Terry McGee, maker

         Terry McGee a well known wooden flute maker in Malua Bay, Australia, also makes simple system wooden piccolos. These beautiful examples are in red ivory wood and boxwood, with silver rings and slides. Terry mentions keys on his page so would probably do a keyed version as well. I asked Terry a few questions:

Are you still making them and taking orders for them?

Orders are pretty rare, but I probably still could make them (I'd need to check on tubing supplies if tuning slide is needed).

When did you make your first?

Probably back in the late 1970's or early 1980's.

What was the model?

My first model was a simple cylindrical type.  I mostly made these for kids, as they find the stretch on conical wooden flutes impossible.  Later I acquired a Rudall Carte conical piccolo and made some copies of these, but felt that they were a bit shrill for Irish music, due to the thin (11mm) bore required to cover three octaves in orchestral use.  So I then developed a 12.5mm bore instrument, which returned power and richness to the bottom octave.  I experimented with bores up to 14mm, but, while the bottom octave became fabulous, the 2nd octave starts to become sullen.

How did you decide to give one a go?

I was already making flutes (since about 1975), but kids couldn't handle the stretch.  It was awful to think that kids wanted to learn flute but couldn't.  It was clear that something had to be done!

Do you play much piccolo yourself?

No.  Flute and guitar are my main instruments

I think you can get a decent idea of the sound of a McGee piccolo in this clip

Special thanks to Terry McGee.