Paul Thieman was a Wisconsin dairy farmer facing hard times. Struggling to support his family, he joined a band to earn extra income. As his passion for music grew, he envisioned a guitar hanger that would keep his six-string ready to play when inspiration struck, without having to pull it from a case. Unable to find one, he built one himself. Using spare parts from his farm shop, Paul designed the hanger with a pivoting cradle that could accommodate all guitars, even those with asymmetrical headstocks. That simple hook became the first in-home guitar hanger.

It didn’t take long for people to take notice, and Paul realized his creation’s potential. In 1987, he founded String Swing and, with the help of his family and a machinist friend, began manufacturing parts and assembling hangers in his home. Musicians raved about the hanger’s secure deep cradle design, and as the business outgrew his basement, Paul sold his farm and moved to Ontario, Wisconsin to build a machine shop and pursue his new dream.

Today, String Swing builds the strongest, safest, and most accessible instrument displays on the market – trusted to hold over 10 million guitars worldwide. Our catalog has expanded to instruments of all kinds, from strings to woodwinds and percussion. Still proudly family-owned and American-made in our Midwest facility, we continue to refine our designs, provide excellent customer service, and uphold the highest standards of quality. From our humble beginnings to today, our goal remains the same: to build convenient, dependable, and beautifully crafted instrument displays that encourage musicians to pursue their passion.