OPINION PETE LUNNEY


the stand to where it eventually ended up, for example.” The original concept of Rod Bradley’s Strings


A lot of work went into developing the Innovation range, which is now a popular string name around the world


& Things was a company that didn’t send a team of reps out on the road. It was a model acknowledged by several other industry leaders as the perfect way to handle the distribution of accessories and strings. But in recent years, S&T has evolved its approach and now has a rep team running in conjunction with its active telephone sales force. What had made the company decide to adapt this sales model? “Yes, we’ve got four guys in the sales office now as well as four on the road,”Lunney confirms. “How I think it evolved was because when I first went down to Wales, I set up a sales team there – just two guys – and in addition to strings we also took on Lakewood guitars and Aer amplifiers, which had been with Klondyke. I enjoyed that a lot and did a lot of work with Udo Rosner of Aer. In fact, I actually named one of them – the Compact 60. Very sweetly, when he made that wonderful oak-clad anniversary model last year, he sent me one as a thank you.” The success of Lunney’s team in Wales led to


the broadening of the S&T approach, once he returned to Shoreham. Does Lunney have any regrets about having abandoned his old career for the relative backwater of the music industry? “None at all! I wouldn’t have lost the 25


years I’ve spent in this business for anything, I’ve “ “Innovation has been a fabulous product and


it’s growing all the time,” Lunney says. “We’re thrilled to bits with it – sales are strong in America, the Continent, Australia – and it’s a massive market.”


Less talked about is the ‘stealth works’ aspect of the string industry that has always gone on beneath the surface – the ‘own label’ string brands that S&T provides for a number of other companies under the cloak of commercial confidentiality. This, too, along with valuable business in classical guitar strings under the Concertiste brand, has kept the factory busy. After ten years at the direct helm, Lunney


and his family moved back to Sussex, though he remained in charge of the Welsh plant. “I was down in Wales from 1988 till 1998 – ten years exactly – I had a good time there and I loved the challenge. When I got back, I did take up other responsibilities as well, one of which was being product manager for Music Man, which is something I’ve had a lot of fun with over the years.” Music Man is a brand whose profile has


grown considerably in recent years – not least due to increased promotional activity by Strings and Things and the burgeoning of its guitar and bass range.


30 miPRO JANUARY 2011 “I remember when I first joined


Strings & Things, we used to get maybe a dozen Music Man basses every six weeks or so – and that was it. It was a case of first come, first served. And then, when Ernie Ball bought the business, things really began to change. We have put in a lot of work on Music Man. I remember in the year 2000 we did something called Jam 2000, where we toured around the country with Jamie Humphries and ran competitions to win Music Man guitars.


Then we had something


called ‘Guitar Hero’ – before the video game of the same name came out. So yes, we have done a lot of work on it and I’ve had a very enjoyable time being part of it – as I have with all the shows – getting


Lunney recalls how Music Man received a major boost when Ernie Ball purchased the brand


For a couple of months I’ll be doing bugger-all, apart from starting to play again and building


a little studio at home. Pete Lunney


met so many nice people and I feel very privileged to have been part of it.” So is he really serious about retiring? “Everybody says that! ‘Oh, you won’t last.


You’ll be back’, but we’ll see. For a couple of months I’ll be doing absolutely bugger-all, apart from starting to play again and building a little studio at home. But that’s a thing that all seems to be coming back again, at least around here in Shoreham. 25 years ago I used to play the local pubs and then that whole live scene seemed to die away, for perhaps 15 or 20 years. But now it seems to be happening again, with pubs and clubs holding open mic evenings – gigs almost everywhere. That can’t be unique to this area – it must be happening across the country. It’s all good, healthy, stuff and it’s good to see for the industry that this is starting to happen again.” That said, the general state of the MI business is not quite so healthy – though, as it happens, S&T is enjoying a particularly good period. “We’ve just had a cracking November, but then we have some great brands. But then, look at Hercules. That started with just guitar stands and has become the benchmark of stands generally and it’s doing fantastically well.” Any passing messages to the trade he has worked in for so many years, we asked? “Oh, not really. Just thanks and see you around, guys. It’s been nice to know you all.” STRINGS & THINGS: 01273 446814


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