i`m curious if anyone has encountered one of these. i`m contemplating taking one out on trial from wwbw, but i`d like to know if it`s worth the bother beforehand.

Yes! They are WONDERFUL piccolo`s! I would have purchased one on the spot when I tried one out if I hadn`t already gotten my Burkart. If you do try one out, have WWBW send you at least two. The headjoints vary. I found one to be more resistant than another one when play testing. In my opinion, they are worth every penny. The scale couldn`t get any better. It is a very dark buttery souding piccolo. I highly recommend that you try one.

On the side note, I have gotten insturments that either needed work or were not playable from WWBW, so that is another reason I would ask for two to be sent on trial.

How much do they usually cost?

Here is the link to one.
http://www.wwbw.com/Piccolos-d578.music?o=5&pf=12&x=8&y=10

thanks for the information kara. i`ll add it to my list of piccolos to try.

recently i`ve tried roy seaman, hammig, emerson boston legacy, b&p global and some yamahas. the hammig was clearly the winner out of that batch. however, i was quite taken aback by the boston legacies. i originally didn`t even consider trying an emerson.

since i won`t be using the piccolo professionally, i`d rather not go over $3K. but i also want to make sure i get something that will sound great for years to come.

Yes, I was truelly impressed by the Boston Legacy. Now IMHO, Yamaha has a horrid scale on them. Some people will disagree and say that it is the player, but I have played enough brands and talked to enought other professional flutist to know that I am not alone on that opinion.

yeah, i played a ypc 62 in high school. while i didn`t notice any substantial intonation problems, the mechanism was terribly fickle. also the silver plating on the keys began pitting after only 2 years. i wiped the keys and swabbed it out each time i put it back in the case, and i was careful not to grip the keys on assembly. i`m not sure if i did something wrong or if it was the piccolo.

should i wait until spring to try the bulgheroni? shipping a wooden instrument in this weather makes me nervous.

as far as the wood itself is concerned, is there any REAL difference between the tones of a grenadilla instrument or say kingwood or ironwood? in my opinion the woods with the lighter grain are more aesthetically pleasing, but grenadilla has certainly proven durable over the years. i`m just wondering if the long-term resistance to cracking and durability of other woods have been determined.

It will be fine being shipped now. They come in a well insulated case cover. When trying out the different woods, I prefered the Grenadilla myself. It is hard to explain the difference in sound. To me it is not that noticable.