Epi AlleyKat review

[LOTF]

This is a really great little electric guitar, at least for its price point. I've heard it described as "a poor man's CS-336," and I think that's a pretty accurate description. The top is laminated maple with a flame top layer and the body is routed from several slabs of mahogany glued together. The finish is polyurethane and really nice and shiny and thick. The neck is maple and the fretboard is rosewood with block pearl inlays. The pickups are an interesting combination: an Epi '57 Classic humbucker in the bridge position and an Epi mini-humbucker (like the ones they put in the LP Deluxe) in the neck position. I may want to replace them with the Gibson versions someday but they sound good enough for right now and I love the tonal versatility from having two different kinds of humbuckers. I've got it set up with D'Addario Chromes light flatwounds (.011-.050) and it plays very nicely. Tonally, I can get everything from mellow jazz to crunchy hard rock. About the only thing it doesn't do well is metal and I don't play that anyway.

If you've got the jones for a T-5 or ES-335 but not the bucks, this may be a good, low-price solution. Epiphone also makes the WildKat and FlameKat with basically the same design. The WildKat uses two P-90s for pickups and probably is more suitable for rockabilly while the FlameKat uses two mini-humbuckers and has a flame paint job and knobs that look like dice.

 

[TNT]

I tried one of each and I wasn't really impressed. I agree that the finish is thick and I think that it hurts the tone and sustain of the guitar. They would make a decent rythm guitar for a person on a budget.

 

[LOTF]

I don't think it does too bad as a lead guitar for more mellow styles. If I want to shred, I'm obviously going to break out my SG or Tele. Any deficiencies in tone or sustain are probably more attributable to the cheap, Epiphone pickups than to the finish. My old Squier Tele probably has just as thick a polyurethane finish and, with the Seymour Duncans I had put in it, has no problem with either tone or sustain. I suspect that once I replace the Epi '57 Classic clone in the bridge position with a real '57 Classic or a Seymour Duncan JB, the sound will improve substantially.

I wouldn't want this as my main axe but it does fill a niche for me pretty nicely.

 

[TNT]

I understand what you're saying LOTF. I'm not a shredder at all. What you're saying about the finish on a Tele is true except that the Tele is a solid body and the AlleyKat is a semi-hollow body where a thick finish would muffle the resonance on the thin wood of the Alleykat IMO.
Give us a report when you change pups! :)

 

[LOTF]

Heh, my idea of a "shredder" is Johnny Winter, or maybe Ritchie Blackmore. Most of the modern metalheads just give me a headache. Using both pups, I can get a passable B.B. King sound from the AlleyKat but I have to crank my amp beyond what I use for my SG or Tele to get enough volume. The reason I bought it was that our band has been working with an alto sax player (who has gone to Connecticut until August) and my two solid-bodies just couldn't give me the mellow tone I was looking for to play behind him. I can say with confidence that the AlleyKat is a far superior axe to the Ibanez Artcores. That's what I wanted originally but as soon as I A-B'ed one with the AlleyKat, it was an easy choice to make.

It may be awhile before I upgrade the pups. I've got my heart set on getting a '61 reissue SG and the fund for that is where all my extra money is going to. I will definitely give a detailed report on how the better lead pickup improves the sound (I'll probably keep the mini-hb as I really like its sound). And of course, there will be extensive pics when I score my '61 RI.

 

[ricardo_vicente]

I owned one of those and replaced the pups with the respective Gibson versions. It made for a very nice sounding little guitar. Nice kind of compromise between a Les Paul and a big ES. In the end I sold it to raise cash for my ES-347 but I really did quite like the guitar.

 

[LOTF]

[quote author=ricardo_vicente link=topic=7970.msg102153#msg102153 date=1146047296]
I owned one of those and replaced the pups with the respective Gibson versions. It made for a very nice sounding little guitar. Nice kind of compromise between a Les Paul and a big ES. In the end I sold it to raise cash for my ES-347 but I really did quite like the guitar.
[/quote]

That's pretty much what I figured. The big question for me is whether to replace the pups with Gibsons or Seymour Duncans. The Gibsons are more expensive but they do have the authentic vibe and sound. But I'm very impressed with the Duncans I put into my Tele. Also, I have a friend who put a set of Duncans in his Artcore and they sound pretty great.

Well, one thing at a time....I've still gotta get the money together for that '61 RI.

 

[ricardo_vicente]

I'd go with the Duncans personally. Gibson pickups are very overpriced and if you don't want a specific Gibson pickups in there go for the more reasonably priced Duncans. I'm sure the Duncan equivalent of the 57 Classic - whatever it may be - will do the job just as well. I'm no expert but the Phat Cats I have in one of my guitar are top notch.

 

[LOTF]

Yeah, that's a very good point, Ricardo. Right now, I'm thinking about a JB humbucker at the bridge and an SM-1 at the neck. The JB is hotter than the '57 Classic or the SD '59 and the SM-1 is Duncan's traditionalist mini-humbucker. I will also probably be replacing the pots although, unlike many reviews I've read of the AlleyKat, I've had no problem with the pickup switch thus far. The pots, however, are pretty cheap and putting in good American ones will definitely give me the tonal options this guitar should have.

 

[ricardo_vicente]

The switch on Epis does break quite often. I've had three Epis and had the switch replaced on two of them immediately. On one of them the switch was already going when I got it. On the third, the switch is still OK after more than a year. Admittedly though, I've hardly played the guitar at all. In fact I've just sold it.
If you intend to play the guitar a lot - especially if you want to play it live - it would be worth your while getting the switch changed as a precaution.
Good luck with the mods and have fun with the guitar.