This question is mostly directed toward Joe since he is now representing the Pearl line of flutes, but please anyone, feel free to jump in.

I love my new Pearl piccolo, but three times already the clutch bent outward so that my B flat (one and one fingering) plays as a B natural. I have just been fixing it myself without problems, but the metal is EXTREMELY soft and bends like nothing on this piccolo. Is this the norm? I have only had a few other brands of piccs in my time, but never had this problem before. I am not as savvy with piccolos as I am flutes unfortunately. I was thinking that maybe if Pearl thought about cryogenic treatment that this might have better results and then the metal would not be so easily bendable? I did read somewhere that Powell uses this treatment on their flutes, so that would explain why they are hard as a rock!

Also, while on the subject of Pearls flutes, has anyone had the pleasure in trying out their newer student line flutes? They look very nice. I like that they offer the pointed key arms even on the beginning model. Very nice! The only thing I wish that could be changed is that you could easily get a flute without a slip E and that extra bar under the left hand was not there. I have small hands and it is uncomfortable to me

Hi Kara,
"....I love my new Pearl piccolo, but three times already the clutch bent outward so that my B flat (one and one fingering) plays as a B natural. I have just been fixing it myself without problems, but the metal is EXTREMELY soft and bends like nothing on this piccolo. Is this the norm? "


Not to butt in (and I may be wrong) but I had a student who has a Pearl flute (probably about 5 years old by now) and this was the problem with the metal of that flute. I didn't mind the response of this flute but she had problems with the metal. You of course know that there is only a certain number of times that you can bend any given piece before it falls off?


<Added>

I hope and trust that since Joe has chosen to franchise this brand that this isn't the norm.

That Bb thumb adjustment is a problem on many piccolos including ones that are much more expensive. As much as I love the burkhart's, even their top end piccs suffers from this as well.

Not to pick on Burkhart, but many piccs suffer from this dilema since that metal bar is really thin. It has to be on a instrument this small.

It's a piccolo, and it's part of the nature of the beast.

Regarding hardness issues...

Here is what I've noticed regarding that issue. IN GENERAL...The Pearl Keywork is really hard. Now, that being said. That doesn't mean that there aren't some soft keys out there. Bilbo is correct, There is a threshold of bending at which point a key is fatigued.

In prepping flutes this week, There were some keys that I could not bend even with pliers (technician's experienced feel and fear of ripping a key off employed). What I have noticed on some keys is that they are strong until you overcome that with a particular amount of strong force. Then it will remain in that fatigued zone. It appears to me that this is a matter of setup and a consistency, quality control issue. It is not a general rule for the instruments but was probably occuring after the fact.

Please remember that most of the flutes that are now out there did not orginally go through Nashville, but a different distributor.

Pearl is committed to getting flutes set up properly before being shipped to dealers, so that this situation can be minimized. If a flute arrived at a dealer with that key out of adjustment, it is possible that their tech adjusted it and fatigued it at the same time before it got to the customer.

Your concerns are duly noted, and I hope that you realize that the problem is not inherent in the keywork itself as it is made at the factory, but in subsequent handling thereafter. Some of that is beyond our control, but once the shop is in full operation in Nashville, a more controlled process will be in place to minimize the effect you are noticing.

Joe B

I had three Pearl Piccs sent to me on trial and every one of them were out of adjustment even though the store owners told me they went through it before shipping it out and it was in perfect adjustment. They claim it happened during shipping.

I have never seen a clutch on a piccolo that soft and bendable before, so I do hope that Pearl does look into the issue.

If it happens again, should I send it back to the Pearl company themselves since it is under warrenty? I certainly do not want to bend it back again, because like you and Bilbo said, it will keep on weekening it and it could snap.

Thanks for the help

I was under the impression that cryogenics was a some sort of freezing process, not heating. A friend of mine does this as part of his business and have done several intruments of other band members and they all claim that it hardens the metal. Powell also claims this right on their website, so I am a bit confused... I have never let the guy that does do this touch my flute, though he keeps on asking me. I like my flute just the way it is and I suppose I just don't trust anyone with it. Too bad it wouldn't work on hardening at least that clutch on my piccolo, because if it bends like that again then I am afraid it could break off. I would hate to have to spend more money on yet another piccolo

As a primer you can look at the article on Annealing at Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_%28metallurgy%29

Cryogenic freezing of metals:

http://cryo-freeze.com/products.html

~Not something that I'm going to spend my money on any time soon.

Something else relating to wind instruments and Cryogenics:
Against Cryogenics...
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Uploads/cryo.html
For Cryogenics (But remember that some of these links are in the business of sales ...
http://www.miyazawa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=77

Thanks for the links I will check them out. I don't plan on ever having it done, I am not usually a gullible buyer, I must be slipping! Hopefully it will stay in place this time. I wish that Burkart was still making those CRC piccolos. I don't understand why none of the top brand companies don't make a piccolo in composite. Not everyone wants to deal with wood, but DO want the nice scale and handmade mechanism that goes along with them. I also still wish that Powell would make a silver plated body flute.

Coming back to the second part of your initial question; "How are Pearl's new student flutes?"

I love mine; I've had it since April.
I've got the 525 Quantz model, which has a sterling lip-plate, plated everything else, and in my case, C-foot, E-Mech, and open holes, as well as the now standard pointed arms and pinless mechanism.

It has a very warm sound, much more so than the Azumi, or even the Yamaha. (Possibly too warm for some.) But it is a beautifully centred, well focussed tone, much better then some others I've tried. It is VERY easy blowing, again, probably a bit too much for some. It goes through all 3 octaves without a problem (even for a relative beginner) although C# takes a bit of extra concentration, but that's normal and with a bit of attention it sounds fine. It’s a very easy flute to sound good on.

The mechanism feels a bit stiffer then the Azumi's (which is a dream, and made my decision very difficult), about on a par with Yamaha's. The pointed arms are nice, (but who cares). The pinless mechanism feels solid, and does make wiping the flute down a lot easier.

I can't tell you much about the reliability in the long run, as I haven't had it for very long yet. The only problem I've encountered has been a slightly sticky pad, but that was probably my own fault, and easily resolved with a bit of cigarette paper.
The accessories are okay, a nice wooden cleaning stick instead of those nasty plastic or aluminium ones. Also included are fleece lined case cover, plus a couple of cleaning cloths, and a set of transparent rubbery key plugs, (no terrible bottles of oil or little screwdrivers I’m happy to say).

I've read some criticism of the French case itself, and yes, it does smell of glue initially, but that wears off after a couple of weeks. It also has a flappy thing to protect the headjoint from the G# lever, which comes across as a bit nasty, but the case is very compact, so I guess that's why it's there. My main quarrel with the case is that it won't stay open of its own accord. So the case is nothing special, but it does what it needs to do.

It's probably also worth pointing out to anyone in Europe, that Pearl doesn't seem to feel the need to rip-off it's European customers to the same extend that many other manufacturers do. (Many seem to maintain a 1:1 USD to Euro excange rate.) In other words, Pearls are seriously good value in Europe especially.

All-in-all, I really love my Pearl. I much prefer it to the student Yamaha I played before, it feels, sounds, (and looks) like a more advanced flute. The sound and ease of playing are a personal choice for everyone of course, but I think it's a LOT of flute for the money.