Access Bags and Cases Builder Profile: Wilkins Guitars and RoadTested Basses

ABOUT THE GUITARS

MODEL	Drop Top
BODY	Alder with Koa top
FINISH	Clear Gloss
NECK	Roasted Maple
FINGERBOARD	Roasted Maple
PICK GUARD	None
HARDWARE	Hipshot, Chrome
PICKUP	By Howard Ulyate
BRIDGE	Hipshot Type A
SWITCH	None
PRICE	$4600

ABOUT THE BUILDER

Pat Wilkins

Pat Wilkins was working for Acoustic Amplifiers in 1977 when he met the owner of Schecter Guitars and was invited to join the team, with which he discovered his talents and passion for working with wood and guitars. He quickly advanced from running the wood shop to learning how to paint and make guitars. He studied directly under David Schecter and Tom Anderson.

After the Schecter shop closed in 1983, Pat started his own business finishing and building guitars and basses. Today, more than 35 years later, Wilkins Guitar Finishes and Road Tested Guitars is well known and highly respected for delivering top quality custom finishes and fine instruments. In addition, Pat has consulted with many of the larger guitar manufacturers to help them develop and elevate their finishing system and procedures. Some clients include Fender Guitars, Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Ernie Ball guitars, Tom Anderson Guitars, John Suhr Guitars, Bourgeois Guitars and many others.

Some of the more well known Wilkins Guitars clients include: John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, Kirk Hammet, James Hetfield, Jason Newsted, Rob Zombie, Marcus Miller, Robin Ford, Tom Petty, Ron Blair, Eddy Van Halen, Alphonso Johnson, Earl Slick, Marty Stuart, Keith Rosier, Adam Nitti, Joe Iaquinto, Leland Sklar, Bob Glaub, Mark Mancina, Rick Springfield, Jimmy Earl, Jimmy Haslip, Vernon Reid, Phil Chen and many others.

Incredible anecdote regarding the Access Bags and Cases Stage Three Hard Bag

Early in the evening of June 2008 I was on my way to a gig. Only a couple of miles from home, my car was rear ended by a driver that was trying to escape from police custody. My car was clipped in the driver’s side rear bumper which caused it to flip and roll several times. As my car came to a complete stop all the windows had been blown out by the violent rolling and all of my musical gear was in the middle of the freeway! Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt, but another driver was not able to avoid rolling over my bass, which was in an Access Stage 3 gig bag. I was crushed, and thought my bass was too. As I opened the gig bag to look at my bass I saw that it was completely intact and not damaged at all. As soon as I got home that evening I inspected my bass closer, plugging it in to see what had happened to it from being run over by a car. To my great surprise and amazement, the bass was still in tune and absolutely not damaged at all!

I will never offer another gig bag or case to accompany any of the Wilkins RoadTested basses and guitars that I make. If my bass could survive being run over by a car I can’t imagine anything that any musician could possibly do that an Access case or bag couldn’t prevent. 10 years later I still have the same gig bag that was run over in 2008 – I managed to clean off the tire marks and still use it to this day.