FACTORY MUSIC OUTLET (FMO)

Factory Music Outlet was founded in 1981 by Carol Lund. Lund had worked in California with the late Harry Wake. The business began as a hobby, and became a full time business as the need for quality repairs required more of her time. The repair business expanded to include violins, cellos, and all forms of stringed instruments.
As the repair business expanded, Lund realized the need for high quality, one-of-a-kind instruments. Each individual player seemed to have an idea of what their instrument should be. This evolved into a custom building segment of the business. FMO took pride in providing cutting edge innovations for customers. FMO employed the use of graphite and graphite composites for structural integrity as well as tonal quality. They featured graphite-reinforced wood necks, bridge plates, cello and violin boards as well as all-graphite necks. FMO used the 2-TEK bridge in many of their custom guitars and basses. The Sabine tuner was also an innovation that FMO used frequently, in both the on-board and removable format.
Factory Music Outlet's mission plan was simple: develop and build instruments that are one-of-a-kind. These instruments must be functional and durable as well as aesthetically pleasing.
The model name Black Widow is derived from the use of graphite components and American Black Walnut wood. The graphite is black, as is the Walnut when refinished using their See-Through Black finish. While FMO's original guitars and basses were made exclusively of these materials, they built guitar models using a variety of woods and combinations of wood types.
Factory Music Outlet's other custom built guitar model was the Tribute to Jerry Guitar (last MSR was $3,000). This model was composed of exotic woods, brass, abalone, and graphite components. It was available as a custom order only, and had many unique features. Price included a deluxe Bullhyde case.