Pensa
33Also known as: Pensa Custom Guitars, Pensa-Suhr, Pensa Suhr
UnclaimedPensa Custom Guitars is a New York City-based builder of handmade electric and bass guitars, founded by Argentine-born Rudy Pensa. The brand grew out of Rudy's Music Stop, the 48th Street shop Pensa opened in 1978, with the first Pensa-branded electric appearing in 1982. From 1984 through 1991, luthier John Suhr built instruments at the workshop, and guitars from that era carry the well-known P...
Pensa Custom Guitars is a New York City-based builder of handmade electric and bass guitars, founded by Argentine-born Rudy Pensa. The brand grew out of Rudy's Music Stop, the 48th Street shop Pensa opened in 1978, with the first Pensa-branded electric appearing in 1982. From 1984 through 1991, luthier John Suhr built instruments at the workshop, and guitars from that era carry the well-known Pensa-Suhr name.
The shop's flagship model is the Pensa MK, a bolt-on superstrat designed in 1985 with Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, who wanted an instrument that could cover both Stratocaster and Les Paul tones. Knopfler played a Pensa-Suhr at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday concert in 1988, and the two collaborated again on the MK2 in 2000. The catalog also includes the S-style R Custom and various bass models, all produced in small numbers out of a Soho basement workshop.
Pensa instruments are typically one-off builds made to order, with output of fewer than 200 guitars a year. The brand has been associated with studio and touring professionals including Mark Knopfler, Lou Reed, Eric Clapton, and Vince Gill.
Pensa has 15 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Solid Body Electric Guitars, Electric Basses, and Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitars. Their gear is featured by 13 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Jazz, and Blues. Notable users include Gustavo Cerati, Mark Knopfler, and Luis Alberto Spinetta.
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