While studying trumpet performance at St. Olaf College in Minnesota two decades ago, Jason Harrelson, owner of Harrelson Trumpets, became consumed with learning how the trumpet works and understanding the physics of playing one. In 1993, he began experimenting with trumpet mouthpieces, enlarging throats, backbores and adding mass, and before long, he started doing trumpet modifications on eBay in 2001. Over the last decade, he's been working in Minnesota, and he just opened a shop in Denver. We spoke with Harrelson about why he set up shop here and what makes his horns different from those of other makers.
See also: The ten best trumpeters of all time