Hi!
I just wondered how many people preferred a piccolo headjoint with a lip-plate to a headjoint without!
Also, what brands or models of piccolo do people like?

Also, can you get a wooden headjoint with a lip-plate?

i prefer without the lip plate.
i play on a yamaha wooden piccolo.
and i believe a few companies make piccolo headjoints with a lip plate. (ex: hammig)

Yes, Hammig does offer the "thinned" lip plate (they call it Modified Wave Thin). You can see it here:

http://www.hammig.com/#Models

I don't have a strong preference, I can play fine with either but its really a personal preferance. If your looking to buy a piccolo try both and see what works for you. I think a lot of people saying switching between flute and picc is easier with the lip plate, but with practice I don't find it makes much of a difference.

I have a Yamaha YPC-32 piccolo which is plastic with a silver head w/lip plate (I march and use it in concert band)

If I bought another piccolo I would buy a wooden one with no lip plate. The metal makes it kind of shrill sometimes.

No, I wasn't interested in buying, I have a YPC-32 as well!

i like piccolos with lip plates not that the piccolos with lip plates are bad i just think the ones with lip plates are better and also easier to play in tune on. (well i think) one of the brands i like are jupiter and armstrong so i guess i mean brands i do not like the yamaha YCP-32 it is sturdy and everything but the scale is difficult to play in tune! trust me my school has a yamaha that i borrow sometimes for marching but i rather play their armstrong 307 piccolo way better in tune!

I've never played on one with a lip plate. But, I personally think it might be easier to use. I have a Gemeihardt. It's 33 years old but plays well. (and looks like it never was used much)

I have the yamaha YPC 81. It has amazing intonation, and the tone quality is remarkable. I have played the flute for seven years, and the piccolo for four years. I haven't played very many piccolo's but this one is amazing. I wouldn't trade it unless I found something a lot better. Right now I am saving up for a wooden flute!

I have piccolos with and without lip plates. I prefer playing one without because for some reason if I play pic with a lip plate I tend to press the plate too hard into my lip and pinch my embouchure(playing for 40+ years). This doesn't happen when I play flute or pic without the lip plate.

So far in my limited piccolo adventures, I have bought one piccolo; a student Emerson EP3MH. I wanted the composite head, but my teacher told me it wouldn't make that much of a difference until you got into more expensive, pro pics.

Currently, I prefer with a lip plate on student, but would glady make the switch for that elusive dream picc.