With the robust sales of fretted instruments that began during lockdown, it’s perhaps not especially surprising that guitar and bass straps are also moving at a healthy clip. “Strong sales of the past two years have continued into this year,” observes Richard Miller of Kudzu Music in Boone, North Carolina and his fellow MI dealers who participated in this month’s poll agree, with over 95 percent reporting numbers either level with or up from the spring of 2021.
Other tidbits of note? While the numbers are still far beneath those of leather or vinyl straps, vegan straps are finding their audience. Also many retailers are seeing customers willing to spend quite a bit more on this “accessory.” As Tim Bascom of Lebanon, Missouri’s Morgan Music notes, “The guy just spent $3,000 or $4,000 on a guitar… don’t you think he’d spend some money on a nice strap too? Bingo.” Of course there’s never complete agreement on these matters. Kris Kjeldgaard of Roper Music Company in Grand Junction, Colorado bemoans his clientele who choose, “cheap to go with the cheap guitar they just bought.”
Sales of guitar and bass straps, when compared to this time last year, are…
Up: 54%
Level: 41.4%
Down: 4.6%
What specific types are the hottest sellers for your business?
Nylon: 55.6%
Leather: 60%
Cotton: 4.4%
Neoprene/Memory Foam: 5.8%
Vegan: 8.1%
For your store, what brands are your hottest sellers?
Ernie Ball: 62%
Levy’s: 58.9%
D’Addario: 50.4%
Fender: 38.9%
Jodi Head: 34.5%
Franklin Straps: 34.5%
Henry Heller: 34.5%
Grover Allman: 28.3%
Dunlop: 28.3%
Perri’s: 28.3%
Taylor: 22.4%
LockIt: 22.4%
Stagg: 18.3%
Franklin Straps: 18.3%
What trends have you been noticing with respect to guitar and bass straps?
“There are lots of built in safety for straps to keep them from accidentally falling off the guitar these days. The ‘60s retro straps are really nice with lots of competition between the companies. Levy’s still makes a great quality strap across all styles. The manufacturers are wanting their share of the pie and requiring you to spend X amount of dollars on their brand promotion which includes straps.”
Will West
Will West Music and Sound
Jefferson City, Missouri
“Customers shopping for enduring value. Straps north of $100 are doing well.”
John Barton
Friendly River Music
Cornish, Maine
“Strap sales are usually parallel with instrument sales, at least for in store sales. Sell more instruments – sell more straps. We also install free strap buttons, which can sometimes seal the deal. Having a diverse selection is key, as well as understanding your customer base.”
Ted Parrish
Parrish Music
Viroqua, Wisconsin
“I have learned the hard way the cost of not listening to a good strap sales rep. I now use Henry Heller Primarily and find that they are way more hip on what is happening where than I am.”
J Ed Magruder
Musician’s Warehouse
Athens, Georgia
“More customers are buying better straps. The cheapest straps used to be the best sellers. Not anymore.”
Bill Cunningham
SoundCheck Music
Decatur, Illinois
“People want super cool designs but they don’t want to spend more than $10 bucks for it.”
Kris Kjeldgaard
Roper Music Company
Grand Junction, Colorado
“You can ‘sell’ a nice strap to a customer just like a guitar, amp, et cetera. We sell many straps that are priced well over $100 simply by explaining the niceties of that particular strap, and showing them the difference between an imported ‘leather’ strap and a nicely-made full grain or top grain leather strap. They can immediately see and feel the difference and have no qualms about spending the money once they’ve been educated a bit. Remember, as sales people, the things we take for granted every day, the customer may have no idea about.”
Tim Bascom
Morgan Music
Lebanon, Missouri
“Our customer base is purchasing higher end straps because of the quality as well as a fashion statement!”
John Rosborough
Sound of Music
Kokomo, Indiana
“More expensive, fancy straps are all the rage now. A great guitar deserves a great strap.”
Larry Gosch
Encore Music Center
Auburn, California
“No trends, just same as it ever was. Basic black outsells most when it is basic needs. Then It is all about price until they see something very special, then it is an emotional decision, which can be 3 times what they were going to originally spend. You need to carry lots of inventory to accommodate that decision however.”
Rusty Olson
Rockhaus
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
