in the 1930s. The company then transitioned from producing gut strings to steel and nylon core strings. Nylon strings adapted a nylon microfilament created by chemical company DuPont to be used in toothbrushes and brooms. John Sr. realized this material would be perfect for nylon harp and classical guitar strings. C. D’Addario & Son In the 1940s and 1950s, C. D’Addario & Son continued to perfect its nylon strings. At this time, the company mainly was producing strings for violins; however, as the rock and roll community grew John D’Addario Sr. saw the opportunity to expand the company's product offerings. In the 1960s, John Sr. established Archaic Musical String Manufacturing Co., through which he produced the first electric guitar strings to have nickel-plated steel alloy. He supplied strings to instrument makers as original equipment and to private-label accounts. John Sr. then merged C. D’Addario & Son with Archaic Musical String Manufacturing Co. to form Darco Music Strings. Darco Music Darco Music Strings capitalized on the booming guitar market in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s with a combination of innovative string technologies and partnerships with major guitar manufacturers. In 1959, Darco invented zinc-plated steel roundwound bass strings for electric bass guitars. In 1964, Darco offered bronze-wound acoustic and nickel-wrapped electric strings. In 1968, Darco Music Strings developed a strong relationship with the Martin Guitar Company and Darco eventually became a division of C. F. Martin & Company. J. D’Addario & Company In 1973, J. D’Addario and Company launched in Lynbrook, New York, where John Jr. and Jim D’Addario were the two partners of the company. Their father, John D'Addario, Sr. passed away in 2000. Acquisitions D'Addario had made several company acquisitions over the past four decades, including Kaplan Musical String Company in 1981, Evans Drumheads in 1995, Rico Reeds in 2004, Puresound Snarewire in 2007, ProMark Drumstick in 2011 and Super-Sensitive Musical String Company in 2020. Present day Effective January 1, 2020, D’Addario announced that John D’Addario 3, son of John D’Addario Jr, and nephew of Jim D’Addario, would become the CEO & President of D’Addario, while Jim D’Addario, one of the company's founders and leaders since its inception in 1973, will be stepping down as CEO and assuming a new dual role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Innovation Officer. COVID-19 face shields In March 2020, after New York State required non-essential businesses to shut their doors