Well, you know that I for one am going to agree that Yamaha has a crazy scale on their piccs. Yuck! That is why I got rid of mine (all too happily) years ago. People can argue until they are blue in the face about it saying that they can play a Yamaha piccolo in tune. Sure, you can play one in tune but it takes a heck of a lot more work. I say that if someone says they have no problems with the pitch on them then either they are tone deaf or not sensitive enough to hear when pitches are off. I may get bashed for my <say it how it is> opinion, but oh well. That is me

Now, for the best scale on a piccolo, I would say Burkart, Haynes, Powell or Keefe. Keefe has a long waiting list though and are VERY expensive! I love the scale on my Burkart. I just loaned it to a friend who is trying out for a military band and she is thrilled with it. I hope I get it back. lol!

I would say that the darkest playing piccolo would be a Haynes. They seem harder to play for me though as they have quite an amount of resistance in the upper register.

Hope that helps. I went on a piccolo shopping extravaganza last year and tried everything I could get my hands on. Good luck!

Zentner, Hammig and McKenna are some of the wooden ones that I've acctually tried playing and just loved. See, I don't usually play piccolos but they are comfortable, easy to dominate and showed no problem intonating with other instruments.

My complaint with the Yamaha 61 is that it is just thinner, not as much depth to the tone as the 'fancier' wood piccs. It's a pretty nice instrument, though, for the $1000 range. The Yam 81 would be different only because it usually comes with an additional silver HJ, and its keywork is solid silver instead of plated.

I went from a Yam 62 to a Zentner. It also has some minor scale issues, but I can deal with them- more easily than the Yam. Its tone is marvellous, especially in the low range of the instrument. High notes are difficult on my Zentner as is- but I put a Burkart HJ on it and that makes the high notes easier. The low end isn't as rich as the Zentner HJ, but it's a lot better than the Yam was, pretty darn nice.

Our Symphony picc principal has a handmade Burkart. It has the same (in theory) HJ as I bought for my Zentner. Hers is an amazing instrument, it speaks so easily up high, and still has a lovely sound down low (the Zentner still beats it, IMHO, down low, though). Scale is just fine.

Yuo can't always change HJs, though the Burkart and Zentner are swap-able with a simple cork thickness change.

The Zentner is the same as a pre-Gemeinhardt Roy Seaman piccolo. (Some of the older Zentners had plated keywork, the Seamans were all silver keywork, but the rest of the design is the same, same factory, etc.) They go for $1500 to $1850 or so- always used, they're not in production anymore.

I'd play anything you can get your hands on. I've even liked an older Gemeinhardt 4W quite well- better by a long way than the Gemeinhardt Seaman picc I tried.

My lips are fairly average, I'd say.

Have you tried a Haynes silver picc? I've heard some that had a lovely rich sound.

Good luck.

I wish that I could afford a piccolo.

You want to hear a bad scale.

A 1950's Artley is the worst.

I am a little better on my 1968 Armstrong, but not much better.

I am just hoping for a plastic Gemeinhardt maybe next year.

All the piccolos that the others recommended sound great.

My flute teacher has a burkheart I believe.

Happy shopping.