“Nice Mark VI”.

A compliment I get all the time. Funny thing is, that it’s not a Mark VI. It’s a Super Action 80 series II that was manufactured in 1987. The look of confusion on people’s faces is always entertaining.

People at first glance probably think it’s a VI because it has very little of the lacquer left. It also has a lot of wear in general. The pearls and actual finger cups are worn down, nearly through. That’s what you get when you start the first 10 years of it’s life with obsessive practicing of 10 hours a day, on top of gigs. I also l grew up in an ocean town, living right on the ocean for years, and that had something to do with aging the metal as well.

The horn also has a great sound. Now obviously part of that is me, but people that play it are always surprised at how old school it feels…the pitch, response, and sound. Some of that comes from the missing lacquer. The horn really vibrates and speaks quickly. They play differently, more stiff, when they have all their lacquer.

Players also say that it’s remarkably broken in. That it is. Actually, I think of it as more like one or two steps from actually blasting apart. It’s loose as hell. When it’s in adjustment, it really moves quickly. The combination of wear and precision is a marvelous thing. It’s really been played. No way around it. I never babied it either. Part of me wishes I did.

My mother took me to Rayburn music to get it. I matched it against Mark VI’s and VII’s. I liked it the best. I think I liked the ergonomics and finish of it. Everyone present said I sounded the best on it, although a couple of years later, my high school band director had me play his VI and he said there was no comparison. The VI blew it out of the water. I was so young, so I’m not sure what to believe now.

The horn is in need of a restoration at this point. Like an old sports car, it goes out of adjustment frequently. I’ll probably get one more overhaul on it before I get another horn to use daily. Also, living on the ocean has turned it turquoise again like it did back when living in a beach house with my mother and sister, not far from where I live now.

My plan is to record my first couple of albums on this one and then retire it for special occasions. We’ll see what I end up on. I hear the brand new Selmer “Supreme” altos are crazy good. They’re also 8G’s. Pretty crazy. That probably puts the tenor at $10,000. That seems insane to me, but like everything right now, the price has gone up. Time to start saving.

So there it is, the horn that everyone thinks is a MK VI but isn’t.

My plan is to record my first couple of albums on this one and then retire it for special occasions. We’ll see what I end up on.