The Pentalin is an electric mandolin that uses the Pentasystem™ tuning system. The five strings are tuned: (low to high) B F# C# G# D# or C G D A E. Although the Pentalin can be played like a traditional mandolin, it's scale length, 29 jumbo frets and great sustain make it an ideal "new voice" for rock guitarists.

The entire swamp ash body is covered in mother-of-pearl and the bridge is a Merlin 5 with through-the-body stringing. And speaking of strings, ordinary strings work fine but Pentasystem will have specifically designed strings for these instruments available in March, 2001. The neck is made from a single piece of figured maple and uses vintage Kluson machines. A single five-string Stack Lace pick-up with Alnico V magnets is used with simple tone and volume controls.