ebay piccs
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
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Jamie_Babie
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:23 pm
- Location: England
Jamie
I have LOTS of experience buying these Colored instruments on ebay, and have had decent results to a point. Here is my view.
The biggest problem with these instruments is overall quality of the instrument. Venus piccolos and the like will work, are playable , but they are not "quality consistent" from one to the other. 2 out of 5 venus piccolos I purchased needed serious adjustment before they were playable. This is ok if you are a person like me who can repair their own instruments, but if you are not, then buying one of these instruments can be a disaster! This is why I would not totally recommend these instruments to everyone, but I would not totally bash them either. I have had my Venus instruments for over a year, and they still play fine. However, I baby the heck out of them!
Another downfall is support. Unless you get a cheap instrument from a reputible company, your instrument will be disposable.
The finish. You will find that cool color will eventually start peeling off. Also, coloring weakens the metal because part of the coloring process involves acid, and electrolysis which weakens the metal.
You are proably asking, "If I can play on an instrument that costs 100 dollars, then why buy one that costs over twicw as much?" Simple. Quality control, and the quality of the metal. If you can get away from the "Color is cool" mentality, you could get an instrument 10 times better for twice the price, and from a reputable dealer/ distributer. Here are a few to check out.
"Define what is playable?" This means that a beginner can play from one end of the instrument to the other in tune with reasonable effort. That being clarified, let us continue
http://www.wwbw.com I have seen piccolo's on this sight on sale for $100 dollars, and this place has a good return policy. This will also give you a chance to read the reviews before you buy it. I purchased several(For my self and friends)the Barrington 996 Piccolo. I have been very impressed with them so far, even though I got one that needed to be returned.
http://www.ezplayusa.com This place sells the "Colored" instruments, but some of the better ones, and they have a good return policy.
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Musical-Wheel I have never had to return anything to them. This is where all of my "playable" Venus flutes/piccolos came from.
http://www.ceciliomusic.com These instruments are actually pretty good. I got a chance to play on a few at the NAMM show this past summer. You will notice they cost more, but you will get something that has more quality.
http://www.jinyinusa.com/ You may see a few of these floating around ebay. I own one of these flutes, and I am very impressed with it! However, they are not to be put in the same catagory as a Venus! I would put one of these up against a Yamaha, Armstrong, or a Gemienhart anyday. I expect good things to come out of this manufacturer in the future.
Now for the good news. If I were going to take a chance on a colored instrument, I would try to go with a flute rather thatn a piccolo. I have had a much higher success rate with ebay flutes than piccolos. I have also I had better results with returns, repairs, and warantees..
Colored flutes/pics are nice for looks and conversation, but if you dont know what you are doing, or do not have money to burn, then i would stray away from them. If you buy one, you are taking a risk. How big of a risk depends on what you consider a lot of money. If you chose to use one of these fun Colored things in performance, I would highly reccomend a backup. I have performed with my venus piccolos, but I have my Armstrong 210 ready just in case!
Hopefully, this will give you a little insite on what is going on in the cheap flute world. Think of buyig an ebay flute like buying a bootleg DVD, and you will have reasonable expectations!
Phineas
I have LOTS of experience buying these Colored instruments on ebay, and have had decent results to a point. Here is my view.
The biggest problem with these instruments is overall quality of the instrument. Venus piccolos and the like will work, are playable , but they are not "quality consistent" from one to the other. 2 out of 5 venus piccolos I purchased needed serious adjustment before they were playable. This is ok if you are a person like me who can repair their own instruments, but if you are not, then buying one of these instruments can be a disaster! This is why I would not totally recommend these instruments to everyone, but I would not totally bash them either. I have had my Venus instruments for over a year, and they still play fine. However, I baby the heck out of them!
Another downfall is support. Unless you get a cheap instrument from a reputible company, your instrument will be disposable.
The finish. You will find that cool color will eventually start peeling off. Also, coloring weakens the metal because part of the coloring process involves acid, and electrolysis which weakens the metal.
You are proably asking, "If I can play on an instrument that costs 100 dollars, then why buy one that costs over twicw as much?" Simple. Quality control, and the quality of the metal. If you can get away from the "Color is cool" mentality, you could get an instrument 10 times better for twice the price, and from a reputable dealer/ distributer. Here are a few to check out.
"Define what is playable?" This means that a beginner can play from one end of the instrument to the other in tune with reasonable effort. That being clarified, let us continue
http://www.wwbw.com I have seen piccolo's on this sight on sale for $100 dollars, and this place has a good return policy. This will also give you a chance to read the reviews before you buy it. I purchased several(For my self and friends)the Barrington 996 Piccolo. I have been very impressed with them so far, even though I got one that needed to be returned.
http://www.ezplayusa.com This place sells the "Colored" instruments, but some of the better ones, and they have a good return policy.
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Musical-Wheel I have never had to return anything to them. This is where all of my "playable" Venus flutes/piccolos came from.
http://www.ceciliomusic.com These instruments are actually pretty good. I got a chance to play on a few at the NAMM show this past summer. You will notice they cost more, but you will get something that has more quality.
http://www.jinyinusa.com/ You may see a few of these floating around ebay. I own one of these flutes, and I am very impressed with it! However, they are not to be put in the same catagory as a Venus! I would put one of these up against a Yamaha, Armstrong, or a Gemienhart anyday. I expect good things to come out of this manufacturer in the future.
Now for the good news. If I were going to take a chance on a colored instrument, I would try to go with a flute rather thatn a piccolo. I have had a much higher success rate with ebay flutes than piccolos. I have also I had better results with returns, repairs, and warantees..
Colored flutes/pics are nice for looks and conversation, but if you dont know what you are doing, or do not have money to burn, then i would stray away from them. If you buy one, you are taking a risk. How big of a risk depends on what you consider a lot of money. If you chose to use one of these fun Colored things in performance, I would highly reccomend a backup. I have performed with my venus piccolos, but I have my Armstrong 210 ready just in case!
Hopefully, this will give you a little insite on what is going on in the cheap flute world. Think of buyig an ebay flute like buying a bootleg DVD, and you will have reasonable expectations!
Phineas
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Jamie_Babie
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:23 pm
- Location: England
)Jamie
Congratulations! The main this is to play and have fun! you will go farther.
My issue with people on these boards is sometimes when people ask a question they answer in absolutes. Frankly, I give people more credit. My goal was not to tell you what you should do one way or the other, but give you more information from a non extreme stand point. I came up in a relatively poor family, so when I was a kid, every isntrument I started on was bad! So bad, that I would not even be able to play on them till this day! Way back when I first started, if you didn't pay over 600+ dollars for an instrument, it was total junk. Nowadays, things are 1000 times better. It is actually possible you can find something that is playable for under $100 dollars! It may not last long, but it will at the very least get you started! I wish this was the case when I was a kid! My parents just believed that music was a waste of time and money! Renting was out of the question, cause they though I would loose the instrument, and did not want the extra bill. I look back on this and get sick to my stomach! but that is another story!
This is my goal for giving you the information. What a person considers to be bad is only relative to how much money a person has to spend. As long as a person has a realistic point of view, I think buying a cheap instument is perfectly ok. I would rather see a person discover the joy of music on a cheap instrument, then not at all because of money.
Best wishes on your new music journey, and way it give you as much peace love and joy as it has given me over the years!(And a few bucks too!)
Phineas
Congratulations! The main this is to play and have fun! you will go farther.
My issue with people on these boards is sometimes when people ask a question they answer in absolutes. Frankly, I give people more credit. My goal was not to tell you what you should do one way or the other, but give you more information from a non extreme stand point. I came up in a relatively poor family, so when I was a kid, every isntrument I started on was bad! So bad, that I would not even be able to play on them till this day! Way back when I first started, if you didn't pay over 600+ dollars for an instrument, it was total junk. Nowadays, things are 1000 times better. It is actually possible you can find something that is playable for under $100 dollars! It may not last long, but it will at the very least get you started! I wish this was the case when I was a kid! My parents just believed that music was a waste of time and money! Renting was out of the question, cause they though I would loose the instrument, and did not want the extra bill. I look back on this and get sick to my stomach! but that is another story!
This is my goal for giving you the information. What a person considers to be bad is only relative to how much money a person has to spend. As long as a person has a realistic point of view, I think buying a cheap instument is perfectly ok. I would rather see a person discover the joy of music on a cheap instrument, then not at all because of money.
Best wishes on your new music journey, and way it give you as much peace love and joy as it has given me over the years!(And a few bucks too!)
Phineas