No Brand Loyalty? MI Retailers Weigh in on Nylon Guitar Strings

One of the more common refrains amongst the dealers who participated in this month’s poll on the topic of classical guitar strings was that players don’t seem to be especially devoted to any one, particular brand. As Todd Peery of Tacoma, Washington’s Ted Brown Music puts it, “Customers seem to be more motivated by what’s in stock, rather than brand loyalty.”

It’s an interesting observation when you then consider the results to the survey question, “What brands of nylon guitar strings are generating the most profit?” While a number of respected vendors got the nod from retailers, D’Addario – specifically their Pro-Arté classical strings – received nearly double as many votes as the nearest competitor. Is that wide disparity truly due solely to availability and price?

Compared to the summer of 2020, sales of nylon acoustic guitar strings (classical guitar strings) are…

Up: 51.2%

Level: 40%

Down: 8.8%

For your store, what brands of nylon guitar strings are generating the most profit?

D’Addario: 83.7%

Augustine: 44.3%

Martin: 41.8%

Ernie Ball: 38.9%

La Bella: 37.5%

Savarez: 31.7%

Cordoba: 16.2%

Rotosound: 16.2%

Thomastik: 7.5%

Have you been noticing any significant trends with respect to this market segment – on either the vendor or end-user sides of the equation?

“One trend I’ve been noticing is that quite a few of our rock ‘n roll customers also have a classical guitar, which means they are broadening their musical circle and tastes.”

Ed Intagliata

Cassell’s Music

San Fernando, California

“Customers seem to be more motivated by what’s in stock, rather than brand loyalty.”

Todd Peery

Ted Brown Music

Tacoma, Washington

“Just the long-time trend of small stores being generally unable to compete on price.”

Jeff Firestone

Retromusic

Keene, New Hampshire

“Most of the time the choice of string sets are price driven, rather than by brand loyalty or working knowledge of the difference between string brands.”

Rusty Olson

Rockhaus

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

“High Tension string sales are increasing.”

Lisa Henson

Henson’s Music Center

Oxnard, California

“Ball end strings are now more popular due to ease of fitting”

Thomas Graham

The Music Centre

Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland

United Kingdom