{"id":29696,"date":"2012-01-10T10:58:12","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T18:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=29696"},"modified":"2024-05-29T10:09:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T17:09:35","slug":"selmer-mark-vi-owners-club-survey-results-follow-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2012\/selmer-mark-vi-owners-club-survey-results-follow-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Selmer Mark VI Owners Club Survey Results: A Follow-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I mentioned in an article on November 8, 2009<\/a>, way back in November 2007, I started a thread on SOTW<\/a> about the oh so contentious, Selmer Mark VI saxophones.<\/p>\n

\"pant<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s so contentious about them you ask? Well I actually couldn’t tell you. You’d have to ask some of the 39,000+ members of SOTW\u2014of which only 6,144 were active as of this morning\u2014who regularly used to have lots of negative opinions of the these horns. Some went as far as to flame owners of said horns for just owning them, or speaking positively about their experiences with these French saxophones.<\/p>\n

Is it simply a case a saxual envy? I’ve always thought so. But hey, I own a set of VIs, so I’ve found my flame retardant suit useful on more than one occasion. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

I don’t know if this hatred for the VI is still alive and well on SOTW, because honestly, I don’t spend much time on the board anymore. When I do have a chance to drop in, I tend to avoid the threads that are just a rehash of what I’ve read since ’98 or ’99. (When I first joined what would become the world’s largest online sax community.) <\/p>\n

Having said this, I do like to catch up on the threads that I’ve participated in, or that I have started. This is why, from time to time, I like to check in on my Selmer Mark VI Owners Club thread<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"baritone,<\/a><\/p>\n

This morning I looked in on the thread, and was happy to see that it was still alive and well. The latest post was just yesterday morning. People are still adding their Mark VIs to the poll, and respectfully discussing the horns in the 318 posts to date. So far no Selmer haters have dared rear their ugly heads.<\/p>\n

Certainly there were those people who chimed in with something like: “I sold my VI and bought a XXXX. Don’t regret it for a minute.”<\/p>\n

But those posts are by far outnumbered by things like: “I sold my tenor serial XXXXXX in 19XX, and have regretted ever since. I can’t find another one like it.” Or something along those lines.<\/p>\n

As far as the poll itself, this is how the numbers breakdown as of this morning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
View Poll Results:<\/strong> Which Mark VI Do You Own?<\/span><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n#<\/span><\/td>\n%<\/span><\/td>\n# Increase over Nov.  8, 2009<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sopranino<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n8<\/span><\/td>\n1.45%<\/span><\/td>\n+3<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Soprano<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n68<\/span><\/td>\n12.34%<\/span><\/td>\n+20<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alto Low Bb<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n230<\/span><\/td>\n41.47%<\/span><\/td>\n+69<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alto Low A<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n11<\/span><\/td>\n2%<\/span><\/td>\n+6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tenor<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n373<\/span><\/td>\n67.7%<\/span><\/td>\n+130<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bari Low Bb<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n32<\/span><\/td>\n5.81%<\/span><\/td>\n+10<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bari Low A<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n31<\/span><\/td>\n5.63%<\/span><\/td>\n+14<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bass<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n2<\/span><\/td>\n0.36%<\/span><\/td>\n+2<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other: I don\u2019t think I missed any. Did I?<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n7<\/span><\/td>\n1.27%<\/span><\/td>\n+4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Multiple Choice poll. Total Voters<\/span><\/td>\n <\/span><\/td>\n551<\/span><\/td>\n—<\/span><\/td>\n+194<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Overall, the poll was remarkably consistent with the last time I took the snapshot<\/a>. Percentage wise, slightly more sopranino, soprano, low A alto, and low A bari players have now participated, while the number of low Bb alto, tenor, and low Bb bari players has dropped slightly.<\/p>\n

Since November 2009, we’ve also had 2 bass players chime in, as well as seen an increase in the mysterious Other<\/em> category.<\/p>\n

BTW, in none of the 300+ posts in this thread have I seen anyone describe what these Other<\/em> horns are. I’d sure like to know, since we now have 7 out of 762 horns being something other<\/em> than S,S,A,T,B,B, with a couple of low A options thrown in.<\/p>\n

Is the poll scientific? No, but then it was never intended as a serious piece of research. It was intended to start some constructive<\/em> dialogue about a model of saxophone, that has been hyped by ? (dealers, players, collectors, ???) to the point where it is beyond the means of the average player.<\/p>\n

\"Selmer<\/a><\/p>\n

I am just grateful that I’ve had my VIs for as many years as I have. The only one that I bought more recently was my bari\u2014which I bought in ’98. The rest have been with me since my university days in the early 80s.<\/p>\n

Like many players who have participated in the poll, I cannot foresee myself parting with my Mark VIs. Yes, I might have a number of other saxophones. And yes, some of them I like better for certain applications, and play more often than my Mark VIs. However, when it comes to overall playability, and overall flexibility and adaptability, the Mark VI can best be described as a chameleon.<\/p>\n

The VI is adaptable enough to fit into any situation. Have a classical performance in the afternoon, followed by a show with a rock band in the evening? The VI can pull it off. The Super 20, not so much. It is this adaptability in part, which gives the Mark VI its widespread appeal.<\/p>\n

When I get my JK Toneking back in a couple of weeks, it will be interesting to compare\/contrast its ability to adapt, to that of the Mark VI. Will it be a Mark VI slayer? I should know by the end of the month.<\/p>\n

\n
…this is just my blog<\/em>. <\/span> My \u201creal\u201d <\/b> website is<\/span> www.bassic-sax.info.<\/a> If you\u2019re looking for <\/span> sax info<\/strong>,<\/span> you should check it out too.<\/span>There\u2019s lots<\/em> there! <\/span><\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I mentioned in an article on November 8, 2009, way back in November 2007, I started a thread on SOTW about the oh so contentious, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[149,69,633,646,644,141,629,29,643,31],"class_list":["post-29696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-selmer","tag-french-saxophones","tag-mark-vi-mystique","tag-musings","tag-on-line-resources","tag-photos","tag-sax-on-the-web","tag-selmer","tag-selmer-mark-vi","tag-vintage-horns","tag-vintage-sax"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t