Smooth Operators: Coated Guitar & Bass Strings

With only seven percent of participants in this month’s dealer survey on the topic of coated guitar and bass strings reporting sales trending downwards, things are looking pretty darn solid in this realm of MI. Another definitive takeaway? A lot of acoustic players love coated strings. Not only are nearly 60 percent ( 59.3%) of coated string sales acoustic in nature, but – as Dan Patterson of Fort Wayne, Alabama’s Patterson’s Music observes, “I think a lot of acoustic players try to get as much longevity out of a set of strings as they can, as compared to electric players who have a more scheduled string change regime.”

For your MI retail business, when compared to early 2021 sales of coated guitar and bass strings are currently…

Up: 44.8%

Level: 48.2%

Down: 7%

Of coated guitar string sales, are the majority acoustic or electric?

Acoustic: 59.3%

Electric: 2.1%

Fairly even split between the two: 38.6%

Please expand upon your answer to the previous question, if you’d like to share your thoughts on pricing – or any other – buying trends when it comes to coated strings.

“Customers for the most part don’t seem to want electric coated strings, it’s definitely an acoustic market here for them. We have stocked them in the past but they sat more than they sold.”

Ryan King

Duncan Music

Duncan, British Columbia

CANADA

“Coated are about 60 percent of all string sales.”

John Barton

Friendly River Music

Cornish, Maine

“Everyone seems to want the best bang for their buck – not only with strings, but anything in life nowadays! Coated strings give you less trips to the guitar store and less money to spend but you still maintain that new string crispness!”

Donny Saar

Robert M. Sides Family Music

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

“I think a lot of acoustic players try to get as much longevity out of a set of strings as they can, as compared to electric players who have a more scheduled string change regime.”

Dan Patterson

Patterson’s Music

Fort Payne, Alabama

“Guitar string sales have remained strong through the pandemic. Coated strings have more than held their own. Elixir still dominates this field, but D’Addario and Martin have made strong in-roads in this area.”

David St. John

Music & Arts

Glendora, California

“During the pandemic, other brands have stepped up their coated string game. Most notably in our store has been D’Addario and Ernie Ball, with D’Addario XS and XT series acoustic strings dominating the coated string sales here. On the electric side, the D’Addario NYXLs (which many people do not realize are a coated string) and the Ernie Ball Paradigms (also a coated string) are about neck-to-neck in sales. The coated string sales are now comprising about 20 percent of overall string sales in our shop.”

Clancy Ferrill

Clancy’s Music

Stockton, California

What brands of coated guitar and bass strings are the hottest sellers at your store?

D’Addario: 51.8%

Elixir: 47.3%

Ernie Ball: 22.4%

S.I.T.: 11.6%

Black Diamond: 10.8%

DR Strings: 10.8%

Rotosound: 7.3%

LaBella: 6.3%

Fender: 4.2%