Penco A-14M

This is a very beautiful vintage guitar. Top is spruce, back and sides are flamed (yellow) maple. The body is dreadnought, with rosewood neck and bridge. Tuners are chrome. It probably was made in the early 70's. It was made in Japan.

Nothing compares. This guitar is truly amazing. I guess the maple back and sides bring the best of this guitar. Great sustain, bright tones with Elixir strings; deeper tones with D'Addarios and Martin strings. Bass is strong and full! And yet, the sound is well balanced. Playing this guitar seems like there is an amplifier hooked up to it. It just projects very very well. Very clear and crisp sound. Intonation is superb in all scales, and holds tune alomost forever. My buddy has a $1,600 Taylor, and he is jealous with this Penco. Really a wonderful guitar. (I sold my Sigma Martin to buy this beauty!)

With adjustable saddle, action can be raised or lowered at a level that is comfortable to the player. I have it adjusted low, no buzzing at all, and this guitar plays like butter. (My luthier friend replaced the plastic saddle with bone.) The saddle is encased in a stainless steel cradle (the height of this cradle is adjustable by two knurled stainless steel screws.)

The top, back and sides are just flawless. The woods are very well matched. One can tell that the craftsmen who built this guitar took their time to produce a very high quality instrument.

This guitar is built like a tank. It has survived over 30 years of playing. The neck is still solidly attached to the body. The bridge is also solidly attached to the top. I do not see any evidence of lifting or pulling from the bridge.

The only flaws I notice are some checking on the top finish. (But to me, those only add to the vintage character of this beauty.)

The company does not exist anymore. There is no need to contact them anyway (If I would contact them, I would just give them praise for the masterpiece they produced.)

I have been playing for almost forty years. I sold my trusty Sigma Martin to buy this guitar. If I find another Penco A-14M, I would buy it. It'll be great to have two great guitars around.

I just love the maple back and sides. Not only that they are different, but they really project beautiful sound. If for sound alone, I would not trade this guitar for a Taylor, Martin or Gibson.

22 fret les pauul. 2 tone and 2 vloume controls.

I'm using a fender frontman 25r it souds great. its gotthat old classic sound to it.(deep) i like it alot

It's very nice and a solid guitar. I like the pickups, but they aren't stock. Everything is great!

Heck yea. It is a monster!! It's built like a cinderblock. I banged it on my wood desk, ans didn't even get a nick! The finish is great. the strp buttons broke off and were put back on but i understand the guy was rough with it fro like 25 years. I can always depend on it playing in my band.

not a guitar comapany since 1978!!!!!

Finish: Blonde - clearcoated
Body style: Dreadnaught
Bridge Style: adjustable height saddle rosewood string through with pegs
Tuners: Plated machine tuners no brand name
Neck: 3 piece maple with rosewood fretboard
Year: Approx 1970, in Japan, Same factory as Ibanez
How many frets: 20
Top: Solid wood spruce 2 piece
Body and neck woods: flame maple laminated sides and back with solid maple 3 piece neck.

Beautiful Guitar

Rich and full, its great for my style, I play all kinds of acoustic stuff with it, sounds great for anything, love it, sounds as good as a martin.

All Solid

Looks brand new, bought it a few years ago, was guys dads old guitar, the case was falling apart and the guitar was in mint condition, durable finish and tuners, solid.

No longer exsists

If you can get one of these, do it, it has been a great guitar for me, Love it

Finish: Blonde - clearcoated
Body style: Dreadnaught
Bridge Style: adjustable height saddle rosewood string through with pegs
Tuners: Plated machine tuners no brand name
Neck: 3 piece maple with rosewood fretboard
Year: 1970 - Japan in the factory that was also making Ibanez brands at that time.
How many frets: ?
Top: Solid wood spruce 2 piece
Body and neck woods: flame maple laminated sides and back with solid maple 3 piece neck.

Rich Full sound with solid clear bass tone

Action is adjustable with truss rod in neck and height adjustments on brodge.

Bridge is lifting after many years of uncontorlled climate storage.

A Japanese made guitar distributed by Philadelphia Music Company,in
Limerick PA....serial #7457
Twenty frets
solid spruce top
no pickups
Maple body and neck with a rosewood fretboard
finish is natural
dreadnought
standard dreadnought bridge.... rosewood
replaced original tuners with grovers
neck is slightly smaller than standard...a little on the thin side
I actually prefer it that way.

I am 55 now and it fits my current style....Steve Goodman, Steven Stills, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, some jazz, some blues. all accoustic stuff
Using a fender amp...sometimes a little chorus
Very bright, but I like it that way.
good variety of sound depending on strings and tuning.
likes: beautiful resonating harmonics all over the neck.
dislikes: sounds best playing light...not enough base

Action changed some when I had the bridge altered. It came with an adjustable bridge, but I had the action lowered some with a fixed bridge. I really liked the difference now.

I had a good guitar shop do the work on the bridge and they were very impressed with the overall construction. They said it looked a year old instead of the 30 it is. Binding is absolutely in tact. And the slight yellowing adds real vintage. No flaws in any part of the guitar.

THis guitar sat a long time in a closet as I also own a j45.
but it has survived moving a number of times, trunk travel in severe weather and general abuse. The finish is almost unbelievable. better than any guitar near its age. Probably the most dependable guitar I have ever had. Other than bringing along extra strings, I would trust this guitar to survive any challange. And for Neal YOung style music it is great!

no
yes....top warped a little under the bridge due to poor care and
storage. It returned to normal with some loving care...took six months.
I think it came with a 1 year warranty.

40 years.
2000 j45, 63 ES135, 83 Joe Pass Epiphone, 59 Les PaulJr
no,knew what I was buying when I purchased it.
wanted a good sounding accoustic...to add to my electrics
If I could find one...maybe, depends on sound
Sooo easy to play...fret board is effortless

Amazing craftsmanship...the repair shop wanted to buy($400) or exchange for it......unfortunately, I have too many memories and hours to part with it. I am somewhat ashamed of the fact that I stored it for so long without playing it. Its sound is quite different from the Gibson, Martin sound. And as my hearing deteriorates, I need the Xtra brightness this guitar has.
I mounted a LR Boggs and it sounds pretty good. It makes up for the low end of the guitar...the grovers were an improvement, and changing the bridge and adjusting the action from the factory really improved the playability...just plain love this guitar....allows you to practice for hours and hours without effort. Wish the J45 was as forgiving.

My guess to the manufacture date is 1974-1975. I bought it for $100 in 1985 and was told by the original owner/seller it was 10 years old at the time. It has a beautiful all "blonde" body and neck with a clear finish that gets lots of "oohs and aahs". The large end is not only larger across, but also "fatter" front to back. It has a nice, skinny, two-line trim around the edge of the top, and more narrow trim in three concentric circles around the sound hole. A dark brown pick guard, dark brown bridge and dark brown fretboard accent the all-blonde look. Chrome-plated tuning pegs. A beauty to look at.

The sound is very unique, I think. I've been told by skeptics (those who say "what the heck is a Penco?") that it sounds "tinny", but I suppose it's what your ear is used to. I immediately started using silk and steel folk strings to enrich the sound and that helped a lot. The sound is rich and bright and, to me, a novice, I think it has a great "range". My playing style is mostly folk rhythm guitar, and I led worship for my college fellowship group for 4 years with this guitar. I have used spring-mounted pick-ups (the kind you just stick in your sound hole and remove when finished) when playing in front of large crowds, but the only comment I have on that is it was cool to hear my playing amplified. It has been played by others with more skill than I, and they have been impressed with the action and sound. I do get a bit of a buzz now and then, but that's probably due more to my so-so skills than the quality of the instrument. I've tried various picks and the ones that suit my style and the sound I like best is a soft nylon pick.

I don't know about the factory set-up, and I don't believe there are any manufacturing flaws at all. I'm guessing that the girl who sold it to me didn't change anything, as she used it for the same purposes that I did. The action is low and was very easy to learn on. It is a bit larger in the body as stated above, but since I never became comfortable with another guitar prior to this one, I'm used to it and other guitars feel small on my lap.

I used this guitar "live" for 5 years - playing at least once a week (often more), providing accompinament for praise and worship singing. It has survived the salty air of the beach on many occasions, various tempratures and humidities, and traveled all over the Mid-Atlantic. It has even been to Australia. It seems solid and sturdy and built to last. There are a few small dings on the front, thanks to yours truly, but to me that only indicates how much I've loved playing this instrument. There are extended pick-marks past the pick guard due to my exuberant style, but that just reminds me of all the fun I've had with it. It has not gotten much use in the last 10 years, but it stays mostly in tune in the case for extended periods and hasn't seemed to lose any of it's gorgeous sound. I would certainly play it live at any time.

I've never felt the need to use it, even tho the company is no longer in business. Advice and tips from music-store owners and other guitarists have helped me along the way instead.

I started playing in college (1985), taught myself basic chords and got better every year. Haven't played much at all until lately and the guitar sounds and feels just as good as it did back then. If it were lost or stolen, I'd bawl my eyes out, and then go out and try to find something similar. The thing I love most about it is the memories that it holds. The only thing I wish it had was a built-in pick-up.