Selmer Mark VI > Reviews > Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax

Author's product rating:   

How well constructed is it?	very well
Appearance	Cool
Quality of sound	superb
Playability	very playable
Value for money	good

Advantages:	An amzing vintage instrument, with that classic sound which most saxophone manufacturers strive to achieve .
Disadvantages:	Its hard to find these saxes in good condition for sale, and if you manage to find one it'll probably cost you near to £3000 !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have been lucky enough to play two Mark VI saxophones, 1 with its original lacquer, and one which had been relacquered, and I must say that they were both absolutely fantastic saxes!

The Mark VI's were handmade and engraved by Selmer (Paris) in the late 1950's and early 1960's. They are reckoned to be the best saxophones in existence, and almost all of the major jazz saxophonists played on them (john coltrane, wayne shorter, stan getz, michael brecker, sonny rollins played one at one stage and the list goes on.)

The main feature of these saxophones is their incredible tone, which is deep and rich, and these saxes are also easy to play. Intonation on these horns is also surprisingly good for horns of this era, but it is obviously not as good as modern saxes. They also have an exquisite hand engraved pattern on them, which has become famous, and some saxophonists have it custom engraved on their horns!

Overall, the only setback with these horns is that it is becoming increasingly hard to get your hands on one in good condition, and if you do find one then you will have to be prepared to pay around £3000 for it, and also to spend some money having some work done on it.

The Mark VI is the nicest sax that I have ever played, except the new selmer reference alto, which is modelled on the mark VI, and is very similar to it, just with a few bits of tweaking, such as improved intonation and some improved keywork design, and I believe the reference to be the perfect alto sax! I would reccomend the Mark VI to saxophonists of a high standard, looking for a sax with a classic tone, but I would not reccomend it for beginners, who may find it hard work to get the best out of the sax.