Hello, everybody! I am now interested in getting a piccolo in the key of D. I have looked at Ralph Sweet’s piccolo, but he has discontinued the model. 
I want something that has a very high pitch. Would a fife work for me, also? Does anyone know of some great piccolo (or fife) makers?
Thanks 
Collin[/img]
Ralph Sweet makes a nice flute in high D. There is also a whistle head that can be purchased. Whether you call it a flute, a fife, or a piccolo, the instrument is in D, and that is what you want.
Melodys in Houston Texas has the Ralph Sweet fife/whistle in stock and it has a fantanstic sound. www.folkharp.com It comes in apple, walnut, cherry, rosewood, or maple.
http://www.sweetheartflute.com/fifes.html
http://www.skiphealy.com/frames/fr_instruments.htm
I have played neither one, but have played things from both makers and like their work. It is difficult to tell what you need from your description. From Sweet’s web page he seems to have chosen to discontinue his older Folk Fife and Piccolo models in favor of his newer design that takes the best features of both.
So what will you be using it for?
EDITED TO ADD
Looks like Hammie also makes one
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~hammie/price.htm
If you don’t care for wood
http://www.bill-lewington.com/hall/hallpic_d.htm
I was looking through the Baroque piccolos and thought that I would mention to make sure that the piccolo is A=440
There was a Healy piccolo in D for sale from a Chiff member not long ago, it may still be available. Here’s the link:
[quote=“I.D.10-t”]http://www.sweetheartflute.com/fifes.html
http://www.skiphealy.com/frames/fr_instruments.htm
I have played neither one, but have played things from both makers and like their work. It is difficult to tell what you need from your description. From Sweet’s web page he seems to have chosen to discontinue his older Folk Fife and Piccolo models in favor of his newer design that takes the best features of both.
So what will you be using it for?
EDITED TO ADD
Looks like Hammie also makes one
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~hammie/price.htm
If you don’t care for wood
http://www.bill-lewington.com/hall/hallpic_d.htm
I was looking through the Baroque piccolos and thought that I would mention to make sure that the piccolo is A=440[/quote]
To ID10T (it seems awkward to call someone that )
To answer your question, I will mostly be playing it for fun, and possibly even church. Mostly for fun, though. My and my friend love to play our instruments together, so we constantly show each other our new “toys”.
Collin
Way to snub any chance for the old terminology debate.
Band Nerd,
In your case you will want to make sure that your instrument is tunable, in other words two piece. A one piece instrument, depending on the environment, may not let you easily play with other instruments.
One thing to keep in mind is that a piccolo will carry/have more volume/be louder than a flute. Your playing will be “Up Front”. Some people think that a flute blends and plays better with others than the piccolo. Good Luck.