Owner & Artist

Pat Wilkins developed his musical talents from an early age while growing up on the East Coast. As a young man, Pat found success while developing a unique, blues oriented playing style and decided to pursue music as a career. In 1976, Pat came to California at the invitation of a local LA band who had heard his work on some original recordings. 

Pat began living his dream creating and recording original music and enjoying the diverse LA music scene. It was during this period that Pat became interested in musical instrument manufacturing  as a way to supplement his income.  In 1977 he started working for Acoustic Amplifiers where he  met the owner of Schecter Guitars. He was invited to join the team at Schecter, where he discovered his talents and passion for working with wood.  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 down 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.