Is a prelude piccolo any good?

[BandAlways]

I am currently trying to find a piccolo to play for the first time, and i'm not really sure what to get. i origionally was going to buy a venus or cibali from ebay, since i'm on a budget, but after reading they were crappy decided against it. about a month ago i was down state visiting relatives and someone told me there was a flute/piccolo sale going on at the herter store. while i was there i tryed a used (i think) prelude piccolo with a composite body and a silver plated headjoint. i loved it, and thought i played nicely, and wonders of wonders, it was only $248! The person helping me said that it was a good instrument, but i was wondering if anyone had ever heard of teh brand.

[Iolaus]

I have no direct experience with it, but apparently it's a Conn-Selmer product, which makes it a known "name brand" instrument, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The description on an Ebay auction says:

The new economy line from Conn-Selmer, this piccolo features a composite body with silver plated head, conical bore and split E mechanism
"Made in China"

BTW, if you decide on that brand, the auction, for a "Demo" instrument, had it's starting bid at $168 + $11 S&H to the U.S.; a "new" auction starts at $188, with a "Buy it now" price of $199.

Do an ebay search for selmer prelude piccolo.

[MeLizzard]

The Prelude instruments were introduced by Conn-Selmer to compete, price-wise, with the flood of cheap musical instrument garbage engulfing us from overseas manufacturers, many of which use inferior materials and are missing the boat on durable, quality craftsmanship. It is made overseas, but is a Selmer product. I haven't tried the piccolos, but the store I work in carries the regular, beginning band instruments--flutes, clarinets, trumpets, etc. They're a little lighter-weight in all respects than the regular Selmer student line instruments, but, for their price, they play reasonably well, are made of decent materials, and can be repaired by a certified technician if something should go wrong. Replacement parts are available from the manufacturer. If you're just getting a picc to mess around with (not responsible for playing it in ensembles, or will have a regular, school-owned instrument for performances) this one might be ok.

[BandAlways]

Yeah, that's pretty much all i'll want it for. i just want to learn to play the piccolo, and won't have any solos on it for a few years.