The Dattaro Conversion

This modification was created for University of Delaware trumpet player, Laura Dattaro. She, like many female trumpet players, has much smaller hands than the horn was built for and as a result, has never had full functionality of the 1st and 3rd valve slides. As with most trumpet players we tend to adapt to the horns' imperfections and adjust accordingly not even realizing how certain mechanical aspects of the horn may sometimes be limiting our ability.

The whole thing was sort of awkward for me to hold... I didn't realize how uncomfortable it was for me to hold my horn until now, because it's so much more comfortable... now that its fixed its amazing!

The change is simple and can be done while you wait or by mailing the horn. However, it's ideal to stop by the shop in person so it can be fine-tuned to your specific hand size. For this conversion, the 3rd valve slide rings' foot is trimmed back and the ring is re-mounted on the edge of the slide seam. Then the 1st valve slide saddle/ ring is replaced with a much smaller ring, similar to that of the 3rd valve slide ring, and mounted at a steep angel to meet the natural placement of the thumb.

"... it really makes the use of the first valve slide so much more effective... I could never really use it before, but now I always pop it out, like for high A's".

You can see from the pictures how much of an improvement this makes in the comfort and mechanics of the instrument. Contact us today to set up your appointment or for more information.