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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
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.
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.
Assembly & Wiring
Necks, bodies, fretboards, frets and (electric) pickups/electronics are assembled and wired; valves/keys are fitted on wind instruments.
Finishing
Instruments are sanded, lacquered/plated, and hardware (tuners, bridges) installed — labor-intensive, concentrated in China/Indonesia for entry/mid market.
Setup, QC & Packaging
Intonation, action and tuning are set up; instruments are inspected and cased for shipment.
What it's made of
5 raw inputs feed musical instruments. Inputs flagged with ● are critical — without them, production halts.
agricultural
●manufactured
●manufactured
manufactured
chemical
Where it comes from
Weighted share of upstream inputs sourced from each country.
| Country | Weighted share | Inputs supplied to musical instruments |
|---|---|---|
| ATAustria | 36% | Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon) |
| CNChina | 32% | Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon) |
| USUnited States | 30% | Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple) |
| CACanada | 18% | Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple) |
| IDIndonesia | 15% | Instrument Pickups & Electronics |
| MXMexico | 14% | Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon) |
| INIndia | 12% | Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple) |
| DEGermany | 10% | Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics · Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon) +1 |
| JPJapan | 8% | Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU) · Instrument Pickups & Electronics |
| CMCameroonno map | 7% | Tonewood (Rosewood/Ebony/Spruce/Maple) |
Shipped finished
Countries that ship finished musical instruments directly to the U.S. — distinct from the upstream raw inputs above.
| Country | U.S. imports | Share of U.S. imports |
|---|---|---|
| CNChina | $271M | 28% |
| IDIndonesia | $220M | 23% |
| MXMexico | $106M | 11% |
| JPJapan | $95M | 10% |
| MYMalaysia | $52M | 5% |
| TWTaiwan | $36M | 4% |
| DEGermany (Federal Republic of Germany) | $28M | 3% |
| KRSouth Korea (Republic of Korea) | $21M | 2% |
| SESweden | $20M | 2% |
| CACanada | $19M | 2% |
Who makes it
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
World's largest musical-instrument maker; vertically integrated brass/wind instrument production.
Supplies these inputs
Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments)
Business segments
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
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
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
Maker of piezo/acoustic pickups, preamps and instrument electronics.
Supplies these inputs
Instrument Pickups & Electronics
Replaceability
Substitutability 40% · 4 mo to replace
Business segments
Drawn brass / nickel-silver tubing supplier, including instrument-grade tube.
Supplies these inputs
Brass / Nickel-Silver Alloy (Wind & Brass Instruments)
Business segments
Maker of nitrocellulose and specialty wood/instrument lacquers (RPM International).
Supplies these inputs
Instrument Lacquer & Finish (Nitrocellulose / PU)
Business segments
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
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
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
Austrian maker of orchestral strings; first to make steel violin strings.
Supplies these inputs
Instrument Strings (Steel / Phosphor-Bronze / Nylon)
Business segments
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
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
