Todd Horton (born November 15, 1969) is an American trumpeter, composer, producer, recordist, and microphone stand designer. He is the founder of Base 4 Inc., where he designs and builds innovative modular microphone stand systems used by musicians, recording engineers, and studios around the world.
Raised in Ithaca, New York, Todd’s passion for music began almost as soon as he could walk. At four years old, after hearing his father—a former trumpet player in the U.S. Navy dance band—practice around the house, he insisted on learning the instrument himself. His musical world was further shaped by his mother, whose record collection introduced him to jazz legends such as Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. Those early influences sparked a lifelong fascination with music, creativity, and sound.
By middle school, the trumpet had become his primary focus. Throughout high school he immersed himself in every musical opportunity available, performing in concert band, jazz band, orchestra, marching band, choir, madrigals, and vocal jazz ensemble. At fifteen he formed his first jazz group, Last Exit, which won the New York State Jazz Combo Competition in 1985. During this period he also performed with the New York State All-Star Big Band and the All-Eastern Jazz Band, earning both the prestigious Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and the John Philip Sousa Award.
Todd continued his musical education on full scholarship at Berklee College of Music before attending Ithaca College and eventually enrolling in the Jazz Studies program at The New School in New York City. There he studied with accomplished musicians, developed lasting professional relationships, and laid the foundation for a diverse career as both a performer and composer.
Over the next fourteen years in New York City, Todd established himself as an in-demand trumpet and flugelhorn player, composer, and arranger. He performed with artists including Spin Doctors, Buddy Miles, Aaron Neville, Ani DiFranco, Richard Bona, and many others while maintaining an active schedule with his own jazz fusion band, D BOP. As a recording musician, he worked in some of New York’s most respected studios—including Electric Lady, Avatar, Sear Sound, and Looking Glass—contributing to projects across a wide range of musical styles.
His years at Looking Glass Studios, founded by renowned composer Philip Glass, sparked a growing fascination with recording technology and music production. While producing albums there, Todd absorbed everything he could from the studio’s engineers and producers. Inspired by what he learned, he built his first home recording studio in Long Island City during the early days of affordable digital recording, eventually producing records for numerous independent artists.
That passion led him to found Soulsearch Music, a boutique record label that released independent jazz and singer-songwriter recordings. Among its catalog were the now widely recognized early jazz demo recordings of Norah Jones, produced before her major-label breakthrough.
After relocating to the Philadelphia area in 2003, Todd continued performing, recording, composing, and producing. Following his marriage in 2007 and the birth of his two daughters, his priorities shifted toward family life. At the same time, a series of significant health challenges reduced his touring schedule and led him to spend more time in his project studio, where another creative pursuit began to take shape.
Frustrated by the limitations of conventional microphone stands while recording in his compact basement studio, Todd conceived the idea for a modular stand capable of supporting multiple microphone arms from a single base. His goal was simple: eliminate clutter, save space, improve stability, and solve the everyday problems that musicians and engineers had accepted for decades.
With no formal engineering background, Todd taught himself 3D CAD design, studied manufacturing processes, experimented with numerous materials, and eventually developed a system built around lightweight structural aluminum. Over the next decade, he designed, refined, and tested countless prototypes, determined to create microphone stands that were lighter, stronger, more stable, and more versatile than traditional tripod designs. Every component was developed with practical use in mind—from a patented four-leg base that resists tipping to heavy-duty 360-degree ball-joint connectors that securely hold even the largest vintage ribbon microphones.
By 2021, after years of refinement, Todd began building custom modular stands in his garage workshop for fellow engineers and musicians seeking efficient solutions for complex recording setups. Demand grew quickly through word of mouth, and those custom builds became the foundation of Base 4 Inc.
Today, Todd continues to design every Base 4 product himself. Drawing on decades of experience as a professional musician, recording engineer, and producer, he remains committed to building tools that solve real-world problems, simplify the recording process, and help artists focus on what matters most: making music.