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Musical instruments

Guitars, keyboards, and band instruments; China- and Indonesia-made, with Mexican and premium U.S. makers.

Why it matters · Instrument prices track tariffs and tonewood/electronics costs.

5

Inputs

14

Companies

0

Facilities

10

Source countries

How it's made

The process

  1. 01

    Tonewood & Material Sourcing

    Tonewoods (spruce/maple/mahogany bodies, rosewood/ebony fretboards), brass/nickel-silver (band instruments), and electronics (pickups, keys) are sourced — tonewoods constrained by CITES and the Lacey Act.

  2. 02

    Body & Component Fabrication

    Wood is cut, bent and carved into bodies/necks; brass is drawn and formed into bells/tubing; keyboard mechanisms and pickups are wound.

  3. 03

    Assembly & Wiring

    Necks, bodies, fretboards, frets and (electric) pickups/electronics are assembled and wired; valves/keys are fitted on wind instruments.

  4. 04

    Finishing

    Instruments are sanded, lacquered/plated, and hardware (tuners, bridges) installed — labor-intensive, concentrated in China/Indonesia for entry/mid market.

  5. 05

    Setup, QC & Packaging

    Intonation, action and tuning are set up; instruments are inspected and cased for shipment.

Where it comes from

Country dependencies

Weighted share of upstream inputs sourced from each country.

CountryWeighted shareInputs supplied to musical instruments
ATAustria36%Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)
CNChina32%Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)
USUnited States30%Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)
CACanada18%Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)
IDIndonesia15%Instrument Pickups & Electronics
MXMexico14%Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)
INIndia12%Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)
DEGermany10%Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon) +1
JPJapan8%Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics
CMCameroonno map7%Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)

Shipped finished

Top finished-goods sources

Countries that ship finished musical instruments directly to the U.S. — distinct from the upstream raw inputs above.

CountryU.S. importsShare of U.S. imports
CNChina$271M28%
IDIndonesia$220M23%
MXMexico$106M11%
JPJapan$95M10%
MYMalaysia$52M5%
TWTaiwan$36M4%
DEGermany (Federal Republic of Germany)$28M3%
KRSouth Korea (Republic of Korea)$21M2%
SESweden$20M2%
CACanada$19M2%

Who makes it

Supplier companies

14 companies in this supply chain, sorted by market share.

World's largest musical-instrument-accessories maker; dominant guitar/orchestral strings, vertically integrated down to drawing its own music wire.

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)

Business segments

  • Fretted Strings
  • Orchestral / Bowed Strings
  • Woodwinds (Rico / D’Addario Woodwinds)
  • Percussion

World's largest musical-instrument maker; vertically integrated brass/wind instrument production.

Supplies these inputs

Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments)

Business segments

  • Musical Instruments
  • Audio Equipment
  • Semiconductors / Electronic Devices
  • Other (components, resorts, robotics)

Heritage acoustic-guitar maker; major tonewood (spruce/rosewood/mahogany) consumer.

Supplies these inputs

Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)

Replaceability

Substitutability 30% · 9 mo to replace

Business segments

  • Acoustic guitars
  • Alternative / sustainable wood models
  • Affordable / laminate models
  • Strings & accessories

Maker of aftermarket guitar pickups (popularized the replacement-humbucker market).

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Pickups & Electronics

Replaceability

Substitutability 50% · 4 mo to replace

Business segments

  • Replacement pickups
  • Bass pickups
  • Accessories

Guitar maker; maple/rosewood/alder/ash tonewood user.

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)

Replaceability

Substitutability 45% · 6 mo to replace

Business segments

  • Electric guitars & basses
  • Amplifiers & audio
  • Acoustic guitars
  • Digital & learning

Maker of piezo/acoustic pickups, preamps and instrument electronics.

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Pickups & Electronics

Replaceability

Substitutability 40% · 4 mo to replace

Business segments

  • Acoustic pickups & preamps
  • Acoustic amplification
  • Electric pickups
  • Instrument electronics

Drawn brass / nickel-silver tubing supplier, including instrument-grade tube.

Supplies these inputs

Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments)

Business segments

  • Drawn Brass & Copper Tube
  • Distribution / Service Center

Maker of nitrocellulose and specialty wood/instrument lacquers (RPM International).

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU)

Business segments

  • Wood & Instrument Finishes
  • Touch-Up & Repair

Leading maker of replacement guitar/bass pickups (magnetic and active).

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Pickups & Electronics

Replaceability

Substitutability 45% · 4 mo to replace

Business segments

  • Electric guitar pickups
  • Bass pickups
  • Pedals & electronics
  • Pickup components

Guitar maker; co-owns the Crelicam ebony mill in Cameroon to source ebony responsibly.

Supplies these inputs

Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple)

Replaceability

Substitutability 30% · 9 mo to replace

Business segments

  • Acoustic guitars
  • Electric guitars
  • Tonewood sourcing & milling
  • Sustainability & forestry

World's largest paint and coatings company ($23.1B revenue 2024; ~60,000 employees worldwide). Became the undisputed #1 global supplier of food can interior coatings after acquiring Valspar Corporation in 2017 ($11.3B). The valPure product line — developed over seven years using TMBPF (tetramethyl bisphenol F) instead of BPA — now coats over 20 billion cans globally. Sherwin-Williams holds 400+ packaging coatings patents, including 49 specific to non-BPA chemistry. Serves packaging, automotive OEM, automotive refinish, protective/marine, industrial wood, and architectural coatings markets from the same corporate structure.

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU)

Business segments

  • Americas Group (Retail Paint Stores)42% rev
  • Consumer Brands Group18% rev
  • Performance Coatings Group40% rev

Austrian maker of orchestral strings; first to make steel violin strings.

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)

Business segments

  • Orchestral / Bowed Strings
  • Fretted & Other Strings

Maker of Gore-Tex/PTFE products; its Elixir brand pioneered polymer-coated guitar strings (1997), spun from research into coated push-pull cables.

Supplies these inputs

Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)

Business segments

  • Fabrics45% rev
  • Medical Products28% rev
  • Industrial (Filtration, Sealing)18% rev
  • Electronic/Electrical9% rev

World's largest copper and copper-alloy semi-fabricator; brass and nickel-silver sheet/tube.

Supplies these inputs

Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments)

Business segments

  • Rolled Products (Strip & Sheet)
  • Tubes
  • Rod, Wire & Extruded
  • Recycling & E-Mobility