Late model Mark VI tenor (and, now, low register tenor tests)
A while ago I tried to sell a Mark VI tenor for a friend. Here's a link to that thread.
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=81731
That says all there is to say about that horn up until today. It's mine now. (I might have sold it if I were a better photographer.)
A few weeks ago I was having some trouble with low notes on the sax, so I took it to my neighborhood tech. His advice was if I plan to sell it to fix a few leaks, if I plan to keep it, overhaul it. I chose the latter.
I got it back today and it made me almost cry it's so nice to play. One of my tests for a great playing tenor is the ease with which I can play a subtone G1 followed by a subtone Bb1 without difficulty. There is a passage in "Don't Blame Me" where I like to play that sequence. Specifically the 1st 2 notes of the 5th measure or elsewhere where the melody repeats that phrase.
The new/old VI passed the test most of the time. Then, for the heck of it, I put a Ref 54 neck on it. (Interestingly, the lacquer color matches.) The note sequence plays without effort now.
The vintage '74 VI blew away the myths I've heard that these horns are somehow less than the 5-digit vintage. I have a 5-digit VI, which plays very nicely. The '74 is every bit the player the '56 is.
As a side issue, the Ref 54 that contributed the neck blows much better with an aftermarket (Barone) neck than it does with its own. Less stuffy in the upper register. Yet the VI doesn't like the Barone neck at all. Go figure. My tech tells me its mostly a personal thing. Other players would get different results.
A while ago I tried to sell a Mark VI tenor for a friend. Here's a link to that thread.
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=81731
That says all there is to say about that horn up until today. It's mine now. (I might have sold it if I were a better photographer.)
A few weeks ago I was having some trouble with low notes on the sax, so I took it to my neighborhood tech. His advice was if I plan to sell it to fix a few leaks, if I plan to keep it, overhaul it. I chose the latter.
I got it back today and it made me almost cry it's so nice to play. One of my tests for a great playing tenor is the ease with which I can play a subtone G1 followed by a subtone Bb1 without difficulty. There is a passage in "Don't Blame Me" where I like to play that sequence. Specifically the 1st 2 notes of the 5th measure or elsewhere where the melody repeats that phrase.
The new/old VI passed the test most of the time. Then, for the heck of it, I put a Ref 54 neck on it. (Interestingly, the lacquer color matches.) The note sequence plays without effort now.
The vintage '74 VI blew away the myths I've heard that these horns are somehow less than the 5-digit vintage. I have a 5-digit VI, which plays very nicely. The '74 is every bit the player the '56 is.
As a side issue, the Ref 54 that contributed the neck blows much better with an aftermarket (Barone) neck than it does with its own. Less stuffy in the upper register. Yet the VI doesn't like the Barone neck at all. Go figure. My tech tells me its mostly a personal thing. Other players would get different results.
Last edited: