
Kessler Custom Artist Series Composite Piccolo
Professional Design & Select Materials
Also Available with New Wood, Symphonic Cut Headjoint – Click Here
Kessler Custom instruments are designed to provide a perfect combination of performance, quality and value for our customers. We work hand in hand with our factory partners in order to achieve this goal, and with our Composite Piccolo, we feel we have more than just succeeded, but rather have completely excelled!
The concept behind our Composite Piccolo is a simple one, but one that most of the industry does not look to provide. The focus of our Composite Piccolo was:
- Sound ~ A beautifully rich, resonant tone.
- Intonation ~ In line with professional Yamaha piccolos.
- Response ~ A clear, powerful piccolo with easy response and articulation through all the registers
- Durability ~ Not just a piccolo that played well, but one that would be durable and reliable so that players can just play.
What is most impressive, however, is the ability to play in tune without struggling!”
www.meganlanzflute.com
Composite Material
The Kessler Custom Composite Piccolo utilizes a unique wood-based composite material. It contains 30% wood in order to increase the mass of the material and help improve the tonal depth of the piccolo. We experimented with many different formulas of this composite (including up to an 80% wood) but found that the 30% formula gave the perfect blend of:
- Tonal depth
- Exceptional resonance
- Lightweight
- Exceptional manufacturing tolerance
The manufacturing tolerance helps our composite piccolo also be able to use a harder pad that gives better stability for you as well as better projection of your sound!
Additional Information
Headjoint Cut
The headjoint of our Composite Piccolo is the driving force behind the instrument. In order to get the best response, we went with the wave style embochure (which helps you get more of your air in to your piccolo). However, we also wanted great resonance through the whole range of the piccolo. So for this reason, we decided to use a “thin-style” design.
The thin-style design keeps the weight of the headjoint down so that there is less resistance to vibration. However, this means that you have to also then use a lip plate like a metal headjoint would. So our thin-style headjoint has an integral, one piece lip plate design that is merged with the wave cut. This is not an easy design to manufacture but the benefit is the performance, and the performance is what we were after.
We did test many other headjoint designs (cylindrical headjoints & standard non-wave cuts) as well as several material options (various composites as well as all wood) but kept coming back to the design we use today on our Composite piccolo. Plainly put, it simply offered the best performance throughout!
Recently however, we perfected a new headjoint that features a new Symphonic Cut specifically for a wood headjoint. So now we offer that as well in our new Kessler Custom Hybrid model piccolo. Both headjoints are exceptional!
Professional Setup
Every Kessler Custom Artist Series Composite Piccolo we send out to a customer is not released from us unless it has been completely setup in our shop first. This is because the setup on our composite piccolo is of the utmost importance! Sometimes, an instrument (regardless of who the manufacturer or the price point is) comes in needing 20 minutes of adjustments and then the very next one can require 2 hours!
This is why we perform our setup in our ProShop on your new composite piccolo before delivering it to you. You trust us with your purchase and we want to make sure that you are rewarded by giving you your new piccolo setup flawlessly!
Risk Free Trial
We are so convinced that you will love our Composite Piccolo that we are offering a true Risk Free Trial!
We will pay the shipping on the piccolo when we ship out to you. However, if you or your teacher do not 100% agree that this is the BEST piccolo on the market in its price range, we will also pay for ALL of the return shipping costs as well! This means that if you try it and do not keep it, you are not out even 1 penny! We even arrange for an e-mailed UPS label so all you have to do is print it out, tape it on the box and give it to UPS.
*Return shipping is done by a pre-paid email UPS return label. Kessler & Sons Music does not reimburse if the customer sends it back in any other method.
Kessler Custom Artist Series Piccolo Specifications | |
Body Material | Composite using 30% Grenadilla Wood Fiber |
Headjoint | Professional Wave Style with Integral Lip Plate, Composite using 30% Grenadilla Wood Fiber |
Keys | Y-Arm |
G-Mechanism | Off-Set G with Split E Mechanism |
Pads | Premium Pads |
Case | Case with Case Cover |
Setup | Professional level setup performed by Chuck Kessler prior to shipping. |
Warranty | 1 Year covering defects in workmanship & material as well as pads & adjustments (through Kessler shop) |
New Hybrid Model
Want something with a richer tone? Take a look at our new Hybrid model featuring a professional caliber wood headjoint that features a new hand-cut, symphonic style design!
emanuelkute (verified owner) –
Hey Everyone,
I honestly believe that the Kessler custom instruments are the best kept secret in the music industry. The value and the price go hand in hand and for sure I have really enjoyed my experience with this piccolo so far. I am a woodwind doubler and this was my first piccolo purchase.
The Tuning on the piccolo is accurate, on point and very consistent. It has a beautiful tone with breathtaking projection. It was a fairly easy transition from the flute.
The description on the site gives attention to detail and is more than accurate. Above all, the pocket friendly price Kessler products go for, makes it worthwhile, stress free and affordable to work on your craft without any financial anxieties of breaking the bank.
Instrument prices keep soaring every year, making it almost impossible for musicians to afford instruments that they can enjoy playing and grow in their craft at the same time.
I personally bought a ‘cheap professional tenor sax’ off eBay just to end up struggling with tuning issues, a lack of projection, and poor build quality with the horn. It was a painful rip off that I still regret to date! Even after the eBay site described the horn for all its glory!
I’m glad Kessler Custom is bridging this gap and offering musicians Quality instruments at Affordable prices with honest and accurate description of their instruments without any marketing fanfare.
Their website, instrument reviews and blogs are also very educational and insightful. A resource I use A lot for research and enlightenment.
I recommend this Piccolo and the Kessler Custom brand for musicians who love making good music without breaking the bank!
addisonreiter2 –
This is a quality piccolo that plays very nicely. The mechanism is smooth and responsive. As someone coming from a cheap Amazon piccolo to this one, it was a huge leap in sound quality. The wave headcount cut took some getting used to, but I’m getting the hang of it now. It plays in tune really well (for a piccolo). The reason I only gave it 4/5 stars is because there are a few cosmetic things that were overlooked on my piccolo. There is a tarnished spot on the crown, a little drop of excess finish on my head joint that sticks out, the lip plate looks like it was cut very hastily, with little bumps and discrepancies around the edge and a bump *in the embouchure hole.* Lastly the outer rim of the tone holes look as if they were cut hastily as well. None of this affects the sound, just the way it looks. I would still recommend to any middle/high school player who is looking for a quality piccolo on a budget, as it plays and sounds better than its Gemeinhardt and Jupiter (4P and JPC-1010) counterparts, for a fraction of the price.
martininmontana (verified owner) –
I bought this to use in show pits and have been very happy with it. Pitch is great and sound dark enough. Great value.