John Preston was an 18th-century luthier in England, known for making English guitars and

cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...

s. Preston also claimed to be the inventor of the type of "watchkey" stringed instrument tuners now known as "

Preston tuners Preston tuners or machines (also known as peacock, fan, or watchkey tuners) is a type of machine head tuning system for string instruments, named for English cittern ( English guitar) maker John Preston and developed in the 18th century. -- ''the ...

", engraving "PRESTON INVENTOR" on the back of his devices; scholars note the originator could be the luthier John Frederick Hintz, who advertised such a mechanism as early as 1766. Preston Tuners are almost obsolete nowadays. However, they are still used in

Portuguese guitar The Portuguese guitar or Portuguese guitarra ( pt, guitarra portuguesa, ) is a plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings, strung in six courses of two strings. It is one of the few musical instruments that still uses watch-key or Presto ...

, with its particular shape being a trademark of the Portuguesa guitar design. Preston established a music shop in

Long Acre Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and la ...

in London in 1774.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, John British luthiers 18th-century English people Year of birth missing Year of death missing Businesspeople from London