About 3-6 months. The specific timeline for your build is included in the commissions form.
You are invited to visit our workshop in Stromberg (about 30km west of Mainz), Germany. Here, we have a selection of demo and “in stock” guitars ready for you to try out. Alternatively, you can book a slot for our regular “Tryout Days” in Mainz or Frankfurt, where we invite a small group of guitarists to varying locations for a personal demonstration, testing station and an open Q&A with the luthier.
In accordance with European Union consumer protection laws and the German Civil Code (BGB), all instruments are covered by a mandatory 2-year statutory guarantee (Gewährleistung). This guarantee covers all defects in materials or manufacturing that existed at the time of delivery. The following conditions and circumstances are explicitly excluded from the warranty: Normal Wear and Tear: Degradation of components subject to regular use, including but not limited to frets, nuts, saddles, strings, switches, potentiometers, and input jacks. Finish Alterations: Natural aging, fading, checking, or wear of the finish, as well as damage caused by abrasive chemicals, perspiration, or improper cleaning agents. Climatic Damage: Structural damage, wood cracking, or neck warping resulting from exposure to extreme conditions, temperatures, direct sunlight, or fluctuations in relative humidity. Wood is a hygroscopic material and requires a stable environment. Improper Handling and Neglect: Damage resulting from accidents, drops, misuse, or failure to perform standard instrument maintenance. Unauthorized Modifications: Any defects or damage arising from modifications, structural routing, or repairs performed by third-party technicians without prior written authorization. Routine Setups: Adjustments to intonation, string height, truss rod, or pickup height after the initial delivery.
Due to the highly individualized nature of our guitars, please understand that instruments built to your specific configurations are non-returnable and non-refundable. Once a build is commissioned and tailored to your personal preferences, it cannot be returned due to a change of heart. This policy is in accordance with Article 16(c) of the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU). Under this legislation, the right of withdrawal does not apply to "the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalized." In Germany, this is further codified under § 312g (2) No. 1 of the BGB (German Civil Code). Your warranty rights remain fully intact. If your instrument arrives damaged or possesses a material defect, please contact us immediately so we can arrange for a repair, replacement, or appropriate resolution. “In Stock” guitars have a 15-day –return period. The customer is responsible for all shipping costs.
We accept SEPA bank transfers. The full final price (incl. VAT) is calculated after our first call and will be included in your formal order / commissions form. Our guitar configurator will give you a realistic first cost estimate. An initial payment of 50% of the total price is due upon commission, with the remaining 50% payable after project completion and before shipping.
Of course. Feel free to pick any communication channel that is comfortable for you.
Custom requests are very welcome. Simply send us an E-Mail or add a comment when you book a video call and we’ll check feasibility and price.
Yes, if we can source it. We have a network of trusted suppliers and are happy to go on the hunt for the right piece of wood. Send us an Email or a heads-up when you book a call with us, and we’ll check availability and prices for you. Please note however, we will not work with any endangered, blacklisted, or otherwise restricted wood species.
We do not make replicas of brand name designs (LPs, STs, etc.). However, we are happy to use the specs and features of any existing models as the blueprint for your own commission.
In principle, all signed commission forms are final. You are very much encouraged to discuss any features and open questions in-depth with us ahead of time, but once a tool touches the wood, no further changes are possible.
We regularly build guitars with our own specs for use as demo instruments, for conventions, for content or to test certain concepts and feature combinations. These follow the exact same manufacturing steps, have the exact same components and are in no way different to our custom-built instruments. The only difference is that they have been played for a number of hours (like any guitar displayed in your local guitar shop) and have likely been transported a few times. Therefore, these guitars usually show slight signs of usage and should be considered “lightly used”. Details for each guitar are included in the description. Regardless of wear, all these guitars come with full warranty, and get a free full service and setup before shipping.
Yes, pickups can be swapped on request. Let us know what you’d like and we’ll order and install it for you. If you are swapping to a set of equivalent, factory-sealed pickups (same wiring, form factor, sourced through us) as the original pickups, expect costs close to the retail price of the new pickups + 20%. For all other requests (i.e. installing used pickups, changes to the wiring / components), kindly contact us with details of your request, and we’ll be happy to provide a quote.
When you commission an instrument, we set up an online storage where we regularly upload pictures and videos. If you are curious about a specific step in the process, feel free to ask for a live stream from our workshop. We also offer live streams on Youtube, that you can also use to ask any questions you might have. Finally, we post content about all our builds on our social media channels.
Apart from being the more sustainable choice, we believe European tone woods to be equal to imported woods in terms of tone and aesthetics, while being often superior in terms of workability. In addition, imported woods are more at risk to be affected by regulatory issues, fluctuating availability, prices and / or tariffs. For these reasons, we decided to specialize in regionally sourced tone woods, with most of our stock coming from Germany and the greater Alpine region.
By default, our guitars are mostly hand-made, but we use hand-operated CNC routers for certain precise operations (i.e. marking fret slots, routing neck pockets), to ensure precision and minimize material losses. This means that there is always a luthier working the tool, but the tool helps with the proper alignment and positioning. Other than these routing jobs, everything is done by hand, by a single luthier, at our workshop in Stromberg. If you have any questions about our manufacturing process, please do not hesitate to ask. Entirely hand-made builds are available on request.
Yes, all Pananimas come with an matching case or hardshell gigbag.
Legally speaking, that would be the author of this FAQ, founder and luthier Fernando Manzoni. I have been involved in music and the guitar scene as a performer, teacher, promoter, producer and guitar tech for over 20 years, starting the Pananima project in 2022, before launching the brand and website in 2026. In reality, a much larger group of people contribute to every instrument in some capacity, which is why I always use the plural “we / us”, when talking about the brand. Book a call, if you’d like to meet me and talk about guitars, music, gear and why a Pananima can be the right choice for you.
“Pananima” roughly translates to “allsoul”. It conveys the idea that making and enjoying music is a quintessential part of human experience. Music allows us to articulate, share and understand emotions on an extremely instinctive level, like no other form of art. All guitarists know the feeling of just completely losing yourself during a solo or an improvisation – that moment where you no longer think about the guitar in your hands, instead just creating beautiful melodies and awesome licks that flow organically out of your speakers. Our ambition is to get you into that state - every time you pick up your Pananima. We pursue that ambition by taking a no-voodoo, pragmatic, and physics-based approach to lutherie, combining modern ergonomics with a fresh take on classic design elements. We make sure that the physics work in your favor, so you can focus on sounding and looking good.