Strumstick Founder Bob McNally

An instrument manufacturer’s take on the success of folk and acoustic instruments

.Bob McNally founded the Strumstick company in 1984, " promoting an instrument that he designed for easy mastery. The instrument features three strings tuned to either D-A-D or G-D-G and, like a ukulele, proved popular with beginners as well as experienced players looking for a simple, dependable voice for music making.

Do you feel like it’s been a good few years for folk instruments in general?

Absolutely. I think the salient phenomenon is the explosion in ukulele playing. Of course, that’s coming on top of 20-plus years of expansion of acoustic music already, going back even longer possibly. The ukulele brought attention to what I call an “informal” side of acoustic music. The Strumstick, along with the ukulele, is an instrument that is focused on bringing people into playing music, and I think both of those instruments’ sales are also generating future customers. Anybody who brings new people in is laying the groundwork for growth in the future.

How has that trend worked for Strumstick?

We’ve seen Strumstick orders hold pretty steady and even slightly increase through the arc of the recession.

What was your goal for the Strumstick originally? How did you think it would fit into this market?

I had taught guitar for a long time and knew firsthand the frustrations that all guitar players experience in their first five or six months. I thought it was a shame that so many people would quit. I’ve even heard Eric Clapton discuss in an interview how he quit guitar after just four or five months, waiting a year before trying again. I thought, “What chance do mortals have, then?”

Do you think the concept of accessibility to music making is the central part of the explosion folk and acoustic music?

I think it’s not a coincidence that some of the more immediately accessible instruments are found used in traditional and acoustic music, whether it’s a ukulele or Strumstick or dulcimer – things that are very easy to get results on. So I guess there must be a connection!