THE GRITZ GUITAR REVIEW

With Red Tail Wolf of Macon, Georgia

The Gritz Guitar (Strap) Review: Action Custom Straps

By Michael Nystrom

Aka: Red Tail Wolf

October 2002

Hey out there, how ya'll doin?

Man, Ole RedTail Wolf is excited folks! Swear I am! Can't ya tell?

Ya'll know I review guitars around here right? If ya don't, then shame on ya! Read my guitar reviews, send me e -mail about them so we can do things better!

Lord knows I love guitars, and I have a good sized collection of them. Every guitar needs a strap right? Over the years I have come to become somewhat of a collector of straps too. I think at last count, I had 2 straps for every guitar I own, and that's a bunch of straps folks, I have very cheap straps that are just nylon webbing that cut into your shoulder and can be painful. On the other extreme, I own expensive hand tooled leather straps with sliding lamb's wool pads, which are pretty. but not comfortable. They even have big ole silver buckles on em that scratch your guitar every time you put it down! Even though they look

pretty, you still have to break one in, which can take months! I have several personalized straps that are tooled leather with Ole RedTail's name right there on em for the entire world to see! Problem with those is the same stiff and uncomfortable tough leather. I have straps with designs that are supposed to look Native American but don't. I have a strap with a lighting bolt on it. I have a peace sign strap from the seventies. I have straps that people have given me like ties as gifts through the years. I got one that looks like a Ford belt buckle! The problem is that when you take the guitar off and place it on a stand,

that big ole buckle goes to swinging. Guess where it lands? Right on what used to be the unmarred top of my Les Paul!

I have searched and searched the world for a good looking strap that was comfortable folks; do you feel what I'm saying? On top of the entire strap problem, I have a really bad back, so in the strap department you can see I have had a great and sometimes very painful dilemma! I say all this to give you an idea of how long, and in vain, I have searched for a beautiful, comfortable, well made AMERICAN guitar strap.

Well the Lord works in mysterious and strange ways at times. The other day the phone rang at the Wolf's den, and it was a fella named Terry Misner who happens to be in the hand made strap making business. He makes guitar straps and camera straps. The place is called Action Custom Straps, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I had written him a month or so ago, asking if he could do some Native American looking straps and he was callin to say, yes he thought he could. Well we got to talking. they way I get to talkin and one thing leads to another and the next thing ya know I'm sendin him a picture of my Baker B-I guitar to have a custom colored python strap made for it! He calls me back several more times and asks about length and size of the strap...well we won't go there, let's just say RedTail Wolf eats well, OK? The point is Terry is very interested in customer satisfaction.

We can all appreciate that quality these days..Amen?

Well to wind this thing on up Brothers and Sisters, here is a picture of the magnificent strap he and his daughter Nikki made for me. It brought tears to my eyes it is so beautiful. I strapped her on and guess what? It was already all broken in! They use soft, supple, calf leather. I believe Terry told me about 9 pieces of that soft leather was underneath that beautiful hand painted python skin, which he matched to the sunburst on my guitar! It is a beautiful thing to behold! I have had nothing but wild praise since I got it last week!

Next up was the stress test for the strap and my back! I played it standing up for over 2 hours. I switched it from one heavy guitar to a heavier one, and they were all comfortable, the weight was dispersed evenly, and I am a happy man! I believe Brothers and Sisters I have found the Holy Grail of guitar straps! The best there is the one, the end all. The search is over!

Action Custom Straps has agreed to supply a remarkable rattlesnake strap ($175.00 price on the site) to be given away by GRITZ to one of ya'll lucky devils! Come on rise up with praise for these good people! (To enter the contest, just drop us an email and tell us why you want to win the strap!) editor@gritz.net Look for a picture of the strap on the front page of GRITZ.NET

Check em out on their website at, www.actioncustomstraps.com or you can call them at 1- 800-354-4939. Go to the site and witness all the wonderful and exotic straps they make. You WILL say WOW! Their motto is "As Custom as Custom Gets" They aint lyin folks! These straps are remarkable works of art and so comfortable at the same time. They HAVE made a better mousetrap as the sayin goes.

Terry and Nikki Misner are out to make the best guitar straps on the planet. Brothers and Sisters I'm gonna tell it like it is, you know me..These straps ARE the best straps on the planet! I have never lied to ya folks. not in a review, a story, or a column. When I say these straps are the best, you can take it to the bank! Check out their fabulous stock items they have on hand on the web site or send in a picture of your guitar and they'll make you up a custom job. They want to be a strap company that makes a strap that is beautiful, comfortable, and matches your guitars finish! They are off to a good start on the rest of the strap market already in those areas. They also have a very famous customer, ME! NO, Jimmy Buffett! Calling all Parrott Heads, get the strap Jimmy wears every night or win one right here at GRITZ. I think Michael Buffalo Smith is about to be a convert also, so look for the boss man to be wearing an Action Custom Guitar strap real soon!

Till next time remember,"Have fun pluckin that plank we love".

God Bless ya'll,

Michael "RedTail Wolf" Nystrom