Ive been playing the flute for four years, but I wanted to start playing the piccolo, so about 3 weeks ago I borrowed one from my friend and have been playing since. It's kind of a crappy piccolo and the high B key doesn't work but at least now I can play a piccolo. I would like to get my own piccolo. So my question is what is the best brand? I would like an intermediate piccolo that could last me a few years. Something I could play in my band and honor band and stuff. I would like something not too expensive, maybe in the $500-$1500 range. Do you guys have any suggestions on what type of piccolo I should get?

hi!

i would suggest a yamaha piccolo. You can either get a basic plastic one with a silver headjoint which would fulfill your requirements. However if you want an intermediate, you could go for a wooden yamaha. Me i play on a Hammig and i find them beautiful piccolos, but they are a bit more mature and expensive. I would suggest starting with a Yamaha and progressing through to something like hammig or burkhart and phelan.
Regards

i don't know many brands but if you want one new, expect to pay $1000+. they really do notcome cheap.

^I got my yamaha ypc 32 new for about $550 in Jan. 07, although online everywhere its over $1000.

But he scale on the yamahas are not all that great.. Especially when I first got mine I always was fighting with it to keep it in tune, but I've gotten pretty good, especially at the end of marching season last year I hardly have any problems, but I also have a very good ear.

I'd see if you can try a Pearl piccolo, I really want to try one as I've heard they are really nice. I think they run for just under $1000 new (online anyway)

Just try out as many different brands as you can, just like you would if you were buying a flute and see which works best for you. Make sure you play all of them with a tuner

You won't be able to find a Yamaha for under $500 unless it is used. A wood used one will definitely cost more than that. I would stay clear of Yamaha only because the scale is horrible on them (though Micron is the only one that will disagree with this that I have ever spoken to.) Anything listed on the flute world site should be fine. It may be hard to fine a new one for under $500 though.

No, the pro Yamaha models are just as bad with their scale. I owned two of them. If you are very sensitive to tuning it will drive you crazy. Some people don't have an ear for it, so they won't pick up on it. Piccolo is hard enough to keep in tune!

i have a yamaha wood piccolo, and i am in tune most of the time, it is found for a little over 1000 dollars online.

You can get some good deals on ebay if you're carefull. I just bought a brand new still in the box YPC-62 for $1300 and it's perfect.

"i have a yamaha ypc 81 and lovvve it. it is probably just out of you price range but yamaha piccolos are great and reliagble. i love mine"

I love my Yamaha YPC-62 as well but I think Kara may be right because it is a bit out of tune.

Of course they do, but they use different scales. Yamaha in my opinion has a wacked up scale. Sure, you can play one in tune, but it is a heck of a lot more work then say trying to play on one with a good scale such as a Burkart or Powell. Ignorance is bliss!

Yes, they are nice. I tried one at the Florida flute fair, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with them as I know they are popular. Surprisingly, I still prefer the handmade Burkarts over them though. I also LOVE the handmade Powells!

I have a Gemeinhardt 4PNH. I bought it used, but it was in good condition. I just wanted something fairly inexpensive to get me started on piccolo. I've ended up really liking Gemeinhardt as a brand. I think you have to try out different ones to find out what you like. Sometimes you can get a really good deal used if it's in pretty good condition, and if you have a repair technician that you trust.

Guys aside from being sometimes out of tune, some say the piccolo has the potential to harm our hearing. Do you always wear earplugs? Or Do you avoid playing it louder?

wow, seems like most of you guys have a yamaha...
well, i started looking more into it and i found the Gemeinhardt 4P for like $600 on flute world. And i went to my local music store and they said they might be able to get it for me so i can try it out. Does anyone have any experience with that piccolo? IS it any good?

I would recommend you buy a Gemeinhardt piccolo over a Yamaha piccolo ANY day. I've played on Yamahas, Emersons, Gemeinhardts, Burkarts, and Powells.

My order: Burkart, Powell, Gemeinhardt, Emerson. Yamaha isn't even on my list because they're that crappy. They sound horrible when playing with an ensemble, unless you're a superhero... I found that the Burkart is easiest to keep in tune, but the Gemeinhardt is pretty nice for the money.