What is your piccolo setup?

[eddierich]

I play a Hammig 650/3 with the Hammig modified thin wave headjoint.

[Roger Aldridge]

Gemeinhardt 4S

[Merlin]

Jupiter plastic student model.

Just had Andrea Pritchard at Cosmo Music give it a going over, so it's playing great!

[Merlin]

...that is of course, within the constraints of my piccolo skills...

[fluteypiccolosax]

yamaha 61

[Gandalfe]

Gemeinhardt 4SI bought this one for Suzy so I guess Roger will want to tell us what he has now? 8-)

[metbysax]

I currently play a Yamaha 62. Currently on a hunt for a Zentner.

[Groovekiller]

I'm currently searching for a 2nd alto player who will take all piccolo parts off my stand.

[metbysax]

I'm currently searching for a 2nd alto player who will take all piccolo parts off my stand.


Where are you? I'll do it! As Bill Murray says in Ghostbusters, "no job is too big, no fee is too big!"

[Gandalfe]

I'm currently searching for a 2nd alto player who will take all piccolo parts off my stand.That just make me laugh! First one of the day, thanks Randy. :grin:

[Merlin]

Alright, I got tired of waiting for the Demedici picc to come out, so I just bought a used Yamaha YPC-62.

It's very nice!

[metbysax]

Alright, I got tired of waiting for the Demedici picc to come out, so I just bought a used Yamaha YPC-62.

It's very nice!

I just had my YPC-62 repadded and it plays great. Still on the hunt for a used Zentner. Hesitated last weekend on one on ebay and am kicking myself.

Good luck with the 62, Merlin.

[Merlin]

I just had my YPC-62 repadded and it plays great. Still on the hunt for a used Zentner. Hesitated last weekend on one on ebay and am kicking myself.

Good luck with the 62, Merlin.

Saw that one too.

Was going to chalk it up to being too good to be true...but Quinn's got a good rep as a seller, so I was really close.

I'm happy with what I got, and what I paid, so all's well.

[Tammi]

Don't laugh, but I've got an old Artley of unknown vintage or model in 'gold' plate with nickle silver keys.

It's cute, and my students love to borrow it when they tink they're ready to give picc a try.

[tenorsaxman90]

Everybody's favorite: One of those Venus piccolos AFTER they didnt have the overly round lip plate(if anyone remembers the earlier piccs that Venus made)! I got one of the 'hit' ones as oppose to the 'miss' ones and it actually plays in tune and has served me well for a few years. I think Im going to upgrade (possibly) to a Pearl though.

[metbysax]

I finally have the Zentner I had been desiring. 8-)

[Merlin]

I just recently got the new Demedici picc, and it sounds really sweet. I may give it a try out on West Side Story this year.

[DrewSorensenMusic]

I bought a Burkart Resona last October. It's gonna get it's debut in "A Chorus Line" this March. This may sound odd, but I cannot wait to get this thing in a performance situation.

A side note: I tried this horn next to a Burkart Professional and a Hammig, and the Resona sounded the same as the Professional, and I felt sounded better than the Hammig. I think it could become a new standard.

[MartinMods]

Don't laugh, but I've got an old Artley of unknown vintage or model in 'gold' plate with nickle silver keys.

It's cute, and my students love to borrow it when they tink they're ready to give picc a try.

I'm not laughing. I had the top Gemeinhardt, Yamaha 62, Hammig, and dumped them all for a $100, cylindrical bore Artley, which I used for many years on countless recordings. Fabulous sound and intonation. The only pic I liked as much was Jerry Dodgeon's Haynes.

[kymarto]

I don't have much occasion to play picc these days, so I never seriously sought one out, but....

Not too long ago I saw a picc in the back of a junk case wrapped in plastic wrap. I couldn't make out the name, but the case looked suspiciously nice, so I asked to see it. A Philipp Hammig 650-3, in mint condition, from the 90s. $250.

I couldn't get the money out of my pocket fast enough. Lovely, plays effortlessly right to the top of octave 3.

[DrewSorensenMusic]

Not too long ago I saw a picc in the back of a junk case wrapped in plastic wrap. I couldn't make out the name, but the case looked suspiciously nice, so I asked to see it. A Philipp Hammig 650-3, in mint condition, from the 90s. $250.

Amazing! If I remember correctly they are fantastic orchestral instruments. Actually a little too mellow for what I wanted, but I'm not trying to take away from them. It has been a while since I played one, and they are incredible.

"Oh I'm sorry sir, I only have $200 on me, would that be enough?" ;)

[MartinMods]

The Phillip Hammig has a great, fat sound (typical of conical bore piccolos), but I wasn't happy with the amount of adjustments I had to make to get it to play in tune in the middle register. It was very sensitive to what pitch center the group was tuning to. It did speak well up through the 3rd octave, but comparatively, it was like getting an 18 wheeler up over the mountain pass, where the Artley was like driving an Aston Martin. Cylindrical bore piccolos are much more responsive. The somewhat brighter Artley was perfect for live and studio recording and the scale was amazingly even and not as sensitive to performing at the various tuning pitch centers (440/442/443 - once the Bavaria Studios grand piano was tuned to 447 for "Stir Crazy". They probably did that on purpose, just to mess with Mr. Scott, who yelled, "What the xxxx is that?" and had them retune it to 443.) I would use a conical bore piccolo for classical music however.

I posted this link before in reference to the Wurlitzer bass clarinet. I'm playing the Artley piccolo throughout, both studio and live recordings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoNv_2j3HHw

The Phillip Hammig alto flute and wooden C flute are real dreamy instruments though.

[DrewSorensenMusic]

I posted this link before in reference to the Wurlitzer bass clarinet. I'm playing the Artley piccolo throughout, both studio and live recordings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoNv_2j3HHw


I don't know what my phone is doing right now, but that link is bouncing me to a Eurovision 1983 opening presentation. :)

Anyhow, I'm sure you sound great on the Artley.

[MartinMods]

I don't know what my phone is doing right now, but that link is bouncing me to a Eurovision 1983 opening presentation. :)

Anyhow, I'm sure you sound great on the Artley.

The link is correct. They did have recording technology back then, and very nice Neumann microphones :-)

[DrewSorensenMusic]

The link is correct. They did have recording technology back then, and very nice Neumann microphones :-)

Well that's some first rate playing. Must have been a joy to record.

[MartinMods]

Well that's some first rate playing. Must have been a joy to record.

Thanks. Dieter was writing as well as anyone in the industry. It was always interesting.

Back to the piccolo - for any doubler thinking of getting into it. I'd really recommend a cylindrical bore.

[DrewSorensenMusic]

Back to the piccolo - for any doubler thinking of getting into it. I'd really recommend a cylindrical bore.

My only issue with that statement is what a cylindrical bore would do to tone. In my experience, most musicians prefer the upper register on more concial bore instruments. If you ask any oboe player which Loree oboe, "AK" or regular bore, has a sweeter high end, most would say "AK", which has a more conical bore.

That being said, so much goes into tone production, it's impossible to count anything out, so I guess try a bunch of reputable instruments, see what you like, and enjoy playing.

[MartinMods]

My only issue with that statement is what a cylindrical bore would do to tone. In my experience, most musicians prefer the upper register on more concial bore instruments. If you ask any oboe player which Loree oboe, "AK" or regular bore, has a sweeter high end, most would say "AK", which has a more conical bore.

That being said, so much goes into tone production, it's impossible to count anything out, so I guess try a bunch of reputable instruments, see what you like, and enjoy playing.

The solution is to have at least two piccolos.

[DrewSorensenMusic]

The solution is to have at least two piccolos.

Oh my. I just bought the Burkart retail price, I think I'll stick with that.

[kymarto]

Yes, nice playing indeed Lance. Funny to see the old ARD logo--I've been working for the other public German broadcaster for the past 17 years.

As to the conical bore--the oboe is a very different case, being a positive flare bore closed at the top. The conical-body flute is a reverse cone open at both ends, and the reverse flare only changes the relationship of the impedance maxima to the minima, supposedly having the effect of making it more pitch stable at higher dynamics than a cylinder. In any case, the effect is subtle, they say.