Fret-King is a UK-based manufacturer of stringed instruments and musical accessories. The company was founded by guitar designer Trevor Wilkinson in the early 1990s. Fret-King manufactures electric and bass guitars, primarily inspired by traditional designs from the 1950s, such as the Les Paul, Stratocaster, and Telecaster. These instruments often feature non-standard pickup configurations and Gibson-style hollow bodies, alongside some models with unique shapes.[1]
Since 2008, the Fret-King brand has been owned by UK musical instrument distributor John Hornby Skewes and Co. Ltd. (JHS), and is headquartered in Garforth, Leeds.
Fret-King has designed signature model guitars for a number of artists including Jerry Donahue, John Etheridge, Gordon Giltrap, John Verity, John Jorgenson,[2] Elliott Randall and Danny Bryant.[3]
Notable guitarists who have supported Fret-King guitars include Manic Street Preachers guitarist, James Dean Bradfield, Parker Lundgren, Gavin Coulson of Oliver/Dawson Saxon, Jeff Brown of Cats In Space[4] and Andrew Pipe of The Mentulls.[5]
Trevor Wilkinson parted ways with JHS in 2018.[6][7][8]