Product Reviews: Trevor James GVR Piccolo, Reform Embouchure

I did not buy my instrument from Just Flutes, but from another major retailer owned by Hal Leonard. I’m a novice who wanted something a little better than my YPC32. The TJ seemed perfect. I’ve lightly played my piccolo for just over a year. It hasn’t sounded great and third register notes have been tricky to sound. I blamed myself and the change away from a lip plate. As I was taking one of my flutes to my meticulous tech for a small job, I asked him to check over the piccolo. He ended up stripping it down and rectifying a LOT faults, too many to list here, but including excess play on a pillar, misaligned keys and many pads not sealing. I had expected my brand new piccolo to arrive correctly set up, not wildly awry. It didn’t come in a nice wooden box either. So, buy this piccolo but take it straight to a very competent tech for £239 of remedial work. (If I could attach a photo, I’d show the list of work required). My piccolo now plays a great deal better. If only it had arrived this way.
Verdict: not good enough Trevor James.