Selmer Mark VI Alto Saxophone 1967 Sanborn Serial Original Lacquer Fresh Overhaul! 143714

JUST FINISHED with the overhaul October 2021. New photos coming soon. This thing is a screamer!

This is a 143k Selmer Mark VI alto from 1967. It is American-engraved, with worn original lacquer. In the 139-144k serial range, you get a kind of sweet spot for Mark VI alto tone. These are probably the loudest, most crisp and projecting VI altos, but they still have the warmth and complexity that I love in the earlier VI altos. If you want a dark VI, this is not it. But it doesn’t at all have to peel paint or be played with a high baffle piece. Use a Meyer, and you’ll sound wonderful. It’s a natural lead alto instrument – projects over a band while staying rich and pleasant tonally. Besides the ‘Sanborn serial’ price bump, which IMO used to be more of a thing than it currently is, it’s easy to understand why these became some of the most desirable altos of any kind ever made.

This particular example has been played a lot! The finish wear reminds me of Kenny Garrett’s alto, which looks similar (just happened to notice that), and is a sign of a horn that has been played and loved. It’s original lacquer, quite worn, and it has had a few of the typical past repairs also – slight bow dent removed, low Eb keyguard resoldered on one side, and slight push in removed from the lower C/Eb post. Bell flare crease removed, and a small dent removed from the upper body tube. All done well, so it looks good enough that you might not notice those things if I didn’t point them out. Original neck is in great shape, not pulled down or damaged. The pads are old, so plan on a thorough overhaul, and this alto will definitely not disappoint. If you’re looking for something mint, look elsewhere! I have a mint/near mint 76k, 127k, 172k and some others at the moment. But this is also a fraction of the cost of what it would be if it were mint also, so there’s that. It’s not that common to find this exact version of VI alto that is the most desirable, that is also not priced a lot higher.

Only one available!