Welcome to Prucha Bluegrass instruments, the premier manufacturer of banjos and mandolins in the Czech Republic. Their instruments are of finest quality and are being played by some of the most prominent bluegrass musicians around the World today. Each instrument is handmade to meet the highest standard of perfection using only the best materials available.
Behind the creation of PRUCHA BLUEGRASS INSTRUMENTS is Jaroslav Prucha. His obsession with bluegrass music began when he was still a small child on a boy scout camping trip in the woods. At the time, the Czechoslovakian government had banned all country and bluegrass music which was believed to be a symbol of Western culture that dealt with such dangerous topics as freedom, love and patriotism. It was seen as a type of subversive force which might have the power to bring people together. The five string banjo was the driving force of that music and was new and exotic to Czechoslovakians. Jaroslav heard banjo the first time on this camping trip. A band of traveling musicians joined the boy scouts around the fire where one of them played his four-string tenor banjo. Those first sounds instantly found a home in Jaroslav‘s heart and his life was changed forever.He felt driven to learn to play, but there were no banjos to be found in Czechoslovakia in those days.
Instead og giving up, Jaroslav decided to make one for himself. So in 1974, with no blueprints, no experience, and only a few photographe to help, his first five-string banjo was completed. Later, Jaroslav attended a concert of the "revolutionary" Czech bluegrass band The Greenhorns. There he saw another incredible sight - fingerpicks - which were also inaccessible! When he arrived home, he took an old tin can and cut the shape of the fingepicks out. They seemed perfect in every way. After his first banjo was sold, his enthusiasm was so high thad he decided to make another, trying for a better look and sound. Thirty years later, he can see the culmination of his life's work in every instrument that leaves his workshop. He bought back that first banjo and still has it to remind him of how the story all began.
Jaroslav Prucha is a hard-driving banjo player as well as luthier and bases his sound on the Scruggs style of picking. His bluegrass band is HPSK, the unusual name being composed of the initials of the member's surnames. Information on his band can be found at www.sweb.cz/hpsk. Jaroslav is also a sports fanatic, playing squash every day and riding his new Harley Davidson.
In the last few years, PRUCHA BLUEGRASS INSTRUMENTS has expanded to become a family venture. To continue the dream, Jaroslav's son, Jan quickly showed himself to be a master craftsman. Being the perfectionist, he permits nothing to leave his bench unless it is absolutely flawless in every detail.
His addition in the shop has only server to build on the already outstanding reputation of the PRUCHA name. Jan's impeccable qualities as an artist have also found expression in his beatiful pastel and pencil drawings as well as his work on the banjos. His drawing have been so well received that he has been asked to show in a couple of American galleries. Jan is also an incredible athlete. He was champion of the Czech Republic for one year of the 400 meter sprint and was 3rd for two years.
Unique to banjo manufacturing, PRUCHA BLUEGRASS INSTRUMENTS is the only company to completely produce all the parts of their hardware for the banjo in its own workshop. When Jaroslav began to build his banjos, the metal banjo parts were not to be found so he had to make his own. As the years passed, he perfected the quality and production so much, that now PRUCHA banjo parts are used by every major banjo manufacturer around the world. If your instrument has a different company's name on the headstock, chances are that the metal parts are PRUCHA made.
PRUCHA BLUEGRASS INSTRUMENTS are endorsed by professional player in the Czech Republic as well as in US and other countries around the world. (See them all in „ARTIST“ section.
No matter who is playing, however, the biggest endorsment must be made by the instrument itself. Before leaving the shop, each instrument is set up for the finest tone and ease of playing. If requested, any string action can be set to the customer's specific preference. The company goal is for musicians of all abilities to be satisfied with their playing experience. If your dream is to have an instrument of superior playability and tone, then you can rely on PRUCHA instruments to deliver, as proven again and again by the hundreds od satisfied customers over the last thirty years.
Our doors are always open. Anytime your travels bring you to Czech Republic, close to Prague, feel free to drop in and visit us.
As we say –„We like to make friends“
