Petros Guitars

Petros Guitars is a boutique American acoustic-guitar maker based in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The business is identified with father-and-son luthiers Bruce Petros and Matt Petros and occupies the high end of the handmade instrument market. Its instruments are built in small quantities with close attention to woodworking, voicing, ornamentation, and customer specification rather than mass production or standardized retail distribution. Bruce Petros began making guitars in 1972. In 2000, his son Matt joined him, and the two formed the Petros company. The brand’s work includes both steel-string and nylon-string acoustic instruments. Its design language is often associated with visual details reminiscent of Spanish Baroque guitars, while the model range addresses several established acoustic-guitar formats, including fingerstyle, parlor, grand concert, dreadnought, jumbo, and baritone instruments. Petros instruments are positioned as luxury, custom-built products. The company offers a range of optional appointments and construction choices, including exotic woods, buffalo-horn nuts and saddles, mammoth-ivory bridge pins and nuts, specialized inlay, and cutaway designs. Rare or particularly sought-after materials, such as African blackwood, Ceylon satinwood, and aged or matched Brazilian rosewood, can substantially increase the price of an instrument. These options make each guitar an individually specified object as well as a musical instrument. Reference material describing the company in 2013 listed six principal models—the New FS, Parlor, GC, D, Jumbo, and Baritone—and reported a common base retail price of $12,000 at that time, placing the instruments among the most expensive new guitars then available. Custom materials and appointments could raise the total beyond $22,000. Those figures are historical and should not be treated as current pricing. Petros Guitars is best understood as a specialist lutherie brand whose reputation rests on craftsmanship, limited production, individualized design, and premium materials. Publicly available reference material provides limited information about its broader distribution, corporate structure, current production status, and recent commercial activity.

Bruce Petros began building guitars in 1972, establishing the craft background from which the later Petros brand developed. The available reference material does not specify the location, scale, or commercial organization of his early work, but it identifies this period as the beginning of his guitar-making career. In 2000, Bruce was joined by his son Matt Petros. Their collaboration resulted in the formation of Petros Guitars, a father-and-son lutherie based in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The company concentrated on handmade acoustic guitars rather than factory-scale production. Its instruments included both steel-string and nylon-string designs and were characterized by detailed woodworking, individualized construction, and decorative elements influenced in part by Spanish Baroque guitar aesthetics. The company’s documented range comprised six principal models: the New FS, intended for fingerstyle playing; Parlor; GC; D; Jumbo; and Baritone. This spread allowed the maker to serve different body-size and tonal preferences while retaining a common premium, handmade positioning. Petros also offered extensive customization. Customers could specify exotic woods, distinctive inlay schemes, cutaways, and specialized hardware or fittings. Examples cited in reference material include buffalo-horn nuts and saddles and mammoth-ivory bridge pins and nuts. By April 2013, the six named models were reported at a flat base retail price of $12,000 each. Optional rare woods and other appointments could raise the final price substantially, with some examples exceeding $22,000. The cited materials included African blackwood, Ceylon satinwood, and old matched Brazilian rosewood. These historical prices illustrate the brand’s luxury-market position, but no current price list is established by the available sources. Public information supplied for this entry does not document later ownership changes, additional model launches, distribution agreements, formal corporate restructuring, or the current operating status of the workshop. The brand’s documented identity therefore remains centered on the Petros family, Wisconsin-based custom lutherie, and premium handmade acoustic instruments.

• 2013

  Luxury pricing documented for the core range

  [1]Petros Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material dated April 2013 reports a $12,000 base retail price for each of six principal models, with highly customized examples exceeding $22,000.

• 2000

  Petros Guitars is formed

  [1]Petros Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  Matt Petros joins his father Bruce, and the two establish Petros Guitars as a father-and-son lutherie in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.

• 1972

  Bruce Petros begins making guitars

  [1]Petros Guitarsen.wikipedia.org

  Bruce Petros starts his guitar-making career, forming the craft foundation for the later family business.

Luxury, highly customized, limited-production acoustic guitars

• Fingerstyle acoustic guitar

  New FS

  The New FS is Petros Guitars’ documented fingerstyle-oriented model. It belongs to the company’s handmade acoustic range and can be specified with premium woods, decorative inlay, cutaway arrangements, and other custom appointments. Public reference material does not provide detailed body dimensions, bracing specifications, or current availability.

• Parlor acoustic guitar

  Parlor

  The Parlor is the smaller-bodied member of the documented Petros model range. It reflects the brand’s emphasis on handmade construction and individualized specification, with customers able to select woods and ornamental details. Specific tonal, dimensional, and production information is not supplied by the available reference material.

• Grand concert acoustic guitar

  GC

  The GC is identified as one of Petros Guitars’ six principal acoustic models. Its designation indicates a grand-concert format, positioned between smaller and larger body styles in the range. Like the other Petros instruments, it was offered as a handmade, highly customizable guitar, although detailed specifications are not available in the supplied sources.

• Dreadnought acoustic guitar

  D

  The D is Petros Guitars’ documented dreadnought-style model. It gives the range a larger, traditionally powerful acoustic format while retaining the workshop’s premium custom-building approach. Available descriptions do not specify its exact construction, scale, bracing, or current production status.

• Jumbo acoustic guitar

  Jumbo

  The Jumbo is the large-bodied model in the documented Petros lineup. It is designed for customers seeking the visual and acoustic presence associated with jumbo guitars, while allowing the extensive material and ornament options offered by the maker. No detailed technical specification is established by the supplied reference.

• Baritone acoustic guitar

  Baritone

  The Baritone expands the Petros range into the lower-register acoustic-guitar format. It is described as a handmade model within the same luxury custom framework as the company’s standard-range instruments. Public reference material does not provide tuning, scale-length, body, or availability details.

1. 1Petros Guitarsen.wikipedia.org