.jpeg)
Jim D’Addario and John D’Addario III are part of a family that has been making musical instrument strings since 1680. Gabe Dalporto explores how the brand continues to innovate not just strings, but also essential accessories.
In Episode 5 of Inside the Noise, Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto speaks with D’Addario CEO John D’Addario III and Chairman and Director of Innovation Jim D’Addario about the company’s commitment to improvement and its “never satisfied” culture.
“From day one at the company, I got direction from my father such as, ‘It’s great you did that, but can it be better?’” shares John. “The Pro-Winder is a great example. There have been at least seven generations of that product. The design was brilliant initially, but it got incrementally better over the years. That’s kind of the way it is here with everything we do.”
Jim expands upon the D’Addario philosophy with an example of a product that was always considered “good enough” by the industry, but his team saw an opportunity for change.
“There are a lot of good pedalboards out there, but people keep rebuilding them all the time,” he says. “So, our premise was, ‘How do we make this thing not static—something flexible that could grow with a player’s needs. That’s how we came up with the XPND telescoping pedalboard.”
Catch the full conversation and other episodes of Inside the Noise with Gabe Dalporto on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any of your favorite major platforms. When you subscribe, you’ll get new episodes every Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT.