![\"1934](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/1934-Lochness-image.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a>When Selmer introduced the Mark VII’s in 1974, only altos and tenors ever made it into production. There were no bari or soprano Mark VIIs. Or were there?<\/p>\nThe sighting of a Selmer Mark VII baritone is somewhat like a sighting of the Loch Ness monster: Stories are told of such a beast, but few have seen it, and even fewer have pictorial evidence of their encounter.<\/p>\n
I for years was of the opinion that no Selmer Mark VII baritones existed, since that was what I was told by both my university and private instructors. And they should know, right? Furthermore, they were the ones who insisted that I rid myself of my nasty-<\/em>sounding King Super 20 tenor, and get not the new, Mark VII alto and tenor, but rather the good, used Mark VIs I still have to this day.<\/p>\n This is what Selmer Paris states on their website about the model that was to be the Mark VI’s replacement:<\/p>\n Source: Selmer.fr<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Note the last bullet point:<\/p>\n However, only the alto and tenor saxophones saw the light of day; the soprano and baritone “Mark VII” prototypes started during this period were instead used as the basis for the ”Super Action 80″ line.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Common wisdom would likely lead one to think therefore, that we wouldn’t see a such thing as a Mark VII baritone saxophone.<\/p>\n Well common wisdom be damned. Apparently the mythical Mark VII baritone saxophone is real\u2014at least in limited numbers. (Just how many lake monsters do we have in the world?) Furthermore, I happen to have stumbled across a Japanese website that is selling one.<\/p>\n Since I can’t read Japanese, and Google Translate is horribly inaccurate, I can’t tell what kind of music store this is, but I think their name is Sound Fuga. (At least that is their domain name). Whenever I visit their website, I always lose track of time since I get lost in their many, many vintage saxophone offerings.<\/p>\n While trying not to drool too heavily onto my keyboard, I happened across this oddity: Selmer Mark VII baritone # 31XXX<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source: soundfuga.jp<\/span><\/p>\n At first I thought it was a typo, but then as I started looking at the horn, I noticed some things that didn’t quite fit with a Mark VI. Most notably, the Mark VII engraving on the back of the bow to body tube connecting ring.<\/p>\n Source: soundfuga.jp<\/span><\/p>\n And the Mark VI logo on the front of the neck…<\/p>\n Source: soundfuga.jp<\/span><\/p>\n What this Mark VII baritone saxophone didn’t have, are the typical Mark VII spatula pinkie keys for the right<\/a> and left hands<\/a> that Selmer introduced, and what so many Mark VI players hated…<\/p>\n Source: soundfuga.jp<\/span><\/p>\n Source: soundfuga.jp<\/span><\/p>\n Although you would think Selmer would know its own history, time and time again we have seen this not to be the case. Perhaps nothing is more glaring than the company not knowing when its Mark VI production actually started.<\/p>\n According to Selmer’s official serial # chart\u2014called the Sax Legend\u2014Mark VI production began in 1954 with serial # 59000. However, according to this 1962 print ad I noticed on eBay, Selmer then said it was #53727<\/a>. (I wrote an article<\/a> about this if you’re interested.)<\/p>\n Given this history, I’m not so convinced that Selmer knows what actually happened to its prototype Mark VII baritone saxophones. Bari #31XXXX would indicate that at least one, and likely more, made it out of the Selmer factory, and swam with the big boys in the general saxophone population.<\/p>\n If I could speculate wildly for a moment, the backwards facing model stamping on the bow to body connecting ring<\/a> may tell us something. Normally, if a horn has such stamping, and not all do, the model stamping faces forward on the bell to bow connecting ring, like it does on this Mark VI tenor #103451.<\/p>\n Source: The Sax Group on eBay.com<\/span><\/p>\n This change in location might be, and I stress might be, an indication that the Selmer Mark VII baritone saxophone in question was not a regular production horn, but rather a prototype, since other Mark VIIs have their model stamping facing forwards<\/a>. The backwards facing stamping might be what signifies this as a prototype.<\/p>\n The lack of enlarged spatula keys also indicates that this in no way is true-blue Mark VII. Although we don’t know if there were bore changes over the Mark VI, Selmer did not build this as a late-model Mark VI baritone.<\/p>\n If you would like to be the proud owner of saxophone equivalent of the Loch Ness monster, you’re in luck, this Selmer Mark VII baritone saxophone is currently on sale. It can be yours for the low, low,<\/em> What’s Selmer’s take on all of this?<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nSome thoughts about the Selmer Mark VII baritone saxophone<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> price of only \u00a5 680,000, which xe.com estimates to be $6,092.28 US. That’s a savings of \u00a540,000 ($ 358.35 US) off its regular price.<\/p>\n