1stTrumpet

I need one

Nachos Libres

Schilke P5-4

s.coomer

Yes the best is supposed to be the Schilke P-54, however the long belled Yamaha is a close second.

ewetho

There are a few favorites out there some say the new Bach long bell is really good too.

Seems the ones you really hear about are

Schilke (gold standard for quite a while now)
New Yamaha's
New Strad
Some like the Kanstul's too.
Scherzer

Try what you can find. If that is not possible and had to do it blind, probably have to vote for a Schilke.

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65Strad

Bach VBS 196. Has a Reeves alignment, fantastic intonation and for me a much nicer sound than the P5-4. and fast Really fine and fast valves. Stomvi worked with Bach on this project and it is a super piston picc. It has an extra "G" slide making it play in the key of G with the 4th valve pressed, lowering the pitch a full step while using the A pipe. Also has 3rd valve tuning slide ring standard.

Schilke offers this G slide and slide ring on the Maurice Andre P5-4 model at a premium. Shilke has been the standard but many accomplished picc players have chosen this as their go to piston picc and retired their Schilkes for its richer fuller sound in all registers as well as its valves being able to help facilitate technical passages more proficiently. Read these reviews on Brass Review. I'm not the only one that thinks that they are a 10. Brass Review.com - Bach VBS196 Piccolo Trumpet

You should try them all; Schilke, Yamaha, Bach VBS 196 etc. This is the long bell pictured, not the short bell 196. Let us know how you made out. There are lot of fine piccs out there.

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Tom D'Antoni

'08 Bach custom Bb SN#2008
'65 Bach 181 37 SN#30836 Brand New
'66 Bach 180 37 SN#39773 Brand New
'69 Bach 181 37 SN#58831 Raw Brass
'72 Bach 180S 43 SN#70503 1st Valve Trigger
'05 Bach VBS 196 SN# 560142 A/Bb Piccolo
'07 Bach Chicago C SN#656602

rowuk

I am always amazed how this best of stuff always results in the same quantity of useless posts.

If we are going to call something "better" we need a frame of reference. To some, $500 is better than $4,000. If we use a "German frame of reference" the Schilke is only useful for cutting glass. There is a much stronger preference for the more mellow rotary valved instruments here. The rotary instruments also seem to have a strong following in the US too.

I have played Getzens, Schilke, Selmer, Stomvi, Scherzer, Kromat, Couesnon, Enders, Yamaha and probably some others that I don't (want to) remember for various concerts and one thing sticks in my mind: they all sound different depending on the player.

Nobody can help you pick a picc. You are just going to have to spend some time and play a bunch and make a decision, or sell every 6 months and buy a new one.

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Nachos Libres

Useless post? It seemed to me that the OP has no experience in piccolo trumpets and wanted a great one to play on. Therefore I offered an opinion, which is basically what everyone else's posts on here are, including yours.

Is the Schilke P5-4 the best piccolo trumpet? Maybe, maybe not, but I would say it is one of the most popular and is a high quality instrument. Others offered other suggestions which I found very useful even for myself. It seems that the OP just wanted some direction and all you offered was a long post about how the other people's posts are useless and then followed up with "Nobody can help you pick a picc." That seemed liked the most useless post in this whole thread.

sj3209

You guys are so funny. You don't know anything from the question posed by the OP.

To the OP:

1. Why do you want one?
2. What are you playing now?
3. How old are you?
4. How much do you want to spend?
5. Have you tried any?

That's just a beginning. After you answer those, the experts here may be able to help you.

Richard III

B15M

I always get a kick out of the questions that are subjective.
What is the best trumpet = what do you play

There are a few that don't play what they think is the best because they can't afford it.
Mostly everyone plays what they think is the best and they will defend to the death.

It's really kind of funny. Especially when the one asking the original question only has one post. (or two)
Just wait until someone says that Monette is the best. Someone will eventually get mad and say "I'm out of here"

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gbdeamer

Welcome to TM. Don't let the negativity in this thread throw you. You'll eventually find what you're looking for.

As you can already see, there's no "best" brand of piccolo just like there's no "best" car, band, or woman.

I highly recommend reading up on piccolo trumpets here:

Guide to Piccolo trumpets

After that you'll probably have more specific questions.

Good Luck!