Has anyone heard of a marcus martini piccolo trumpet. I`ve been thinking bout taking up the piccolo and I`ve been seeing them on e-bay. I was wondering if they are an e-bay ripoff or a good instrument.

In short: it`s garbage.
I suggest you read this: http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/Piccolo%20Trumpet%20Guide.html
More info and discussions are available on: http://www.trumpetplayeronline.com

The Piccolo trumpet is actually an interesting instrument. I do prefer a real trumpet to the piccolo trumpet, but none-the-less, it is a nice sounding instrument. There certainly isn`t as much music out there that sounds good on a piccolo trumpet, but if you can afford it, I`d go for it.

There is a ton of music for the picc. You don`t play them in your ordinary run of the mill high school band. They are used all of the time in baroque music (check out Bach`s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2), and for a lot of solo work. The are utilized quite a bit in brass ensembles.

The marcus martini trumpets are of a very good quality. I bought one myself, and am very impressed with it