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Major Selmer Gallery Update to Bassic Sax Pix

Helen

Content Expert Saxophones
Staff member
Administrator
I just spent the better part the last couple of weeks doing a major update to the Selmer section of my website's gallery portion: Bassic Sax Pix.

There are 2354 images of Selmer Paris horns organized into 17 different model sub-categories. Included in these model sub-categories are dealer photos of Selmer's newest offerings the SeleS Axos and the 130th Anniversary alto. (The latter is especially lovely.)

In addition to what's in the Selmer Paris galleries, I've also added some Selmer Varitone images to a new gallery dedicated to Vintage Electronica.

If you're looking for horns to compare yours to; just want to look at pretty sax pics; or are just the curious type, there is lots to see over on Bassic Sax Pix. With just under 26,000 saxophone images, it really is a must see place if you're wanting to satisfy your need for sax porn. ;)

I'll be adding lots more galleries of other brands in the coming weeks, and will announce those in the appropriate place when they are done. I have a bunch of Conn, Buescher, Adler, Orsi, Pierret, Kohlert, Keilwerth, and a ton of mystery horns to upload. (And that's just the major ones.)
 
I'm pretty sure that it was an option to get any engraving -- or none at all. Selmer also had additional keywork available since probably the Modele 26, if not the Series 22. Not just an altissimo F#, but trill keys, forked Eb, etc. Lots of goodness.

(FWIW, "Mark V11" would be read "Mark vee eleven." "Mark VII" [capital letter "V" followed by two capital letter "I"s; no spaces] or "Mark 7" is correct. At least you didn't say you had a Mark IV, which is possibly more annoying because it's way moiire common. Source: three years of Latin in high school, two years of Latin in college.) :p
 
Yes, I'll toot my own horn, too :D.

While I also have a bunch of Selmers, I'm actually the most happy that I was able to track down an awful lot of stuff about the Bird series of horns from 2005-2012. I even resurrected some of Selmer's webpages.
 
Yeah I noticed that after I hit send. I figured people would know I ment VII and you did. I write out alot of music 251, 36251, 123-5 etc. I have to catch myself with those 1s from time to time.
At the time I had enough money to get a VI tenor, but got a VII tenor (new). I have big hands so the VII large spatula keys were ok and I like the high F# key. I new the VI had more value but my VII was made for me.
 
I've mentioned it before: the VII is a good horn. I don't like them as much as VIs, but they're good. They're still priced a tad high, but if you want the Selmer "thing," the VII is a very good gateway drug. Unless you can find an early 1980's Selmer USA Omega.
 
I have played a number of Mark VII tenors that belonged to players in an R&B I used to work in. They were great horns--so great in fact, that I started looking for one. But as Pete said, the price point on them is a tad too high, and the difference between them and my Mark VI wasn't significant enough to warrant the price.

In the end I found a killer Zephyr from Sarge that relegated my Mark VI to back-up slot. The Zeph was less expensive than the Mark VII's that I saw, and the tone will slay any Selmer: VI, VII, Series II, III, whatever you throw at it. I tried a bunch (6 I think) of difference Zephs, and picked the ugly duckling with the most versatile tone of any tenor I have ever played.
 
M7s are going up in price?
Good. I've played these for years.

FYI. On the neck it is marked "M7"
and on the bell ring it's marked "MARK VII (R)"

I've also had the early Selmer USAs too. They're missing the Selmer Paris Core ...

IMG_9007.JPG
 
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I really, really like my wife's Omega alto. I haven't played a metric ton of Mark VIs, but at least a dozen. The Omega does more than compete. I'd say they're a bit brighter than the VI, but you have to remember that I've played and owned a lot of Yamahas :).

I'll again mention that the only horn I played and felt unworthy of playing was a Conn 30M. And I absolutely loathed Conns before playing one. There are an awful lot of good pro horns out there. The problem is that you're never going to get them all in one place to test them out. Not even a significant percentage. Hey, if I was really into tenors, I'd love to test a 30M vs a 10M from the same era, vs an SML Gold Medal, vs a Yamaha 82Z, vs a Yanagisawa with sterling bell, vs. a King Silversonic vs, a Silver Eagle, vs. an H-Couf Superba, vs. a Keilwerth MKX.
 
Start building your own collection.
You can buy my Couf Superba 1 alto ... I plan on replacing it with a Yamaha 875 (pre EX).
and want to add a 875 tenor too (I sold my Selmer USA Omega tenor last year) .. I'm down to 2 tenors (VII & Superba 1).

I really should play them more though as I've been working on Piano and Guitar lately.
 
With my Selmer VII tenor I can put on a Hite hard rubber mouthpiece (I modified myself) and sub with Ben Webster.
For the newer brighter sound I put on my Berg Larsen and hang with S.Rollins, D.Gordan W.Felder etc.
Once again I must say that the "Basic Sax Pix" is a great resource. I see pics of many of the horns I've come across during the years. Thanks Helen... love those Saxophones.
 
I'm pretty sure that it was an option to get any engraving -- or none at all. Selmer also had additional keywork available since probably the Modele 26, if not the Series 22. Not just an altissimo F#, but trill keys, forked Eb, etc. Lots of goodness.

(FWIW, "Mark V11" would be read "Mark vee eleven." "Mark VII" [capital letter "V" followed by two capital letter "I"s; no spaces] or "Mark 7" is correct. At least you didn't say you had a Mark IV, which is possibly more annoying because it's way moiire common. Source: three years of Latin in high school, two years of Latin in college.) :p
My earlier VII tenor has engraving and darker lacquer
My later VII alto does not have engraving and bright gold lacquer.
My SA80 sop has engraving and bright gold lacquer.

I seem to recall, though not sure how accurate, that the earlier horns had engraving with option for none, whereas the later one's were bare and engraving was the option.

[MENTION=139]Gandalfe[/MENTION] .. I bought your S1 tenor. I can't recall how long I've had my alto. But I sold it at one point, then bought it back from the player about 4ish years ago.
 
My Selmer iteration is as follows:

Mark VI alto bought new in 1972 (201,xxx) - still have it and lacquer is still about 95%. It's a great horn, but I don't play much alto these days.

Selmer Mark VI re-lacquer bought in 1984 (I had to pledge my car title to borrow the money for it). Sold it in 2001 when I bought my silver Series III.
Selmer Balanced Action (28,xxx) bought in 1990. Traded it for a Mark VII in 2004.
Sold the Mark VII in 2008 to buy a Yamaha 62 (post purple label).
Traded the Yamaha (plus cash) to Quinn for another silver Series III.
I think (hope) I am done, although I sure would love to have a Series III baritone.

Helen - if you need any pictures, I have some pretty good ones of the Mark VI alto, Mark VII tenor and the Series IIIs. Don't seem to have any pictures of the VI tenor, but it was an ugly dog anyway.
 
My first sax was a Couf Royalist II
Then I bought my Selmer mk VII in early high school. I still have this horn. I recall in the newspaper for sale ads many mk IV, V, VIs for sale. I thought there was a line of Selmer horns back then. So the VII must have the best latest and greatest!!

Our High School was a Couf horn school as Mr. Couf was the owner of the local music store. I played various Superba I/II soprano, alto, tenor and a bari once for State Honor's Band.

Ironically, Dr. Sinta and company at UM did not like the VIIs
So I added a Couf Superba 1 alto
During UM and a Music Conference I got to play around with the Selmer SA80 instruments and oh so much wanted a SA80 Soprano.
I was stuck on the Selmer mystic.

Sometime after college I added a Cannonball Big Bell lacquer tenor. I picked that horn over a Yamaha 875 due to cost.
I later sold the Big Bell and found a mk VII tenor (closet find) and then the Superba 1 tenor.
I added an Omega tenor though I was more curious on it's build, quality, etc and sold it quite some time after that.

A couple years ago I was in contact with someone who retired and moved to Florida. He was from my area. He was selling the early SA80 soprano that I now own and also (another one of my favorites) a Leblanc (Beaugnier) low A Bari. I didn't have the $$ to get both though.

I should have bought that 875 tenor instead, now I'm looking at adding one again.

one thing I really like about the Couf horns is the engraving. Not the standard flowers all over the place engraving. Though I really like the sailboat Selmer engravings from the BA line. Sometimes pretty pictures on instruments matter.

When my website comes back online I have a long string of Couf/Keilwerth history and pictures and other horns on it too.
 
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Well my Selmer history is very boring, since I never get rid of anything--which explains why I have way too many horns. ;)

My first Mark VIs were actually an alto and a soprano. They were gently "used" horns (basically minty, and still are to this day), in that they belonged to a player in Vancouver who owned a set (SATB) of Mark VIs, but when the H. Couf saxes came out--and everyone thought they were so great--said Selmer owner traded his set of VIs in for a set of Coufs.

At the time I spent a lot of time at Ward Music in Vancouver, and the owner's son knew I was going to go on and study music at university. Morrie suggested that I buy the Mark VI soprano and alto (didn't have a soprano, and only a student model Armstrong alto ATT). I already had a King Super 20 as my tenor. I couldn't afford the bari, or else I would have bought that too.

When I ended up attending a different university than I originally planned, I had to part with my Super 20 since it was a persona non grata at the classically-oriented school. By then the tenor from the set was long gone, and I was lucky to get a monster tenor through the school district's Music Consultant. His father ran a community band in New Westminister, and a the Mark VI--which had belonged to a band member--had been gifted to the band by the family when their daughter died. The family wanted the horn to go to someone who would use it like their daughter did.

Although I played bari a lot both in HS and university, I never owned my own until 1998. After I quit an especially nasty, national board of directors, I decided to treat myself for sticking it out as long as I had. I shopped around and found the ugly ducking of a Mark VI that I have now. I got it at the non-defunct (?) The Sax Shop, IIRC, in Evanston, Ill. This ugly relac is the most unattractive Mark VI I have ever seen, but in the words of my bari instructor back in the early 2000s: "Never change a thing on this horn. It gives you that quintessential bari sound together with your HR Berg Larson MP."

That bari is now at my tech's shop getting an overhaul, and my instructor's words are still echoing in my head. I opted not to get the ugly lacquer stripped. Nor did I opt to change to SS resos like I have on all my other horns. I'm sticking with nylon Selmer resos--and not over-size either. It will come back as ugly as ever, but will play like it was first new in 1967. It too is a killer Mark VI.
 
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