Preston Thompson (Sisters) builds world-class acoustic guitars with a small team of skilled luthiers. After moving to Bend from Texas in the 1980s, Preston witnessed a boom in Central Oregon instrument making. His work is part of an emerging occupational tradition of skills, knowledge, and experience among the numerous guitar builders in this part of the country.
Bio
Originally from Texas, Preston Thompson refined his skills at building guitars in the 1970s at Randy Wood’s Old Time Pickin’ Parlor in Bloomingdale, Georgia. Thompson’s work received a boost in reputation when winners of the National Flatpicking Championship in Kansas chose his instrument as first prize over other top names – three years in a row. He got further support from big name customers from the bluegrass music world like Charles Sawtelle and Peter Rowan began playing his instruments on stages around the globe. Upon moving to Oregon in 1984, Preston set up shop with a small team of skilled workers, first in Bend and then in Sisters. Together, they turn out about 100 masterfully crafted acoustic guitars a year, forming part of a booming guitar-building tradition in Deschutes County. His work benefits from the concentration of experienced woodworkers and trained craftspeople. “There is a mindset and a heritage of woodworking skills that came from this area. And of course wood products were a very large section of this economy for many years,” Thompson observes. “The parents and the grandparents of a lot of these fellas working for us were probably woodworkers who instilled that portion of the art.” Alongside Honduran mahogany and Brazilian rosewood, Thompson’s instruments incorporate Oregon woods like Sitka spruce and coastal Myrtlewood. His instruments are snatched up by professional musicians and collectors alike who value what Thompson calls the “classic American look” of the instruments and their superior action and tone.
