Selmer Mark VI Alto 106xxx

Description

Here is a nice, clean, original lacquer Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone in my favorite serial range for *tone*. The VI altos around 95xxx-119xxx seem to have an extra resonant, powerful, dark, focused core that makes them a lot of fun to play. With a Meyer or similar mouthpiece, you get that classic lead alto tone that makes these horns perennial favorites among all levels of players.

This horn has a mix of old and new pads, and it plays great on them. You could get away with playing it like this for quite some time before getting it repadded again. The intonation is good, and there are no problems there to mention, save low B and Bb being a bit flat, but only if you are using a small tip opening, classical style mouthpiece. If you use a Meyer or something similar to that, the low notes play better in tune. So I might not recommend this for classical saxophone quartet, but pretty much any other situation it would be ideal for. There just is no other saxophone that does it all as well as a vintage VI like this, and this is a good, original example of one. In terms of past damage, there’s not much to mention: the low C keycage has been resoldered, and a minor dent was removed from the bell flare. I tried to get good photos of these small issues.

You will not lose money if you ever want to re-sell a horn like this. Modern Selmers have gotten so expensive relative to vintage ones that you can now buy a great VI like this only modestly more than a new “Reference 54,” only your Ref54 goes down in value and your VI goes up, and the VI is (in my opinion) still a superior instrument in terms of tone and build quality.

Talk to me about adding a BAM case for safety/protection/gigging, at a great price. The original case is here as well, if you want it; it is the large gray suitcase style one which is not great for shipping. I love BAM cases for keeping your VI in good shape and carrying it around in style.