|
On
Friday, March 2nd, Gary and Lane headed over to Anderson,
IN, to visit the LM Products main facility. Just a few
hours from Danville, the ride is scenic and restful, a
good thing with all the activity lately. The purpose of
the visit was to give the guys a chance to see the factory,
and to talk to owner L.J. Mechem and his staff about two
new custom straps for Gary.
What
Lane and Gary didn't know was that master craftswoman
Karen would actually make the straps while the boys waited!
The first step was to pick out the leathers to be used.
For Pinky the Strat, Gary chose black Ostrich for the
top with a glove leather bottom. For Junior, the Les Paul
Jr., he chose black glove leather for both top and bottom.
For a subtle touch of elegance, Karen suggested using
a piece of butterscotch suede sandwiched between the black
layers, and matching double stitching. The result is as
elegant as it is subtle.
In
less than an hour, Karen had completed both straps, down
to customizing the lengths and adding extra adjustment
holes. "She was great," Said Gary. "In
fact, they all were. And the straps are perfect
- the perfect length, impeccably sewn, and totally
comfortable. Without a doubt, they're the best straps
I've ever used."
Lane
readily agreed. "Man, I've used some top-line straps
over the years. None of them equaled the quality that
Karen and Pat put out. On top of that, they take requests,
you know? I always have trouble getting a strap to be
short enough without winding a lot of extra leather on
the tail into a big ball that digs into my side. Today,
in about twenty minutes, Pat made me a special tail. Problem
solved: customer happy; strap looks great!"
The
cherry on top of the sundae, so to speak, was when L.J.
happened to mention that his 10-piece Funk/Soul band would
be headlining a benefit for Make a Wish Foundation that
LM Products is sponsoring. All three members of Deeper
Blues are committed to giving back to the community, especially
to children, so they quickly agreed to perform at the
benefit if the band is available. The dates aren't set
in stone yet, so we can't say more. But we'll let you
know as soon as we hear anything>
Excellent
quality. Unsurpassed beauty. Supreme comfort. Outstanding
durability. Exceptional service. That's an entire handful
of reasons that Lane and Gary are proud to endorse LM
Products straps. They both would like to thank L.J., Karen
and Pat for making them feel so at home, and for stopping
everything to complete Gary's straps while they waited.
"Next time, we're taking you all out to lunch,"
Lane promised.
"Yeah?"
quipped Gary. "Can we go to Burger King this time?
McD's is getting old..."
Gary and L.J. Mechem at the "scraps" rack. These
pieces will be used for "one off" customs.
You can see by the size of the pile of "tails"
to the right that LM makes a LOT of straps each day.
Lane checks out some high-end samples. "I'll take
this one and this one and this one..."
Checking fit and comfort. "The craftsmanship is
excellent," Lane said. "Much better than other
"high end" companies offer. Let's not even
mention service."
Gary talks about styles and colors for two new straps
for his guitars.
Meanwhile, Pat puts the final stitches on an extra-short
tail for one of Lane's straps.
Gary watches as Pay puts edge dressing on the sides
of the tail. Every step is done by hand on all
higher end straps. "Watching them work," Gary
said, "you can tell they love what they do. And
they're very good at it. Definitely craftspeople,
not clock-punchers."
Here's the die used to cut the Bass Clef into one well-known
design. (Yeah, Lane's got one.)
Karen, L.J. and Gary check measurement to ensure accuracy.
"Measure twice, cut once."
Karen cuts the strap button holes on one of Gary's new
straps. Look close and you can see the
butterscotch stitching and internal "sandwich"
layer of the strap. "It's perfect," Gary said.
"It's
exactly the same color as Junior." [Junior is Gary's
Les Paul Jr. guitar.]
Gary sports his two new straps between Karen and Pat.
"Man, that was incredible," Gary said.
"We thought we were just going to check measurements
and pick colors. I had no idea I'd get
to watch them make the straps for me. LM rocks!
|
