Meet Jim Penson of Texas-Luthier.com in Arlington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Penson.

Jim, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I became interested in bluegrass music when I was very young and soon took up the guitar and banjo. The internet, with its wealth of instructional material, of course, did not exist then and learning to play the banjo involved slowing down bluegrass records on a turntable to 45 rpm to try to figure out what they were doing.

I grew up in northern Illinois where there was very little bluegrass music (at least at that time) and didn’t become involved with bands until I moved to Texas in my early 20’s. Once here, I met and became a member of the Front Porch Boys, with Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett. It was during my first marriage in 1981 that I built my first instrument, a mandolin. I’d worked as a carpenter and always had a love of working with wood, so combining this with my love of bluegrass, I was soon building banjos too.

Today I build and repair instruments and do restorations of just about any member of the acoustic stringed instrument family, from violins to dulcimers. I also teach bluegrass and occasionally play in local bands.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Bluegrass music, as the great Mitch Jayne of the Dillards said, is a “very small pond to fish in.” There are only a few hundred people in the US who make their full time living at bluegrass music. Along the way, I’ve worked at various jobs before settling into information technology, working first as a technical writer, then later as an instructional designer.

After 2001, work in IT became harder and harder to find, and when it was just beginning to rebound, the 2008 global financial crisis and resulting recession make for very few permanent jobs, and shorter and shorter contracts. I began relying on my music income more and more, with the goal of being fully music income by retirement age. I am nearly there!

Texas-Luthier.com – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
PensonStringWerks, my teaching site, and Texas-Luthier.com, my luthiery site are my internet presences. A “luthier”, according to Webster’s is “a craftsman who makes stringed instruments (as lutes or guitars or violins).” I specialize in banjos, both in terms of teaching and performing, as well as building and repairing. There are very few of us around, and most “guitar techs” work mainly on electric instruments.

I am most proud of a restoration I did on a 1950’s Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar that a customer had purchased at an estate sale for $600. In rough shape, I did a $500 dollar restoration to it, and the owner sold it within a month for $4,500. With the profits, he bought a new high-end guitar. His $1,100 investment provided him with a new Martin guitar.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me has to entail the fact that my last child just started college so money is still a necessary factor. However, the satisfaction of seeing the look on a customer’s face when I am able to completely restore grandpa’s old violin is hard to put a dollar value on. Years after I am gone, instruments bearing my name will continue to make music.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1503 Riviera Court
• Website: www.Texas-Luthier.com www.PensonStringWerks.com
• Phone: 817-704-0059
• Email: Jim@Texas-Luthier.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimpenson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/banjoist123
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/banjoist123

Image Credit:
Chad Fenner

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