Eds passion for guitars started back in 1984. What started as a teenage hobby, has grown into a life long obsession.
He started working on guitars about 30 years ago as a way to maintain his own collection. This evolved into helping friends and other local musicians in the area with maintaining and upgrading their instruments. As his passion grew, he continued to develop skills as a luthier and have now grown into a small batch guitar production company located outside of Chicago Illinois which began in 2025.
Ed continues his passion with his son Eddie who also participates with repairing behind the scenes.
Meet Our Team
Ed Snoble - Head Luthier
Kenny brings over 20 years of guitar experience and 15 years of performing live to Penguin Guitar Co. With deep roots in the Midwest music scene, he knows what it takes to put on a great show and connect with an audience. Throughout his career, Kenny has shared the stage with artists including Smash Mouth, Night Ranger, Keke Palmer, and many more.
Behind the scenes, Kenny runs Penguin Guitar Co.’s social media and brings our content to life. From capturing the action to making sure every photo and video looks great, he helps tell the Penguin Guitar Co. story both on and off the stage.
Kenny Potilechio - Social Media
Latest with Penguin
Penguin Guitar Co. featured in the Elgin Courier - June 2025
We had the pleasure of spending two hours with Rick Weiss, diving deep into all things guitars. Our conversation explored the history, design, and evolution of our work and how it has shaped what we do today.
In October 2025, we had the amazing honor of being featured on WGN Chicago’s “Around Town” segment, broadcast live with Ana Belaval. This special morning news feature brought the WGN crew to our location for over three hours, during which we filmed seven live segments highlighting everything we love about guitars and the art of guitar making.
Penguin Guitar Co. featured on WGN Chicago News - October 2025
"Around Town" with Ana Belaval
Click here to watch the Video Interviews
Penguin Guitar Co. featured in the Daily Herald - June 2025
We sat down with Mike Danahey to talk guitars, from the music that inspires them to the hands-on work that brings them to life. We also shared the story of Penguin Guitar Company and how our love for building and repairing instruments grew into the workshop and community it is today.
Penguin Guitar Co. featured on Secondhand Talent Podcast - April 2026
In celebration of our one-year anniversary, we’re excited to share that we’ll be featured on Secondhand Talent Podcast, a show dedicated to highlighting the incredible people working behind the scenes in music and live events.
This episode is a chance for us to dive into our passion for guitars, craftsmanship, and the art of guitar making, and we’re honored to share our story and celebrate this milestone with the Secondhand Talent community.
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Testimonials
I haven’t played my guitar in almost 50 years. Ed did a fantastic job cleaning, polishing, and restringing my Yamaha Acoustic. I’m excited to start the relearning process!
Pam Krasinski
I'm very picky with the work that is done to my guitars. Eds attention to detail is amazing. As a touring artist, I have a lot of guitars that go in and out of this shop and I 100% recommend using PGC as your go to. Quick turn around and lowest prices in Chicagoland.
Kenny Potilechio - Run Forrest Run, PBJ, Touring Artist
★★★★★
★★★★★
The setup work on my guitar was exceptional, bringing it back to life. I was about to sell this guitar because I hated the way it played, and now it is one of my favorites. Shortly thereafter I commissioned a custom semi-hollow Tele that Ed built (Lime Green Tele). Highly recommended!
★★★★★
Bill "Billion" Nicholson
As a touring musician, custom work is not something I take lightly. I am player, not a collector. I need my tools to be stage/studio ready at a moments notice.
After a few trusted recommendations, Penguin Guitars transformed my PRS Silver Sky into a lean-mean shred machine that could handle the abuse of the road (about 400 shows worth) and deliver on everything from Jazz to Hard Rock. Finally this guitar I've had feels like my own.
Larry Anthony - DISNEY, Thomas Nicholas Band, & Mark Rose
★★★★★
Ed made me a bass guitar about a year and a half ago now. It was such a fun and rewarding experience to collaborate with him to make my dream bass come to life! It’s a beautiful, incredibly well-crafted instrument. I get compliments on it all the time!
Cate Winsor - Bass, Violin
★★★★★
Ed is the most helpful and understanding Luthier I have ever met. The work he performed on my guitars was amazing. Ed gave my Taylor 214-CE the highest quality of intonation that I have ever experienced and his work on my Gibson 335-ESDP restored it to a joy to play. All my guitars stay in tune like never before. He has all my future business.
★★★★★
Mark Lil
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