Peter Rowan and Preston Thompson Models
The idea that Peter Rowan has such a long history with Preston and then with Christine makes his connection extra special. Peter bought a Thompson from Preston at Winfield in the 1980’s and has enjoyed it’s sound for over 40 years. He also has a Dreadnought and now a Signature 0000 made of Brazilian rosewood with inlay designs that are special to his path as a Buddhist.
Preston started selling his guitars at Winfield where he also contributed a prize guitar in the fingerstyle championship – (Read more on Preston’s history at Winfield) His connection with Charles Sawtelle introduced him to many other players including Peter Rowan.
Peter’s connection came back around when Preston decided to open up shop in Sisters in 2013. He reached out to Peter to see if he might come up and play a concert. This event became a 2 night event held at The Belfry due to Christine Funk, who now heads Thompson Guitars, showing her film “The Tao of Bluegrass – A Portrait of Peter Rowan” the 1st night and Peter performed a live show the next night. Here is a short conversation Peter had with Preston talking about their friend Charles and the 000’s history within Peter’s songwriting career at the shop in Sisters, Oregon.
When we reached out to Peter about a Signature model he was excited to make the model a 0000 as he tried out one for a few months, he loved the sound and feel the model brought forth. His ideas for inlays was appealing not only in the hues it brought to the guitar, like turquoise, but the significance of each image. We are offering a limited run of 15 and have 10 build slots available to date. It is available as a 0000 or a Dreadnought and your choice of rosewood.
The PKT Model is in honor of Preston Kenneth Thompson, his investigation of those Charles Sawtelle 1930’s guitars was his foundation for his career as a luthier and his dedication to the craft. We purchased a 1983 D-EIA 41 style that he made and used this guitar as our template to create a special guitar to honor his legacy. We created a label that resembles the one he used in the 1980’s with a ram’s head on it.
This PKT model features a Sitka Spruce top and East Indian back and sides. It offers warmth and clarity that reflects the sound from his 1983 build. It is a 41 style, single abalone rosette, abalone backstrip and the entire guitar is bound with maple. We will offer 5 limited build spots per year.
These signature models are part of our history and we appreciate all the artists support. It has been a wild ride here with so many highs and one big low when Preston left us, but we hope we continue to make him proud as we write the future.
You might also like
