Taking Root: Bluegrass Guitar Sales in 2016

Drawing upon country, Appalachian, Irish, Scottish, and jazz influences, Bluegrass music represents a “big tent,” as they say. As deeply steeped in improvisation as jazz, but with a more “down home” and relatable aesthetic, the form of music has seen a resurgence in interest and has carved out a notable home in today’s pop culture.

While the banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and upright bass are some of the more uniquely identifiable instruments associated with Bluegrass, as with many (most, really) forms of American roots music, the common bedrock of the format is the guitar.

MMR recently sat down with representatives from five major suppliers of 6-strings geared towards the Bluegrass market to learn what’s driving sales in 2016, who’s buying, and what trends are making waves.

Is there any one factor – an artist, a particular song, a soundtrack, et cetera – that you’d point to as driving the current interest in bluegrass much and bluegrass guitars, in particular?

Andy Powers: I can’t point to a single source, since what appears to be driving the movement is a genuine appreciation and interest in an iconic form of American music. There are young players like Trey Hensley who are at the top of their game, putting out great performances using traditional bluegrass as a platform. As well, we are hearing from players like Sean Watkins or Chris Eldridge in the Punch Brothers putting out brilliant music that take the traditional bluegrass instrumentation and stylistic cues to tell new narratives within a wide musical umbrella. In the same way the jazz idiom is a living and breathing musical evolution, the bluegrass tradition has a gravitational pull on players and listeners, alike, who are bringing fresh influences with them.

David Bandrowski: While not technically Bluegrass, folk rock bands such as Mumford &Sons and the Avett Brothers are bringing acoustic music to a new generation. Steve Martin’s dedication to the banjo and his touring with the Steep Canyon Rangers has done a huge amount for bluegrass music that brings this style of music to a much wider audience. Bluegrass bands and musicians such as the Punch Brothers, Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton, and the Infamous Stringdusters have also done a huge amount by bringing bluegrass and bluegrass guitar to another level.

Chris Thomas: We believe the folk-rock revival sparked by Mumford and Sons, the Avett Brothers, and the general return of banjo to mainstream music a few years back has been a contributing factor to a heightened interest in Bluegrass from outside the Bluegrass genre. The trend has continued with the merger of bluegrass instruments into Americana and pop and the formation of bands that tie it all together.

Tom Watters: The origin of the resurgence of bluegrass popularity really goes back to the ‘90s, with groups like Alison Krauss and Union Station. But the big impact moment was the release of the Coen Brothers film. “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” in 2000, which kicked off a new “cool factor” to bluegrass. Artists who were already established and talented newcomers alike gained a huge amount of worldwide recognition as a result. It also established bluegrass as a style that was equally viable for younger artists as the older, more traditional players. It has since maintained both a traditional and a “hipster” appeal. There are a number of players on the Takamine roster who are hugely respected in the bluegrass realm, such as multi-Grammy winner John Jorgensen and flat picker extraordinaire Brad Davis.

Jonathan Lee: We can’t point to any one specific factor, but many things have been building for years now. While not strictly Bluegrass, current popular Americana acts like Jason Isbell, The Avett Brothers, and The Lumineers, along with the elder statesmen of the genre like Steve Earl, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, and Wilco utilize elements of bluegrass and acoustic music. “Nonstandard” instruments like mandolin, banjo and resonator as well as the old standby dreadnought are frequently heard in their music. Also, the continuing popularity of Cross-Genre fests like Bonnaroo and Cochella, Bluegrass fests like Telluride and MerleFest, and the Jam Band scene have kept the visibility of instruments associated with bluegrass in the spotlight. Frequent parking lot or campsite jams put the instruments up close for people to hear their natural tone. Some bluegrass stars like Alison Krauss, Chris Thile, and Sam Bush have also crossed over into various other styles of music bringing hints of bluegrass with them or inspiring musicians to check out their Bluegrass works.

In your experience, who do you feel is (generally speaking) the “typical” bluegrass guitar player and customer?

DB: The typical bluegrass guitar player is an older than 25 year-old male with a pretty basic level of guitar technique. The majority of “bluegrass guitar players” are strumming open I, IV, and V chords and not taking single note breaks.

TW: Historically, bluegrass had an appeal toward an older crowd of musicians who grew up listening to (and identified with) the original masters of the craft – players like Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt. However, over the past 15-20 years or so, the bluegrass customer base from an age perspective has grown younger. Bluegrass has been traditionally tilted toward male players with a few notable exceptions, but again, the more recent examples of great female players (including Alison Krauss and many others) have made women in the genre more prevalent than before. The skill level of bluegrass players is one thing that hasn’t changed; much like jazz, it tends to draw exceptional musicians who are capable of the demanding techniques required by the style.

JL: If we are talking in generalities, I would say the typical bluegrass guitar player and customer is male, and striving to achieve a relatively high level of playing skill. Playing bluegrass is not easy with it’s complex picking patterns, syncopation, and fingering techniques. As such, it takes a while to master and I have seen players of all ages enjoying this style of music.

CT: Historically, our core customer has been the seasoned bluegrasser with decades of experience flatpicking on a Dreadnought. However, we have seen the obvious presence of youth (8-18) in the Bluegrass community at such gatherings as IBMA and SPBGMA. We contribute this to the generational passing of the traditional torch, as well as the blending of genres.

AP: Often, the recreational bluegrass guitarist has been a middle-aged male with a moderate amount of experience. I feel this stereotype is being disassembled as new players take up the torch of this music and bring a wider variety of influences into the mix.

With respect to bluegrass guitars, have you been noticing trends of late, in terms of materials used, size, features, specs?

JL: The guitar optimized for bluegrass as a very specific voice and prize specimens are very, very loud. When we hear that a guitar described as a “canon,” in most cases we are talking about a guitar that would find a home in a bluegrass player’s hands. In this respect, the design and materials are rather traditional with the Dreadnought being the dominant shape, and spruce/mahogany being the dominant soundboard and backside wood pairing. When it is available in good quality, Adirondack spruce is the primary soundboard and brace material choice. It’s not particularly forgiving or even pleasant fingerpicked, but really comes alive when played with a pick hard. Insofar as trends are concerned, I’d anticipate seeing the use of soundboards that have undergone the Torrefaction drying process where the result is a light, stable, aged top that more easily achieves that dry, fundamental, loud voice so sought after by serious bluegrass players.

TW: Bluegrass is, by nature, a traditional musical style, and the basics of the instruments being employed haven’t seen many drastic changes over the genre’s history. Takamine first gained its reputation in the U.S. as a maker of great-sounding and reliable acoustic-electric guitars, and since so much of bluegrass music is based on the live performance environment, you’ll see many Takamine models being used at bluegrass venues and festivals across the country and around the world, or in any setting where guitars require amplification. One highly regarded recent advancement was the introduction in 2015 of the Takamine TT Series. TT stands for “Thermal Top”, and uses a technology where the solid spruce guitar tops are baked in an oxygen- free environment which allows the instrument to have a “played-in” vintage sound from the day it comes out of the box.

CT: Almost always a rosewood or mahogany dreadnought with a Sitka or Adirondack soundboard. There has been a trend toward slimmer faster neck tapers replacing the thicker, wider “V” shape necks popular since the onset of Bluegrass.

AP: While there is and should always be a taste for the classic components – mahogany- and rosewood- backed dreadnought guitars with spruce tops, we at Taylor are watching bluegrass players adopt instruments which simply best fit their approaches to playing. I feel it is a natural extension of the variety players are bringing to the genre. Players are simply and honestly choosing instruments that work for the sounds they want to make.

DB: The biggest change I’ve seen is that more and more bluegrass guitar players are playing smaller guitars and moving away from dreadnoughts which would be standard for a bluegrass guitarist.

For your own brand, what’s the best selling bluegrass model?

DB: We make 6-string banjos that are tuned and played just like a guitar. Our most popular model has always been the Boston 6 banjo which is played by artists such as Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, John Fogerty, and more. We just launched our new Deering Goodtime Six banjo, which is a steel stringed 6-string banjo that is made in America and starts at less than $650. We expect this banjo to quickly become the most popular 6-string banjo out there.

AP: Our dreadnought body guitars, such as the mahogany 510 and rosewood 710 and 810 models, are perennial favorites, although a growing number of players are adopting curvier, smaller body sizes to emphasize a vibrant pick attack, which works well in a band context.

CT: Generally the Martin HD-28 tops sales. For the Bluegrass enthusiast, our Authentic Series is the choice.

JL: Our Heritage Series HD10S is probably the best selling model for bluegrass. These solid Sitka spruce top guitars feature scalloped and cathedral shaped advanced-X Sitka spruce bracing and a mahogany body. They also have a Washburn pickguard so they can take a little extra beating that the pick provides. The Heritage D10S’s exceptional affordability also allows the aspiring bluegrass guitarist to ease into the music as they dream of a hand made instrument.

TW: On an overall basis, Takamine is perhaps best known as a manufacturer of dreadnoughts, and it’s well known that the loud and full sound of the dreadnought body is a hallmark of bluegrass sounds. In our current lineup, guitars like the EF360S TT and EF340S TT are great choices for any bluegrass player who wants to take his or her great tone to the stage. Takamine has always offered great value in the “price versus performance” factor, so any number of our guitars get used in bluegrass at all levels.

What are your expectations for the bluegrass guitar market in the coming months?

AP: I imagine the market will continue to evolve and grow as more players find a musical home in a time-honored tradition. At the same time, I believe we’ll see a less homogenous bluegrass landscape as more fresh players bring their uniqueness into the bluegrass world.

TW: Takamine has always embraced the bluegrass genre and the community behind it. Over our 50+ year history, our guitars have been put into use in every conceivable genre, and we expect that bluegrass players will continue to need a range of high-quality, great-sounding, and reliable solutions for songwriting, recording, and live performance. Ask any serious acoustic bluegrass player in Nashville, and they’ll tell you that Takamine is more than capable of allowing them to deliver their best performances.

DB: I expect the bluegrass guitar and 6-string banjo market to continue to grow in the coming months as more and more young bands are using these instruments in new ways and as the quality of these instruments continues to improve.

CT: Steady with an increased interest in adding our Dreadnought Junior to the arsenal for travel, camping, and younger players.