I have a Yamaha 32 piccolo now but want a better one to go to State competition with. I will continue with music through college but probably not after that, so I don't need something outlandishly expensive. Which brands and models do you recommend?

It's brand new. My director said I'd never make State because it's a cheap piccolo and no one can produce a good sound out of a cheap piccolo. Yes, she was a piccolo player in school. No, she never made State herself.

Yes, I practice and take private lessons.

Some people really shouldn't be teaching....

Was her name Jim Millen?

Kidding aside, some other piccolos to look at would be Emerson Boston Legacy, Burkart & Phelan Global, Pearl, Zentner, Powell Signature and Roy Seaman.

Any particular models?

The Zentner, Seaman and Pearl have only one model I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I listed the model for the rest.

Also, I've heard the Seaman's have gone downhill since Gemeinhardt took over production. I can't speak from firsthand experience though.

The Roy Seaman piccs (which are the older ones actually made by Roy Seaman, or at least under his direction) are totally different from the Roy Seaman LTD. piccs Gemeinhardt is putting out. The Roy Seamans are great piccolos and are pretty reasonably priced, but the LTD's are just mediocre IMO. I would by far rather play the an older RS than the LTD line.

you can produce a good sound out of a cheap piccolo. i made the state concerto competition on piccolo in high school on a yamaha 32. and it was brand new, out of the box, and needed an adjustment in the worst way.

its possible. maybe you should have it serviced.

Thanks all. I was able to play a Hemmig and heard what a difference it made against my Yamaha. I went to a flute store and did a blind test with several different ones. The Hemmig won hands down. It's warm tones are wonderful and it's so much easier to play the dynamics.

looking for info on Monique yamaha piccolos. What kind of quality are they and what are the features? This is for a gift and I know nothing about musical instruments.

Monique piccs are nothing like Yamahas and have no connection to Yamaha. While Yamahas are excellent instruments that can serve a musician for many years, Moniques are junker imports and should be avoided. Instruments like this usually fall apart over the course of just a few months (assuming they're even playable when you get them), and it's nearly impossible to find someone willing to work on them, as they pose a financial liability to techs. Unless you go for a used piccolo, you won't find anything decent for the price of a Monique.

As for buying for a gift, I suggest you give a "gift certificate" entitling the recipient to a new instrument. Simply buying a piccolo for them is not a good way to go, as the instrument must perform well for the player. No matter how well built an instrument is, if it's not a good match for the player, it's a bad choice. Of course, you've also said you know nothing about instruments, so it would be best to leave the selection up to the musician (who presumably DOES know about instruments).

Well I'm glad to see some of these Chinese companies are finally starting to advertise accurately. hehe.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Por-Quality-Brand-New-Red-Golden-Piccolo_W0QQitemZ350006146557QQihZ022QQcategoryZ16229QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem