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What makes a saxophone a “jazz” saxophone is the artist, not the horn.

I had one of these Tenor pieces too, way back before the internet. Thus my point being I judged it on merit against what else I could lay my hands on. It cost me £4 from the drawer of used pieces in a small London shop whilst waiting to do a gig close by and IIRC it was a D4 with ligature. It soon became apparent it was pretty rare as I have never seen another in the flesh but that didn't make it a special player at all. As my tonal tastes have matured I think I would like it better these days and at the time a couple of players I knew who borrowed it liked it. So I have a minor regret that I don't still have it for taste reasons alone after hearing you play (Nice!) and of course the exclusivity of it. However, I still believe it was far from a holy grail piece, it's just rare. The internet can build irrational desire and hunger which results in hugely inflated prices and I feel thats the case with these pieces except of course if owning due to the rarity is your number one goal. Incidentally, I got £80 for it without trying on eBay in about 2005. Getting back to a more rational level, there are small chamber high baffle pieces that are made really well and really poorly and the same for low baffle large chamber pieces and there is every concoction between. It's easy to find a piece that will give you what this piece does and if you break it or lose it you could most likely find another one without busting your wallet 👍 But its a nice interesting video and thank you for sharing.

Also, I don't believe that these mouthpieces were originally gold plated? Mine was tarnished, and I used some silver polish on it, and it's now 98% like brand new! Super shiny! 😊

I have just acquired one, it's exactly the same as the one you have. Except? It has 'B2' stamped about a centimetre above the ff - MADE IN ENGLAND -ff ... 😊

my teacher always told me to bring my horn. i got so many lessons backstage bc of it

Nice video. Thanks for sharing. I played a MK VI alto, tenor and soprano in school marching and jazz bands, but definitely did not keep mine in this good condition. But they're still fun to play now and then.

I have a YSS-675 that I bought new as a teenager back in the 90’s. and I love it. I really love the keyword and action. This is a great review.

I’ve always struggled with the soprano sax. Currently have Mk. VI but it doesn’t get played much. I find the soprano very restrictive almost like blowing into a straw. You say this curved neck is more restrictive?

Chase Baird man... damn🔥🔥

Very informative 👍

Love the Conn!! (I own a 32 Conn Transitional) Big bright sound of the King.

5:49 huh?! Im sorry...you mention Wayne R.I.P. and Dave Liebman but left out Sidney Bichet and Steve Lacey that made soprano their main horn decades earlier?! 😯

whoa!

that Brilhart is a monster. And thats not a Level Air either? Whoa

I wish the bachround music was not there

You all sounds fantastic, thank you for sharing, and I'm sorry for your loss.

I have the alto i bought from an old sax player Great condition sounds lovely. I was always told it was a cheap chinese sax. But i still love it

Just don't believe anyone who says Bueschers are strictly classical saxophones! The 1925-'55 models might be the ultimate all-rounders.

Thanks for the info. Joel B.

I’ve been wanting an 80s 62 since owning both alto and tenor on the edge of the decade; this review of the 675 is what I’m looking for, just didn’t know it until now.

Can you make a video comparing the sound a yamaha mouthpiece versus a mouthpiece you think is good quality and affordable? Thanks.

How hard is it to skew the setup towards a darker sound quality? I currently play on what would be considered a "classical" setup to get a dark sound quality with my soprano sound. The YSS-675 is on my short list for a few reasons. The biggest being that the one piece R versions are priced sky high for an advanced hobbyist like myself.

Your mouthpiece/reed? Is that an S80?

Both great! I can only speak out of experience after 35 years playing on Conn pre-war tranny’s alto’s,tenors and bari’s is: They are handmade and sound all slightly different. And maybe this is no news, but I compared 6 tenor 10m’s and one sounded the best. It was the neck. Tried that neck on the other ones , and they sounded also better than with their original necks. This particular neck was also thinner (partly by age & use?) and in good shape. So conclusion : You are real lucky to find a good transitional 10m, New Wonder II with a nice neck.

Interesting that you mention that front F. I trialed a 675 briefly and liked the front F ergonomics, but that particular horn needed a lot of work and it was a bad deal overall. Switched to a bargain 475 and while I like the horn a lot, the front F is a truly annoying shape. It is so difficult to roll onto. I don’t understand this design choice.

Mark VI necks sent for the US market had the serial number stamped (not engraved) on its ring up to around serial number 140k. Those sold in Europe never did. Your 236k is within the last 3000 made. VI’s ran up to 239k.

Your comment about Yanagisawa and contemporary horns being too thick and heavy to vibrate had me scratching my head. I get the conn and king are great saxes, but, every horn built today is by definition a contemporary horn and I’m pretty sure they all vibrate. Are you going to dismiss them all? Incidentally my horn of choice is the Yanagisawa TWO10-U no high F#. It’s lighter than many horns I’ve played and vibrates beautifully. So what are your students doing wrong? I’ve played vintage horns that felt relatively dead in comparison to well built contemporary horns. So really….what’s your point…

I own the first "official" MK VI tenor sold in the USA. I bought it from the original owner. #55001 Had a high F# feature as an option.

Sounds beautiful

The King Super 20 has a brighter sound than the Conn.

Really fantastic music coming out of this. Not just tenor jousting. Hard tune to get into that space.

Have it duplicated. If Ted did it, I would want it.

I thought it was a C melody at first

You sound amazing on those horns.

I have a 1939 Conn 6M that my father gave me when I started. It was one he played when he had a band in the 40's. I have taken care of it, and there is no horn, including any Mark VI, that has the tone of that horn. Every musician that hears me play it always comments about what a great sound it has.

Just one more thing.. The Tenor sounds raspy @5:03 and sexy! What is your set up for the Tenor..??

lovely sound

This is partly why don’t want a mint condition Mark VI I’d feel like I needed to preserve it instead of play it.

Haha. That phrase. “Remember Keep your reed wet”. That’s a Steve Goodson saying. He is famous for many things.

Both sounds beautiful, but i like the Conn better...

I have a Conn C melody with a date of 1914 stamped on it. I also have an 1896 curved Soprano manufacturer unknown and a Conn 10M tenor, I believe is a 1967-1968 model.

Sounds amazing but why so many notes like the world is ending tonight?

True stuff ❤

Excellent video, thanks for posting. Between these two horns, I prefer the six digit, which reminds me of the six digit I owned for 56 years. I bought it brand new in 1964 (serial # 118907) as my 17th birthday present to myself. It cost me $420 back then, and I sold it a couple of years ago for $12k, after playing it in Frank Zappa's band for every tour from 1981 on, and a ton of other very diverse musical settings over the years. I had no idea Selmer made so many changes to the VI over the years till I saw your video. The five digits are often touted as the holy grail, but to my ear, the various changes they made through the six digits were incremental improvements. I would still love to pick up a Super 20 one day. Yusef Lateef sounded so good on his King back in the day with Cannonball's band.

Nice hair bro 😮

I had one of these. It reminded me of a Yanagisawa metal mouthpiece. It looks cool but it played dull for me. I sounded pretty much like you do on it.

Those are some crazy patterns! Wow

Bird was in Paris for the 1949 jazz festival..was this before the "Bird with Strings"date? Also I'm sure he met up with a few British players and I am sure I heard that John Dankworth loaned him an alto..speculation I know. 😂

Ask yourself, why was this piece made ? Also, how are you going to wear it out ? Why deny the world of such a sound ???

I Have Ted Klum´s Metal alto in an 8. It is unbelievably good. I wish he would do the tenor. When you played it on the Balanced it sounded so soulful. Don Menza has both the alto and tenor. Get it copied. I really dug the sound!