1969 SELMER MARK VI 6 SIX ORIG LAC / ENGRAVING, SUPERB

WICHITA BAND INSTRUMENT COMPANY 2525 East Douglas Avenue Wichita, KS 67211 Telephone (316) 684-0291 FAX (316) 684-6858 Email wbic@wichitaband.com

Friday morning...you're seeing this beauty pretty much as it came to us. Acquired by us from the original owner, we've taken everything apart, are now in the process of replacing all pads and corks. Should be ready to play-test Saturday noon.

Pretty much an honest and straight Selmer M6 from a good time-period. It's a very good player, especially since it's never been kicked around or abused. I'll post more pix on Saturday!

SATURDAY A.M. All repairs now completed and it's turned out better than we expected! Very clean example, keywork now swedged tight again (not much was needed), key pearls still sharp. All pads and corks are new and there are no dings or dents anywhere.

Superb player, as well. Low notes SING easily, with no hesitation, no burbling of any kind. Typical good M6 tone-color, a little bright, esp. if you use a Meyer 5M or 6M. For classical, we recommend a Selmer-Paris C-star and a VanDoren 2 1/2 or 3.

Don't be afraid of this one...good player in fine original condition. Not a closet queen, but better than 95% of the M6's out there, for certain.

Top recommendation!

RARE AND SUPERB SELMER MARK SIX ALTO SAX, MADE IN FRANCE IN 1969, 85% ORIGINAL AMERICAN LACQUER.

Vintage saxes from Selmer, Conn and King are always in our collection in Wichita. The sax was built in France, shipped to the States years ago and was recently acquired by us.

Selmer Mark Six alto #169,138. (1969). 85% original lacquer. Never any serious dents, a couple of minor dings have been burnished out by us. It’s definitely original lacquer.

Keep in mind that early Mark Six saxes weren’t all that consistent. Some play very well and others don’t. By the late 1960’s, however, Selmer had “got the bugs out”. Collectors sometimes prefer the five-digit instruments, but later saxes often are better players.

How do we know the finish is original and not a re-lac? 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 lacquer. 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.

This one’s a VERY clean example from Selmer’s Golden Era, comes with our top recommendation. We've installed all new pads & corks - it's ready to Play!! Our 24 month service warranty is included - please see below.

Yep, you can find one that’s cheaper, but the sun will burn out before you find one that’s better than this beauty!

Our starting price is only $4,950.00. ********************************************************************************************

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 eight 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 almost no school repairs, and 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. 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 posting, clean-up and re-stocking, 2.95%, on any returned instrument.

Ebay authorized payment methods: Paypal or credit card -Visa, MasterCard & Discover -debit card processed through our internet merchant account. 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 be able to figure it out for yourself.

Feel free to call or e-mail for any additional information. Wichita Band Instrument Co. 800-835-3006 pay line (USA and Canada), 316-684-0291 outside the USA and Canada order line, and info line, e-mail: wbic@wichitaband.com.