Selmer Paris Mark VI (1973) vs Yamaha Custom Z (YAS-82z) 

Confirmation 1:48 Yamaha 4:32 Selmer

Já testei ambos e optei pelo Yamaha 82z exatamente por ser mais preciso em afinação, ter mais projeção, ter uma resposta mais rápida e o timbre que mais me agradou sem falar que o design é muito mais bonito e tem uma construção mais perfeita em acabamentos.

1973 Selmer is still making amazing sounds. Yamaha 82z’s tone is very pleasing with silky intonation.

confirmation! love that song. the mark vi definitely sounds better in my opinion. definitely opens up your sound. they don't make 'em like they used to.

Sem dúvida prefiro o custom 82z... mecânica moderna, afinação impecável e timbre apaixonante...

O yamaha custom 82z tem som mais aberto Com mais brilho e um som mais nítido. Mais resposta da lata tambem. Fico com o som do yamaha 82z 👏👏👏👏

1:48 Yamaha 4:31 Selmer Thanks!

The VI has a richer sound in my opinion. But Z is a great horn anyway. I made a video comparing a VI, a VII and a Yamaha 32. Check it out

I personally think the musician had an easier time making solid pitches on the Selmer. When I play Selmer- my expectations are never disappointed. I know it's going to be there. Yamaha and Asian horns are made with softer alloys. I dropped a YAS 61. It wouldn't play... The tech told me about the soft metal. I've never played another. A pro horn should be more solid. I was changed for life!

I play a Yamaha 82Z as well as American Selmer Mk6 78xxx . Both are very excellent.

I've had both of these altos in my life at different points and Mike is spot on with the differences in key-action, C#-D issues, etc. Only trouble with your video Mike is that you were clearly closer to the microphone while playing the Z and farther away from it when playing the Mark VI which altered the quality of the two recordings.

Not all Mark VI's are created equal.

I noticed you appear to be closer to the mic when you play the yamaha than the mk vi. It might have impacted how the horn sounded to the listener of the recording.

se nota el sonido mas brillante del Yamaha y el sonido un poco mas oscuro del Selmer !!! Excelente Saxos

kkkkkkkkkk, Ja tive um Yamaha custon mas após tocar em um vintage.... que é isto, sem comparações, nem saudades eu sinto de Yamaha!!

Prefiro o timbre do custom Z 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Mark VI has more warm full sound. The yami is very live and responsive sounding. Both nice

Your playing position between the two horns is more changing the sound than any brand names on it.

Mkvi is warmer, Yamaha very nice but soooo bright

Selmer MVl ist wärmer... Yamaha hat wohlmöglich die beste meschanik, aber klingt zu brilliant. Beide sind grossartig.

Everything gets clearer on the Mark 6. I might be biased as an owner, but if we are being fair, I do own one for a reason. It is interesting that you find more resistance on the Selmer, because I have noticed the exact opposite.

Nice comparison. It sounds as if Yamaha is more free blowing (May be a bit bigger bore in upper stack). I found whenever there is a resistance created either by thicker reed, vibration restricting ligature, and smaller bore, it ends up sounding slicker and sort of with more character. The metal needs to be more vibrant in the body to make up for it and not sound boring so you mix a focused tone of small bore with richness of the metal vibration. In the new horns they increased the bore to have easier playability and bigger sound which is great but you don’t get that slick and sweet tone profile. Your mark Vi is probably not one of the most charactered mark Vi tones because mid or late 60s onward, Selmer started increasing the bore and their brass metallurgy was also a bit different (less vibrant) but more or less still it has some of that slick focused core tone. I imagine a pro performer may not care about that tone character difference and stick to one that performs the best.

I own both and still prefer the Selmer

The VI should have a very light action. The springs on the VI may be sprung a little harder than need be. Yamaha has excellent leverage in their mechanism, but the VI should be just slightly lighter to the touch. The key is in the longer springs on the VI. Talk to your tech about backing some tension off on the VI's springs. It should make a very big difference. This is a very interesting video. You're correct in that the 82Z is more free blowing than the VI, but I've always found pre-VII Selmers to be more flexible than most modern horns. They're more resistant, but somehow you're able to voice notes more easily. I'm guessing that this is the result in the neck design, and this is especially noticeable in their tenor models. I personally love Yamaha horns, but that's due to a price/playability/practicality factor moreso than being the superior horn. Primo Selmer saxes are just simply fun to play. Oh, and your model has a longer bow than the early VI's. Earlier varients are known as "short bows", and are a few ounces lighter than Yamaha student horns. Short bows tend to "motorboat" in the lower registers, and are often fitted with post-manufactured baffles located on the top part of the bend in the body to bow connection point. Your horn has a longer bow, probably has a high F#, and has a ball socket mechanism on the side Bb and C keys. They're slightly heavier altos, but have better intonation than their earlier counterparts.

It's hard to call for me because the horns are not played back to back without commentary and the test play is too long causing dilution of recall. We're human beings and subject to judgement bias based on knowledge of the horns and associated preferences before hand. In my experience, how a horn feels in my hands and the feedback I get from it when I play it would determine which is best for me. I really like both of my horns which to me are the best I've ever played. They both sound great however, they play different because they are different and that difference is mainly in the spring tension and comfort of hand layout. As a result, I feel faster and more agile on one horn than the other which only matters when I want to play fast, otherwise I'm fine with both and wouldn't dare want to move backwards to the ergonomics of a vintage horn that so many rave about. I really like the way some of the keys feel as if they are cradling my fingers and how some of the key contours guide my fingers into place on my modern horns. I did feel that the Selmer played a little darker and that could have more to do with the neck than the body of the horn. That wouldn't make it better, or worse, just more suitable for those who prefer a darker sound to bright.

The VI is softer more centered tone, whereas the 82Z feels a tad brighter and open in tone.....Both great horns all the same.

Just like compare Sea Doo and Yamaha watercraft.Which is better?

These cannot be compared since one is a modern and the other is vintage. The size in bore is so incredibly different that they should be in their own respective category.

Yamaha all the way for me. Better ergo’s better construction and a mouthpiece change will warm it up.

Mark VI not only sounds better, more rich, it's also got better intonation.

Mike, my Dad has been using Yamaha Tenors on out of town gigs for years and years and he swears by them, even when he was playing the Cannonball. I guess they are very consistent. He used to buy an extra seat on the plane for his SBA but that doesnt always work out. They'll never make anything that compares to the Super Balance but they are very comparable to a Mark VI.

I like the Mark VI better but the 82z is really nice to. Both great horns!

The Yamaha sounds way better. Sorry I dont get all the hype with Mark VI horns. It actually sounds dull while the Yamaha sounds more expressive and lively.

Даже без наушников слышно, что селмер звучит мягче, приятнее и привычнее для уха. Как не крути 😀😀😀

Voltei o vídeo várias vzs, praticamente não tem diferença de som. Os dois são top!

i have been playing since 6 grade and i am 40 now i used to have to mark 6 altos one from 1957 the other from 1961 the the 1957 got stolen in senior year would not play anything else such superior sound

Afinação do yamaha 82z tambem é superior

Love how edgy the Z sounds.

Mark VI has a warmer and fuller tone. Yamaha already has a more modern tone, with a little more shine. Particularly, Mark VI pleases me more.

Thanks for this demo. I prefer the Selmer sound, although the Z might be easier to play, like Phil Woods said.

I like more the Yamaha sound

Sorry, you are not comparing saxophones: you are in fact comparing 40+ years of difference in music styles available since 1973! If Yamaha wanted to make Z for the music from the 1970s and before, they would make it differently.

Yama's are bright, Yana's are a little less bright, but for that deliciousness of darkness - - Selmer. I finally found my rig for life...Selmer Reference 54 Tenor.

I like the Mark VI better, sounds more musical.

Excellent review as always and really love your channel. I was wondering what you thought about the pmauriat horns especially the system 76 dark lacquer alto?

If I was doing this whichever one I played second would sound better lol

Mark VI ........... Hands down man .... Free blowing, incredible range and excellent tone quality. Great video man - thanks for sharing .

i like more the custom from yamaha

Selmer is the richer sounding horn. The Z is brittle. Now it depends what venues' and material one is playing. The real question is: How does it feel from the mpc side? Which has the better response? Good luck!

love the mark 6 sound awesome

Anh chị có kèn cũ hoặc ko sài bán lại cho em được ko , vì em ko có khả năng mua , yêu thích và đam mê lắm

MK VI all the way!

MK VI if I had the choice (and I do.) VI for Alto, Tenor I prefer Yamaha's and Cannonball, go figure.

Both are very nice! Selmer is more "romantic" and Yamaha is more modern...

I played a Selmer Mark VI for 12 years, before going to Yamaha. A good MARK VI is a great horn, but you should know that horns back then weren't as consistent as they are now. My Mark VI was a bad one, and I have friends who had bad ones. Just be careful before buying a Mark VI, and don't assume that it's going to be a good instrument.

He sounds great, but good lord when playing confirmation, please play the notes short. Idk, I guess it’s persona preference, but still... bird played them short!

The two sound perhaps 2% difference. In a blind test half of us would have a job to determine which was better. Price difference x 200% or 300%.

마크6과 82z와의 아무런 차이를 모르겠네요 그저 일본이 악기를 너무 잘만들었다는것만 증명해버리네요

Al Selmer le noto el sonido más compacto, más ekilibrado. Al Yamaha, excesivamente brillante.

The Selmer sounds more centered...a richer "color".....

hi mike ! in your opinion witch one is better ?

What size Reed?

I think you're comparing apples with apples - Different pads and reflectors on the pads and people compensate from horn to horn to attain the sound that they like! - I guess with modern manufacturing techniques, they're more like mass produced digital watches these days, whereas in the days of the MKIV, every horn had its own idiosyncrasies, after all they were more hand made in those days. - Sadly, craftsmen are a dying breed.

I have two Z’s (including a Phoenix - only 150 made), one VI and a Yani W-O2...my favorite??? My Cannonball A5-S!..let the haters loose...a Taiwanese horn over those classics? Yup....say what you may but it’s better from top to bottom.

Yamaha sounds better to me. Better projection, sweeter tone (more breath in the tone which I like).

More buzz on the z, also more bright. Thr mkvi sound dark.

Bonjour, une comparaison entre le YAS82Z et le super action série II m'aurait semblée plus judicieuse... Je ne comprends pas que les sax selmer actuels soient si peu évalué, le Référence me semble pourtant être un modèle digne de la marque et pourtant il reste encore en retrait par rapport aux SBA, balance et Mark VI.. .

Prefer much more the Selmer for ease of producing fuller differing dynamics and better tone on lower notes

El Selmer a mi criterio es más oscuro el sonido

Getting a sweeter sound out of the MK VI

Claramente el Yamaha Z es más sonoro.

the mark VI sounding better then the yamaha

I prefer the Selme by far ...

Yamaha is good but Selmer sounds better

Yamaha Z sound so bright

I wanted to like the 82 better, but the difference is big in favor to the selmer

Yamaha is a GREAT Contemporary alto. Mark is more old school jazz.....as are the P. Mauriat horns....and Cannonball to a lesser degree.

Prefer the sound of the Mark VI over the Yamaha

Selmer wins every time

For me - only MK VI.

Yaaass

You can´t compare, as the Selmer has at least one leak, check the neck and the body joint.

Haven't tried the Custom Z..But I got a 72 mkVI and a 2015 YAS62iii...The Yamaha can't replace the Selmer...

Definitely lean towards the Z

The Selmer, so smooth songs... to music actualy (pop and smooth jazz) is the better !!! But the Yamaha, to play classical and erudit music is good...

Yamaha is Bright but Selmer has beautiful intonation. Since Selmer is a vintage model & latter due to the development & research in the design of saxophones probably the companies like Yamaha have come up with such models which gives less resistance to the player making him comfortable to play for a longer time without having any fatigue. but in my opinion, Selmer stands TALL....... I may be corrected by the experienced sax players since we learn a lot by sharing our views as well as experiences.

I have a Selmer and I woulnd't trade it for a Yamaha.

He laid it down on the keys that will bend them!!

Both good.

Zee for the win!!

Personally custom Z's are the least versatile horns ever made. They can only do so much and Yamaha's EX line is a hell of a lot better

Selmer mkvi is dark . Jazz clasic Yamaha brillante modern jazz

A mi me gusta más el selmer

"good sound"is subjective. I prefer the sound of the Yamaha.. Sahara have over most others. Easier to play? Maybe... Don't know if that's subjective too..I do think mark 6s are just over hyped.. And established a rep... So sac nerds feel they have to own one..... I say listen and ignore the hype around the Mark 6....

Selmer to the bone

My take is the Yamaha sounds stuffy. The VI sounds way better, more open, more tonally rich and complex.

when you finish play the YAMAHA you should play the mark VI right away so people can compare more accurate .

Yamaha's sound is too bright for me :/

For a young player who is ready to go pro, I highly recommend a Series 3.

...............and the price difference ? ? ? 😉