SUPERB SELMER MARK MK 6 SIX VI TENOR SAX, 1965, PERFECT 98% ORIG. SILVER PLATE FINISH, NEW PADS/CORKS Start Price USD 6,950.00 Current Price USD 6,950.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, December 01, 2008 End Time Thursday, December 11, 2008 Location Wichita, Kansas See more about 'SUPERB SELMER MARK MK 6 SIX VI TENOR SAX, 1965, PERFECT' Description WICHITA BAND INSTRUMENT COMPANY 2525 East Douglas Avenue Wichita, KS 67211 Tel: (316) 684-0291; FAX (316) 684-6858 Email: wbic@wichitaband.com SUPERB SELMER MARK 6 TENOR SAX, MADE IN FRANCE IN 1965, ORIGINAL SILVER, PERFECT! New and vintage saxophones from Selmer are always in our collection in Wichita, for certain. Really fine and original vintage Selmers are getting a little hard to find, but here’s a recent acquisition that’s a good "9.9" on a scale of ten. The original bright silver finish is worn less than one percent, it’s never sustained any dents or dings and it’s very clean. The sax was built in France, shipped to the States some time ago and was recently acquired by us. Selmer Mark Six tenor #134,XXX (1965). It’s a nearly pristine example that wears 98% original bright silver finish, new pads and corks from our shop in Wichita. Never seriously dented, minor dings burnished out by us, key pearls all original, stack hinge-tubes with minimal swedging. This one’s not been played much since it was new. Superb example that’s in excellent condition, highly recommended. Today, all French Selmer saxes are manufactured, assembled and padded in France. Before 1980, many Selmer saxes were sent to Elkhart in bits and pieces, assembled, padded and lacquered in the States. The "American" Selmer-Paris saxes were usually (not always...) marketed with serial number to the neck tenon. "French" Selmer-Paris saxes did not have serial number stamped on the neck. Our Mark Six is a "French" Selmer-Paris tenor. We are absolutely certain the bright silver finish is original. We note that there are no wear marks, pitting, scratches or etch marks under the silver in the places that first show wear: around the strap ring and to the left of the thumb-rest area. Silver plated Selmers are rare in the States but were the "finish of choice" for French players. We’ve played thousands of Selmer Mark Sixes over the past five decades and can tell NO DIFFERENCE in playing characteristics between lacquer and silver. How do we know the finish is original and not a re-plate? It’s not all that difficult. Almost all saxophones are made of yellow brass. To get the metal to have a nice shine to it, the brass is lightly polished with a cotton buffing wheel to which is applied a light gritty Tripoli compound that takes off the little pits and scratches. A final polish is next done with a finer polishing compound that’s bright red. Most shops call it jeweler’s rouge. After the final polish, all metal parts are dipped in a de-greasing liquid and then the brass is either plated silver or sprayed with a couple of coats of clear or gold-tinted lacquer. When it’s done properly, lacquer and silver are both very durable finishes. Provided the player keeps fingerprints wiped off the instrument, the lacquer or the plating is often good for several decades. Eventually, especially if the saxophone is played a great deal, the finish will start to show wear patterns where there’s contact with the player’s hands. It’s possible at that point, to chemically remove the remaining finish, polish again with Tripoli compound and red rouge and to re-spray or re-plate. But there are always tell-tale signs that the brass has been stripped and re-finished. Before we offer any saxophone to our customers, we inspect the instrument very carefully. We go over it, literally, with a magnifying glass. Saxes that have been re-finished always have tiny wear and etch marks under the silver. We give extra attention to the thumb rest and the area on the body that’s just next to the thumb-rest. If it’s a re-lac or re-plate, you can always see etch marks or a wavy surface that’s under the finish. The other spot that we inspect closely is the strap ring. If it’s not original, you always can see tiny scratches or wavy metal under the finish. If the sax has an engraved bell or end-bow, we use magnifying glass to look closely at the grooves of the engraving. If they’re sharp and haven’t been polished over, the finish will almost certainly be original. But you can get fooled here, since there are some superb craftsmen who have the skills to re-engrave the metal----especially if the bell has never before worn any engraving. Key pearls are important, as well. We look carefully at the back edges of the pearls: not at the front, where you would expect finger wear, but at the back of the key, where there are always traces of a key being polished prior to the key having new finish applied. And the opposites to all the above are… If the metal is smooth and clean on the thumb-rest itself and also on the body around that area, it’s a very good sign the finish is original. If there are no pits, scratches or dings under the lacquer at the strap-ring area, and if the only scratches are on top of the finish, then it’s a good indication the lacquer is original. If the engraving is sharp and not feathered or buffed away in places, it means the finish is probably original. If key pearls are sharp at the front of the key, it means the sax hasn’t been played much. If the pearls are worn at the front, the sax has undoubtedly been used a bit, of course. But if the pearls are worn away at the side or at the back of the pearl, the key has almost certainly been re-finished. Here’s a little more info about condition: The neck’s never been creased or seriously dented, but we have burnished out several minor dings. The neck tenon is tight, the octave key without any loose play or wiggle. Original blue paint to the "S" logo on the key. One small pencil-point area of plating wear, just above and to the left of the tenon. Very good bell section, with 100% original bright silver plate to the outside. Bell flare is very good, never damaged and with good original plating, but the plating extends down only two inches. Unplated area inside the bell two-three inches in. Braid band that connects the bell to the end-bow shows no evidence of buffing or wear. Everything’s very original. End bow is good, never any big dents, but minor dings burnished out in our shop. 100% original silver, everywhere. Braid band that connects the bow to the body shows no evidence of buffing or wear. Key guards on the bell and bow have not been re-soldered or repaired, with the exception of a recent re-solder (we did the work) to one of the feet of the low C key-guard. NO wear to the edges of the key-guards. Have a look at the photos and you can see that the feet of the key-guards have never been buffed over. Still sharp… Body is very clean and straight, wears 100% original silver, minor plating wear to the thumb rest. No dents or dings. Original bright silver is close to perfect. F-sharp key-guard came to us broken off, has been re-soldered in position by us. Stacks are still tight, with hinge-tubes given only minor swedging. Key pearls are all original, but with normal wear. Cups that hold the pearls show no evidence of wear or buffing, more proof that all plating is totally original on this one. The body, neck, end-bow and bell all wear original bright silver plate from Selmer-France. The instrument came to us with numerous small scratches to the silver plate. But bright silver is the MOST FORGIVING of all finishes. With a four inch hand burnisher, we’ve burnished out almost all the scratches and tiny peck marks. It’s not all that difficult, but it takes strong fingers and six or more hours of labor. We spent a good deal of time with burnishing the silver so it looks "like new", but we did NO re-plating, no buffing other than with a soft cotton cloth. All keywork wears original plating, but the lower-stack F, E and D all showed some plating wear. We decided to NOT strip off the original silver and re-plate, but we did do a light hand-polish and an over-plate of the existing metal. It means the original metal is all there, now protected by new silver plate over the old. The bottom line is that this one’s straight, clean, wears new pads and corks from our shop in Wichita (plus new stainless steel resonators), comes with the very good original solid case (all original except for the latches and case handle) and plays as well as any tenor you’ll ever find. Easy to find a Selmer M-6 tenor for less money, but the sun will burn out before you find a better one! Top recommendation, we say! ******************************************************************************************** Wichita Band Instrument Company is a small musical instrument emporium located in the center of the USA. We’ve been in business since 1953 and have had the same owner since 1963. Originally we were a repair shop that specialized in woodwind and sax restoration. Today we have 18 employees including seven of the finest repair technicians in the country. Virtually ALL the items we sell have been fully reconditioned in our own shop, although we do sell the occasional unrestored historical instruments each year. Due to the heavy demand for our services, we do no school repairs, and very few "walk-in" repairs. It’s sometimes possible to buy a good saxophone on Ebay for a lower price, but unless that instrument wears all new pads and corks from a reputable shop, you won’t know how it plays until you spend another five to seven hundred to have it mechanically overhauled. With a saxophone from OUR shop, you know it’s in the finest condition when it arrives at your home! Here’s what we do to all used saxes we sell: The instrument is taken apart and everything washed clean. We don’t use chemical dips, but do use plenty of soap and water! Dings are next burnished from body, bell, end-bow and neck. With strong fingers and quite a bit of time, it’s possible to make any bright silver sax look "like new" again. After the body-shop work’s been completed, we swedge hinge-tubes tight again and re-fit to the sax body. Finally, pads and corks are replaced and the instrument play-tested. Most customers tell us that our saxes are then actually "mechanically better than new". Wichita Band’s service warranty is the same as it’s been for more than thirty years: "ALL new and all used instruments sold by Wichita Band Instrument Company come with our 24 month service warranty. It’s in addition to any factory guarantees. For two full years, we will repair or replace, whichever in our estimation is the more advisable, pads, corks, springs or other parts required, at no charge to the customer. The customer is responsible for shipping and insurance charges. Cases and plating finishes are not covered by our service warranty but are sometimes covered by factory guarantees." Wichita Band’s service warranty does cover dents and dings to your sax. If your instrument sustains damage to the body, end bow, neck or bell, we’ll burnish out the dents and make it look "like new" again. The cost you is absolutely nothing except shipping and insurance charges. Wichita Band Instrument Company maintains a repair department capable of restoration work of the highest quality. Even though repairs are essentially "free" for the first two years, after that period has expired, we remain at your service to maintain and repair your musical equipment forever. It’s our "service after the sale" promise and has been since 1953! In the event that a customer requires service under factory guarantees or Wichita Band’s service warranty, the item must be returned to us and not directly to the manufacturer. Anything we sell can be sent to you for a short approval period without obligation. We collect NO SALES TAX, unless you’re lucky enough to live in Kansas. The customer is responsible for shipping and insurance and must pre-pay back to us any freight charges on returned equipment. International shipping is available. Returned items will be refunded within 3 weeks of receiving the item. We’re happy to send any instrument "on approval" for ten days, but ask the prospective buyer to pay shipping both ways and to please reimburse us for clean-up and restocking charges (2.95%) on any returned instrument. VISA/MASTERCARD/DISCOVER/MONEY ORDER/CHECK/WIRE TRANSFER ACCEPTED. Credit cards not accepted from some countries. We must ship to the credit card billing address with exceptions made only at our discretion. We’re happy to correspond with musicians, players, parents and enthusiasts of all types. Written appraisals are always available, but please don’t write or telephone and ask "what’s granny’s baritone sax worth?" Do an Ebay search and you’ll learn more than we could ever tell you. Please note: Some scam artists are now sending fake "Ebay second chance" offers or "Ebay/Paypal invoices" to high bidders and other bidders on closed and active ebay items. If we send you an "Ebay invoice" or "second chance offer" it will be from wbic@wichitaband.com. Please call us on our 800 number (800-835-3006) or (001-316-684-0291 for international buyers) or email us directly at wbic@wichitaband.com, to speak or write to us in person about any auction, and please verify any second chance offers from us. Customers wishing to use US Postal Service: Please be advised that we will be happy to send your item by the US Postal Service if you so desire. However, please be informed that if your item is lost, stolen or damaged in transit, it could take one year or longer to finalize the claim with the US Postal Service. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for lost, stolen or damaged items when shipped with the US Postal Service. Because of this problem, we cannot recommend the US Postal Service for anything other than inexpensive items. Please see our other auctions: Current E-bay auctions. Feel free to call or e-mail for any additional information. Wichita Band Instrument Co. 800-835-3006 payment line (USA and Canada), 316-684-0291 outside the USA and Canada order line, and info line, e-mail: wbic@wichitaband.com. OUR STORE Place a Bid!