If you HAD to buy a colored piccolo...

herekitty · Post by **herekitty** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:56 pm

Any recommendations? Metal plated vs. plastic or resin? Brands? eBay sellers?

My school's marching band is a special kind of spirited, and I figure since it would cost me $100/year to rent a picc anyways, and since I wouldn't want to buy a nice piccolo only to have it damaged when we play in the rain/extreme cold, I might as well buy a cheap piccolo in my school's colors. I don't expect it to be professional quality or anything, I'd just like it to last for the next 3 years without breaking anyone's eardrums.

I'm also actually studying abroad in China right now, so if you had recommendations on what to look for in a viable colored piccolo, I could probably go physically inspect some.

Thanks for the advice.

atoriphile · Post by **atoriphile** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:53 am

I have not seen plastic or resin piccolos in anything but black.

I've owned many colored metal piccolos in the past, all of which now no longer work. So if you are planning to do this, be sure to get extras so you will have a backup when one stops working.

In the long run, I found it cheaper to just get a Gemeinhardt 4P plastic piccolo, which I have used for the last three years (and still going...).

Good luck!

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:33 pm

Honestly, I don't think this is a good idea. I have not had any good experiences with these and I have seen several from well-meaning students trying to show school spirit. Most likely, you are going to spend over $100 a year on replacement piccolos and not be able to play at your best.

My suggestion: buy a used, brand name piccolo that will last you. Otherwise, you will probably have to buy at least one a year and will probably have difficulties playing in tune (which is usually quite frowned upon even in marching band). If you insist on having your picc show school spirit, try to be creative with your case. It won't really matter on the marching field, but it will save you some headaches.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:23 pm

I agree entirely fluttiegirl. If you are really wanting to purchase a budget/cheap piccolo, stick with the brands listed in the FAQ sticky in the General Hangout section. Some of those brands are probably out of business now, but some of them are still around.

But I really think that investing in a more modestly priced, used, name brand piccolo will be a much better decision. It will be more durable, playable, and better all around.

zummerzet_lou · Post by **zummerzet_lou** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 6:07 pm

One of the girls at our Orchestra had her yamaha picc stolen, and her and the other picc player bought these from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-Blue-Si ... 1|294%3A50

They are both grade 8+ players, and both agreed that these (despite their price) played better and more in-tune than the yamaha equivalent!

I personally have a yamaha YPC32 that I love, but they do look quite cute!

Lou