try it and have it set up properly by my repairer- but for the mean time, money has moved onto buying a Bass Clarinet- Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[ATG]

from what I can gather from various sources on the net it seems to be a belief rather than fact.

Either way they are great horns and a tenor at £1k is a snip if you ask me. Great horns!

I tend to agree with you on that, as long as i have owned a VII alto (& mine has the M) I've heard that story, but I've never seen any real proof to back it up. I do know that the ones with the M are the earlier ones & they seem to be consistently better than the later ones that have the N before the serial number but that's not to say that one of the later ones can't be great either, some are. you just have to play em...there are great horns & some not so great in every make & model. and that holds true for the much touted much hyped Mark VI as well which are now priced almost out of the range of a player to afford.

 

[Sab]

Ive been thinking it over as im about to acquire a Mark VI,
What do people think
Are Mark VII's better?
Generally speaking Mark VII's are more sought after- and pricey.
But VI's are nicer? Well I think so.
Any opinions- like to hear from everyone.

I have both and use them on gigs. My MK7 is a 1976 and the MKV1 is a 1957, in my opinion there is very little difference between them with regards to sound, its not the sax that produces the sound, it’s the player!!
For me the MK V11 is a little bit of a handful with the key set up but if I play it often it doesn’t bother me. MK V1 prices here in the UK are ridiculously high so if I were looking to buy a sax I would go for a MK7.
Mk7 prices are on the rise so it could be a good time to buy.
Hope this helps

 

[Nick Wyver]

I have a 1980 MkVII tenor that I use as a spare. It's very nice but doesn't really stand up to the Shadow. I've never understood the issues that folk have with the keywork on them. It all seems to be in the right place for me.

 

[Phil]

I like Selmer tenors but there are other tenors I like. Is there a specific reason you are making a choice between these two horns and leaving out all the rest?

Just curious.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Mk7 prices are on the rise so it could be a good time to buy.
Hope this helps

I like Selmer tenors but there are other tenors I like. Is there a specific reason you are making a choice between these two horns and leaving out all the rest?

I think eight years later, it may be a moot point now.