“In October, fifth-grader Abby McGuire’s mom took her shopping for a Christmas present: a full-size guitar,” writes Colleen Schrappen in Sunday’s (12/13) St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO). “ ‘I heard from her instructor that if she wanted one, we better get it right away,’ said Julie McGuire, who lives in Chesterfield. Instruments have been harder to come by during the pandemic…. Guitar Center, the largest musical instrument retailer in the United States, reported an 85% jump in business in August…. But it wasn’t enough to stave off bankruptcy, which the company blamed on not being able to bounce back from the spring shutdown of most of its nearly 300 stores. Small stores have been hit hard, too. St. Louis Strings specializes in orchestral instruments…. The coronavirus has shifted shopping habits [and] that’s taken a toll on this year’s revenue…. The components of a single violin or guitar originate in multiple countries. Most manufacturers halted production in the spring … and safety and sanitation measures slowed the process…. Higher-end stores, like Killer Vintage in Lindenwood Park, have fared better. Owner Dave Hinson’s customers … are … ‘flocking to music,’ Hinson said. ‘There’s nowhere to hear it, so they’re making their own.’ “
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