Profiles in Loothing: Joel Wilkens
If there is anyone in the Loothverse that embodies the terms Excellence, Skill, Artistry and Experience it would be @theloothgroup Contributing Member, Joel Wilkens.
Joel began loothing as a full-time vocation around the year 2000, before which he refers to his activities in the guitar world as Looth-lite. Largely self-taught – or as he would say “Stumbled into it blindly and with much ignorance. Taught myself along the way” – Joel found himself being pulled more and more toward the intricacies and challenges of vintage guitar restoration.
Over the last 23 years he’s found himself specializing in vintage Gibson and Fender guitars, developing techniques and methods that leave those of us familiar with his work characterizing his results as “some kind of wizardry or alchemy”.
To attribute what Joel does as some form of magic minimizes the skill, knowledge and expertise he has developed in the span of the last quarter century. In response to a question once asked about how he was able to achieve such incredible results, he simply stated “Well, you have to put in the time…” That’s Joel
Producing those remarkable results has led to collaborations with an impressive list of artists on some extraordinary projects. Some of those collaborations, to name a few, have been:
Joe Bonamassa: “the Bludgeon” – 1951 Fender NoCaster
Jared James Nichols: “Dorothy” – 1952 Gibson Les Paul
Terry Reid: “Glastonbury” 1953 Telecaster
Philip Sayce: PS1 Pickup collaboration
Designing/building multi-effects pedal for Alessandro Cortini
When asked about being able to work with such notable clients, Joel responds “Honestly, any direct collaboration with a gifted and passionate artist gets me intrigued.
We here at The Looth Group are delighted to have Joel Wilkens as a Contributing Member. He has been sharing his knowledge as a regular contributor to the group on Ding Kings Episodes, Counsel of Elders and on the Guilded site. While Joel has found it necessary to take a step back from a public role in The Looth Group, we look forward to more contributions from Joel as circumstances allow.
Responses