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Portland often touts its beer, wine and sportswear as pillars of the local economy and cultural identity. But what about its amplifiers, guitars and effects pedals?
A 2023 study published by Portland State University estimated that Oregon’s concentration of music instrument and gear manufacturers is double the national norm. Narrowing to the Portland metro area, the industry’s concentration is six times the national average, according to 2026 research by Music Craft Northwest, a music equipment industry advocacy group. Its findings identified over 130 independent instrument and gear makers in Portland and Southwest Washington, including synthesizer and electronics builders, luthiers, and drum, brass and microphone manufacturers.
Music Craft Northwest is shouting these statistics from the rooftops, asserting that the instrument and audio equipment industry is a booming sector right under our noses, with several local manufacturers like Audix Microphones and Catalinbread effects pedals already exporting internationally.
“Music products could be the next economic cluster that hasn’t yet received any coordinated recognition and support,” Music Craft Northwest co-founder Meara McLaughlin tells WW. “I see it as the next big Portland economic success story.”
McLaughlin is something of an icon in Portland’s musical community, having co-founded MusicPortland and MusicOregon, two of the city’s premier music advocacy organizations. And now she’s turning her attention to gearheads.
Music Craft Northwest is hosting a free, all-ages launch party Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Jupiter Hotel to put the region’s music gear manufacturers at center stage. The event will showcase and demonstrate locally crafted gear via live performances powered by music equipment made in the Pacific Northwest.
The launch party reflects the Portland arts community’s indie and DIY nature. Sponsored by a grant from the Central Eastside Industrial Council, the event is curated with support from Chris Benson, of globally renowned Benson Amps, and Nalin Silva, owner of production company Silva Sound. Featured makers include Benson Amps, Allegra Drums, and Ear Trumpet Labs microphones.
The all-local artist lineup features dream-pop duo Caicedo, indie-folk darlings the Apricots, and PDX troubadour Johnny Franco. But unlike at a typical concert, the gear manufacturers are the event’s VIPs.
“The makers are the headliners,” said Jess Brower, a community organizer for both the Jupiter Hotel and Music Craft Northwest.
A multibillion-dollar business, the music industry writ large—including within the instrument and gear manufacturing sector—is notoriously difficult to capture in traditional economic data. Music-related businesses are often scattered across different codes of the North American Industry Classification System, the federal classification system used to organize business statistics, making the industry’s overall footprint difficult to measure.
According to Music Craft Northwest, Portland is missing out on the opportunity the underrepresented economic concentration of manufacturers creates, while cities like Nashville develop tourism strategies around attractions like the Gibson Garage vintage guitar showroom, for example. Music Craft Northwest aspires to eventually host a multiday business-to-business expo and trade show that attracts music gear manufacturers worldwide.
The Music Craft Northwest launch party is part of ADX Fest, a citywide, monthlong festival curating dozens of events across the city that spotlight local artists and independent businesses. Put on by Arts Design Xchange, a makerspace and small business in Buckman, ADX Fest applies a similar, more-is-more strategy of organizing the collective economic power of small local businesses across industries.
“Everybody knows that small business is the backbone of our economy,” says ADX founder Kelley Roy. “We’re collectivists and we’re here to support each other. [Music Craft Northwest] is just one example of how different types of makers might come together.”
Chris Benson, the amplifier builder, hopes the event will spark conversation among elected officials about how Portland can better support small businesses in the instrument and gear manufacturing industry.
“The prospect of some real recognition from the city and state governments about our existence may get them to work a little bit harder to make this a good place to have a business,” Benson tells WW. “I think there’s a real importance in planting a flag and saying we’re still here making things, participating in the local economy, and contributing to the identity of the region.”
Part of Music Craft Northwest’s mission is to rally the regional instrument and gear manufacturing community around shared challenges in order to wield its economic influence collectively. A recent town hall at Show Bar, moderated by Health Care for All Oregon, offered one example of that approach, bringing Portland’s music community together to discuss how universal health care could affect musicians and industry workers, many of whom lack access to employer-sponsored benefits. Such conversations can help develop a more unified voice for an industry whose cultural and economic contributions often go unrecognized.
For McLaughlin and Music Craft Northwest, the call to action is about gaining comprehensive recognition, helping Portland—including the makers themselves—see the economic force already operating in its backyard.
“We don’t need to create it,” McLaughlin says. “It’s already here.”
GO: Music Craft Northwest Launch Party at the Jupiter Hotel, 800 E Burnside St., 503-230-9200, jupiterhotel.com/musiccraftnw. 2–7 pm Saturday, Oct. 24. Free. All ages.
