![Fret king john etheridge](https://kumkoniak.com/35.jpg)
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Offering high quality componentry, the best tone woods and top draw build quality, the Fret King brand grew from it’s original Green label series which was solely UK built custom shop instruments into the blue and black label ranges, these ranges at lower price points to the original models were manufactured by the leading overseas builders in both Korea and the Czech Republic. For me, speed is of the essence, so it has to be an ebony fingerboard, as on this 60s Gibson 355 Stereo, which I bought from New York’s 48th street in 1978.Founded by Trev Wilkinson in the 1990’s, Fret King reflected Wilkinson’s design concept’s that integrated his passion for traditional American guitar builders, the flair of the European guitar builders and Trev’s passion for the curves of the Automobile industry. “I’ve played a lot of vintage Les Pauls from the 50s, and whilst they sound great, they’re really tough to play. “They have to be spot-on, especially if I’m shifting chord shapes really quickly whilst keeping the top and bottom lines going,” he says. Each of his models has an individual headstock inlay, mine has a sunflower.” The playability and precision of the neck and fingerboard are of the utmost importance for John’s playing style.” “We worked on the neck dimensions for ages, and he produced one of the most comfortable I’ve played, extra fat and with a wide ebony fingerboard and jumbo frets. This included a maple-over-mahogany body, through-body stringing, coil-tapped Seymour Duncan jazz pickups and a Hipshot vibrato system.” He was so helpful when I asked for my own spec within the design. “My favourite solid-bodied guitar for live and recording work for a long time has been this Martyn Booth Signature.
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I adored that guitar, it had a really fast neck, but it was stolen in Paris in August 1977.” I was familiar with the neck profile, as I’d been playing an SG from the age of 15, so I graduated from a Strat to a three-pickup Gibson SG Type 2 Custom. “As soon as I changed to a Gibson I found my right hand was more relaxed and I could play faster. “A Strat is arguably the quintessential guitar, and there’s no need to sing its praises here, but whilst I really liked the sound, it just wasn’t the right guitar physically for my playing.” These two Strats are stunning, they both play beautifully, whilst sonically they are very individual.” I have friends who have had Les Pauls and Strats from the 50s and 60s, some are great and some are absolutely horrible. I have two here, a ’64 sunburst and a ’62, which has been taken back to the wood.
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“I used that Strat for ages and it was on the ’76 album called Softs, which has recently been reissued. “During the early period of The Soft Machine, around 1975, I was using a ’62 Fender Stratocaster, which I had bought from bassist Dek Messecar when we were both in the band Darryl Way’s Wolf,” explains John.
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