Fret King Corona 60SP

Excellent construction and feel. I love the Gotoh HAPs but have had problems with the low E string being too thick for the design (I use a 058) but Trev has advised on a little bit of DIY... I tried another brand of pickup in neck position but came back to the Wilkinson because the balance was better and the tone is fine anyway.

I mainly play country but sometimes get to play the blues and even some rockier stuff and my Corona 60SP covers all bases. In combination with my Mesa/Boogie MKIII Simulclass, guitarists in the audience always rave about my sound! I occasionally do rock'n'roll gigs for which I'll use a Cornell Voyager 20 combo (Celestion Vintage 30 spkr) that uses 6V6s... I especially like the P90-style pickup in bridge position. I have personally custom-wired the guitar to get several unusual pickup combinations (with attenuations and partial phase-shifts!) and it's a seriously versatile beast!

Trev has personally set up my guitar and, upon a few visits to his workshop, given it a checkup ??? not that anything was wrong, just 'servicing' of sorts! The quality of workmanship and set-up is first-class. My guitar had a hairline crack in the finish in an out of sight location ??? and I don't care about such cosmetics when the guitar feels and plays so great!

I've been using my Corona 60SP for around five years now and it's never let me down (except for those unaccommodating Gotoh tuners causing pre-gig panic, although I successfully fixed the problem...) I never feel the need to have a backup guitar... The guitar feels and plays as good as the day I got it. The best thing about about my Fret-King guitar ??? apart from great sound and feel ??? is that it stays in tune! Remember having a guitar that needed constant retuning and checking? What a pain, eh? Having a guitar that stays in tune (despite vibrato usage) is REALLY cool! Incidentally, the Wilkinson VSV, as fitted to this model, is stunning in all respects, not just tuning reliability: the tone and feel are both superb as well!

Trev Wilkinson is simply a genius! Yet he makes everything sound so straightforward. He's a genuinely friendly guy who listens... He'll answer your questions (his knowledge is frightening ??? partly helped by wisdom passed on by some chap called Leo F... (who took Trev under his wing...). Trev knows about guitars and is only too happy to help you sort out your guitar requirements. He knows that the details that count.

I've been a professional guitarist for 27 years and my Fret-King Corona is easily the best I've ever owned and used. It's way better than most other expensive guitars and everything about screams 'custom shop' although it's not exactly that (or maybe it is!) If I lost this guitar I'd simply replace it with the same type, no doubt about it. As I said earlier, it stays in tune, which is such a rare delight! the great tones and lovely feel are the icing on the cake. I'm not remotely competitive but my Fret-King guitar will allow me perform with any band/artist/other guitarist and I have 100% trust in that it will deliver ??? and blow the rest away should the need arise!

Bought this guitar direct from factory back in 2002.60's Stratocaster shaped body with G&L styled headstock(batwing) two single-coil alnico's & P90 style at bridge. Aged pickguard r/w neck natural finish (which looks like a translucent lilac colour)
Overall, an aged strat with a twist.

My ears compare this with a 70's strat on the s/coils and the P90? more beef but balances well with the rest in parallel. I later on added a neck mix mod. with the tone control knob and a master tone control. Acoustically very toneful I chose the natural finish to try to get a decent piece of timber for the body. Three years on I still like the tones they haven't "aged" yet maybe thats a ittle too optimistic.

Straight out of the box bloomin' marvellous, found myself giggling on discovery. Rarely ever found a new guitar off the peg that I could just get on & play let alone out of a box.

Down the line I have only one gripe to mention. The machine heads are HAP gotoh a new locking design, had a problem with one of them but swapped the innards of another to resolve. May have tarnished my opinion of these "improvements"

Bought this thru MIDAS distibution who do not deal with Fretking anymore However, they P&P the insrument & included a hiscox case all in with the price

Wanted to provide this late review of the guitar, firstly as I just discovered the database included Fretking guitars and secondly because I wanted to give praise to a brit guitar maker who is making what I think is a mark on guitar market with his ideas and workmanship. Guitar magazine in 2002 gave an average review of what I thought was a fantastic new guitar & I was quite gobsmacked. Last I heard you could order these instruments direct from Trevor Wilkinson at about twelve hundred quid. Get one theyre better than a Fender relic IMHO.
Have noticed other reviewers waffling about themselves & their gear so I just want to say SPOT-ON GUV'NOR!

Here goes, This is the TOP OF THE RANGE model. Made here in good ol blighty. very basic guitar, obviously based on a Fender Stratocaster. 22 Frets, as 60's model it has the slimmer Rosewood neck. This is where the guitar comes in to its own, with the pickups, tuners and neck. PURE class. Came with hard case.

Sound is absolute class. I often refer to it as a hot rodded SRV strat. i was round Phil Hilbornes house and was given the guitar to play, i fell in love imeadiately. with the custom P90 it rocks major arse. I called Trevor Wilkinson the next day, told him howmush i loved the guitar and got on the waiting list. Seriously THAT good. Like a hot rodded strat but more versatile. I have no serious dislikes other than that Trevor was supposed to set this up for me and the action is a little too low. Never mind.

Everything rocks on this guitar, as i said earlier, the action was a little too low, but nothing to cry about, other than thagt i've a better looking and , more importantly, a better sounding strat. Fender havent produced a guitar as good as this in the last 15 years.

Use the guitar all the time, is my second guitar behind my '59 reissue, but great for that Stones/faces Honk. Very reliable.

Call up Fret King and chances are you'll deal directly with Trevor Wilkinson. A lovelly guy who genuinely cares about his product. Top man. Dont know about length of warranty in all honesty.

I've been playing for 10 years, semi pro i guess. This guitar is TRULY amazing. I cant recommend this guitar high enough. If you love Strats, especially that SRV sound, then i'd say get in to your nearest guitar dealer and try one. They aren't always stocked and i believe the RRP is around #1299 but it is worth paying that much. I honestly would say better than ANY current day guitar Fender has made in the last 15 years. Last story, when the guitar arrived i took to my local store. A guy there who lives and breathes VAN HALEN tried the guitar, now this is a guy who owns 3 top of the range Wolfgangs and 5150 + MXR's etc.....you know the type, after 5 minutes he was on the phone to Fret King ordering his. 100 % true.