Hi Jake,
i went into my local music shop, whose staff are run by orchestra musicians in their spare time.
I was talking to the Sax guy about upgrading my sax, and he was saying everyone aspires to a Selmar.
He mirrored what Johnny said, you have to take your mouthpiece setup in the shop and try them out.
Some people didn’t like the sound of Selmars when they tried them out he said.
I’ve done my research, and i’m going for a reference 54 when the time comes,
the only bad reviews i’ve read about the mark Vi are that some people say they have to try several
of them out before they find one they like.
The guy in the shop said the sound of the series 2 & 3’s & reference 54’s were distinctly different.
but i go only with Johnny’s view – try before you buy!

I have a Mark V1 and a Mark V11. The 6 feels better but the 7 sounds better. I don’t like the bulky low note right hand cluster on the 7…takes some getting used to especially when playing it only once in a while.

During a studio session with a big name producer I was in the middle of recording a solo when we had to stop for a few minutes due to some tech stuff in the control room. I had been doing takes with my 6 but while they were busy I switched to my 7. We continued on the solo and after the first go-round the producer asked me what did I do, did I change my horn. I said why do you ask, he said cause it sounds better now.

I use my 6 way more because it feels better so I thought of selling the 7. Had talked to the guys in the sax shop to possibly get a buyer for me but then a guy in my band knocked my 6 off it’s stand and caused some real damage. The shop had it for a long time and again I had to play the 7 during this period. The guys in the shop (all sax players) all said how much better the sound of it was and so convinced me not to sell it!