1saxman
05-01-2006, 12:55 PM
From the middle '80s until recently, Selmer USA made their top-line saxes at Elkhart. The first was the Model 164, which was the tenor version of the Model 162 Omega alto. The model designation was changed to TS100 when Selmer USA realized that pros were not going for this 'pro' line. Serial numbering started at 820000 for the Omega alto and the tenor was introduced around 823000 or thereabouts. The TS100 used a different number series starting with 1 (1xxxxxx). The early saxes had darker lacquer and many Mk VI styling cues and the latter ones had lighter lacquer and resembled the Selmer Paris Super Action 80. There are no model IDs on the saxes, and they all have high F#.
The 'Great Experiment' is finally over, as only student and intermediate saxes are now made in the USA, but thankfully, the Selmer USA 'pro line' saxes are still out there, many in excellent to new condition. I bring this up because these horns are usually good enough to at least back-up a principle instrument, and sometimes can be the principle instrument. Quality and consistency is spotty, so you have to blow the horn and look it over carefully. Mk VI necks work great, usually with no adjustment needed, so you can swap over your whole set-up. I have bought two in the last few years, both like new. One cost $750 and the other $860, both on ebay. Both in the 825xxx range, the first one was too 'broad' for me, so I sold it to the bari player in our band who doubles on tenor but takes no solos - it's been great for him. I just got the other one last week, and it amazed me with it's huge, powerful, focused sound. I used it on last night's gig, and it's a keeper. It plays fine with the stock neck which is a semi-high arch (Mk VII-type), but I'm using a new Mk VI neck I had for a spare, to maintain the 'feel' I'm used to. I haven't even run a light through it, just made a few obvious adjustments and put a piece of Teflon tubing on a side key. The octave keys all need to be set up on these, as they did not use the cork shims/bushings like the Paris horns, resulting in a lot of lost motion. The correct pads for these have metal dome tone boosters with no rivet, so you can tell if it still has the factory set-up, which sounds best.
Bottom line, considering what you can get these for and what the alternatives are, you could do a lot worse for a road/bar horn.
The 'Great Experiment' is finally over, as only student and intermediate saxes are now made in the USA, but thankfully, the Selmer USA 'pro line' saxes are still out there, many in excellent to new condition. I bring this up because these horns are usually good enough to at least back-up a principle instrument, and sometimes can be the principle instrument. Quality and consistency is spotty, so you have to blow the horn and look it over carefully. Mk VI necks work great, usually with no adjustment needed, so you can swap over your whole set-up. I have bought two in the last few years, both like new. One cost $750 and the other $860, both on ebay. Both in the 825xxx range, the first one was too 'broad' for me, so I sold it to the bari player in our band who doubles on tenor but takes no solos - it's been great for him. I just got the other one last week, and it amazed me with it's huge, powerful, focused sound. I used it on last night's gig, and it's a keeper. It plays fine with the stock neck which is a semi-high arch (Mk VII-type), but I'm using a new Mk VI neck I had for a spare, to maintain the 'feel' I'm used to. I haven't even run a light through it, just made a few obvious adjustments and put a piece of Teflon tubing on a side key. The octave keys all need to be set up on these, as they did not use the cork shims/bushings like the Paris horns, resulting in a lot of lost motion. The correct pads for these have metal dome tone boosters with no rivet, so you can tell if it still has the factory set-up, which sounds best.
Bottom line, considering what you can get these for and what the alternatives are, you could do a lot worse for a road/bar horn.