Hello everyone. Im about to purchase a piccolo and i think ive decided on a yamaha ypc-32. But i have a question. The headjoint is just nickel plated, do any of you know if i could purchase a solid silver headjoint use that instead? Just curious. And if any of you own or have played the ypc-32, what do you think? Thanks!

According to the catalogues (in English) from Japan, YPC-32 has a SILVER plated head.

It is inlikely that another brand will have the same diameter tenon.

You buy the head for a YPV-82, which is sterling silver, but this head is likely to cost more than a `32` entire piccolo, and it possibly has different bore and embouchure characteristics of teh rest of the piccolo.

May I ask, why are you so upset by the silver plating?

I would expect a plated head to sound identical to a solid silver head, ALL other things being equal.

To quality instrumnets do not need to be solid silver to make a great sound. Yamaha acknowledges that by making their highly-respected alto flute from brass.

I while back I had a chance to put a solid silver head on the 32. I believe the head came off of an 82. I did a blind test and tried the silver one and then the solid silver one and to my suprise, I nor anyone else around me was able to tell the difference between the two.
It is not worth the extra cost to upgrade in my opinion.

Nice to hear that. It supports what I have been saying about head joint material.

The BODY of the 80 & 90 series are likely to differ significantly from that of the 32 (& 62)in the meticulous undercutting of tone holes, but the heads themselves may well be identical except for the bass metal.

They did look pretty identical to me.