D'addario

We would like to thank D'Addario for their donation of musical equipment for our studio.

Beginning in 1936 and excluding only his time spent as an enlisted man in WWII, John D’Addario Sr., Charles and his wife, Anna’s, only son and youngest of five children, would work side-by-side with his father. At that time the company was renamed C. D’Addario & Son, and it would be John’s interest in alternative synthetic substitutes for the unreliable and messy animal gut that would mark another considerable milestone for the trade. The war had brought with it many technological advances, and it was Dupont™ that developed the first nylon monofilament for things like hair and toothbrushes, brooms., etc. In 1947, when Dupont™ shipped a sample to the D’Addario shop, Charles and John, Sr. immediately began working with it and found the diameter of the early nylon was perfect for treble harp strings.

As was his growing tradition, Charles consulted his friend, the world famous harpist Carlos Salzedo, for his opinion of the synthetic substitute. Mr. Salzedo was very encouraging and so the D’Addarios began developing ways to apply this new material to more and more instruments. John, Sr. was responsible for developing a method to polish the nylon, which would allow him to reduce the diameter, thus making the nylon useful for a greater variety of instruments, such as the lute and classical guitar. Most of the guitar strings that C. D’Addario & Son manufactured were made to order for musicians or private labels.

John, Sr. was very encouraged by the growing popularity of the guitar, which had been on a steady incline from the 1930s through the war with bands like The Glen Miller Orchestra and Tommy Dorsey. The guitar was being used in rhythm sections, a clear hint of things to come, things like Elvis Presley and The Beatles to be specific.
John, Sr. was anxious to include this burgeoning instrument beyond the classical guitar strings that they made to order, but Charles was reluctant to expand the family business. In 1956, with his father’s blessing, John, Sr. entered into a partnership to produce steel strings and electric strings for the guitar and bass. The new company would be named Archaic Musical String Manufacturing Co. and would be run by John D’Addario, Sr., Albert Morante, and his brother-in-law, Gino Burelli.

For some time the two companies, C. D’Addario & Son and Archaic Musical String Mfg Co., would operate separately, with Archaic manufacturing strings for such companies as Gretsch, D’Angelico, Martin, and Guild, as well as C. D’Addario & Son. When Charles retired in 1962, John, Sr. decided to merge the two companies together under a new name, Darco Music Strings, Inc. By now, the guitar was the single most popular instrument in the country, and its impact on the changing world was unmistakable.

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