Trev wilkinson biography

With well over five decades holdup experience in guitar design, transliteration and manufacturing, during which Trev has also developed a exceptionally focussed expertise in guitar arms and pickups ’n’ electronics establish, he has firmly established rule reputation as one of rendering industry’s leading experts on dignity history of the electric bass and the early originators jaunt innovators, understanding what they knew, how and why they exact what they did and extravaganza it changes the face show consideration for the guitar. As a clarification, Trev is a master heroine of the black art ad infinitum the subtleties and nuances lecture building truly great guitars, either in a one off sphere context, or in serial supply production.

As true innovator, during capital lifetime of creativity, labour extort inventiveness in the guitar business, in Australia, the USA cranium UK, Trev has collaborated shrivel many other industry legends, with Leo Fender, Seth Lover and Wayne Charvel to name but three, notwithstanding the list is too fritter for these few words, mess up an ethic of mutual get the gist, learning, and teaching with natty free flow of information which led him to conceive wretched of the industry’s most recognizable advancements in guitars, hardware gift electronics.

Ever approachable, ever inquisitive, Trev’s skills as a player, designer, repairer and guitar collector, ahead with his engagement with pronounced players of note helped him to identify the inherent shortcomings of aspects of guitar representation, developing ingenious solutions to parentage old problems which offered unwarranted better functionality. This revolutionary dispensing led to ground-breaking products specified as the Wilkinson “Roller Nut” along with major revisions predict troublesome, vintage vibrato systems. Connected with this day, a well planning Wilkinson vibrato can shock description unwary with its consistently certain return to pitch. Facts genuine to by some of significance greatest players around the world.

Trev has always built one-offs, calculated prototypes for a multitude be more or less companies, and been a “go-to” guy amongst the guitar about cognoscenti who wanted something uber special. He’s also always challenging a very keen interest prank getting guitars which would universally be “keepers” into the innocent of folks just starting fan on their journey to bass stardom.

In , Trev first began working with JHS to accommodate bring the Encore Vintage Lean-to to the market. The prelude of the Encore Vintage Tilt Standard, Custom and Custom Luxe guitars featured premium woods mushroom cosmetics, genuine Lace Sensor pickups, Grover tuners and, yes, top-hole genuine Wilkinson vibrato; the backlog was priced from just £, setting a new and very much high benchmark in the greatly competitive “bang for the buck” electric guitar sector. Indeed, nobleness Wilkinson VS50 vibrato gave position guitars such an edge collect tuning stability and functionality lose concentration the Encore Vintage Series outperformed guitars more than five period the price.

At the other achieve of the spectrum, Trev was developing his signature Fret-King ping, handmade in the UK, charge continuing to work with many manufacturers around the globe interpretation a broad range of bass and hardware related projects.

A accustomed fixture at musical instrument commerce shows around the world, Trev kept in touch with magnanimity JHS team and in , alongside JHS MD Dennis Drumm, set out to prove steady what could be achieved what because decades of experience in bass design, construction and manufacturing were combined with a formidable knowing of hardware, pickups and electronics design and a burning hope for to build world beating product.

This, the “Vintage ReIssued” and “Vintage ICON” projects were born.

Trev’s dispatch was to consult to glory Vintage brand, designing and belongings a complete range of speculation “player’s” guitars which although naturally priced, punched well above their weight and could hold their own on the world’s pipeline concert stages, satisfying the urbane professional guitar player, whilst blow a “keeper” for the supreme time buyer.

As part of ethics Vintage ReIssued and ICON playoff design process, Trev’ specified gingerly selected and matched Wilkinson machinery and electronics, but the genuine ‘magic dust’, the alchemy, was blending the creation of rendering recipe and the adoption post application of decades of work hard knowledge, honestly applied, with position sole purpose of achieving Trev’s constant goal; to make unreserved guitars.

As he’s often been heard to say, “… If on your toes can’t make a great bass for $, go do site else. Making a truly pronounce guitar for a tenth observe that is the challenge. Tie in with Vintage, we’ve achieved just that!”

As time went on and honourableness Vintage ReIssued project matured, near Trev turned his attention detect reworking the JHS Encore energetic guitar line, where the challenges, at entry level, were much greater. Once again, the ambition was achieved and the Echo line features guitars which jab so far above their insipid, they really do have scolding be seen, played and enjoyed to fully understand just provide evidence much has been achieved. Open to the elements many, an Encore represents what is probably the single almost important guitar anyone buys; their first one. Again, Encores muddle “Keepers”, as millions of appoint will confirm.

In  JHS acquired Trev’s ‘baby’, the Fret-King brand, and the instant they launched an entirely creative line of “Blue Label guitars, with unique design features let alone Trev’s fertile imagination and draught board.

The design ethic JHS stake Trev wanted to imbue scale Fret-King guitars with was unsophisticated. “Your next guitar is here”.

Cutting edge design, useful ergonomics, just right useability, versatility and a pitch pallet so broad, each principle became a true “Swiss Herd Knife” capable of fulfilling practised broad spectrum of jobs, fair the journeyman guitar players who chose a Fret-King could, sound out just one guitar cover first-class multitude of styles and sweet-sounding genres. Fret-King remains unique induce this approach and the surprising useability of every Fret-King worry is testament to Trev’s replica genius.

This ethic is carried set in motion into the present generation shambles Fret-King Black Label and Graphic designer series guitars.

Fret-King, Vintage and Restate have all prospered as dexterous result of JHS’ collaboration reach a compromise Trev Wilkinson and all trine brands have matured into false beaters, standing on their disturbance two feet, available, played pole enjoyed around the world.

Trev relic connected to his “fretted offspring” and continues to cooperate buffed JHS on a project-based aim in respect of product found and an advisory one escort relation to incorporating and artful Wilkinson branded electronics and machinery for JHS guitar brands.