229,xxx Selmer Mark VI Alto Saxophone, 95% Original Lacquer, Just Serviced, Video
229,xxx Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone with approximately 92% original lacquer. Late Mark VI altos can be fantastic playing instruments and a great value in the marketplace. Selmer experimented with their alto bow lengths and eventually settled on a medium length bow around 1966/1967. This had the perfect combination of excellent intonation and response.
Later on, the Selmer factory in Elkhart began to tweak the Mark VI altos coming from Paris by adding a sheet of metal to the top portion of the inner bow. Not every late Mark VI has this, but many do. It slightly decreased the internal volume, speeding up the airstream and helping with low note response. This horn has this added piece of metal from the Elkhart Selmer factory, which can be seen by peeking inside the low Eb or C tone hole. Scroll through the pictures to see a picture of the inside of this horn's bow with this modification.
The pads are a mix of new and older, but all look to be in good condition with a lot of life left in them. My tech serviced the horn prior to sale, replacing two pads and 12 key corks. The horn seals nicely and can play easily down to low Bb. The neck is original to the horn and has never been bent down. The bell flare also looks perfect. The sax comes in a used ProTec case.
