I was thinking of buying a piccolo so I could possibly play pic next year in band. I have been told Yamaha makes good pics as does gemeinhardt but Im not sure if I want to buy a gemeinhardt because a friend bought one and had a lot of problems with it. What do you guys recommend?

GEMEINHARDT!I just got one for Christmas,it is wonderful.Do not pick Yamaha over Gemeinhardt.

Thanks

Yamaha is the best brand. I, myself, have an armstrong. They work excellent too!!

I know that they have wood metal and plastic piccolos, which is best?

my teacher uses plastic piccolos...shes a flute/piccolo expert so maybe u should get a plastic one.

oh and about the brand, my teacher says that germinhart
is not that goood....

infact shes says, grminhart, armstrong are not suitable student models (if thats wat ure buying)

SaRa

Yeah, my teacher doesnt think too highly of gemeinhardts and armstrongs either, I was thinking Id get a yamaha, I just gotta figure out wether I want wood, metal or plastic. Thanx 4 the info.

Im confused though, I thought yamaha was a cheap brand that you buy for less?

Yamahas are actually a little on the pricey side... If its in your price range go for it

I recieved a Gemeinhardt 4SP (silver) piccolo as a Christmas present in the 7th grade (currently in 9th). It did suffer an accidental fall on cement by a friend.. I got it repaired, and it`s playing really well.

I recommend Gemeinhardt piccolos, but they`re a little difficult to start off with. Although, when I play it, it sounds very airy and I haven`t had much maintenance done to it other than the repair from the fall..

Sorry, this didn`t help much. But I guess I just hold true to my collection of Gemeinhardts by recommending it. Yamahas and Armstrongs are also really good choices; I`ve played on all types (silver, wood, plastic), and I happen to like the silver one the best out of all. There is a problem with tone change relating to temperature during marching season, so it really depends on what seasons/events you will be using your piccolo in.

Silver - Recommended for concerts, but also very versatile in both concert and marching. Temperature changes are a problem with the silver piccolo and can cause drastic tone changes.

Wood - Good for marching band, although can be risky if used in rainy weather. Wood can swell and crack if exposed to water.

Plastic - Much like the wood piccolo, but not really a favored choice of mine.

I have been playing my Gemienhardt for a while now, since this past summer and I love it. I have a composite body and head ( all plastic) and i love it. I actully find it easier then all metal or metal head, i dont know why, it just is. ( for me atleast) and like the person before me said, all plactic is good for marching band especially ( it projects VERY well) as well as concert band. I play with my picc in both of these and i`v had no problems. All metal is good for both concert band and marching band but doesnt project as well. theres also one you can get which is a compostie body and a metal head. Thats good as well if you like the metal head but composite body. The wood one I feel is the best though but they are VERY expenisve and are very prown to getting cracked etc.... my opinion go with a all composite Geminhardt!

-Ash

i have a gemeinhardt. it is so awesome! i would suggest gettin one!! i love mine so much~ its great for pep band!!!

I would get a plastic picc, that way you can use it for marching band as well as concert band and orchestra. Unless you`re rich or something i definately would not get a wood picc..... wooden ones are super expensive and mostly used just by professionals and are not necessary to a beginning piccolo player. You also cant use a wooden picc for marching band.......the temperature extremes and excessive moisture will crack and ruin a wooden instrument. Metal piccs are okay but can be very hard to keep in tune. They also have a more piercing sound that is better for marching band but not very good for indoor concert band or orch. Another option is a metal head joint and a plastic body which would also be good for both marching band and concert band. I hope this helps!

Thanks

Hey ya`ll... it`s me, Chris.
I was looking around http://Gemeinhardt.com, and I found a link to piccolos. To check it out, just click the link, and once you are there, hover your mouse on top of the piccolos button; when the menu pops up, choose a type: silver, wood, or plastic.
Anyway, hope this helps!
God bless,
~Ck