Trev demonstrates his Fret-King Super-Matic
featuring the Wilkinson ATD HD440 self-tuning bridge

Trev Wilkinson and his Wilkinson guitar pickups

Wilkinson guitar pickups were first designed for my Fret-King range of guitars which were based on classic designs so they required pickups reflecting the character of the originals.

I learnt a long time ago that pickups are mote than just wire and magnets, they need the correct magnets.. and correct wire! Equally important are the mechanics of the whole assembly. Take a single coil pickup - just because the resistance measures the same as the original, and the magnets and wire are no different doesn't mean that it will sound exactly like the original. What if the coil is taller, wider or longer then the original guitar pickup? Knowing how to manipulate these criteria is one of the secrets of good guitar pickup design.

I'm a firm believer that the pickups were originally placed in harmonically enhanced positions - I don't believe in messing with that. We re-calibrate the Wilkinson guitar pickups as they come down the guitar to ensure consistency of tone and output. We may be the only mass guitar manufacturer doing this. Plus, the middle pickup is reverse wound so that in positions 2 and 4 in a 5-way switch set-up the pickups are actually in hum-cancelling mode.

Not all Wilkinson guitar pickups are exact replicas of original classics. I have take the liberty of making some subtle changes to make my Wilkinson pickups more acceptable in today's market. Sets of pickups are available "calibrated" with bridge pickups being slightly over wound to balance the output. Single coils are available "reverse wound/reverse polarity" to give hum cancelling capability when using two pickups together. I could resist adding a slightly hotter set of Wilkinson single coil pickups to the range and some hotter humbuckers. The "V" humbuckers have slightly wider pole piece spacing to accommodate vibrato equipped guitars.

All Wilkinson guitar pickups are wired for "tone" - "power" is a secondary consideration. Balance is important to me, high frequencies should sparkle though not thin. Mids should be warm and defined. Lower frequencies tight and articulate.

Trev Wilkinson and his Wilkinson guitar bridges

Steel is steel, if it's heat treated it's gonna last. Bending a piece of steel, whether it's done by a Korean guy or an American guy on their bending machines, it's still the same component part – providing the bend is done in the right place!

The classic 3-saddle design of the Wilkinson TC200 base plate has been around for over 50 years, and is still widely regarded as the ‘tone machine'. On the Wilkinson bridge unit, newly designed staggered brass saddles achieve individual string intonation never before available on this type of guitar bridge. I have been careful not to interfere with success – the baseplate itself is a faithful reproduction of the original, made from steel, very important in a guitar bridge of this style due to the tonal effect it has on the magnetic field of the pickup mounted in it.

Trev Wilkinson and his Wilkinson designed Italia guitars

I loved those bizarre 60's instruments; trouble was, they were awful to play. Their status as musical instruments was sacrificed at the altar of far-out styling and whacky features. So I set-about encapsulating all that was good about the era, and combining it with the very best in modern guitar innovation, to produce the range that has got everyone talking, and arguing - about their favourite colours, the merits of silver-ultra-sparkle over pearloid, and which is the prettiest, or ugliest, guitar in the range! These were the Trev Wilkinson designed Italia guitars!

But when the aesthetic debates subside, when the talking stops and the playing starts, serious musicians are discovering a collection of truly individual, distinctive, creative and precision-crafted musical instruments which have so much to offer to players of all conceivable styles. Tthe conversations are now switching to the awesome-sounding pickups, silky-smooth tremolo systems which actually work, 'players' necks, and tones which simply cannot be found elsewhere.

Every Italia model has its talking-points and has earned its place in the range on its musical merits. Take the Mondial Classic. Two humbuckers, a bridge piezo, separate EQ systems for each, and Italia's unique 'AcoustiGlass' top, combine to give a unique range of blues, rock and acoustic possibilities, without the need to change instruments mid-set. Or the Riminis - with their combination of lightweight, semi-hollow bodies and Wilkinson mini-humbuckers, these instruments give you the jangle and the warmth all at once. (the 12-string versions are simply awesome).

The basses also enjoy their share of innovation. Check the four rotated lipstick pickups on the Modulos for example. This just SHOULDN'T WORK! But it does - and it sounds huge. Another classic-in-the-making is the Maranello Z-Bass, developed by Trev Wilkinson at the request of the Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire, who needed an instrument for an acoustic gig.

Marillion just ordered some Riminis, Chris Rea turns to his four Maranellos when the blues get heavy.

Trev gives the Fret-King story at Salon de la Musique 2008

Trev talks on his Fret-King Corona Super 60HB
at Musikmesse Frankfurt 2008

Trev talks on his Fret-King Esprit 3 at Musikmesse Frankfurt 2008