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Saxophones Selmer Paris Mark VI Alto Saxophone 1954 (eBay)

A beautiful horn! Would this really sound better than the best modern horn?
 
Older horns (sweeping generalisation) sound different due to a mix of having wider bore than modern instruments tend to have, and metal composition.

My experience of vintage horns is limited - I have tried a few, but I have not found one yet that 'lights my fire' in terms of sound. I tried a Buescher this week and it was OK and whilst the ergonomics were 'reasonable' (main issue is pinkie table is very different although not insurmountable) they were sufficient to be somewhat off-putting and the sound didn't set me on fire...

Selmers have a 'reputation', but like all older horns which are hand built there is a lot of variation between instruments so just because it is Brand X doesn't mean it's good..
 
Wouldn’t pay it, no no no !
Plenty of horns out there for less than half the price, just as good if not better.
At that price i don’t even think it’d be a investment.
 
No way in hell! That's way more than I would pay. My Super 20 is an iconic vintage horn and it cost me about a quarter of that. It sounds fine (provided I put in the practice time) I love it and it suits me just fine.
 
Even if it played like a dream, very few people could justify that price. Someone may have money to burn and wants it as a display piece, but that would seem such a waste! It should be played and enjoyed.
 
That price is just silly!

A Couesnon Monopole tenor has just sold on UK eBay for £600 - that's the sort of deal I would go for.
 
Wouldn’t pay it, no no no !
Plenty of horns out there for less than half the price, just as good if not better.
At that price i don’t even think it’d be a investment.
I tried that Buescher Aristocrat tenor from c.1945 that was at LSD last week. Ergonomically, it was reasonable, with a slightly odd pinkie table. It played OK - it was quite nice. But - and this might be MY sound - it didn't sound very different to the Yanis I tried. Price wise it was £2.5k which is less than 20% of that over-priced Mark VI
 
That price is just silly!

I see that the listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.

When I looked at the listing there was a "Buy it Now" price of £13,000 price (or was it £14,000 ?) - ending the sale early. The seller had presumably pitched this very high just in case there is a buyer out there who is desperate to have a museum quality very early MkVI.

The sale also allowed potential buyers to make offers to the seller and anyone could offer what they see as a more realistic price based on the value to them.

I wonder whether it did get sold and for what price.

Rhys
 
When you consider the huge gulf in wealth there will be others to whom 13k means nothing even if they believe it's over priced, which as there has inevitably been a lot of talk, needs saying.
I've bid on eBay for a few things but being on an average wage, Im astonished to see how far over my top limit sold prices can go.
But that looked wonderful, I hope it gets played by someone who loves it.
 
When you consider the huge gulf in wealth there will be others to whom 13k means nothing even if they believe it's over priced, which as there has inevitably been a lot of talk, needs saying.
I've bid on eBay for a few things but being on an average wage, Im astonished to see how far over my top limit sold prices can go.
But that looked wonderful, I hope it gets played by someone who loves it.
You make a valid point here. There are people to whom 13K is like the change we find in our couch cushions. Value is in the eye (or wallet) of the purchaser. For me, it would be a case of the buyer putting value on the name and status attached as there are other equally great saxophones that can be had for much less.

I also agree with you that it is a beautiful horn and I too, hope it goes to a player, who will care for it and make beautiful music with it.
 
I don't think it sold, just pulled. Seller stated that it is a first year model with nearly all of the original lacquer. Price looks to have been at least more than double of any of the other Mark VI's on ebay.
 
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Just saw a Selmer Mark VI tenor for only $28,000 USD on ebay (US) with a five digit serial number beginning with 83... I think that this is the highest price I've seen for a sax. This thread began with discussion of one being offered for around $17,000 USD. How high can these go?
 
To be honest @ESJohn it's ridiculous. There are people who will pay what most of us regard as stupid money because of an item's perceived 'collectability' which may have nothing to do with its actual quality or real value. The consequence of that is it pushes up the price of items, which pulls in more 'collectors' as they buy into the concept that it's a collectable item for investment. This then has a ripple effect onto other stuff. All of this is bad news for people wanting to buy a sax to play and are attracted to the vintage style/sound.

As I said in an earlier post, I've not yet found a vintage horn that 'lights my fire'.
 
Recently spotted a 1971, "one careful professional player from new", MkVI in the UK for £3,000 but I'd wager that an SA80II is a better, more consistent, contender at half that price.
 
As I said in an earlier post, I've not yet found a vintage horn that 'lights my fire'.
Have you ever tried one that's just been totally overhauled?
I had a 1973 Buffet Superdynaction a few years ago, some say a MkVI contender, not really vintage but played perfectly to my ears although I found, as Steve Howard did in his review of the alto, that it couldn't be pushed to any great volume. See: Buffet Super Dynaction (SDA) alto saxophone review

I also went to look at an SBA a few years back but it did absolutely nothing for me, perhaps due to its playing condition?

Then some months ago I stumbled on a 1958 SDA, bought it for a song, had it totally overhauled, and it has great volume, which could be something to do with key heights (as Matt Stohrer explains below).

View: https://youtu.be/-EvpQBeK0NQ?t=439


So, as has been said by others here, a vintage horn could simply be out of regulation but we're predisposed to think more modern must mean better even when faced with all the hype about classic vintage horns being preferred and the MkVI still being seen as the greatest ever.

It's perhaps unfair to knock an older horn unless it's fresh out of a respected repair shop with brand new everything.

For the time being, until something else knocks it off its perch, my 1958 SDA is perfect and its ergonomics are simply superb compared to more modern key work.
 
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