Gold Medal Tenor/ replace Serie III ??

[tsaxy]

I had never heard of SMLs until a few years ago. Have always played Selmers . My primary horn is a Selmer Serie III brushed matte finish.
Recently a very good friend who collects instruments said he would sell me his Gold Medal tenor,as he is in his 80s now and wants the horn to go to someone who would play it and appreciate it. I said I would try it.
I have been playing it for about a month now, and the thoughts I am thinking are scary. I am thinking of using the SML as my primary gig horn and either selling or keeping the III horn as a back up. I just can not stop playing this SML,it gets better the more I play it and become accostomed to it. I do go back and forth to the III horn, just to confirm what I am hearing. The SML has so much more tonal character, that is the only way I can descibe it.
Are there any of you that have changed from Selmer to SML? I guess I feel guilty about leaving my Selmer sit and am looking for support to justify what I am about to do. I have never played a Mk VI, so can not compare it. I just refuse to pay the inflated prices they go for.
Thanks in advance for your comments.

A frustrated Selmer die hard.

[max]

I did it without a second thought. I love my II (with a III neck), but the SML (mine's a Rev D) blows it away...

[max]

Sorry - that was a little too short to be useful - maybe a little more info will help.

I played my II for about ten years. I spent almost a year looking for it - I knew I wanted a II, but I was a broke college student at the time, so to spend that kind of money, I wanted a really friggin' awesome one.

I finally found it - it played head and shoulders better than any other II that I've played. It has some special engraving on the bell - it's not like the engraving on gold plated ones - just a single ornate flower across the top.

Adding a copper III neck to it makes it stand up to any VI out there. It's better than a lot of them, and not enough worse than the two VIs that did slightly beat it to justify the money it would have taken to buy them.

The SML leaves it in the dirt. End of story.

I'll never sell my II, but I'm not playing it anymore...

[morgan]

the thoughts I am thinking are scary. I am thinking of using the SML as my primary gig horn and either selling or keeping the III horn as a back up....looking for support to justify what I am about to do.

Not to worry ... your reaction is more or less the usual one.

[Voiceman]

I'm with max and morgan... I played a Mark VII for 25 years before bumping/stumbling onto an SML 6 years ago (had never heard of them before that point!), and all I can say is that my life has definitely changed! Like max, I can't bring myself to part with my VII, but then, it virtually never comes out of the case anymore...

It's a weird thing, goes against the grain of what we are "conditioned" to think (re: that Selmer is the best and it can only be Selmer), but morgan's right... sooner or later, anyone who's touched an SML comes to the same dilemma - er, conclusion...

[Dr G]

I, too, am a died-in-the-wool Selmer player - it's been my brand of choice for 25 years or so. I also played a Serie III tenor for quite a while - in classical and big band situations. I found a King-Marigaux several years ago that had wonderful character to its voice. The only thing that kept it from being my number one horn was that it was a little more finicky about mouthpieces than my other horns - its intonation characteristics were more than I could accomodate with my current mouthpieces and my gig situation didn't allow enough time to sort it out. I sold it to a friend that has a pretty serious collection of tenors and he considers it his favorite - above Selmers, Conn 10M, King Super 20, etc. (My current tenors are Selmer Ref 36 and Borgani Jubilee.)

If you find a great mouthpiece to match the SML to your needs, I would understand your switch without another thought.

Go for the Tone.

[ProfessorZeek]

have you guys tried the conn 10m or new wonder? i have the old conns and they are my favorites--a really lusty low sound, but i also like my Gold medal SML.

[swingerini]

I'm in the process of trading my Mk VI tenor for a GM tenor from Mark
at Saxquest. I've never played an SML despite the rave reviews over
the years, and it's time I checked one out .

I've been moving away from VIs over the years, but had kept the one
I have[just in case].

I mainly play Conns; occasionally my King Super 20, and have settled in
on that side of the tonal spectrum since it sounds the closest to what I
hear; a wider, more vibrant sound (tenor-wise)

A friend whose owned a couple of SML tenors said they vary a bit; which
is true of all makes, I thin; but they said they have ' " the projection of a
good Selmer with the full-bodied tone of a Conn" ' .

Here's the culprit in question :
http://www.saxquest.com/productDetails.asp?ProductCode=17721SMLTenor#photo s

[DanY]

My Marigaux tenor sounds 'in the middle' compared to the classic Conns and Selmers.
Warning: Do not let your Selmer playing friends try your SML. They will hound you relentlessly untill you sell!

[swingerini]

My Marigaux tenor sounds 'in the middle' compared to the classic Conns and Selmers.
Warning: Do not let your Selmer playing friends try your SML. They will hound you relentlessly untill you sell!

It's funny .. I think most who favor Selmers prefer a more controlled
sound. I like MkVIs but they're not _MY_ bag . I've owned some good
one's and played some exceptional ones that I couldn't afford or in most
cases, weren't for sale . It took me awhile to realize that the sound or
overall response was not in any of the Selmers .

Anyway I'd already sold one of my VIs a couple of years ago and kept
this one, as it had more character to it. I was already playing 10Ms and
Chu Berrys more(also the Super 20) but thought I might change back or,
even *need* the VI in a certain situation.

Nahhh .. I'm done with them .

So I'm expecting the SML to be pretty unique in it's own right .
Who knows ? Maybe it'll sound like my 'idealized' Selmer with a healthy
dose of Conn .

to be continued ..

[Grey]

Funny story here...

When I first started on tenor in grade 9 (my band teacher wanted me to learn tenor, as the lead tenor was leaving the next year), there was an SML horn lying around in the music room. My teacher said he didn't know how it got there. So I took it home for about a week, and that's when I got hooked on tenor. It had an amazing, fat sound, even with a crappy student mpc. So a few weeks later I bought myself a series III (more accurately, my parents did). I loved it a lot, and I wanted to compare it to the SML. But apparently the SML had disappeared from the music room and my teacher couldn't find it anywhere.

Now, a few months later, I think I'm a lot better on tenor, I'm starting to develop my own tone and I love my series III... But I can't help wondering how I would sound on the SML from the school. I'm pretty sure it was a pro horn, even my music teacher was impressed with the tone and beefiness of the tenor.