Founded in 1833, C. F. Martin & Co. is a family-owned and operated musical-instrument maker that has remained under family ownership for six generations. The company builds acoustic guitars and ukuleles, and has also manufactured its own strings since acquiring Darco Strings in 1970. Its instruments are handcrafted in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, while Martin strings are made at the company’s facility in Navojoa, Mexico.
La Bella / E. & O. Mari, IncLa Bella / E. & O. Mari, Inc. is a family-owned music string manufacturer founded in 1913 by Italian immigrants Olinto and Emilio Mari. The company has been continuously family-owned and operated, currently run by Richard Mari Cocco Jr. with his children, and is known for its heritage in string making dating back to the 17th century. La Bella manufactures a wide range of music strings for guitar, bass, folk, world, and orchestral instruments, and also hand-builds Olinto basses in Brooklyn, NY.NEWBURGH, NY
PRS GuitarsPRS Guitars is a Maryland guitar maker founded by Paul Reed Smith, who began building instruments in 1976 and opened the company for business in 1985. Its Stevensville factory produces guitars and amplifiers, while the company also operates a dedicated facility in Surabaya, Indonesia for SE Series instruments. PRS describes a heritage of continual instrument development and offers both production models and individually customized Private Stock instruments.STEVENSVILLE, MD
Grover/Trophy Music GroupA Cleveland music company with roots reaching back to 1922, Grover/Trophy Music Group remains run by the fourth generation of the Berger family. Its long history has carried it from wholesale instruments into proprietary musical manufacturing, including the Flutophone, which the company says has sold more than 50 million units worldwide, while serving everyone from major orchestras to school bands and garage players.CLEVELAND, OH
Hipshot Products, IncFounded by Dave Borisoff in 1982 after he invented a lever-operated string bender for his band, Hipshot Products makes innovative hardware for electric guitars and basses. Now based in Interlaken, New York, the company employs a 43-person team of machinists, inventors and musicians, with CNC machining and final production supported by American labor. Hipshot’s factory is powered in part by nine solar-panel banks that generate 200 kilowatts, while its original string-bending idea has grown into hardware used by musicians around the world.INTERLAKEN, NY