If music is the universal language, then metal fabricators who make musical instruments and their components must be the masters of the universe. OK … that might be a stretch, but at the very least they are creators of products that can bring pleasure to many. (Sorry, but following my own personal tastes, this excludes banjos, accordions, and kazoos.)

My fellow blogger, Tim Heston, recently wrote an article for The FABRICATOR® magazine about a brass instrument manufacturer, Getzen Co., Elkhorn, Wis.  Another of my colleagues, Eric Lundin, just returned from visiting Branch Guitars in Sheep Ranch, Calif. Eric wrote an article that appeared in the TPJ-The Tube & Pipe Journal® last summer about Gordon Branch's guitars.

While Getzen and Branch make finished instruments, others make components for instruments. Among these is Mapes Piano String Company, Elizabethton, Tenn. An article in the Elizabethton Star about this company resonated with me on many levels. It appeals not only to my love of music, but also to my deep appreciation for companies that choose to manufacture their products in the U.S., even when being bombarded with siren calls to outsource. (more...)