A quick question about the new pearl piccolo...

St to the Ephanie · Post by **St to the Ephanie** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:57 pm

The remarkable new PFP-105 Piccolo is the culmination of years of exploration and research into the creation of a totally new material - Grenaditte. Precise pitch, an exquisite tonal center and a spacious dynamic range are all to be found within this new, innovative instrument. Grenaditte is impervious to temperature fluctuations, ensuring Pearl's remarkable performance anywhere. In line with the entire Pearl flutes range, the PFP-105 is manufactured with our world renowned Pinless mechanism on its Silver plated keys as standard and is the only piccolo on the market to feature this innovation. If all of these were not sufficient, the Pearl piccolo includes French pointed arms, a bulb design headjoint with a high wave, and a Split-E mechanism. The French style case and fleece lined cover are supplied with cleaning rod, gauze, polishing cloth and cork grease.

This is an exerpt about the new pearl piccolo that I got from http://www.pearlflute.com/_english/pro_piccolo.html. The question I have is, what exactly is the pinless mechanism that it's talking about? I'm considering getting one, and just wanted to know all it's new features!

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:04 am

Alright here is my best explanation of the pearl pinless mechanism......

Look at your flute. Look closely. if you look closely you will see tiny pins coming out of the mechanism. If you understand the way the mechanism works, then you will understand the the rods are a series of rotating shafts inside each other (one inside the other like those weird little dolls). What the pins are for, is to pin certain rods together so that certain keys will close in cunjunction with others (press the F key, and two others close). This is what the pins are for. Pearl however prides itself on creating a design that does not use pins. (pins snag clothing, allow persperation into the mech causing binding etc). this system utilizes additional rods in the mechanism. So, the mechanism is bigger, and "easier" to adjust.
This is what I noticed when playing a pearl flute (these construction details). So, go around, and look at pearl flutes, and look for the additional rods (there is one at the right hand and one at the left hand).

Now, all pearl has done, is apply the same concept to a piccolo. I like the idea, but it seems to me that it would be easy
(like thier flute mechanism) to damage. Also, with this piccolo, they have added a wave into the headjoint which normally helps the player get more sound out of the piccolo. I think they also added the split E mech, and another sort of trill key, but I am not 100% sure. Sound quality though, if it sounds good, it will be more mellow than metal piccolos, but not as mellow as wooden piccolos (grenaditte is a fancy word they use for ABS resin which is plastic). I havent personally tried the piccolo, but I really like thier flutes. They are very (or are becoming more so) popular in Tennessee, and some parts of Kentucky. I like thier sound, but some dont.

So, try to get a deal with a dealer to do a trial period on the pearl piccolo. test it against other piccolos, and get your favorite. If you like the pearl piccolo let us know!

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:15 am

sorry to be redundant, it does have the split E mech, but no additional g/a trill key. but, it does have a bulb style headjoint, which is a feature to make it look more professional (look at top of the line piccolos *excluding gemeinhardt*, and you will see that they almost always have a bulb on the headjoint). Really, the bulb will do nothing for you, b/c with wood piccolos it shows craftmanship (they have to carve the wood, then insert a double barrel silver tenon without cracking the headjoint). The pointed arms on FLUTEs are really for two things: for looks, and for balance of the key/ pad and response of said key. French arms are typically associated with higher quality flutes, so I will assume that they have the same mechanical effect on piccolos. And like the pinless mechanism, pointed arms on almost all models is another trademark of pearl.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:00 pm

fluteguy18 wrote: So, the mechanism is bigger, and "easier" to adjust.

I'm sorry to have to disagree, but the pinless mechs are quite a bit more difficult for repair techs to work on than the standard "pinned" mechanism. The idea is similar to adjustment screws. Most professional flutes will not have adjustment screws because people associate them with low quality instruments, but for the repair tech (in fact, the flute maker as well), it is so much easier to adjust a flute with these screws. I spent some time talking to one of the more prominent independent makers in the U.S. this past week, and he told me straight out that if he could get away with it, he would love to be able to build flutes with adjustment screws for all the time it would save him. Same for the pinless mechs....They look nice, but are really a pain for anyone involved in the technical sides of the flute.

fluttiegurl · Post by **fluttiegurl** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:30 pm

I have heard several techs say the same thing about pinless mechs and adjustment screws. I know some who will actually charge extra to work on Pearl flutes (and a few others) because they are more labor intensive. I still like Pearl flutes, but this is something to keep in mind. I assume that the piccolo will be no different.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:01 pm

Hint :: hint:: the quotations were sarcasm. I know they are a pain to repair, but I was merely carrying across part of thier advertising campaign so that if this individual were to go onto thier webpage, they would see the connections between my explanation, and thiers.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES!

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:09 pm

I've never seen the mention of the mechanism being easier to repair as a part of Pearl's publicity. Regardless, it was not exactly clear that you were being sarcastic, and I did not want the original poster confused. You did rather seem to be touching only on the positive sides of the pinless mech, and the insertion of quotes around one word didn't really change the tone of the entire post. A straight forward answer would have been much more productive than banking on the chance that the original poster would draw connections between your post and what Pearl has on their site.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 6:18 am

Well, in theory I do like the idea of a pinless mechanism, but I don't like the way pearl has done it. Miyazawa uses a pinless mechanism in the left hand only, which I really like. But, if the message was unclear about the sarcasm..... my bad

. I was trying to give an unbiased description of the mechanism and how it works (but evidently my liking of the theory was prevelant). So in theory, the mechanism is good, but in actuality, it is rather fickle.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:14 pm

here is the documentation for the "easier" comment tying back to pearlflutes.com

QUOTE

The One-Piece Core-Bar construction of all Pearl Flutes eliminates many of the wear and tear problems associated with traditionally constructed flutes, specifically in the areas of the high C key and the king post next to the F# key. Pearl has designed one rod that extends from high C through the king post resulting in an extremely reliable mechanism that plays more comfortable, stays in adjustment longer and is easier to service.

Service in my perspective means repair.

You just have to click "traditional features", and scroll down to the explanation of the mechanism.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:29 pm

fluteguy18 wrote:here is the documentation for the "easier" comment tying back to pearlflutes.com

QUOTE

The One-Piece Core-Bar construction of all Pearl Flutes eliminates many of the wear and tear problems associated with traditionally constructed flutes, specifically in the areas of the high C key and the king post next to the F# key. Pearl has designed one rod that extends from high C through the king post resulting in an extremely reliable mechanism that plays more comfortable, stays in adjustment longer and is easier to service.

Service in my perspective means repair.

You just have to click "traditional features", and scroll down to the explanation of the mechanism.

Yes, but that all relates to the One-Piece Core-Bar, and the pinless mechanism is a different feature. It says nothing about the pinless mechanism being easier to service. If you notice, there are different sections for the One-Piece Core-Bar and the Pinless Construction.

sherbert789 · Post by **sherbert789** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:37 pm

Would you two just shut it?

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:05 pm

sherbert789 wrote:Would you two just shut it?

I see no reason why we should need to, though I don't believe that much more remains to be said on the subject. So far the conversation has remained reasonably civil, and it's a legitimate discussion of a flute-related point, which is what forums like this are intended for. We have done nothing (that I can find) to offend other members of the forum, and the fact that you are tired of reading our responses to each other does not seem like grounds enough for us to discontinue our little debate until we have reached a satisfactory (to both of us) solution. Please keep in mind that I mean no offense to you, or anyone else who may feel the same as you do, but merely that I am still interested in the discussion, and until FluteGuy18 or myself violates one of the forum rules or reaches a point of agreement, I see no reason to stop the discussion. However (and I hope this will satisfy you), Fluteguy18, if you see fit to respond to my last post, please consider doing so in a private message. Hopefully going in that direction can help avoid any conflict.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:23 pm

Point proven. I agree with you flutepicc06. We have been civil. I guess the only finer points on our views are that you regard the overall design in different segments (core bar and pinless mech), whereas I view the design collectively and not separately. But, we could go around in circles like this forever, when there is really no point, making "enemies" rather than friends.

So, to sum it up, let's just agree that the mechanism is fickle, and once messed with, it is a pain to fix.

Note: this public response wasn't to be rude by disregarding your request flutepicc06, but rather to defend my self against the "shut it" comment, and to hopefully resolve the issue (effectively killing two birds with one stone). If any further debate continues, I will be happy to do it through a private message, but hopefully it wont be neccessary.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:32 pm

I can certainly agree with that generalization. And I don't regard this as rudeness by disregarding my request for private messages. I intentionally worded it "please consider" so that you would have the option of a public response should you feel that was the way you wanted to go. I see no reason for further debate on the point (which should satisfy Sherbet789). Thank you for a stimulating little conversation! I look forward to reading your posts in future!

Chris

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:38 pm

glad to! And same to you, because it is very interesting to hear what someone else has to say about flute construction (there are very VERY few construction savvy people where I live when it comes to music).

Adam