Epiphone Wildcat question

[bspears]

I am GASSING for in inexpensive hollow body and I liked the looks of the Wildcat at the Guitar Showcase. Has anyone here played one long term and what do they think? They are asking 399.00

bob

http://www.hothouse.net.au/hhgtrs/wildcat.jpg

[lookslikemeband]

Hey!

I have a PRS Hollowbody II that I don't gig with (gotta keep it clean!!), so I, also have been looking at inexpensive Hollowbody or semi hollow guitars....

After looking and looking, IMO, the Iabanez Artcore series is tough to beat for price and tone.

I'd put the Epi Wildcats #2, just cuz they look so danged cool, and have great mojo.

Good luck!!!

Lance

[Teleman]

I never owned one but everytime I go into a shop and one is hanging on the wall I end up pulling it down and playing it for a long time. I just never pulled the trigger on one.
I like 'em

[mainsale]

I had one and liked it, especially for the money. Don't mailorder one, as I had to go through three of them before I got one that was right. If you get one, you will eventually want to upgrade the pickups, and tuners. Overall, it's a very nice guitar, and works great for Blues.

[Grap]

I've had one for a few years. It works fine for rootsy rock and blues. Big heavy bugger though!

- Steve

[mainsale]

? ... Mine was light and smallish, around the same size as a 336.

[Eric Pykala]

Really cool and often-overlooked guitar. My friend Kenny Greer who plays with Tom Cochrane in Red Rider uses one as his main road guitar, and he's got lots of other nice guitars. Ain't a Hollowbody, but the price sure is right!-Eric

[Grap]

http://www.lilypix.com/photos/data/9bf31c7ff062936a96d3c8bd1f8f2ff3/full_201_p2573.jpg

A couple of years ago now, but here's me sweating with mine (It was about 40C on that stage)

- Steve

[redjet55]

I have one, nice axe for the $$

stays in tune pretty well considering the bigsby. The break angle on the strings is pretty sharp witch makes the bridge wobble a bit when cranking on the trem, a roller bridge might fix that.

Heavier than you’d imagine since it’s not a true hollow, more like a solid routed out under the sound holes. Good size and mine is built pretty well.

Got mine local for $400 + $75 for a hardshell.

Pickups could be better but all in all a fair deal.

[beNsteR]

Me likey this one more.. it's just more :dude

http://images.misupply.com/products/original/Epiphone/40071.jpg

every time i step into the local dealer i can't help but pull this one down and give it a go. Plays pretty well and looks downright cool.

[Lucidology]

Would luv to hear more opinions about the Wildcat..
I played one at Guitar Showcase & it blew my mine was a cool guitar it is,
though I didn't get to run it through an amp ... (didn't have time ...)

[gururyan]

http://homepage.mac.com/ryansdesigns/.Pictures/Gear/Guitars/epibigweb.jpg

I've had this Sorrento for I guess 10 years now (wow). It plays exceptionally well and sounds great. It's my main P90/hollow.

Oh, I know it's not a Wildkat, but for Epi archtops...I give a big thumbs up for price/quality.

[CitizenCain]

The Epi Kat series is actually made like the CS-336. The back is one carved out piece of mahogany and the center block only goes as far as the bridge, not all the way to the end of the guitar. There's a picture in the Epi plant tour that's on their website that shows a Kat being assembled. You can plainly see inside the carved out back. They're seriously cool.

[62Tele]

Bought an Alleykat for my daughter awhile back - great guitar, serious bang for the buck. A local luthier who could get anything he wants just bought himself a Wildcat - equally great. Can't really go wrong for the price or otherwise. I'm surprised at the "heavy" comments - every one I've played has been pretty darned light.

[Lucidology]

What are the specs on the neck guys...?

Is it a slim 60's type like on a 336 (luv that neck ..)?

[CitizenCain]

I've found the necks to be like most of the Epi LP necks, pretty close to the '60s slim taper.

[Lucidology]

I've found the necks to be like most of the Epi LP necks, pretty close to the '60s slim taper.

Wow... I'm totally intrigued now ...

[CitizenCain]

Here's the tour of the Qingdao factory, http://www.epiphone.com/FactoryTour/qdtour.html

This is the pic I was remembering of the Kat body. It's slide 11 on the tour :D

http://www.epiphone.com/FactoryTour/qd11.jpg

[XKnight]

I had an AlleyKat and it was a great guitar for the money. You'll probably want to get better pups though.

[CitizenCain]

Oh yeah, it's just like most Epis. Upgrade the p'ups and electronics and you've got a pretty decent guitar. The Kats are the poor man's 336 IMO.

[guitarfish]

I've had an Epi AlleyKat for a couple years now. Same body as the WildKat, but without the tremolo, and different pups.

When I first got it, people were telling me about all the mods I should do, but I thought it sounded great stock. (I also have two American Strats, an Epi Les Paul with GFS pups, and a G&L Tele). The 'Kat feels good, plays well, it's nicely put together.

The pickup selector switch is a little scratchy sometimes - that's a $10 item to replace, which I may do when I'm bored someday. I have no issue with the pups or anything else.

A friend of mine has a Wildkat and likes it a lot. I would definitely recommend these guitars, they not only sound good, but have killer looks compared to the ho-hum Dots.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/guitarfish/Guitars/AlleyKat/TwoCats.jpg

Oh, they also make a special case for them, called the Flamekat case if I'm not mistaken. It's a little bigger than an LP.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/guitarfish/Guitars/AlleyKat/1-AlleyKat-InCase.jpg

[HipKitty]

You could say that I've had my hands on quite a few of these kats, and I can tell you that these are great guitars for the money. The pups, toggle switch and pots cetainly deserve replacing though...priority of the pups.

It's good to see that they are issuing these with Bigsby's, not the Epi knock-off which were horrible.

[BigPapiFan]

Oh yeah, it's just like most Epis. Upgrade the p'ups and electronics and you've got a pretty decent guitar. The Kats are the poor man's 336 IMO.

I would agree with that. I had a Wildkat and a 336. The are just about the same size which makes your case selection a bit limited, btw.) However, because of their body routing pattern (see CitizenCain's post above), the Kats have a bit more hollowbody flavor. In my experience they feed back a bit more than the 336. I still think they are pretty cool guitars, especially for the money.

[megatonic]

http://www.lilypix.com/photos/data/9bf31c7ff062936a96d3c8bd1f8f2ff3/full_201_p2573.jpg

A couple of years ago now, but here's me sweating with mine (It was about 40C on that stage)

- Steve

Yeh,...Wasn't that the big "Fruit of the Loom" sponsered show?

[fenderpro]

another option is the Yamaha AEX 520 (with minihums) or AEX502 ( with P-90's). i've got a 520- wasnt too expensive, looks and plays great.