Selmer MK VI 60xxx Original British Model Expresssive Magic

A beautiful old horn made in 1955 for sale in UK, this has original lacquer and engraving.  It has that warm gold color finish that has not darkened much. The body and neck are in very good condition with no apparent repairs.  The lacquer where present is in very good shape, some spots of wear in normal areas.  Included is the original British Selmer case that looks absolutely fab along with the original sales guarantee from Selmer.

I’ve just done an extensive restoration on this horn, soldered the body to bow joint (as the American models had) all new custom treated pads with a set of vintage 1950’s Selmer US ToneX nickel plated brass resos from SBA and early MK VI, and full tonehole dressing and key fitting.  This now plays very precise, fast and tight.

It’s got the tonal poetry, the subtle super expressive quality that sort of disappears after the very early VI’s.  In this case, possibly uniquely this horn turned out really edgy, focused and powerful, a bit unexpected for sure.  This has a focused air column that really makes me think it has an SBA body, but it has more elasticity and spread than SBA normally has, basically the stretch of an early VI.  I feel this horn is really a transitional model of come kind.  Be warned, although it has a lot of richness of tone that may be specific to 60k and earlier models, it is really aggressive and cutting.  If anyone was holding the fantasy that really earlier Selmers were spread, dark and mellow this one will surely shatter that.