Saxophones RARE Prototype Soprano Saxophone

[Vann Burchfield]

Photo Comparison: Rare McLean & Payne "Supersax Mark X" Prototype vs. 1970s Selmer Mark VI
Hi everyone,
I recently acquired an incredibly unique horn and wanted to share a technical side-by-side comparison. This is a gold-plated McLean & Payne "Supersax Mark X" that bears no serial number, but has the number "0"stamped under several keys, heavily pointing to it being an early factory prototype from the short-lived 1980s venture by Jackie McLean and Don Payne.
To see exactly what the factory was doing, I lined it up against my pristine 1976 Selmer Mark VI (Serial #249894). The design choices on the prototype are genuinely bizarre considering McLean & Payne marketed their eventual production line as modern, Mark VI-inspired horns.
Key Technical Takeaways from the Photos:

1. Body Taper & Flare (Image 3): Side-by-side, you can see just how straight the prototype tube is. While the Mark VI has that iconic, aggressive acoustical bulge out at the bottom of the tube, the McLean & Payne remains narrow and completely straight until it hits the bell rim, perfectly mirroring a 1920s Buescher True Tone or Selmer Model 22 geometry.
2. The Split Octave Mechanism (Images 1, 2 & 4): Instead of a modern automatic single octave mechanism like the Mark VI, the prototype relies on a throwback manual split/double octave key system with distinct nickel-silver key plating. The lower octave pad sits exactly where the modern body flare typically begins.
3. The Global Bell Stamp (Image 5): The macro shot reveals the full country listing engraved at the bottom: "France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, U.S.A." It seems they were heavily leaning into a global sourcing or marketing narrative right from the design phase.

It plays beautifully with a unique, spread vintage core, but the geometry is a total surprise. I'd love to know if anyone else has ever seen a McLean & Payne prototype surface with this vintage architecture, or if you have any insights into why the Taiwanese factory relied on 1920s tooling variations for an 80s prototype!

 

[turf3]

There are just two photos.

If we think of who was making sopranos in the 1980s, I'd guess one of the Italian makers. MAYBE an early KHS (that just based on the stamp "Taiwan")? Could be Keilwerth, I suppose. Buffet? Was Beaugnier still alive at this point?

 

[JayeNM]

looking at the pinky table it appears to be of European origin, sorta reminiscent of Buffet's tables in the 70s.

Nothing 'modern' about that table. But arguably, nothing particularly 'modern' about the Selmer's table either...

Cool horn, more pics would be nice. Your text is referencing photos which are not on the thread....(?)

Does it have a Front F key ?

 

[turf3]

looking at the pinky table it appears to be of European origin, sorta reminiscent of Buffet's tables in the 70s.

Nothing 'modern' about that table. But arguably, nothing particularly 'modern' about the Selmer's table either...

Cool horn, more pics would be nice. Your text is referencing photos which are not on the thread....(?)

Does it have a Front F key ?

Which leads to another question I've had: is the Selmer Mark 6 soprano actually anything "mark 6" at all, or is it just the same ol' 1930 soprano with different engraving?

 

[Vann Burchfield]

There are just two photos.

If we think of who was making sopranos in the 1980s, I'd guess one of the Italian makers. MAYBE an early KHS (that just based on the stamp "Taiwan")? Could be Keilwerth, I suppose. Buffet? Was Beaugnier still alive at this point?

 

[Vann Burchfield]

I googled the two names stamped on the left gold plated soprano with the silver showing through and it says that they were made in Taiwan

 

[Vann Burchfield]

It does not have the front Fork mechanism

 

[Vann Burchfield]

Which leads to another question I've had: is the Selmer Mark 6 soprano actually anything "mark 6" at all, or is it just the same ol' 1930 soprano with different engraving?

I noticed that a Buescher True Tone has basically the same left pinky table..

 

[JiJi]

From Fujix-Forum:

Here'san odd one, a "McLean & Payne" alto. I asked ReneMcLean about it and got this story from him so this is as accurate asI can remember. At some point in the early 1980s an investor and jazzenthusiast named Don Payne (not the bari player) approached JackieMcLean about creating a line of horns. They designed this Mark VI knock-off called the "Omega Supersax Mark X" under the brand "McLean & Payne" and made one production run in Taiwan. The metal, finishing, and overall quality consistency waspretty suspect at best, so they only made the one production run and then just dropped the project. Jackie had given this particular alto to Paul Jeffrey, who lent it for me for a while when I was in highschool and couldn't afford a decent horn. I gave it back once I had mowed enough lawns to buy a Selmer, and years later after Paul passed away his widow gave it to me. It means a lot to me personally with its connections to Jackie and Paul, and its overall rarity. Rene doesn't even have one and asked me to sell him this one, but considering my personal history with it I can't let it go. Kind of an eat story behind it, but not a particularly great playing horn though so it mostly just sits in a closet.


SignedFredGUnn

The left pinky table is a Taiwanese copy of the alto Dynaction.
Comparing this saxophone to Taiwanese copies of the soprano Mark VI will not provide a useful point of reference.
The model is completely different in terms of the instrument's keys.
What are the right and left hands of this instrument like ?