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Selmer Mark VII any good?

96K views 118 replies 58 participants last post by  Platner 
#1 ·
Hey,
Are Selmer Mark VII's any good? I am currently interested in buying one for $2300 that is silver plated and in really good condition. Does the silver make any difference? What is your guys opinion?

EDIT-
It is a tenor and the neck that comes with it is a Mark VI neck. Will that neck do anything different than the Mark VII neck? Also im a fairly advanced player and have played a small but large variety of horns. Yanagisawa A 901, Mark VI, Yamaha yts 23, 52 (mark Vi was alto and i only played it for an hour)
 
#72 ·
Lets go back to 1977-1978.The MK7 was advertised as a super horn.I was in DAMASCUS and I tried one but didnt buy it .To me it just didnt sound right in addition to many other uncomfortable features.The shop owner thought I was mad but a few months later there was an article which I remember as being in the DOWNBEAT magazine which said that the MK7s were being returned.Thereafter I did not hear anything about this sax.Later it had come back and a friend of mine has one.I dont know about other MK7s but my friends sax is just another horn.Nothing to go ga ga about. HORNLOVER Colombo.
 
#75 ·
Hi.

You have a YTS 52.

I have played a handful of MK V11 tenors and only one, that was what I would call a very nice horn.
I have love for the 52 / 32 and have played lots of them.
Only thing is ... most players look down at that Yamaha. You have to ask yourself, why is that ?
For me, all of the 52/32s are all over near all MK V11s.

IMVHO
 
#76 ·
I don't look down at Yamahas nor the 52. I think them very good horns. if someone wanted to give me a 52 tenor I'd gladly take it and say 'thank ya very much". I've even run across a few old Bundy altos that sounded as good as a VI or my MKVII. so go figure......just a couple though.
 
#77 ·
Every top end pro horn is a great horn.ITS THE 1 THAT SUITS YOU IS THE 1 OR BRAND YOU PICK.Still laugh abit when i hear some people diss some top pro horns.There the top of the pile as they are made to be great and sound great.As said i dont get away on yanagisawa tenors but i still can see there fantastic in every way.Remember theres a mp and reed in the middle and then theres the human at the end.Thats the big fault.US HUMANS.selmer,yamaha,JK,borgani,R&C,yani etc ect make amazing horns.Then theres some great asian horns.Many great vintage horns.All fantastic.Pick the 1 you like and try and improve as a player.We are so spoilt for choice and we still make up daft myth storys and find fault with the most stupid things at times.If all brands,models were the same design,bore,looking and sounding life would be rather boring dont you think.
 
#78 ·
lol, "it's that mouthpiece & reed & the human on the end".....yeah, that's a whole lot of it right there, then add in the horn that works best for you, makes you sound the best, fits your hands right & you got a great horn. IMHO
 
#79 ·
A really good series 111 is for sale here and unfortunately it's too far away for me to try so I tried one that I found locally thinking that my old Mk VII may get replaced. Don't know what it is and you can't dish a horn on one example but the fact that I'm welded to my MK VII probably has a lot to do with it but I'm not trading. It has a sound that everytime I think about trading it in just can't be beat ....now I wonder if I should try that Ponzol Antigua, I've always liked Peter's mouthpieces mmm
 
#80 ·
well, this is strictly a personal opinion, but I think the Serie III alto while a very good horn a brighter horn than the II or Ref 54 and my VII . It reminds me of the sound of a high end pro Yamaha horn. There's nothing wrong with that, the pro Yamahas are fine horns & many folks like their sound. I just prefer the darker more emotive "Selmer sound" if that makes any sense.

It's like when I tried the 54 alto thinking "here was the new 5 digit VI of old".......it wasn't. close in ways, very nice horn, loved the dark lacquer finish & flower engraving (my VII has that too) but when I played it I couldn't tell a whole lot of difference in the sound of it & my VII....there was some difference I thought I could hear, a little in the upper register with the 54 sounding maybe a little bit fuller, dunno, the guys at the music store listening said they couldn't tell much difference either. I liked the 54 though, and had I not had the particular VII alto I did I would have bought it probably. I thought it the best alto Selmer had made in a while. It's all just personal preference to a large extent, but you can now & then run across a not so good horn that's not really indicative of the model in general which is why you can't really judge a model by just one horn, IMO.

I've never played a III tenor, but I have heard they are really good. I can only speak for the alto III I played.
 
#81 ·
I owned a great silver plated serie III tenor.Never blew a III alto.The tenor was brighter than the other models but not crazy bright,it was a very nice horn.For me i like the Ref 36 and serie III tenors for the modern selmer.A good while back when the serie III 1st came out i tested about 4 at a shop,3 gold lac and 1 black lac III.The black selmer was amazing in the sound it made.My MKVII will be staying here for the long term.For that selmer jazz core its fantastic.
 
#82 ·
Well I am no expert, but just fresh in my shop arrives a Selmer Mark VII for a tuneup.

Having done all the needed adjustments I find the horn very well playing, great intonation, very very easy to play in the altissimo range - even easier than the Mark VI I think...

BUT this one has an issue, that I haven't figured out jet.... Octave jumps or jumps from high G to middle D is a BIG problem. Then I find the second pip - the one thats sticks out in the main tube is almost 1 cm long....

Since this is my first encounter with Mark VII - anyone out there know if a 10 mm pip is normal length for a Mark VII - its certainly not for a Mark VI???
 
#90 ·
BUT this one has an issue, that I haven't figured out jet.... Octave jumps or jumps from high G to middle D is a BIG problem. Then I find the second pip - the one thats sticks out in the main tube is almost 1 cm long....

Since this is my first encounter with Mark VII - anyone out there know if a 10 mm pip is normal length for a Mark VII - its certainly not for a Mark VI???
The long second octave pip has been present on the 3-4 VII tenors I have played. I do remember having problems but they disappeared spontaneously.

...whenever VIIs get mentioned there is often this implication that they're crap, which is complete and utter nonsense. What's up with that?
On SOTW, I believe 50% of that is driven by a single member who took a decade and half to realize that the horn was not for him and probably angry at himself for that - obviously without being able to admit it. Ironically, while the VII tenor by some is considered terrible, the SA80I is frequently characterized as a sleeper; lot of horn for the money. Yet, as far as I can tell, a late MKVII and an early SA80I differ solely by the pinky clusters and some minutia. Otherwise, they are the same horns.
 
#83 ·
Just to answer the OP's question: Yes.

That should be a pretty simple question to answer. He wasn't asking if someone thought VII's were better than VI's, or how they sucked, or if anyone had played one and didn't like it. It's well documented that the people who really liked the VI's traits which Selmer changed didn't like the changes, but some people did, and the people who have them and play them seem to like them quite a bit, and none of this has anything at all to do with the question of whether or not they are a decent horn, which was what the OP was asking. If there are players who have spent significant time with this model horn and felt that it was really a student horn, or a second line horn or junk; well I haven't heard that. I have never seen a post where someone with genuine experience of these horns said they were not a well-made, pro quality horn, or a post where someone said they had owned and played one for several years and had now reached the limits of it's mediocrity and needed to now step up to a professional sax, and yet these are often the implications that are made. I don't understand why people can express preferences for Yamahas or Yanagisawas or Keilworths or even all the different Selmer models with the understanding that these are PREFERENCES, and that they are all decent pro horns; but whenever VIIs get mentioned there is often this implication that they're crap, which is complete and utter nonsense. What's up with that? How does that help anyone?
 
#84 ·
Like a lot of questions here it depends.
Bad setup can make even the most amazing horn play poorly or not at all. A good setup...
I have a MK vii sample size of one. My vii alto is the most amazing horn I have played. Amazingly resonant the whole horn just vibrates in your hands.
Rebuilt by mike_s with brass resotech resonators it is responsive from a whisper to a shout. A stunning instrument. Are they all like this? Can't say. Love this one though...
 
#85 ·
since 3 years now, mark VII tenor 305xxx is my horn, and I'm really pleased with it. I've long fingers so the weird fingering has never been a problem. I feel its sound has a very big and extended thick sound, very wide but still with "the french selmer focus" in the "center", I really enjoy it.
in the last month I've got the chance to compare it with a plenty of top vintage selmer colection (BA,SBA, MKVI 5 digit) after that I returned home happy with my mkVII, it still is my choice on sound.
here is some pics of it few hours after the purchase =) https://picasaweb.google.com/pumatheman/PumaSMk7Tenor#slideshow/5386100125132637314
 
#86 ·
nice horn, must be a European version as I've never seen an American assembled VII with the nickle silver keys, looks pretty kewl though and in really good shape for it's age too. thanks for sharing the pics.
 
#88 ·
if it's a VII neck it will have the M7 on the front of the neck. if it's a VI it will have a round globe like design. some prefer the VI neck angle to that of the VII neck angle. with VI tenor necks so outrageously high you can get a Serie III tenor neck.....it's the same exact neck as the VI & they work well on a VI or any other modern Selmer. I've used a sterling silver III neck for many yrs on my VII alto for concert & classical playing mainly although it works well in any venue & it has been a great neck. since I retired & no longer play much anymore & I'm selling it, but in my opinion those III necks are really good.
 
#91 ·
people base those implications on personal opinions and they're entitiled to their opinion. the only thing that really matters is whether you like the horn or not......that's the opinion that's most important. does it work for you? a VII tenor averages out at around $2000 and sometimes more depending on condition, engraving, and the serial number being an early one or later. most think their chances of getting a really good one are better with the earlier number as with VI's....but that's not always true.

actually, I've managed to develope a very good sense of humor over the years on these VII threads.......and a certain "expectancy".
 
#92 ·
I feel like VIs are a bit more consistent for the earlier 5-digit horns. They all have a very similar rich core, and though I've played some that didn't play well, they still had the sound, even if their sound varied a bit. I played one or two VIIs that sounded absolutely dead, which soured me for a long time. Good ones are out there, and if you find one they're a steal since they're so undervalued. But getting one on ebay sight unseen would be too risky for me.
 
#93 ·
I've been playing my vii alto since I purchased it new in 1976. Never played another vii but at the time of purchase, there was a choice of vi or vii at the dealer as both were still stocked new. The vii, despite a bit more $$, played easy and rich and also had a f# key that the vi did not. 36 years later without any work except resoldering a guard that my son knocked off and a new neck cork, the horn with original pads etc. still plays like a dream. It's history includes lead in a jazz ensemble, big band, sax ensemble, numerous all-state classical pieces, and mostly now just for fun or busking fund raisers for charity. This horn was and still is one of my most prized possessions.
 
#94 ·
I actually like these horns a lot. I'm looking to buy one. Yesterday I tried a silver plated tenor mark VII that felt and sounded great. The owner has priced it at $4500 which I found to be pretty steep for a mark VII even though it is silver plated. The horn doesn't come with the original neck. Apparently the horn didn't play in tune with the original neck. Does that seem like a fair price or should I bargain a bit? According to this website it should be worth $3500 http://www.saxgourmet.com/vintage-saxophone-value-guide/
 
#97 ·
I bought my early vii tenor from a shop for 1800$ roughly a year ago with everything including the original s80 mouthpiece, 3500$ and 4500$ seem outrageously steep but I guess prices go up and down a lot. Without a neck I wouldn't pay anything above 2000$, or look elsewhere or online if I were you. What area are you in, I got mine in pensacola florida?
 
#95 ·
alec,
You must do as you feel of course but that seems like a lot of money to me.
For sure there are cheaper MKVII's around and again I would prefer a lacquered horn as opposed to silver plated so that actually detracts further.
I sold my MKVII after months of advertising for less than $3000 and it was in very nice condition (I didn't really want to sell it either).
I know you aren't in the UK but take a look at this commission sale to put things into some perspective.
I can't make a direct link but go to
http://www.saxophoneheaven.com/
current stock list
saxophones
 
#100 ·
A MVII is not "any" good, it is "good", nothing to fear about that. That's a good saxophone if in good playing condition. Tuning is better than MKVI, and if you have big hands, the ergonomics might suit you even better.
Might it be best sax you ever came across ? Dunno though !
 
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