what about the reference 54 selmer saxes? they any good?

They are decent horns. I`ve played them. They are Selmer`s desperate attempt to re-create the Mark VI with modern keywork. Hence the "54" designation. These are decent horns, but I am just not a Selmer fan anymore. They forgot about their clientele when they started the "cookie-cutter" saxophones in the late 70`s. It was all about "mass-production, flood-the-market, sell-as-many-horns-as-you-can."

That`s why the Mark VII was a flop. The next horn they threw at the public was the Super Action 80. Not a bad horn, but very much like the VI in that it had it`s share of intonation woes. The action on it was great though.

I actually played very briefly on an Omega which was Selmer USA`s Pro counterpart during that time. Not a bad horn at all. The then-new Yamaha 62 was better by far, though. Especially when it came down to intonation.

That`s just my 2 cents worth. Hope I didn`t step on any toes.

no toes to step on in a forum. it`s good to hear another opinion. I guess a lot of it is in personal preference as well.

I have a vintage Mark VI tenor that was used when I received it back in the mid 70`s. It carried me thru years of high school and college bands, and I knew it was a good horn. About 10 years ago I had it thorougly cleaned, pads replaced, etc., and they told me it was worth about $5k. It is in excellent condition, and plays like `liquid gold`. I just read your post and you said it would take $15-$20k to even get close to one nowadays; are you kidding me? Maybe I don`t even know what I`ve got! Not looking to sell, but now matbe looking to take out some insurance on this bad boy.