I love my Mark VI because ever since I started playing one, my phone never stops ringing for gigs. My Mark VI was made from unused French artillery shells from WWII that were taken from a field near Normandy. It was made on a Tuesday in March of 1967 by a craftsman named Jean-Phillipe Saint Bernard. It was 62 degrees with a relative humidity of 38 percent on that day. Mark VI. Good investment.
THERE WE GO!!! Knowing the history of your horn is so important. If you can't brag about the price, materials, who made it, or the local weather conditions that day, what good is it??
Mark Six's were great but Mark Sevens were terrible, awful, virtually unplayable horns and everyone knows that. If you are unfortunate enough to own a Mark Seven you can ship it to me and I will have it humanely disposed of. Apparently 6's were made of melted church bells from Paris and the old bullet shells from glorious wars where as 7's were mostly made of old dog food tins and the bicycles of those chaps that used to cycle around Paris wearing a striped shirt and selling onions which they draped around their necks. Sometimes they'd throw the onions in to the melting pot as brass was in such short supply, which is almost definitely why 7's are so, so terrible. So yeah, ship me your Mark 7's and I'll even pay for postage. Thanks.
Dave Pollack thanks. Don’t get me started on “special” ligatures, or Kenny G or that mass increasing Klingonbogden thing. Or mouthpieces. All of these things and more need the serious discussion and exploration that they truly deserve.@@DavePollack
@@lyndenblades I've got a mark VII alto, so thank you so much for helping me understand its true value and offering to dispose of it. Where should I ship it?
Unknown629 Permand303 you’re welcome. I like to think of it as a public service to sax mankind. I’m in the Uk and obviously it will have to spend some time in quarantine. I’m happy to pay for shipping and there’s a small administration fee of $500 payable to the Mark 7 disposal charity fund. Also you’ve probably heard about Brexit which is actually a cover for our secret plan to invade France and take the Selmer factory in to British Control and your $500 will go toward helping that just cause.
I held a Selmer in my hands when I was ten. I immediately loved the look of the horn. Always wanted one. Got a Conn alto eventually. Then a teacher allowed me to take his Mark vi tenor home for the summer to practice. I loved it. A couple years later bought a mark vi alto. Loved it. It was stolen. I just bought another one. Love playing it.
I have a mark vi alto and tenor!! And I feel superior to others because of it!! I can't play properly or improvise like I'd like to, but that doesn't really matter I already have 2 mark vi's!!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Play properly? Improvise how you'd like to?? What does this have to do with anything? You can tell people you're not only better than them but TWICE as good as them because you have 2 VIs. You WIN!!!
I was thinking of maybe taking some theory classes , practicing more, but I only added a funky hat a jazz T-shirt and some sunglasses to my playing my mark vi and hey presto!!!! The crowd can tell that my playing must be world class!!! So many aspiring sax players are missing out on these really basic and fundamental truths!!!! Anywhere in the world if you see a guy with a Jazz Tshirt sunglasses and funky hat!! Buy his CD's!! Lol 😂😂😂😂😂
I used to leave my 6 at home and take the back up to the gig. I have a 6 tenor. and franky I played a YTS 875 silver that had most of the tone and much easier to play. But a good 6 is gold. Glad you found yours early, Dave. My best Ksaxman.
Hey Dave, I see all kinds of saxes getting all the love. Naturally, the MKVI is considered the king of the hill but...I really think the sax that tops them all is the Ishimori Woodstone. Perhaps the issue is that despite Ishimori's reputation of working on saxes since the 1950's, their own sax is a somewhat newer product. That said, they seem to have all the best components of the Mark VI and the newer tech too. I am not sure there is another horn which plays so consistently perfect. Would be cool to see some of these horns getting the love they deserve.
The only alto I've played that's better then my Mark 6 is the SBA. Maybe I've been sucked in by the hype... keen to try the reference 54. It's probably what you get use to. Wish they were cheaper though, so please keep trying to bust the myth. Hopefully it'll work and the Mark 6's and SBA's will become throwaways!
I love mark vi! It' s such a challenge now that I ve got two jobs in order to pay the mortgage I got to pay the sax! I hardly ever get time to play though. God bless Selmer.
Thank you for your video and for your humour. There seems to be an attack on the mark six saxophone these days saying how bad it is but that it's not true yes there are many great modern makes that play very easily but if like me you prefer the mark six it is the sound that you are after. For me personally it's the second register in particular I just love the sound. It's all a mater of taste. The first saxophone I heard from my teacher was a Mark 6 so perhaps that's where the seed was sown. I think that the feel is important some of it may be psychological to the player but the listener might not ?! Does the metal of that era make a difference because The body of the instrument also vibrates? 40 years ago I sold my mark six also saxophone and regretted it ever since and I have some nice instruments now. I was fortunate enough to find a mark six tenor out of the blue which I like very much. I Think that your mouthpiece and read combination play a crucial part in your sound. I think it's good to find your instrument and set up and concentrate on playing the music. I think this too much emphasis on equipment. Some players are always changing mouthpieces. Son appeared to change the mouthpiece more than the reed. The more you practice the more you seem to improve. Selmer make very fine instruments but I do feel some people run them down without playing them. It's your choice. There are many fine makes of instrument today but it will take you a lifetime to get to know it! God bless. Bill. UK
This is funny! I play a Eastman 52nd street alto and I don’t have a tenor yet but I’m saving up but a friend of mine is always saying it’s dirty just cause it’s unlacquered but I think its funny. I know my alto isn’t worth 5k but it’s a good 3.2k and it’s a perfect sax in my opinion but I don’t flex cause that’s annoying I just judge people by how good they can play not what they’re playing
I wish i saw this before dropping a measly $4600 on a custom ex tenor. on the bright side if I include tax i dropped $5200 on it. I guess I came out with a good horn after all. I am glad i made the $5000 cut.
If it's affordable, you can't brag about how much it cost. Unless you brag that you have so much money a Mark VI is super cheap to you - either way, you need to worry less about getting an affordable horn and more about bragging.
@@diegomoralessepulved Try the site SOTW, there are people there who would gladly help you out with that..and many have the MK VI, along with other horns, who some find their "other" horns are equally as good.
I know someone currently selling an overhauled Mark VI alto that is a killer player for $5k on the dot! Another student of mine bought one last year for 5 as well. Of course you’ll see people trying to sell stuff for wayy too much.
@@DavePollack glad to hear there's still some sane people in the world lol. there's this place near times square called robertos...they have tons of mark vi's, lots of them $10k+. Same thing on Reverb, lots of people selling them for $7k+. I dont know what's crazier: the fact that people out here in NYC are selling them for that much or the fact that people are buying them. If I wanted a mark vi I'd say the best deals are on ebay.
I love my Mark VI because ever since I started playing one, my phone never stops ringing for gigs.
My Mark VI was made from unused French artillery shells from WWII that were taken from a field near Normandy. It was made on a Tuesday in March of 1967 by a craftsman named Jean-Phillipe Saint Bernard. It was 62 degrees with a relative humidity of 38 percent on that day.
Mark VI. Good investment.
THERE WE GO!!! Knowing the history of your horn is so important. If you can't brag about the price, materials, who made it, or the local weather conditions that day, what good is it??
my BA was also made from artillery shells in Paris, in 1947. sure wish i knew more about the weather that day! :)
Mark Six's were great but Mark Sevens were terrible, awful, virtually unplayable horns and everyone knows that. If you are unfortunate enough to own a Mark Seven you can ship it to me and I will have it humanely disposed of. Apparently 6's were made of melted church bells from Paris and the old bullet shells from glorious wars where as 7's were mostly made of old dog food tins and the bicycles of those chaps that used to cycle around Paris wearing a striped shirt and selling onions which they draped around their necks. Sometimes they'd throw the onions in to the melting pot as brass was in such short supply, which is almost definitely why 7's are so, so terrible. So yeah, ship me your Mark 7's and I'll even pay for postage. Thanks.
10/10 comment!!
Dave Pollack thanks. Don’t get me started on “special” ligatures, or Kenny G or that mass increasing Klingonbogden thing. Or mouthpieces. All of these things and more need the serious discussion and exploration that they truly deserve.@@DavePollack
@@lyndenblades I've got a mark VII alto, so thank you so much for helping me understand its true value and offering to dispose of it. Where should I ship it?
Unknown629 Permand303 you’re welcome. I like to think of it as a public service to sax mankind. I’m in the Uk and obviously it will have to spend some time in quarantine. I’m happy to pay for shipping and there’s a small administration fee of $500 payable to the Mark 7 disposal charity fund.
Also you’ve probably heard about Brexit which is actually a cover for our secret plan to invade France and take the Selmer factory in to British Control and your $500 will go toward helping that just cause.
@@lyndenblades Thank you so much for this great service to our global society!
You want to talk price?
*laughs in yanagisawa*
Hahaaa
The most coveted quality of the Mark VI is its natural reverb
It's one of the MANY features that makes it the greatest horn ever.
Still not a soprano tho
rotflmao, got him on that one!
You're right!! Do not fear - a new Smooth Jazz video will be recorded early next week :)
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I held a Selmer in my hands when I was ten. I immediately loved the look of the horn. Always wanted one. Got a Conn alto eventually. Then a teacher allowed me to take his Mark vi tenor home for the summer to practice. I loved it. A couple years later bought a mark vi alto. Loved it. It was stolen. I just bought another one. Love playing it.
Sorry to hear that it was stolen 😔
I have a mark vi alto and tenor!! And I feel superior to others because of it!! I can't play properly or improvise like I'd like to, but that doesn't really matter I already have 2 mark vi's!!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Play properly? Improvise how you'd like to?? What does this have to do with anything? You can tell people you're not only better than them but TWICE as good as them because you have 2 VIs. You WIN!!!
HAHAHA!!! Fantastic!
I was thinking of maybe taking some theory classes , practicing more, but I only added a funky hat a jazz T-shirt and some sunglasses to my playing my mark vi and hey presto!!!! The crowd can tell that my playing must be world class!!! So many aspiring sax players are missing out on these really basic and fundamental truths!!!! Anywhere in the world if you see a guy with a Jazz Tshirt sunglasses and funky hat!! Buy his CD's!! Lol 😂😂😂😂😂
But then again, do you have the right serial... with the right laquer amount, assembled and engraved in the “right” country...
Hahahahaaa yess!
I used to leave my 6 at home and take the back up to the gig. I have a 6 tenor. and franky I played a YTS 875 silver that had most of the tone and much easier to play. But a good 6 is gold. Glad you found yours early, Dave. My best Ksaxman.
Good informative video that cuts through the hype
so the 6 adds delay to the tone and improves licks. Super I'll get one Ksaxman
Yes it does! That's why when you buy one, you become the best.
I love the cannonball big bell stones series..sound is amazing
In my opinion Cannonballs are better..
I’m with yanagisawa for soprano and bari, conn 10m for tenor, and the six for alto
Hey Dave, I see all kinds of saxes getting all the love. Naturally, the MKVI is considered the king of the hill but...I really think the sax that tops them all is the Ishimori Woodstone. Perhaps the issue is that despite Ishimori's reputation of working on saxes since the 1950's, their own sax is a somewhat newer product. That said, they seem to have all the best components of the Mark VI and the newer tech too. I am not sure there is another horn which plays so consistently perfect. Would be cool to see some of these horns getting the love they deserve.
The only alto I've played that's better then my Mark 6 is the SBA. Maybe I've been sucked in by the hype... keen to try the reference 54. It's probably what you get use to. Wish they were cheaper though, so please keep trying to bust the myth. Hopefully it'll work and the Mark 6's and SBA's will become throwaways!
Great video dude. You mind telling me what the Asian guy’s mouthpiece is?
Thanks! That's a Ted Klum acoustimax
I love mark vi! It' s such a challenge now that I ve got two jobs in order to pay the mortgage I got to pay the sax! I hardly ever get time to play though. God bless Selmer.
As a Mk VII owner, all I can say is "mine's bigger than yours" (my pinky table that is).
But as a Mark VI owner, my debt is bigger by buying one. I got you there!!!
Exactly man
@@DavePollack, as a Tenor Mk 7 owner . very good sax . . for all my year on eart , sorry but just send my words . ..
My cousin is Mark; he’s 6. He also thinks he’s the best.
Thank you for your video and for your humour. There seems to be an attack on the mark six saxophone these days saying how bad it is but that it's not true yes there are many great modern makes that play very easily but if like me you prefer the mark six it is the sound that you are after. For me personally it's the second register in particular I just love the sound. It's all a mater of taste. The first saxophone I heard from my teacher was a Mark 6 so perhaps that's where the seed was sown. I think that the feel is important some of it may be psychological to the player but the listener might not ?! Does the metal of that era make a difference because The body of the instrument also vibrates? 40 years ago I sold my mark six also saxophone and regretted it ever since and I have some nice instruments now. I was fortunate enough to find a mark six tenor out of the blue which I like very much. I Think that your mouthpiece and read combination play a crucial part in your sound. I think it's good to find your instrument and set up and concentrate on playing the music. I think this too much emphasis on equipment. Some players are always changing mouthpieces. Son appeared to change the mouthpiece more than the reed. The more you practice the more you seem to improve. Selmer make very fine instruments but I do feel some people run them down without playing them. It's your choice. There are many fine makes of instrument today but it will take you a lifetime to get to know it! God bless. Bill. UK
Really funny! Not convinced everyone's getting the joke...
And I love that :)
This is funny! I play a Eastman 52nd street alto and I don’t have a tenor yet but I’m saving up but a friend of mine is always saying it’s dirty just cause it’s unlacquered but I think its funny. I know my alto isn’t worth 5k but it’s a good 3.2k and it’s a perfect sax in my opinion but I don’t flex cause that’s annoying I just judge people by how good they can play not what they’re playing
One of my former students had one of those tenors - it played great! I liked it a lot.
What's the name of the first tune in the beginning? I have the name on the tip of my tongue.
Adithya Sriram Just Friends
Both were "Just Friends." In the 2nd one he was blowing over it.
Just imagine people playing on a Mark V or a Mark VII... they were *that* to have a real saxophone.
So close, yet so far.
Who's Mark?
Mark VI my dream . Lemme see when I can be sound to buy it. But surely before my death.
I dont have a mk 6. Since I dont have a good tech here I drive a 991 Yanni. If ever a horn was a tank, this one is.
More even intonation and more focused tone than my Couf. Couf responds well and fills out your hand, though.
Mark 6's are the airpods of saxophones
So is the Reference 54 worthy of the Mk VI?
Nope
It’s not a saxophone if it doesn’t play smooth jazz
I wish i saw this before dropping a measly $4600 on a custom ex tenor. on the bright side if I include tax i dropped $5200 on it. I guess I came out with a good horn after all. I am glad i made the $5000 cut.
Phew, as long as you got over the $5k mark you're good! jk it's not a Mark VI so it's junk
@@DavePollack yeah but what if I told you my band director has a mark vii. and he let me play it once ! I bet you feel real dumb now
Oh no...the dreaded VII!!!
My Mark VI is 95% plus original lacquer. Been in a closet since the mid 70s
What a shame
@@DavePollack Any advice on how to sell it?
I'll stick with my 10m until the day I die
And I, a mrk7 guy, know why. Thankfully lots of good saxes were Made in the past by many brands.. 10m is warmer than possibly any other sax.
I play a lacquered Series iii and am constantly embarrassed by its newer looking finish compared the more rustic and vintage Mark VI.
Hah!
Understood! But I'll stick with my Reference 54.
Sorry you'll forever be in the shadow of those with a Mark VI :(
Ok but... Which one is good affordable saxophone??
If it's affordable, you can't brag about how much it cost. Unless you brag that you have so much money a Mark VI is super cheap to you - either way, you need to worry less about getting an affordable horn and more about bragging.
@@DavePollack bahahahba.. But honestly... I do want to know!!
@@diegomoralessepulved Try the site SOTW, there are people there who would gladly help you out with that..and many have the MK VI, along with other horns, who some find their "other" horns are equally as good.
Funny, my mark vi was made by P. Mauriat. Weird.
That’s it use set up vids
Well done, Sir....well done, hahahaha
Thank you!
1:13 "that just means it's been knocked around, beat up..."
not as much as your tenor tho
If it's soooooo good , how come the chosen One doesn't play one?
Peasant Saxophones... lol
Yup!
😂
Lol you're talking about $5k mark VI's a year and a half ago...nowadays I see mark vi's for $10k+
I know someone currently selling an overhauled Mark VI alto that is a killer player for $5k on the dot! Another student of mine bought one last year for 5 as well. Of course you’ll see people trying to sell stuff for wayy too much.
@@DavePollack glad to hear there's still some sane people in the world lol. there's this place near times square called robertos...they have tons of mark vi's, lots of them $10k+. Same thing on Reverb, lots of people selling them for $7k+. I dont know what's crazier: the fact that people out here in NYC are selling them for that much or the fact that people are buying them. If I wanted a mark vi I'd say the best deals are on ebay.
Oh I know about Roberto’s and the Mark VI room...craziness!!
Hm. I thought you were a funny guy! Now I know...
Just funny looking!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mouthpiece sax ???
What?
@@DavePollack
what mothpice uses in this video ?
@@sorinniculae4068 stock Meyer 5M
If they’re so good, then why don’t any of the big name players use them?
Big name doesn't mean good. Only good players use the Mark VI (because it makes them good)