What's on the horizon at Harrelson?

I just finished giving another shop tour. This was probably my 7th tour this month as we've had a lot of visitors this Summer. And on the tours, we discuss the future of Harrelson Trumpets along with our thirty-one year history. Tracing three decades of Harrelson research and innovation is a lot of fun. And we have numerous artifacts to show along the way, from the very first trumpet I ever built to instrument designs in progress that will be released in 2024.

Shop tours are a constant reminder for Jen, Christine, and I to process where we've been, where we are today, and where we're headed. There's a robot arm waiting to be installed on the VMC along with a pneumatic vise to automate the production of bracing, tuning slides, and bell crooks. And there's a table covered with laser sintered metal parts showcasing the possibilities of modern 3D printing technology. Some of these parts fit our trumpets and are made in a wide array of materials including; aluminum, titanium, inconel, stainless steel, and nylon. All of these example parts are lighter, stronger, and better than their counterparts machined in brass. You will soon see entirely new generations of trumpets and mouthpieces made by combining laser sintering and CNC machining technologies.

Where does that put us today? While I'm not 100% certain of the future, I do plan to push forward utilizing the latest Aerospace lightweighting software, laser sintering, and CNC machining to essentially enter a new era of trumpet design. This means that our current offerings of laser welded and silver soldered tuning slides and bell crooks will no longer be in production. In fact, the last production run using these techniques was in January. And with these innovations, our third generation of VPS Summit trumpets will also come to an end on September 30th.

This is important for two reasons. One, the next generation of VPS Summit trumpets (G4) will debut this Autumn, at a higher price point. And two, our best selling trumpet design to date, the 3rd generation Summit will be retired ending the production run after 8 years. This means the Summit trumpets you see on our website are literally a few of only a handful of examples available this Summer.

And this brings me to some really interesting and fun announcements. First, the Summit Illusion series was just released, which is a limited series of four variations. Two of these were designed for Jazz combo, one for Lead, and the last for versatility. We sold the first of this set a few days ago, and based on feedback from visitors, we expect the remaining three to sell this month. You can see the Summit Illusion here along with several YouTube video reviews. And through this Friday, you will receive a SpectraTone Blue mouthpiece, ProTec case, and worldwide shipping at no charge when you purchase an Illusion series trumpet.

The next big announcement, I will be finishing several unique and rare builds in the Summit line featuring variations in bracing, engraving, inlays, and finishes. You may want to read every message I send through the end of the Summer just to see photos of these instruments.

There's one exception to everything mentioned above. Those of you on my build list for a Summit G3 series trumpet may take delivery of your instrument based on your original order agreement. And if you're considering a new Summit in the current edition, you still have six weeks to place your order and set up a payment plan for up to 24 months. Every current or new Summit order is placed in our order cabinet WITH the required parts pulled from inventory. We are out of some style tuning slides and bell crooks permanently, and I see we only have 3 sets of style R remaining. Once these are sold or reserved, they are gone forever.

I'm honored to have been chosen to build custom trumpets for well over two thousand individual trumpet performers, and look forward to exploring the future of brass playing with our Harrelson family. Jen, Christine, and I often discuss how our company is really the culmination of the shared vision and support of our entire clientele. Thank you all for this unbelievably rewarding opportunity.

Jason