Has anyone played a Lenker Piccolo?

    
Has anyone played a Lenker Piccolo?    20:17 on Tuesday, October 2, 2007          

Tessa_Flute
(7 points)
Posted by Tessa_Flute

I've been looking at an auction site and there are two "Lenker" piccolos for sale. They are made in Asia, brand new and are currently selling for about NZ$160.

Lenker Piccolo Model 6458E is made of ABS resin and is based on the Yamaha YPC-32 Piccolo.
Lenker Piccolo Model 6458S is silver.

Has anyone heard of Lenker or played a Lenker piccolo?


Re: Has anyone played a Lenker Piccolo?    23:09 on Tuesday, October 2, 2007          

Flutist06
(1545 points)
Posted by Flutist06

I have not played a Lenker (nor have I heard of them, which is concerning in and of itself), but you can bet that for only 120ish USD (note that this is converted to US Dollars), it's not worth the money. Even the cheapest new piccolos of acceptable quality sell for about $225 USD. Because it's from an unknown company, it is likely to be riddled with problems that will cost more to repair than the instrument did originally, ranging from pad issues (these junkers are notoriously poorly constructed, and that continues to padding/setup), to mechanical unreliablity, to a horrible scale, or even metal so soft that it can bend through normal use, constantly throwing the mechanism out of adjustment.

As for the piccs being based on Yamahas, even if this is true (and suppliers of no-name instruments are famous for their dishonesty), that doesn't mean it plays like one. They can model it after whatever they want, but if it's not built with the same quality of materials (or better) and with the same quality of craftsmanship, it's not going to work like the instrument it was based on.

If you're looking for an inexpensive piccolo, you can get used Armstrongs, Gemeinhardts, Selmers, and the like for just a couple hundred dollars in good, working order. They would be a MUCH better choice.

<Added>

Also, the fact that Lenkers are made in Asia doesn't bode well for the quality. Some very fine instruments come out of Japan and other parts of Asia, but a vast number of junkers come out of China, India, and Pakistan, and the price of these "Lenkers" is indicative of such a junker. The place of origin only supports that theory.


Re: Has anyone played a Lenker Piccolo?    02:25 on Wednesday, October 3, 2007          

Tessa_Flute
(7 points)
Posted by Tessa_Flute

Thanks. I suspected cheap piccolos wouldn't play as well but I didn't realize about the other problems.



   




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