I am proud to have

Brookwood Custom Guitar and Bass straps

 available at Fat Sound Guitars

When Stu Carter, owner of Fat Sound Guitars, first asked me about carrying Brookwood straps I was really flattered. But I politely declined. One reason I did was because I am only able to make a limited number due to the amount of time it takes to complete one. Secondly, I very much enjoy getting to know my customers through emails or phone calls during the ordering process. I don't just make straps, I end up making friends too, and that's a fun part of what I do, and I didn't want to miss out on any of that. But I soon discovered several of my Brookwood customers were also customers at Fat Sound. And not long after our first email correspondence, Stu ordered a strap for himself, and a week or two later, two more!

I started to get to know Stu through our phone conversations and realized what a unique guy he is.  So I started rethinking things and decided I would jump in my truck and take a 7 hour ride to Cary, N.C. to meet Stu. If anyone else was going to sell my straps, I wanted to know just who that person is and meet them face to face.

I arrived at Fat Sound on a rainy morning, but Mike Gallo's big smiley greeting brightened up the day as he welcomed me to the shop. The place is chock full of some of the finest guitars and amps on the planet. It was like a trip to the North Pole for a guitar player, my mouth hung open as I tried to take it all in.

A few minutes later Mike Ayers and Stu popped out of the office and for the next four hours I had a great time getting to know these three guys. They are all bent on delivering exceptional customer service and exceptional gear. I also discovered they're all really good guitar players.

If you are ever in the Raleigh - Durham area you're only a few minutes drive to Cary. Stop by and visit Fat Sound Guitars, or visit them on the web at Fatsoundguitars.com

Here are some kind words about Brookwood Leather taken from the Fatsound Guitars website:

Brookwood Leather Straps

Men like Bob Schell of Brookwood Leathers are a dying breed; a true American craftsman. Utilizing the highest quality English Bridle, Chap and Vegetable Tanned Leathers, traditional hand-tools and wielding an extreme passion and talent for what he does, Bob creates guitar straps that are truly heirloom quality. The attention to detail is remarkable, the feel in the hand impressive and the comfort and drape across the shoulder perfect.
A Brookwood is like something from another century. In an era where we have lowered our expectations dramatically regarding the quality of many of the products we buy and the concept of built-to-last-a-lifetime is essentially gone from our thought process, it's both impressive and rewarding to hold something of this quality in your hand; the kind of quality our great-grandparents expected from nearly everything they purchased.
Whether your tastes lean towards 50's style Pad and Strap with a simple buckle and leather keeper, Western Buckles and Conchos, Art Deco Buckle sets or a more understated, unadorned strap crafted from layered and perfectly stitched leather (Bridle on top for its depth and richness and buttery soft Chap underneath perhaps?) with beautifully finished edges and perfectly tapered ends, Brookwood offers it and does so with peerless quality.
Buy a Brookwood strap and you'll never need to buy another, but you probably will; they are definitely addictive. Many of Brookwood's customers come back time and time again seeking a custom strap to perfectly complement each new guitar they add to their collection. Fat Sound Guitars is the only shop from which you can purchase a ready made Brookwood for immediate shipment, but you can also contact Bob directly to inquire about a custom strap built to your specifications. So, if you don't see your ideal strap here, email Bob at Brookwood.
"As a consumer who appreciates a high degree of quality and a lack of 'disposability' in the items I use daily such as the vintage and custom straight razors with which I shave or my home's telephones which were manufactured in Chicago in the early 1940's, I was extremely excited to learn about Bob Schell. Brookwoods match my perception of how things should be made.
As a guitar shop owner I'm very pleased to be able to offer straps of this quality to my clientele. I can't recommend them highly enough.
'Thanks!' to my long-time customer and friend Jeff Boswell for steering me towards Bob Schell and Brookwood!"
-Stu Carter, owner, Fat Sound Guitars
"Each Brookwood Leather strap is handmade with pride in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I have no employees. I do not farm out or subcontract any of the work. Mine are the hands that select the hide, color and condition it, and cut, craft, and sew it into the finished product."
-Bob Schell, owner, Master Leather Artisan, Brookwood Leathers