Jim Penson has been making high quality, great sounding 5 string bluegrass banjos for years. Although not a common household name, those who have purchased these fine instruments attest to their great quality - and price!

PSW customs start out around a high quality pot, with rims from Tony Pass, Bill Stoke's Showcase, rings from Curtis McPeake and Rick Kulesh, to combinations from pieces and parts that make their way into our shop. You may find a "new" PSW Granada look alike with a 1965 Gibson RB-250 tone ring and rim. Our choices and options are ever shifting.

We will also build to your specs, starting from the bottom up. You select everything from tone ring to binding. Careful detailed cost analyses in spreadsheet form are worked up for you to approve of or make changes to, and your banjo is shown on our site while under construction for you to view, with picture updates done almost daily. We believe that if you are serious about the quality of the investment you are making, you should have complete control over it, and the core of this is knowing at all times where the instrument is in the construction process.

The banjo at the right is a good example. It is a handmade neck, done from a Stage 1 maple neck from First Quality, custom inlays done in shop, a Gibson Gramada flange and arch top tone ring and an in-shop resonator laminated with beautiful burled veneer. It is not only attractive, but one of the finest sounding banjos we've ever played.  

Check out our models, options and prices, and contact us at sales@pensonstringwerks.com if you have any questions or wish to spec out a custom.