Custom Work Policy

All custom work is guaranteed only in regards to the quality of workmanship involved in performing the work. We cannot guarantee the alterations you select will produce the desired results for you.  Although certain alterations produce desirable results for most people, there is no way to know 100% for certain any given alteration or combination there of will work for you and/or your equipment until after the work is completed.  Keep in mind also that some alterations can be reversed if you decide you do not like the results.  The reversal of such work is done at an additional cost unless different arrangements are agreed upon in advance.

 

The Dattaro Conversion

This modification custom-fits the instrument for players with smaller than average hands. If you have small hands, this may be the best investment you can make in your equipment.
Tuning Bell Conversion 

This is one of the few alterations you can make to a trumpet that produces desirable results for most players.  By removing the bell and lead pipe braces, the bell becomes less restricted by weight and contact, allowing it to vibrate more freely, giving the instrument improved response, and a more “live”, resonant sound. Another major benefit of tuning with the bell is improved intonation.

When adjustments are made in the main tuning slide you pose a higher risk of causing a node to hit in an unfavorable spot of the instrument.  The lead pipe and mouth piece are very critical in setting up the characteristics of the sound quality and intonation of the trumpet.  Any variances in these areas greatly increases the likelihood of the instrument producing an undesirable result in some notes.

By tuning with a movable bell, that late in the sound production, you have a FAR less chance of causing a node to hit on a pipe seam, water key nipple, dent, etc, that would adversely affect the sound.

In addition to the improved quality advantages, the bell is now removable which gives you the option of fitting the horn with additional bells for different playing situations; for example, you may want a copper bell for symphonic work, or a lightweight large flair bell for lead work.  This makes your instrument twice as versatile for different situations and in many cases could save you thousands in having to buy an additional horn for other work.  Another important point to note is about correcting existing flaws from the manufacturing process.  Some manufactures (who I think most of us are aware of) don’t commit to as high a degree of quality standards as others.  One common flaw a tunable bell corrects is relief of stress on the bell and lead pipe.  When a bell is soldered on the horn, if the braces are not put on in a certain order or if the bell crook bend wasn’t bent perfectly, this automatically builds a LOT of stress into the horn.  This is commonly noticeable through a suffocated sound, poor response or lack or projection.  One of he only drawbacks to this alteration, other than just personal taste, is that it makes the instrument more vulnerable to damage due to the lack of bracing.  Some players have also experienced a compromise in projection, however this can be helped or counter acted by using a movable sound post.  This is a common alteration that many orchestra players have done to an Eb horn and then add a C trumpet bell (commonly a Bach 229 or 239).  This is usually done in light of many directors preference for the timbre of a C trumpet in the ensemble.  This gives the player the ability to have the desired sound while still maintaining the ability to be able to play in, or transpose more easily from keys which pose odd/awkward fingerings on C or Bb trumpet.  Wynton Marsalis had this done to his Schilke E3L adding a Bach 229 bell.  He played the Haydn using this horn on "The London Concert" album, and it can be seen on the CD cover.  I have  adapted several bells, including a 229, for a Blackburn Eb, for Alan Hamant of the Delaware Symphony.

Pictures of our tuning bell conversion on a Bach D/Eb .    Top View   Bottom View

 

Maximum Response Conversion-  This is a process that provides many of the same benefits as a tuning bell conversion at a lesser cost.  Like the tuning bell, by removing the two cross braces on the bell and re-mounting it you not only alleviate any built-in tension from when the bell was originally mounted but the bell is now allowed to resonate more freely without constraint.  The most common characteristic of this set up is a FAR more superior response.  Another reason this may suite some players well is that the process is reversible.   If for some reason the player does NOT like the new feel, or has more serious reservations about having it done it can be put back the way it was (at an additional cost of course) since the bell tail is not being cut off for a tuning bit like on the tuning bell.  This set-up can be easily upgraded to the full tuning bell conversion if the player decides  they want to add the option of being able to tune with the bell for the additional intonational advantages and the interchangeability of different bells.

 

Reverse Leadpipe Conversion  This is where the top part of the main tuning slide is flipped around so the “male” tube is soldered to the lead pipe instead of the crook of the tuning slide.  This is done so the air column meets less resistance by falling off the edge of the inside tube instead of dragging on the ledge that is present when the tuning slide is in a “traditional” configuration.  This is generally done to give the horn a more open feel (more free blowing).  In some cases this may also improve the response of the instrument as well.  Certain manufactures make one way or the other standard on their horns with no option to have it done the other way.  Schilke makes all of their instruments standard with a reverse lead pipe while Blackburn makes his in the traditional configuration.  Both makers have sound reasons for their designs.  I’ve played horns that I felt to be flawless instruments made either way. Ultimately, it is a matter of a performers personal preference.

 

Harmonic Alignment  This is a concept I developed that alleviates the distortion of harmonic distance I found that occurs between notes when a player switches mouthpieces on the same horn and no compensation is made other than with the main tuning slide.  For any one of a number of professional trumpets made there is probably ten-times as many mouthpieces that one could choose from to be played on that horn.  My thinking is that when you put any given mouthpiece on a trumpet there are several different things that occur.  First, you are changing the overall length of the horn, either by making it sharper or flatter from A-440.  When a player notices this difference they will proceed to make the necessary adjustments.  Here is where the error lies. When someone pulls out or pushes in their main tuning slide they are usually tuning to a "concert pitch", which is typically an open [fingering] note on the trumpet.  When the player is done "tuning" notice that NO adjustments have been made to any of the other slides on the horn.  Of course a player will use 1st and 3rd to trigger for certain notes like D, C#, A, E for the most part.  What about the rest of the fingered notes on the horn?  All of the other notes that pass through the other slides are not compensated for; a player may become accustom to lipping them or just simply ignore the difference if it is not severe enough.  What has happened is that as the main tuning slide was moved it caused all the "open" notes on the horn to be either crushed closer together, or pulled further apart from the "fingered" notes on the horn thereby distorting the harmonic distance between the notes.  Related problems a player may experience might include: poor slotting between certain notes, a bad "feel" or off color sound to some notes, etc.  This is so because the difference is too small to be attributed to an intonation problem, so these terms have been used to characterize these differences over time and have never been thought to be related to the problem I have described.  Ideally a trumpet should be able to be played on its "center" all the time and not have to be lipped or whatever to achieve the desired center or intonation.  If a player decides it's too far to lip or a player just desires more accuracy, 9 out 10 times the equipment is blamed and the player seeks out the "magic" horn or mouthpiece that will solve these problems.  Other than horns that are just poorly designed and/or built or horns that are just very mismatched to a player, most of the time a players’ present equipment would work fine if ONE detail was recognized.  Keep in mind that when a trumpet is designed it is not made while keeping your specific mouthpiece or possibly ANY mouthpiece in mind.  Other than finding trumpets and mouthpieces that are suited for a variety of playing situations and overall player comfort, one must consider making sure the mouthpiece is appropriate for the horn.  If the mouthpiece is not naturally suited to the horn by chance, this difference can be corrected in a variety of ways.  Some of these solutions may include: changing the backbore, changing the "gap" between the shank and the lead pipe, altering the throat of a mouthpiece, etc.  Like many however, you may like other aspects of your equipment enough to not want to change anything and I can definitely understand that, but I have an answer.  I have developed a method of altering the trumpet so it is can be COMPLETELY adjusted harmonically to any mouthpiece…this is what I call Harmonic Alignment.  The process involves cutting each of the valve slides slightly shorter and making a mechanism for each that allows it to be set in one place once tuned.  For the 1st valve slide I have designed a special trigger system that allows the slide to rest in the normal position (the spot where it used to be all the way in) and then not only be able to pull out for A and E but pushed IN for forth line D, which is notoriously flat on most Bb horns.   Once the alterations are made, the player will tune on “concert pitch” using the main tuning slide (or bell, if a tuning bell is available) and then proceed to tune 1st valve on first space F, 2nd valve on third line B natural, and 3rd valve on 1st line E using ONLY the 3rd valve to finger it.  Now any incorrect harmonic distance caused by moving the main slide has been corrected.  I have researched this theory and modified two prototype horns so far, that both prove the concept works.      

 

Amado Water Key  This is common feature that many manufactures offer on their instruments.  Instead of the traditional lever, cork and nipple, there is a machined barrel soldered on with a small stainless steel piston inside it.  The piston inside allows the inside surface of the tube to remain smooth and virtually seamless when in the closed position instead of a large drop-off where the nipple would extend out to the cork.  Obviously if a node where to hit on this spot of the horn the pitch and/or sound of the note would be seriously affected.  This is common for C and 2nd line G on most C trumpets in the main tuning slide water key.  You may have seen some people play with their main slide upside down on C trumpet in an effort to "quick-fix" this dilemma.  Having the Amado Water Key installed, would alleviate this problem