Our Beginning…

American Tonewood Co. is a family-owned and operated business.  We are based in King, NC.  American Tonewood Co. got its start thanks to John Preston (Owner – Old World Tonewood).  John, a long time family friend, started Old World Tonewood in 2007 and is recognized by his many happy customers for providing the highest quality tonewoods, excellent customer service and a reasonable price.  Recently, John decided to shift his focus solely to non-fretted instrument tonewood.  Thus, American Tonewood was established to serve the fretted instrument builders.  Our initial inventory of wood was purchased from Old World Tonewood.  We will continue to source our Red Spruce (Adirondack), Domestic Maple, Carpathian Spruce and European Maple from our existing sources to ensure we maintain the quality established by Old World Tonewood.  Additionally, we plan to expand the selection of tonewood to include other desirable species sought after by today’s builders. Our promise to you is to continue the quality and excellent customer service established by Old World Tonewood.  We look forward to helping you with your next tonewood purchase! 

Best Regards,

Tracy Pence

Tracy Pence
Co-oWNER

I have enjoyed playing music since I was 8 years old.  I developed a love for woodworking when I was in my early teens visiting my grandfather in his wood shop. Having an opportunity to combine these loves into the tonewood business is a dream come true. Sharing this business with my son Neal is also a dream come true!  

Neal Pence
Co-Owner

I am a Mechanical Engineer by trade and have grown up around woodworking. I love making/restoring things and am looking forward to learning more about instrument building.