Is the Reference 54 Tenor a Copy of the Mark VI?
No. Early in the Reference 54 Tenor’s release, many people took Selmer’s marketing of “Made in the Spirit of the Mark VI” to mean “Copy of a Mark VI”. The Reference 54 tenor is a horn that is designed to give tonal similarity to a Mark VI but to combine it with a more modern horn (modern intonation, modern mechanics).

There are many things about the Reference 54 tenor that are better than the Mark VI – primarily the build quality. The Reference 54 tenor saxes are assembled today to a higher overall quality level than the Mark VI was. The toneholes specifically are manufactured better than the Mark VI. This allows for the use of the better Pisoni Pro pad – a pad that cannot be used on a Mark VI without the Mark VI having all of its toneholes diamond levelled first.

Every Reference 54 tenor we send out to a customer is not released from us unless it has been completely setup in our shop first. This is because the setup on the horn is of the utmost importance! Sometimes, a saxophone (regardless of who the manufacturer or the price point is) comes in needing 20 minutes of adjustments and then the very next one can require 2 hours! So if you were to get 5 of the same model right out of the box, they will all play different which leads people to believe that they are “good” or “bad” saxes… but the reality is that the one that was the best out of the 5 was likely the one that needed the least amount of work and on the flip side, the “bad” sax was the one that needed 2 hours worth of adjustments!

Once the same 5 saxophones are properly regulated and adjusted to perfection, they become near identical saxophones that even the pickiest of players would be challenged to pick a true “favorite” horn. However, since most stores do not or even can not perform this setup, the player never knows this and is simply relying on the luck of the draw. This is why we perform our setup (in our www.SaxophoneRepairs.com ProShop) on them before delivering your new sax to you. You trust us with your purchase and we want to make sure that you are rewarded by giving you your ideal saxophone setup flawlessly!