The Who
Well, Team Tetherax™ is a family owned company with plenty of musical instrument marketing and manufacturing experience. Mom was a professional seamstress for an American strap company many moons ago. The sons (now old guys) are still active musicians and business owners. One still plays an occasional casino gig here and there but works overtime at a management level for some of the most prominent fretted instrument brands in the world. The smart one has ventured over to the world of medicine but both recognize the value of music at so many levels and all have too many instruments.
The What
Instrumental Slingwear™ – That’s what! To offer musicians of all types the very best possible VALUE in a guitar strap is our perpetual, personal challenge. All of our products meet rigorous standards for form, fit, function, & fashion. All of our products are tried, true, and relevant.
The Where
Our two offices are located in some of the most beautiful, and musically rich parts of the western U.S. respectively with warehouses in both the Seattle and Denver metro areas. We currently have suppliers and production partners in different parts of Asia, Europe, and most recently, Australia.
The When
Early 2017 is when Tetherax officially came to fruition but it has really been a work in progress for decades if one really reflects.
The Why
The most important of the 5W1H for us is WHY. We saw a need. It is with the utmost conviction that we recognized that there are too many sub-par, novelty choices in the strap market yet it can be difficult to find a brand that is focused and has done their homework. We really felt that the elusive “mama bear” of straps was not easily accessible to players as the majority of choices were either poor generic quality or way over-priced, frilly strap shaped objects.
The How
We use state of the art tools and modern machines. We design and craft in house and abroad. We re-use and recycle. We do not skimp on materials all the way down to our packaging and labels. We mix Passion, Creativity, Experience, Values, People, and Hard Work with the aforementioned and are proud of our results
Our Story
Along the way we attended a cousin’s wedding pre-Y2K. Imagine a fine spread of wonderful decor, beauty and celebration. Then there was the wedding band. They weren’t bad – played all the standards in cheap suits. Here’s where it gets good. The guitarist looked like he probably played the elks club the night before and was adorning an archtop F-hole guitar. From across the room it beamed – what was that strap? He had the same white leather strap with the simulated bleeding bullet holes as the one gathering dust back at our shop – hilarious! After sitting in for a couple songs we had to ask – what’s up with that strap? His reply was basically that he lost his strap the night before and this was the only one he could find at whatever store was open and en route to the wedding.
With almost 40 years of combined retail and wholesale music specific experience we’ve noticed some things. It is easy to find a $5 dollar strap. That is not us. Conversely we regularly see straps with a legacy brand on them commanding over $100 just to subsidize said brands and so dealers can keep their franchise. Ever have to use duct tape as a strap? We have. Ever have to cut a piece of rope for a strap? We have. Neither are fun. With the Tetherax line of products you can afford to have multiple straps for any instrument or situation. Murphy’s law is a constant in sales. If you have blue, they want red. Our research found that an overwhelming majority of strap sales are in black. Henry Ford read from the same playbook. You can’t be all things to all people but we are getting closer and trying harder.
