http://www.mouthpieceexpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=513&products_id=18126 Anybody know what the deal is with these? I'm certainly suspicious of a picc for $350, particlularly one being sold by a major dealer...please tell me they haven't fallen victim to the POS import craze.
I don't know. It looks like a deal but I wouldn't trust it if they don't even give you the brand. It's mighty suspicious....
15 day trial - why not give it a go if you are in the market for a pic? I'd give it a try if I thought that I would ever be in a position to need one, but I play rock and roll, and I've only ever seen one guy using a pic to play in a rock band. I saw Rick James on TV a year or so before he died and his trumpet player was playing a pic, which I thought was pretty weird.
Hmmmm... I don't recall Mouthpiece Express to be a hit the pocketbook and run type outfit. My guess is that might be some sort of "house brand". Anyways, go ahead and give it a run for 15 days and see what you think as Pat suggested. Even if you decide to keep it and purchase it, you have a year of free service according to the website, something not normally offered by the two cents to the wind outfits in India and such places.
I got my hands on an Amati Picc once upon a time. Phew.....not good. Made in the Czec Republic. I thought I might turn it into a lamp until I decided it would be a waste of electricity! -missednote
I've heard such horrible stories about these new piccs for under $500... One funny idea / story I must tell on a professional player friend of mine. He is often called in to play with a major symphony orchestra when they have someone out... this seems to happen more often in the summer months when folks are on vacation and they play at a certain outdoor venue... It appears one famous pops conductor always poo-poos (nice mature word huh?) the use of piccolo trumpets when they are outside... his reason? "They just don't project like the big horns"... so the standing joke / idea is that the section tip in on one of these Indian horns ($50-100)... keep it handy (next to the Blackburn or P54)... when the conductor complains about the section using a picc during the rehearsal because "it doesn't project"... a pre-selected player (one that maybe is ready for early retirement) picks up the Indian picc and lauches it into the air out into the empty seats... then exclaims, "seems to project well from here!" Obviously... this is a fantasy of sorts... but clever nevertheless... ZING
Sorry to disagree with missednote but I have recently bought an Amati picc for the princely sum of £270. It is 'inspired' by the selmer piccs, 4 valve, silver plate, very good simple bottom sprung valves set in a nice arc with the bell on the right hand side of the block. It is fairly well in tune and represents excellent value for money in my opinion. I have used it very succesfully in concerts and recording sessions and think anyone looking for an entry level instrument would be wise to give it serious consideration. It is worth pointing out that Amati is a long established manufacturer - originally a family firm trading as Cherveny (spelling???). Under the communist rule this company was taken under government control and supplied tens of thousands of instruments for the eastern block military bands and orchestras under the name Amati. In the last decade or so since the Czech Republic gained independence from Slovakia and became a democratic country - now a full member of the European Union - the company was bought back by the Cherveny family and is run as a private company again. They are now putting the emphasis on quality rather than quantity and are building a great reputation, especially for there elegantly designed tuba and low brass instruments. i think they plan to market their pro range of horns as Cherveny and keep the Amati brand for their student lines. maybe we will see a Cherveny picc in the near future? In the meantime - until there are some developments from a certain Luton based trumpet manufacturer ' - I'll be very happy to keep this horn in my triple case. All the best. Noel.
Noel, Good commentary and history on the Amati brand, thanks. Hey, see if you can post a picture here of your Scherzer picc. It sounds beautiful with the scratched gold bell finish. Rogerio
Noel - I trust your judgement as a player, but I am stunned at that one. I had the experience of being in Prague a couple of years ago and a couple of us went into the Amati shop over there. We played every instrument in the shop and couldn't find a single one that was in tune with itself. The piccolos over there were hilarious - you play a note, play the octave above and it came out as a 7th I would love to try yours sometime (maybe up at a certain Luton based manufacturer?) - I really do hope that they have improved. The guys in the shop were such nice guys, it would be great if they finally have an instrument that is worthy of the "trumpet" designation.
I played an Amati picc. for about 6 or 7 years. It is not a bad picc. Sound wise it was in the ballpark with the low cost short bell Yamaha and the B&S Challenger II. I tried both of those before getting the Yamaha 9830. While the sound is not too bad the general quality of workmanship is fairly poor. The slides don't come out without a fight, so during the course of a piece it is hard to drain if necessary. And the finish did not seem to hold up all that well in contact spots. With all that said the other trumpet in the quintet bought it and it works out well for him.
