[MidnightKat]

What are the differences in the bodies of the 62, 81, and 82 pics? Also, are the metal and wood headjoints interchangeable?
General thoughts on the pro Yamaha piccolos?

 

[Benny]

I've had a 62, it was great- easy to play, good pitch, very user friendly. Great doublers piccolo
I prefer the Pearls though for these reasons.

The 82 is nice, but for the extra $$ there are other piccolos I would rather buy with more character in the sound.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

I have a 62 and have worked on others. I suspect that the main differences between these is the degree of personal attention the embouchure hole, tone holes, and possibly bore get, e.g. undercutting of tone holes, which can adjust intonation, response, and evenness of tone. Not many people can do this work, so demand has to be reduced somehow. Price is the easiest way.

But 62 is a fine piccolo. It was top of the range for Yamaha for years. The fact that it is still available in spite of the higher models is testament to its worth.

Note that it is important that a piccolo has zero leaks. If it has no leaks, and you put a cork in the end, then with care and good embouchure you should be able to play a very quiet note approximately an octave below the normal low D.

I am not certain whether the heads are interchangeable with the metal head model, but it is likely.

 

[kwgrinnell]

I played pic frequently when in the army. The Wooden Yamaha pic came w a metal and wood head joint. FWIW I preferred the wood.

K

44 yrs of happy sax

 

[Chris Peryagh]

I've had a YPC-32 and a 62 and now have an 81 with both wooden and silver heads - the embouchure hole on the 81 and 82 headjoints are larger than the 32, 62 and 91 so take some getting used to. I prefer the silver head as it's more dense, but like all Yamaha piccolos, they're not the most comfortable for players with large hands. Hammigs have loads of room in the right hand with fingerplate extensions and the trill keys (especially the RH3 trill key) are better positioned - the YPC-91 has extended fingerplates for the RH fingers but the RH3 trill key is still positioned a bit close to RH2.

I cork padded my YPC-81 throughout as it feels much better under the fingers (more positive) and is completely airtight. I don't know if many makers cork pad their piccolos as standard, but it's always something that can be done at any point in time by an experienced tech.

 

[Koen88]

dont know about yahama piccolos but I hear yamaha makes excellent flutes.

 

[Benny]

I played a yps-32 yesterday, it was very nice.
I would be interested to try one with the 81 or 82 head.

 

[Chris Peryagh]

The 62, 81, 82 and 91 headjoints are slightly longer than the 32 headjoint (around 2-3mm at the socket end) so be wary of that when trying them. It's a shame Yamaha don't make a plastic headjoint for the 32.

Just out of curiosity, are the Yamaha fifes the same bore as the 32 piccolos? http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0333182/details.html

 

[Ken]

I have a yamaha 81. It's a well used one I got a couple of years ago, I'm guessing it's from the '70s. The best thing about it is that it has no intonation issues. I play it with a tuner and it's pretty much spot on throughout the whole range. The G# key is a bit awkward for me, and it's hard to play some of the notes above high G. High E and F# is also a bit unstable. A bit of regulating may fix some of that. I tried a Hamig a few years ago and that would be my choice, but I'm happy with the yamaha.