Rocketman-
My name is Phil Rinaldi, I am a professional trumpet player in the New York City area. I am an artist rep for Van Cleave Trumpets. To read about my experiences with Van Cleave Trumpets, go to:
http://www.trumpetmaster.com/vb/f139...ets-32881.html (My Experiences with Van Cleave Trumpets)
As far as the piccolos go, none of them have the final, final stamp of approval from Mark to go onto the market. We did have three designs and five total piccolos at ITG, but decided not to release them yet.
I have played the piccolos and Vulgano Brother is correct in his synopsis that they are meant to be more user friendly to the non-piccolo player. What we mean by "non-piccolo player" is for all of us non-Maurice Andre players. I play the piccolo on a as needed basis. That is the type of player these initial piccolos are being designed for. I hope this makes sense.
As far as the books go, while I am not Mark, I can tell you that any problems, real or imagined, are not malicious. You are more than welcome to E-Mail me personally and while I cannot promise anything, I will do my best to try and straighten things out. If you do E-Mail, please have specifics, as many people have already been caught flat out lying about buying the books and perpetuating the problem.
Also, the horns are only available for purchase through retail stores. No direct sales will be made.