Bandstand Straploks - Regional Thing?

[velorush]

Anyone (other than @murkat) remember the leather Straploks (I think that spelling is correct) from the late 70's (internet picture)? 

It is my recollection these were invented / marketed out of Cecil's Bandstand in Jackson, Tennessee.  There were in area music stores marketed on a 1.5' X 1' (or so) standup card with maybe 20 'loks per card). Cecil's Bandstand had them (card sat on the glass showcase full of pedals I didn't know what did), Elliot's Music in Milan had them and my fraternity brother's store in Martin had a card.  I bought a set from him with my first decent guitar, a Gretsch Beast.  

Other than @murkat mentioning them some years ago, I hadn't thought of them in decades.  

Here in Milan, Mr. Elliott passed away last year (in his mid-80's, he knew everyone and had a million stories - from Semie Moseley, to the Mandrell sisters' dad).  The business (down the block from where I work) sat for months while the family worked out what to do.  Then I started noticing changes inside - new inventory, general cleaning up, etc.  His son has decided to open it back up!  One day on my walk to the Post Office I saw something in the window that shocked me:

Forgive the glare, but this box was full of more Straploks than I have seen over the course of my entire life.  I asked Marty (the son - we graduated high school together in '82) where they came from.  He had no idea but told me there were more.  He is still digging through decades of "stuff" his dad had accumulated (the store opened in 1964).

This led me to this post:

1. Were these a regional thing, or was anyone outside Tennessee aware of / bought these Straploks?
2. Anyone want to buy any?  I'm sure Marty would make a deal. 🙂  I have no horse in the race, but I'd be glad to put anyone in touch.
3. Would there be interest in occasional updates on the reopening? I know he found a brand new late 90's Jazz Bass still in the box the other day.

  

[kizanski]

The only guy that I knew personally who used them was a friend of mine who played an SG back around 1980.
He liked the way he allowed the front of the strap to hang, vs. a pin and straplock button and plunger pressing into his abdomen.
He also only used it on the front end. On the butt of the guitar, he used the more conventional straplock with the plunger.

ETA: This was in Bronx, NY.

[RobB]

These were pretty common in Ca. BITD. Many music stores had those stand-up cards on their counters.
 

When I teched for Jetboy in the mid-aughts I outfitted all their guitars with those straploks. They worked great, but they have a design flaw. The screws tend to work themselves loose as the straps move. I half-assed a solution with a teflon washer on the guitar side. That worked ok, but eventually I went back to the stock strap buttons with Grolsch gaskets. 

[Hbom]

My '79 Sunburst came with a pair installed when I bought it in '12.

 

[kizanski]

1 hour ago, RobB said:

They worked great, but they have a design flaw. The screws tend to work themselves loose as the straps move.

Yes! I totally forgot about that.

[cmatthes]

There was a set of those on a ‘78 Les Paul Deluxe I bought back in the late ‘80s (for $200!!😳).

I took them off, but think they stayed in the case when I traded it away.  I’ve seen maybe a dozen or so other guitars which them on over the years.

[hamerhead]

I had 'em on my LP a hundred years ago. I solved the loosening screw dilemma with a giant wood screw.

[DaveH]

I had a pair on my guitar in the late 70's, that was in the mid-west.

[duncans]

I've got a pair in my parts bin, here in South Dakota.

[velorush]

Great to know they weren't just a local phenomenon.  With the patent holder being local I had no idea how widely they were distributed. 

I didn't keep the Beast long enough to encounter the screw loosening issue. I traded it within a year for that '57 Silvertone Danelectro I sold to GusS some years back.  No straplocks on that guitar as the Masonite body was practically weightless.

ETA: he also has a Korean Hamer that appears to be NOS (he just keeps finding stuff).  Double cut, carved top with Duncan Designed pickups.  Would this be one of the new Hamers or is this an older Hamer import? 

[Jeff R]

 I see them cross the Shack bench every now and then and in the pattern this thread is the same in my region. They are typically on mid to late 70s and turn of the 80s Gibson guitars.

[BruceM]

I had them on my 1980 Sunburst for awhile in the 80s.  I switched them out for Dunlops at some point.  I'll have to see if I can locate them, as I rarely get rid of anything. heh.

[cynic]

10 hours ago, velorush said:

I bought a set from him with my first decent guitar, a Gretsch Beast. 

Tipton's Music in Gulfport, MS.  Same card on the counter and same first guitar, a 1980 Gretsch BST 1500.

[veatch]

I had a pair on my SG back in the 70s. NW Indiana...

[crunchee]

I remember seeing a cardboard counter display for those in a music store in Paducah, KY a few years ago, and IIRC it also had an endorsement ad by Carl Perkins printed on that display card.

[Brooks]

Had some on my SG's back in the 80s down in Tx

[velorush]

9 hours ago, crunchee said:

I remember seeing a cardboard counter display for those in a music store in Paducah, KY a few years ago, and IIRC it also had an endorsement ad by Carl Perkins printed on that display card.

Was it Allen's Music, corner of 3rd and Kentucky?  Used to hang out there on lunch breaks when I was a young banker (early 90's).  My office was 4th and Kentucky.  The dentist whose office was 4th and Broadway was a monster guitarist and would hang out there too.  The Howard Roberts Fusion I have for sale on Reverb right now came from there ('shipped sideways' from an authorized Gibson dealer).

Carl Perkins was closely associated with Cecil's Bandstand.  There were a couple of his original guitars in a showcase on the front wall and assorted paraphernalia.  Never knew the whole story, whether he was an investor or just loaned the stuff to the store.  Carl was an absolute gem of a regular guy.  Used to love to fish at a local lake.  Never met a stranger.

[crunchee]

5 hours ago, velorush said:

Was it Allen's Music, corner of 3rd and Kentucky?  Used to hang out there on lunch breaks when I was a young banker (early 90's).  My office was 4th and Kentucky.  The dentist whose office was 4th and Broadway was a monster guitarist and would hang out there too.  The Howard Roberts Fusion I have for sale on Reverb right now came from there ('shipped sideways' from an authorized Gibson dealer).

Carl Perkins was closely associated with Cecil's Bandstand.  There were a couple of his original guitars in a showcase on the front wall and assorted paraphernalia.  Never knew the whole story, whether he was an investor or just loaned the stuff to the store.  Carl was an absolute gem of a regular guy.  Used to love to fish at a local lake.  Never met a stranger.

Yep, that's the store!  I haven't been up there in a few years, I'll have to take a road trip in that direction someday soon.

I think I remember a Guitar Player article about Carl, where it mentioned he'd be mowing his lawn and occasionally a fan would recognize him, and they'd have a visit.  Sounds like a cool guy!

[scottcald]

I saw them in stores in the 80s in Maryland. MusicLand in Bel Air and Bill’s in Catonsville. 
once I got Schallers, I didn’t understand why I’d want those.