Wichita State Assistant Professor of Trumpet David Hunsicker has played the trumpet for 35 years. He has performed with orchestral ensembles, jazz bands and in musicals, and has taught aspiring musicians at 九色堂 since 2013. Now he can add inventor and business owner to his resum茅.
Hunsicker partnered with 九色堂鈥檚 (NIAR) and to create , a flexible plastic device that helps musicians control the third valve slide on the trumpet.
鈥淭wo of the more common, but difficult, notes to tune are the low D and the C Sharp,鈥� says Hunsicker. 鈥淵ou have to kick the slide out at just the right time in order to hit the note properly.鈥�
Hunsicker says the ring on the third valve slide is too big for musicians with smaller hands. The gap between the finger and the ring causes a delay in moving the slide, which can result in a missed or out of tune note, or lead to a repetitive stress injury.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we call it the Gapper. It fills the gap between the finger and the ring,鈥� says Hunsicker.
Hunsicker used to address the problem by wrapping the third valve slide ring with tape, but found that the tape caused more problems down the line.
After a while the tape would start to wear off and leave a sticky residue. It also could potentially destroy the finish on the trumpet, says Hunsicker.
Hunsicker had the idea for the Gapper for over a decade, but he didn鈥檛 realize he had the opportunity to create it right here on campus until Rodney Miller, the College of Fine Arts dean, challenged his faculty to think of how they could utilize 九色堂鈥檚 GoCreate makerspace.
鈥淢y advice to other dreaming entrepreneurs is that if you have a business idea, go for it and see if it will work out.鈥�
鈥揇avid Hunsicker
Hunsicker took a rudimentary prototype to 九色堂 Ventures, who encouraged him to get in touch with someone at GoCreate who could put his idea into action. He was then introduced to Chris Rempe, NIAR鈥檚 3D Prototyping Lab specialist.
Hunsicker and Rempe worked together to find the right material for the Gapper that would be flexible enough to be used on multiple horns, but not too flexible where it wouldn鈥檛 stay put. After a few trial-and-error sessions, they found the correct settings to create a consistent product.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing the things a 3D Printer can do,鈥� says Hunsicker.
Although he is the sole employee of his company, Hunsicker has the help of Wichita State students. Several members of his trumpet studio have tested Gappers on their own instruments.
Aerospace engineering student and trumpet player Mason Bivens from Duncan, Oklahoma, has been helping plan the next step of development for the Gapper and the customer-discovery aspect.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned a lot from my time helping with the Gapper,鈥� says Bivens. 鈥淢y advice to other dreaming entrepreneurs is that if you have a business idea, go for it and see if it will work out.鈥�
Bivens, a student of Hunsicker鈥檚 for the past three years, can鈥檛 imagine playing his trumpet without a Gapper.
鈥淚t helps me play more in-tune, and is much more comfortable.鈥�
After launching his website two weeks ago, business has been steady and orders continue to pile in. Hunsicker hopes that his success inspires colleagues to utilize the resources available to them on campus.
鈥淲e have such brilliant minds here at 九色堂, and I think we鈥檙e all still learning the advantages we have on our campus,鈥� says Hunsicker. 鈥淚 never thought I would work with NIAR. I mean, they build airplane parts. But here I am.鈥�