Hey Everyone. I was just wondering what the opinion was on emerson piccolo`s. They make the very very nice boston legacy, which is truly amazing, but i need some input on their more student line pics (all silver or all plastic) Thanks!

For a piccolo to operate reliably, there are several aspects of design and manufacture that are VERY important.

One of these is that the key cups should be concentric with the tone holes.

Another is that the key cups (hence the pads) should have a diameter that is sufficiently greater than the diameter of the tone hole.

Most types of pad have a curved surface near their edges with little support from the felt beneath. If these two aspects are not designed well and made well, then we are expecting a pad to seal where it cannot seal reliably, i.e. the non-flat area near its edge.

When piccolos are poorly designed/made, the manufacturer normally uses soft, squishy pads, so that the player can overcome leaks by pressing keys harder. This makes the piccolo very difficult to play well. So a sign of poor manufacture is thick, squishy pads.

I have not seen an Emerson piccolo for some time, but from memory, these are significant issues for this brand.

Hey im in the same boat, i was looking at quite a nice Emerson Piccolo with an optional nickel silver or sterling silver head and plastic body. On piccolo terms would anyone reccomend wood to plastic or visa versa or is silver best?

There are a heap of threads on this issue. Most of us are heartily sick of the subject being brought up repeatedly.

I would avoid Emerson piccolos for the reasons I stated in my last thread.

"Nice" noes not mean that you aren`t going to have a heap of trouble with it.