2025 - Trump - 50% tariffs and more!

Trump – 50% tariffs and more!

Ha! If this psychopath sticks to these tariffs, American guitar makers like Fender, Gibson, PRS, etc., are going to run into big trouble. That’s because these days, practically all metal hardware is manufactured in Asia—mostly in Korea and increasingly in China.

Why doesn’t anyone make this domestically anymore when dealing with large volumes? It’s clear: Electroplating—that is, nickel plating, chrome plating, and gold plating. Due to environmental regulations in both Europe and the U.S., this has become so expensive that it’s causing manufacturing costs to skyrocket. So many companies have to significantly raise their guitar prices, but from a marketing perspective, they can hardly justify it by saying that all their hardware comes from Asia.

Well, Fender, Gibson, and the like have such a wide margin in their Custom Shop calculations that they can absorb this with little loss. Producing a Strat, Tele, or Les Paul can hardly cost much more than €350, even with the best wood selection. When these instruments then hit the market for around €6,000, that won’t bother them too much!