Eastman Strings
Eastman Strings is a Pomona, California-based private manufacturer of handcrafted orchestral violins, violas, cellos, and double basses across student, performance, and professional tiers, plus bows, cases, and the Series+ electro-acoustic line, sold exclusively through a global authorized dealer network serving students, professional musicians, and music educators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersPomona, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Eastman Strings does
Eastman Strings is a Pomona, California-based private manufacturer of handcrafted orchestral stringed instruments, operating under the legal entity Eastman Music Company since being founded by Qian Ni. It produces violins, violas, cellos, and double basses organized into Student, Performance, and Professional tiers, plus an accessory line of bows, cases, and bags. Instruments are built using late 19th-century European workshop techniques (chisel, knife, hand scraper, traditional hide glue) with professional models plate-tuned by master luthiers and finished in varnish styles modeled after Stradivarius, Guarneri, and Montagnana; a notable innovation is the 2018 Bass C Extension co-developed with Lisa Gass (Los Angeles Bass Works). The company also offers the Series+ electro-acoustic line embedding a discrete pickup in the end button, and maintains a sub-brand portfolio for the professional bass tier (Jonathan Li, Andreas Eastman, Pietro Lombardi, Raúl Emiliani, Rudoulf Doetsch, Samuel Eastman).
The company distributes exclusively through a global network of authorized dealers, including specialty string shops, with no direct-to-consumer sales channel and pricing disclosed only at dealer level. Customers span student musicians in school programs, performance and professional players including orchestral and jazz bassists, and music educators; over 30 professional artists are featured as endorsers (e.g., Chuck Israels, Neyla Pekarek, Simply Three) to drive mid-funnel credibility. Marketing relies on social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram), YouTube demonstrations, an email newsletter, and artist and dealer co-marketing, supported by a limited lifetime warranty on instruments and bows for original purchasers.
Eastman Strings operates within the broader Eastman Music Company umbrella alongside Eastman Winds, Eastman Guitars, Haynes, Backun, S.E. Shires, Willson, Laskey, and Bourgeois Guitars, enabling cross-brand customer relationships across wind, brass, and fretted instrument categories. The business model is one-time instrument and accessory sales, with no subscription, service, or recurring revenue streams identified in the input. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds or institutional investors evident.
Eastman Strings firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Eastman Strings
- Legal name
- Eastman Music Company
- Website
- https://eastmanstrings.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Eastman Strings is a Pomona, California-based private manufacturer of handcrafted orchestral violins, violas, cellos, and double basses across student, performance, and professional tiers, plus bows, cases, and the Series+ electro-acoustic line, sold exclusively through a global authorized dealer network serving students, professional musicians, and music educators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Eastman Strings industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Orchestral String Instruments
- NAICS
- Musical Instrument Manufacturing (339992), Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (459140)
- SIC
- Musical Instruments (3931)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Instrument Parts, Repair & Maintenance (Luthier, Tech Services, Spares) (MPAIAJAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Audio Accessories & Consumables (Cables, Stands, Cases, Strings, Picks, Heads) (MPAIAJAF)
Keywords
Where Eastman Strings is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pomona
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Eastman Strings business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Stringed Instrument Sales: One-time sales of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses across student, performance, and professional tiers. Products sold through authorized dealer network.
- Bow Sales: Sales of violin, cello, and bass bows positioned as superior tonal matches for Eastman instruments.
- Case and Bag Sales: Sales of protective cases and bags for violins, cellos, and basses in various materials including polycarbonate, carbon fiber, cordura, and nylon.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Eastman Strings product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Eastman Strings handcrafts orchestral stringed instruments—violins, violas, cellos, and double basses—across student, performance, and professional tiers, using late 19th century European workshop methods with hand tools and traditional hide glue. The company complements its instruments with coordinated bows, protective cases and bags, an electro-acoustic Series+ line with embedded pickup, and a Los Angeles Bass Works-designed C Extension for basses. All output is distributed through a global network of Authorized Dealers.
Product overview
Eastman Strings is a manufacturer of handcrafted orchestral string instruments including violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. The product portfolio is organized across three quality tiers (Student, Performance, Professional) with supporting accessories including bows and cases. The company also offers the Series+ electro-acoustic line featuring integrated pickup systems for amplified playing. Specific bass models are branded under sub-lines including Jonathan Li, Andreas Eastman, Samuel Eastman, Pietro Lombardi, Raúl Emiliani, Rudoulf Doetsch, and Andrés Martín Signature Edition. A notable innovation is the Bass C Extension developed with Los Angeles Bass Works. The recent All-New 5/8 Design represents a new student-focused bass size developed in collaboration with educators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Series+: Electro-acoustic stringed instruments with integrated pickup systems available in violin, viola, and cello.
- Jonathan Li
- Andreas Eastman
- Pietro Lombardi
- Raúl Emiliani
- Rudoulf Doetsch
- Samuel Eastman
Products and services
- Violins Handcrafted violins available in student, performance, and professional grades, constructed from aged European tonewoods with multiple varnish options including high-gloss, satin, shaded spirit, and antiqued spirit varnish.
- Violas Handcrafted violas available in student, performance, and professional grades, featuring craftsmanship and tonewood selection paralleling the violin line.
- Cellos Handcrafted cellos available in student, performance, and professional grades. Professional cellos are modeled after Stradivarius, Guarneri, and Montagnana patterns, built from the highest quality materials and hand-tuned for optimum resonance, richness, and power.
- Double Basses Handcrafted double basses in student, performance, and professional grades, available in Busan, Gamba, Violin Corner, Quenoil, and Busetto patterns and sizes from 1/8 to 7/8, including a 2024 5/8 ergonomic design developed with educators.
- Violin Bows Bows designed as a superior tonal match for Eastman violins, providing projection and clarity through all bow strokes, offered in student, performance, and professional grades.
- Cello Bows Bows designed as a superior tonal match for Eastman cellos, providing projection and clarity through all bow strokes with balanced and responsive design.
- Bass Bows Bows offering full and balanced sound through all bow strokes and registers, with clarity and responsiveness for various musical styles.
- Violin Cases Protective cases made from polycarbonate, carbon fiber, cordura, ballistic nylon, and thermoplastic, designed to safeguard instruments while remaining stylish.
- Cello Cases Protective cases in polycarbonate, carbon fiber, fiberglass, thermoplastic, industrial compressed foam, and cordura nylon for various budgets and needs.
- Bass Bags Transport bags made from cordura nylon with pockets and handles, built for gig-to-gig transport.
- Series+ Electro-Acoustic String Instruments Electro-acoustic violins, violas, and cellos with an integrated pickup system embedded in the top wood. A discrete 3.5mm jack disguised as the end button provides plug-in capability while preserving a traditional acoustic appearance and sound.
- Bass C Extension C Extension mechanism for double basses designed with Lisa Gass of Los Angeles Bass Works. The extension allows low notes to be opened or closed in multiple configurations and is fully adjustable for exact pitch on each low note; available on Eastman bass models VB95 and above.
Companies that use Eastman Strings
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Eastman Strings technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Eastman Strings partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Los Angeles Bass Works (Lisa Gass)coreLisa Gass of Los Angeles Bass Works collaborated with Eastman to design the Bass C Extension. This state-of-the-art extension allows for low notes to be opened or closed in multiple configurations and is fully adjustable, allowing players to dial in exact pitch for each low note. The partnership created a product designed for professional orchestral settings.
- Eastman WindsminorRelated brand under Eastman Music Company umbrella, sharing brand identity and cross-marketing on the Eastman Strings website footer.
- Eastman GuitarsminorRelated brand under Eastman Music Company umbrella, sharing brand identity and cross-marketing on the Eastman Strings website footer.
- Wm. S. Haynes Co.minorPartner brand listed in Eastman family footer, suggesting collaboration or shared ownership under Eastman Music Company.
- Backun Musical ServicesminorPartner brand listed in Eastman family footer, suggesting collaboration or shared ownership under Eastman Music Company.
- S.E. Shires Co.minorPartner brand listed in Eastman family footer, suggesting collaboration or shared ownership under Eastman Music Company.
- WillsonminorPartner brand listed in Eastman family footer, suggesting collaboration or shared ownership under Eastman Music Company.
- LaskeyminorPartner brand listed in Eastman family footer, suggesting collaboration or shared ownership under Eastman Music Company.
- Bourgeois GuitarsminorPartner brand listed in Eastman family footer, suggesting collaboration or shared ownership under Eastman Music Company.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Eastman Strings competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Thomastik-Infeld: Thomastik-Infeld is an Austrian string manufacturer whose products outfit many of the same professional violinists, violists, cellists and bassists who endorse Eastman instruments. Overlap in customer base, dealer presence and premium positioning makes it a direct sales-funnel competitor.
- Fiddlershop: Fiddlershop is an online specialty retailer of violins, violas, cellos and basses that sells Eastman alongside its own-label and competing instruments. It is a meaningful competing sales channel for any consumer shopping the same tier as Eastman's student and performance lines.
- Jay Haide: Jay Haide violins and cellos are handcrafted in a Chinese workshop and sold through dealer channels, mirroring Eastman's workshop-plus-dealer model. They occupy overlapping student-to-advanced tiers and compete head-to-head on price and quality in the same dealer showrooms.
- Shar Music: Shar Music is a major U.S. orchestral instrument retailer (and exclusive seller of some student lines) that stocks Eastman alongside competing brands. It is one of the largest single dealer-counterparts in Eastman's channel and competes aggressively on student-tier violin, viola, cello and bass bundles.
- Scott Cao (violins): Scott Cao is a Chinese-trained luthier producing handcrafted violins, violas, cellos and basses that compete with Eastman's performance and lower-professional tiers. Comparable workshop-craft story, comparable dealer presence, very aggressive price points.
- Pirastro: Pirastro makes premium orchestral strings (Eudoxa, Obligato, Evah Pirazzi) that violin, viola, cello and bass players pair with instruments like Eastman's. It competes for the same luthier/endorser channel and serves the same professional orchestral base.
- Knilling String Instruments: Knilling (now part of the KHS/Flouride group) is a maker of student and intermediate stringed instruments sold through dealers, directly overlapping Eastman's student and performance tiers. Same product categories, same dealer channels, similar price points.
- William Harris Lee: William Harris Lee is a Chicago-based string instrument dealer that both retails and selectively supplies Eastman-tier competitors. It competes in the same school-program and intermediate player purchase decisions that drive much of Eastman's volume.
Regional players
- Stringworks / Lark Street Music: Lark Street Music is a New York-based luthier workshop and retailer handcrafting violins, violas and cellos. While smaller and more geographically concentrated than Eastman, it competes in the same professional-tier purchase set and serves a comparable professional customer.
Broad incumbents
- D'Addario: D'Addario is the largest string and accessory manufacturer globally, serving orchestral musicians alongside Eastman. While D'Addario does not make full instruments, it dominates adjacent string/accessory demand at the same dealers and is the benchmark supplier for bows, strings and cases Eastman's customers also buy.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Eastman Strings social profiles
Digital presenceEastman Strings financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Eastman Strings leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Eastman Strings funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Eastman Strings M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Eastman Strings
What does Eastman Strings do?
Eastman Strings handcrafts orchestral stringed instruments—violins, violas, cellos, and double basses—across student, performance, and professional tiers, using late 19th century European workshop methods with hand tools and traditional hide glue. The company complements its instruments with coordinated bows, protective cases and bags, an electro-acoustic Series+ line with embedded pickup, and a Los Angeles Bass Works-designed C Extension for basses. All output is distributed through a global network of Authorized Dealers.
Is Eastman Strings a public or private company?
Eastman Strings is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Eastman Strings founded?
Eastman Strings was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Eastman Strings based?
Eastman Strings is headquartered in Pomona, United States, in the North America region.
How does Eastman Strings make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Stringed Instrument Sales are the primary driver. The others are bow Sales and case and Bag Sales.
Who are Eastman Strings's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Thomastik-Infeld, Fiddlershop, Jay Haide, Shar Music, Scott Cao (violins), Pirastro, Knilling String Instruments and William Harris Lee. Stringworks / Lark Street Music is listed as a regional player. D'Addario is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Eastman Strings have an API?
No public API is recorded for Eastman Strings.
What industry is Eastman Strings in?
Eastman Strings's product category is Orchestral String Instruments. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAJAG, Instrument Parts, Repair & Maintenance (Luthier, Tech Services, Spares), with a secondary code of MPAIAJAF, Audio Accessories & Consumables (Cables, Stands, Cases, Strings, Picks, Heads). Its NAICS code is 339992 and its SIC code is 3931.