Excellent review. I purchased my "Royal" in December. This guitar is probably the best guitar on the market for the money. Advice to anyone thinking about this guitar, buy it. It is WAY worth the price. You won't be disappointed.
Man, this is a great review! I've been wanting a wildkat for months and none of the reviews I had seen before were this good at demonstrating what it actually sounds like
Great tone and tasteful chops. I played the Koa model today into a Marshall JCM 900, clean channel, which is plenty dirty. Sounded great! I've put the Wildkat on my wishlist.
so i bought one...anbd it went out of tune easily like every epi i ever owned. not because of bihgsby alone either. so...i tightened the saddle/bridge screws... and ordered the stabilizer... tonight jammed and it was awesome... didnt go out of tune only a bit because we were playing outside and temp changed. i can bend the bigsby anyway i want and it stays in tune. wicked guitars.... the p 90 dog ears... especially the neck pickup... is unreal...so beautiful...mellow...sweet for ballads or playing nice lead licks for someone
this vid is why i bought a second hand wildkat same color too. the neck pickup is...unreal...so beautiful...elegant. the bridge...not so but nice. has some tuning issues like every epi i ever played or owned...but will get it fixed hopefully this summer if cv is over Kid, you sure can play that guitar. very nice, mellow tunes.
Hi Matt! I just found this in my search for info on Wildkats and Casinos. First off, thank you for a very professional demo - great playing, helpful descriptions, no gimmicks and trying to be 'clever'. You clearly know what you are doing. Instant like and subscribe.
Oh man! I aways wanted one these guitars and last Friday prior to this I got my wish. I was riding by a pawn shop that I have bought from in the past and something in the back of my head said go in the guitar you like is there. So I did( with the guitar in mind) and it was right there in my face and I bought it in that second without hesitation. The reson why because I heard Dave Rude of Tesla play one on the song "no way out" and it sounded very heavy for a hollow body. Also their limited edition and a very versatile instrument.
Tried one of these because GC is still blowing these out to make room for new Epiphones. I compared it to a used Epiphone 339 pro (non p90) and a Gretsch Guitars G2420 Streamliner. Of the three I tried, the Wildkat has hotter output but volume knob helps dial the volume down. I don't like that there is a pot underneath the Bigsby but...this guitar feels great compared to the others when playing. The feel and fretwork are much better when compared to the 339 and the G2420. I like the simplicity of the 339 and the looks of the G2420 but the Wildkat just feels and also sounds great. Now if i can only find a black one for the right price.
+Rutger De Groot For some reason RUclips won't let me directly reply to your comment...but yes, the Wildkat would be an excellent guitar for Neil Young and punk styles. The P90s in it are pretty hot, and sound awesome with an overdriven amp. Hope this helps!
Enzo Sisneros They hum about as much as a regular set of P90s, which is fine at low volume but can become noticeable the louder you turn up. I have my amp plugged into a power conditioner, which does help reduce hum somewhat.
Enzo Sisneros Yeah, you can definitely manage the hum. What's harder to manage is the feedback...since it's a semi-hollow, the Wildkat definitely experiences a lot of feedback, even at reasonable volumes. That might be a bigger problem for a gigging musician in the long run, but I guess you could always stuff a T-shirt or something in the F-holes like the jazz guys used to do back in the day.
Dude! I am blown away by your playing! It's beautiful! It brought a tear(or TWO!) to my eye(s)! With playing like that, why aren't you a household name? In time, my friend...in time! Liked and subbed, for sure!
A month back i scored a used pearl wildkat. Its amazing neck pickup will produce mellow jazz and once in a while i will let the kat yawl the blues! Anyone still loving their kat?
Chrismayo1981 Dude I've seen those turquoise Kat's before, they are total stunners! I can't be the only one that would like to see Epiphone re-release those beauties!
Yeah, the Turquoise Kats were all made in the Korean Samick Factory. They're great guitars. I raised the pole pieces on my pups up a bit, which made the pickups a little more bright. Might want to try it on yours! www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php/Limited_Edition_Turquoise_Finish#Wildkat
Chrismayo1981 Cool man! I raised the polepieces on mine shortly after I got it -- I'm definitely a little bit OCD about having my pickup polepieces match the radius of the bridge...but you're right, it really does make a difference in clarity!
Tons of different branded guitars get made there. I've got a Gregg Bennett SG copy made there. It seems these days there's nothing in a brand when they're all getting made in the same places by the same hands on the same machines. For that reason alone, there is tons of mileage in cheap guitars these days. Same factory, same hands, same machines. Okay so wood quality and component quality differs for sure, but I dont think the race for the holy grail of the sweetest wood is even being run anymore. People just want a good solid quality guitar now, and I've got some cheap ones I wouldn't give up for any money, including the SG copy and an LP copy. A good guitar is a good guitar no matter whats on the headstock and that statement seems all the more relevant these days when you consider they all moved production to the same places, as opposed to the days when they all had their own exclusive facilities. Then you could say quality differed from one to the other. But now? It's a different game now for sure.
Saw the New Mastersounds on TV last night...the lead guitarist was playing one of these...sounded great. If I knew they were so small, I would have bought one years ago.
Hi Matt - nice to hear a non-biased (guitar shop!!) review of an instrument! Great playing, this has really helped me make a decision as to which guitar to buy - it's probably going to be the ES-339 Pro after your comments below. Keep playing my friend
It's a beautiful guitar for sure! My buddy has had one for a long time and I always thought it was cool too. I'll definitely consider getting one if I'm in the market for a semi-hollow again. Thanks for the great review and playing!
Nice tone and technique. Mark from Morticia's Chair played one last weekend at the Cleveland Pagan Pride fest. He bought his directly from the Allman Brothers Band! It was a gold top.
Thanks for the thorough review and nice picking on the demo. I just ordered the no vibrato model from Musician's Friend. Got the antique natural finish (kinda like me). I'll Tusq the nut and probably leave everything else as is. I played one at Guitar Center and like the pups. Can't wait to get my grubby little hands on this one.
ok so i ordered the bigsbyfix stabilizer...from the guy in alaska.... looking forward to its arrival.... pics of it make complete sense....reviews are good too. The neck pickup on this guitar is... other world beautiful... cheap guitar... tremndous guitar... love it
Great review man. I have this exact guitar and in the same colour minus the bigsby. I think it's called the studio version. My pickups absolutely fed back like crazy. Best thing to sort the issue? Wax pot them. I did a rough 60/40 mix of parrafin and beeswax. Sorted the issue. Bonus is that they have clips on the wires so that the pickups snap in and out easy as.
I bought one this summer second hand, all because of this video. :) It has an issue staying in tune (no not because of bigsby...even without it) its likely the nut, however...it DOES live up to this video... it is an awesome guitar.... the neck pickup...and light ballad lead work/fill in... has my friends blown away. Defintely worth buying.
@@alexanderhammer688 Epiphones have always dont that for me... i bought this one second hand because of this video...the sound got me... and it didnt dissappoint...but like u say... breath on it and its out of tune. and it dont need to be the bigsby either...thats a whole other tuning issue as well. the posts i hear move or whatever they are called. also nut issues possibly. not a tech so i dont know. but that sound in the neck pickup.... wow...wow...wow...wow...never heard any sustain and sweetness like that on any guitar/.
makes me want to buy one asap...however... i have owned enough epiphones to know... there is usally something off on most of them...frett here and there, a pickup, something. I am tired of buying gear that is half finisherd and u have to hunt down a part etc. This is magnificent demo tho...man that thing hums and sings, and u sure can play it...were i doing a cd today and was rich i would pay your way and have complete confidence in your lead ability, and i am a fairly decent guitar player myself. :)
Sounds great, I love Epiphone Guitars they are inexpensive and they look great and if you put a decent set up pickups in them it's hard to tell the difference between them and more expensive guitars.
I had one of these a year ago. It was cheap, but looked amazing. But there were some problems and I had to sell it. It didn't stay in tune well and the pickups had a very very dull sound.
despite my complaints ... on the quiet end this thing is heavenly ... no chance of bright ... it would feed too much squel ... put he cap back to what it was by using decent wiring and let us manage the squeal
tasteful playing.its good to see someone with a strong sense of melody.i always put atleast 3 instrumentals on my cd similar in style to this one..do you have a website for the jam tracks.bernie marsden ,the famous brit guitarist did a jam gtrak cd that you will probably like.i am looking for a copy myself
anyone notice the bigsby tailpiece seem to vary from shiny chrome to an antique dull finish on these guitars? I noticed at GC comparing two that one was bright polished and one is dull...huh!
Nice job here. Really digging that middle position tone. I've been drooling over one of these for a short while but I'm on the lookout for something that gets a bit lively and brighter in the neck than most neck tones I've heard. Having problems finding a guitar or pickup to suit that requirement. Really like the look of these though and the compositions were nicceeee. edit: wrote comment too soon. The neck tone in the last third of the video is what I'm speakin bout. Think I've found my next target. GET IT UP IN THE MIX THOUGH SON!!!! ;) (just kidding I'm on laptop speakers ;P) Good job.
i checked on used at guitarcenter i never buy from used department so are they good and rely able id it said good or great condition....................i went and tried this guitar love it
thank you man i like the gretsch look on wildkat but the price difference here is only $50 (gretsch g5425 electromatic jet club) i am really confused now what to get..should i stick to epiphone es-339 pro or wildkat? or should i get the g5425?
lomodj07 Hahaha man that's a tough one! I think it mostly depends on what styles of music you play, and what type of guitar would fit those styles the best! I haven't played a Gretsch g5425 specifically, but of the Gretsch guitars I have played they're great instruments for the money! I can say this -- if you like to play a bunch of different musical styles (blues, rock, heavy stuff, jazz, etc.) you can't go wrong with the ES-339 Pro. It has really nice sounding stock pickups and if you go with the humbucker version, those coil-splits will come in handy when you need nice single coil sounds. It's definitely the most versatile guitar of the three you've mentioned. Let me know what guitar you end up going with!
lomodj07 Hey! As far as I know, there are no differences between this Wildkat and any others except for the color of both the guitar and hardware! And as for which I prefer, that's a tough one -- the ES-339 Pro is probably a little more versatile, because it comes with your choice of coil-splittable humbuckers or P90s. I also like that the ES-339 Pro comes with a mahogany neck -- it's more true to the classic Gibson ES-339 in that regard. But nearly every Epiphone semi-hollow guitar I've played has been a great instrument -- semi-hollow guitars are what Epiphone does best IMO! Hope this helps!
You´ve got a very good sense of musicality in you... Like your reviews! :D Try to get your hands in some Reverends and do a review man! Amazing guitars.
Andres Fulcar Thanks Andres -- I actually just played a bunch of Reverend's newest guitars at Summer NAMM yesterday and I'd LOVE to get my hands on a few for review! Hopefully one will find its way to me soon!
You go and watch Dave Rude from Tesla play one on the song" no way out"live in concert and see how heavy it can be, with the right gage of strings and you will be amazed.
MT Rich ,Dave uses an Alleykat,not an Wildkat,pickupkonfiguration is a little different between those models,A.kat uses a minihumbucker and a regular one vs.W.kats P90s,stopbar vs.Bigsby otherwise pretty much the same guitar.
ibanez blazer from the mid righties was one of the best strat copy ever.ibanez guitars all have a lp radius which makes all their necks so playable.fender only started to make strats with different radius in the last 10 yrs.any lead player from the 1980 on would replace the fender neck with a compound radius warmoth or have the fender neck radiused then refretted............
Got mine (natural finish) super cheap ($270) from Musician's Friend early 2015, and it had sharp fret ends and it frets out on the high E. It's a 2013 so probably was sitting in MF's non-climate controlled warehouse for over a year, that's why the fretwork is so bad. Also, you're lucky, mine can't stay in tune using the Bigsby. I got a roller bridge from GFS but it didn't do anything for the tuning. The GFS is a better quality bridge than the Epi one, which rattled like crazy. The guitar looks nice, but if I could do it over I I probably wouldn't get it again.
+Beermaker2000 It isn't the bridge, although a roller bridge does help, but it is your nut... partly because of it's design, and partly because the plastic nuts found on even higher end guitars bind, leading to your tuning issues... fix the nut on the Wildkat, and it will work fine...
Hey man, I just picked up on without a bigsby(no need for me). I brought it to band practice tonight. Not only did I love the sounds but so did the band. However, like you said I was fighting feedback. Any suggestions? For my live set up i simply use a mustang 4 amp(solid state, and easy as hell to cary around).
That's a tough one man -- some folks will stuff the guitar with fabric or foam, and supposedly that can help prevent the guitar from feeding back. I've never tried it personally, but the principle of it does make sense. Recently I just got home from tour and used my Epiphone Casino for a good bit of it, and had issues with feedback a few times -- eventually I learned to just control it and use it to add some cool effects to some of the songs we were doing. It's just the nature of the beast with semi-hollow and hollowbody guitars!
Now they have a Epiphone Wildkat ltd.ed. studio 2016 model (same as yours but without the bigsby) for $299.00 thats a deal I went to guitar center to check them out and i have to tell you those Wildkat's are heavy due- i couldnt imagine them if they were solid bodies- i ended buying the Squier 51 anyway $160. another bargain -right! Take care
How did you get that "creamy" sound on the last tune? I'd like to get a sound like that but I don't know what to change first: my cheap stratocaster-like guitar, my small amp or buy some pedals or perhaps a digital processor
Hey Matt. Great vid and review. I also have the Wine Red 'Kat (2015). did you find the pickups to initially be kind of dark and muddy? I saw in another comment that you raised the pole pieces a bit, which made it a bit brighter. mine seemed to be mosly low end and tended to get lost in the mix. I resolved the issue with amp eq adjustments, but I'd like the guitar to sound great using "typical " settings. it's easier to share amps in jam situations. I did adjust the pole pieces down on the low strings, which seemed to help. I think I will try you method of raining them. Also, do you think its necessary to oil the neck? it just looks so dry..... Thanks Matt.
+Casey Mac Hey Casey! Yes, I did find the pickups to sound dark and muddy -- I had to crank the treble controls on my amp all the way up to get the tones you're hearing in this video. I've read online that the reason the guitar has such a muddy sound is due to the stock internal wiring -- apparently there's a helluva lot of it and because it's low quality, it saps the hell out of the high frequencies of the pickups. Who knows! I like to oil rosewood fretboards if they're looking dry. About once a year in my neck of the woods seems to do the trick...if it looks dry, go on ahead and oil it! Thanks Casey and good luck with your Wildkat!
+Lorie Steed Hey Lorie -- the pickups in the Wildkat are definitely already wax-potted -- it's the almost full-hollowbody carve of the body that causes the feedback at high volume. And you're right -- some guitars with unpotted pickups (like many old Les Pauls with PAF-style pickups) would definitely benefit from wax-potting to keep squealing and feedback down.
Nice review. I really like this guitar. I think I ll buy one. It seems warm and smooth. I usually play some blues and I dont Mind about super crystal Clean tone. I like playing some crunch and it seems perfect. What do 2 think? Ciaoo e grazie
It is a pleasure to listen to a good guitarist. Thank for the great demo
Excellent review. I purchased my "Royal" in December. This guitar is probably the best guitar on the market for the money. Advice to anyone thinking about this guitar, buy it. It is WAY worth the price. You won't be disappointed.
Man, this is a great review! I've been wanting a wildkat for months and none of the reviews I had seen before were this good at demonstrating what it actually sounds like
Matt your vids hands down are the best guitar bids on RUclips. In your hands this Epi sounds fantastic. Im going to purchase one.
Nice sound. Love the tune from 4:26 to 5:15.
Great tone and tasteful chops. I played the Koa model today into a Marshall JCM 900, clean channel, which is plenty dirty. Sounded great! I've put the Wildkat on my wishlist.
Nice playing and you are getting some great tones out of that.
Daniel Askins Thanks Daniel, it's a fun guitar for sure!
I LOVE your guitar playing and such GREAT taste
great demo! One of the best reviews of epiphone wildkat. Very nice tones.
so i bought one...anbd it went out of tune easily like every epi i ever owned. not because of bihgsby alone either. so...i tightened the saddle/bridge screws... and ordered the stabilizer... tonight jammed and it was awesome... didnt go out of tune only a bit because we were playing outside and temp changed. i can bend the bigsby anyway i want and it stays in tune. wicked guitars.... the p 90 dog ears... especially the neck pickup... is unreal...so beautiful...mellow...sweet for ballads or playing nice lead licks for someone
this vid is why i bought a second hand wildkat same color too. the neck pickup is...unreal...so beautiful...elegant. the bridge...not so but nice. has some tuning issues like every epi i ever played or owned...but will get it fixed hopefully this summer if cv is over
Kid, you sure can play that guitar. very nice, mellow tunes.
Hi Matt! I just found this in my search for info on Wildkats and Casinos. First off, thank you for a very professional demo - great playing, helpful descriptions, no gimmicks and trying to be 'clever'. You clearly know what you are doing. Instant like and subscribe.
Oh man! I aways wanted one these guitars and last Friday prior to this I got my wish. I was riding by a pawn shop that I have bought from in the past and something in the back of my head said go in the guitar you like is there. So I did( with the guitar in mind) and it was right there in my face and I bought it in that second without hesitation. The reson why because I heard Dave Rude of Tesla play one on the song "no way out" and it sounded very heavy for a hollow body. Also their limited edition and a very versatile instrument.
That's awesome man, I love pawn shop scores! You ain't lyin' -- the pickups in these guitars are HOT, great for heavy stuff. Enjoy that Wildkat!
Will do brother, oh and one more note, it came in a black finish like I said fate wanted me to have it.
Great review Matt! And VERY tasteful playing.
Tried one of these because GC is still blowing these out to make room for new Epiphones. I compared it to a used Epiphone 339 pro (non p90) and a Gretsch Guitars G2420 Streamliner. Of the three I tried, the Wildkat has hotter output but volume knob helps dial the volume down. I don't like that there is a pot underneath the Bigsby but...this guitar feels great compared to the others when playing. The feel and fretwork are much better when compared to the 339 and the G2420. I like the simplicity of the 339 and the looks of the G2420 but the Wildkat just feels and also sounds great. Now if i can only find a black one for the right price.
+Rutger De Groot For some reason RUclips won't let me directly reply to your comment...but yes, the Wildkat would be an excellent guitar for Neil Young and punk styles. The P90s in it are pretty hot, and sound awesome with an overdriven amp. Hope this helps!
Matt Stottmann About the pickups, because they're still P-90's, but i couldn hear hum on overdrive. Are they have hum cancelling or at least low hum?
Enzo Sisneros They hum about as much as a regular set of P90s, which is fine at low volume but can become noticeable the louder you turn up. I have my amp plugged into a power conditioner, which does help reduce hum somewhat.
Thanks, i gues i'm just not gonna use it for heavy rock, but i imagine that maybe also with a jum reducer efect or pedal i could manage right?
Enzo Sisneros Yeah, you can definitely manage the hum. What's harder to manage is the feedback...since it's a semi-hollow, the Wildkat definitely experiences a lot of feedback, even at reasonable volumes. That might be a bigger problem for a gigging musician in the long run, but I guess you could always stuff a T-shirt or something in the F-holes like the jazz guys used to do back in the day.
Nice!! I'm getting it as soon as possible! Thanks for the advice.
Dude! I am blown away by your playing! It's beautiful! It brought a tear(or TWO!) to my eye(s)! With playing like that, why aren't you a household name? In time, my friend...in time! Liked and subbed, for sure!
ever since i found out about this its been my dream guitar, after watching this video i want one even more
A month back i scored a used pearl wildkat. Its amazing neck pickup will produce mellow jazz and once in a while i will let the kat yawl the blues! Anyone still loving their kat?
Sounds great!..Kind of blows away the critics and their views on this beautiful guitar.
great review and lovely guitar playing, loved listening to that, nice one!
Thanks for this review Matt! Love my Turquoise 2001 Kat. Mine's a very rare color, and is AWESOME.
Chrismayo1981 Dude I've seen those turquoise Kat's before, they are total stunners! I can't be the only one that would like to see Epiphone re-release those beauties!
Yeah, the Turquoise Kats were all made in the Korean Samick Factory. They're great guitars. I raised the pole pieces on my pups up a bit, which made the pickups a little more bright. Might want to try it on yours!
www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php/Limited_Edition_Turquoise_Finish#Wildkat
Chrismayo1981 Cool man! I raised the polepieces on mine shortly after I got it -- I'm definitely a little bit OCD about having my pickup polepieces match the radius of the bridge...but you're right, it really does make a difference in clarity!
For whatever it's worth... Duesenberg guitars are made at the Korean Samick Factory too. Same build quality at much steeper price.
Tons of different branded guitars get made there. I've got a Gregg Bennett SG copy made there. It seems these days there's nothing in a brand when they're all getting made in the same places by the same hands on the same machines. For that reason alone, there is tons of mileage in cheap guitars these days. Same factory, same hands, same machines. Okay so wood quality and component quality differs for sure, but I dont think the race for the holy grail of the sweetest wood is even being run anymore. People just want a good solid quality guitar now, and I've got some cheap ones I wouldn't give up for any money, including the SG copy and an LP copy.
A good guitar is a good guitar no matter whats on the headstock and that statement seems all the more relevant these days when you consider they all moved production to the same places, as opposed to the days when they all had their own exclusive facilities. Then you could say quality differed from one to the other. But now? It's a different game now for sure.
Fantastic demo, Matt!
Saw the New Mastersounds on TV last night...the lead guitarist was playing one of these...sounded great. If I knew they were so small, I would have bought one years ago.
Hi Matt - nice to hear a non-biased (guitar shop!!) review of an instrument! Great playing, this has really helped me make a decision as to which guitar to buy - it's probably going to be the ES-339 Pro after your comments below. Keep playing my friend
It's a beautiful guitar for sure! My buddy has had one for a long time and I always thought it was cool too. I'll definitely consider getting one if I'm in the market for a semi-hollow again. Thanks for the great review and playing!
Put a Reverend Soft Touch Spring in the Trem instead of the stiff one in it! I changed mine and ran the strings over the hold own bar. Night and Day!
picked up my wildcat. yesterday, needs a setup , but I'm happy so far
Just bought one last night beautiful looking and sounding guitar.
Great review Matt, I've always wondered how this guitar would sound, properly played and in all of its expressions. Thanks!
Nice tone and technique. Mark from Morticia's Chair played one last weekend at the Cleveland Pagan Pride fest. He bought his directly from the Allman Brothers Band! It was a gold top.
Superbe démo, un vrai régal .
Enfin la WildKat magnifiée par un grand guitariste.
+jp Many thanks for the kind words, JP!
i did buy one...sold it after awhile..and regret it. :) the sustain on the neck...is unreal...beautiful guitars...i may have to get another
Great playing Matt.... awesome improv.
Excellent demo' , playing , and tones . Thank you so much
You play amazingly, are you not in a band and recording,great revue, I'm tempted with the Wildkat
Great demo, fantastic playing :)
Beautiful playing
Great playing and tone! Thanks for the vid.
I agree with you. Bargains can double the adrenaline. What is better than a new guitar day? A new guitar day that you pay almost nothing for.
Thanks for the thorough review and nice picking on the demo. I just ordered the no vibrato model from Musician's Friend. Got the antique natural finish (kinda like me). I'll Tusq the nut and probably leave everything else as is. I played one at Guitar Center and like the pups. Can't wait to get my grubby little hands on this one.
ok so i ordered the bigsbyfix stabilizer...from the guy in alaska.... looking forward to its arrival.... pics of it make complete sense....reviews are good too. The neck pickup on this guitar is... other world beautiful... cheap guitar... tremndous guitar... love it
Great review man. I have this exact guitar and in the same colour minus the bigsby. I think it's called the studio version. My pickups absolutely fed back like crazy. Best thing to sort the issue? Wax pot them. I did a rough 60/40 mix of parrafin and beeswax. Sorted the issue. Bonus is that they have clips on the wires so that the pickups snap in and out easy as.
I bought one this summer second hand, all because of this video. :) It has an issue staying in tune (no not because of bigsby...even without it) its likely the nut, however...it DOES live up to this video... it is an awesome guitar.... the neck pickup...and light ballad lead work/fill in... has my friends blown away. Defintely worth buying.
I bought one 6 years ago and it's a very nice guitar. However, noticed latey that tuning goes off quite often on certain strings.
@@alexanderhammer688 Epiphones have always dont that for me... i bought this one second hand because of this video...the sound got me... and it didnt dissappoint...but like u say... breath on it and its out of tune. and it dont need to be the bigsby either...thats a whole other tuning issue as well. the posts i hear move or whatever they are called. also nut issues possibly. not a tech so i dont know. but that sound in the neck pickup.... wow...wow...wow...wow...never heard any sustain and sweetness like that on any guitar/.
Fantastic playing !!! Extremely helpful review !!!! Thank you so much ❤
Such tone. Much flame. So sound. Nice bend.
Greg Pewnit Glad Doge approves!
song at 4:27 and the song after that it sounds so good!
makes me want to buy one asap...however... i have owned enough epiphones to know... there is usally something off on most of them...frett here and there, a pickup, something. I am tired of buying gear that is half finisherd and u have to hunt down a part etc. This is magnificent demo tho...man that thing hums and sings, and u sure can play it...were i doing a cd today and was rich i would pay your way and have complete confidence in your lead ability, and i am a fairly decent guitar player myself. :)
best demo on Epi Wilkat
I just acquired one of these, loving it!!!
Good review man!
Sweet playing and great review as always.
Thanks man, always glad a fellow forum-ite is diggin' my stuff!
Awesome review, thank you.
Sweet tones, I had to walk away from one the other day, very nice.
Great chops, nice tonez.
nice playing man!
Nice review.
Your playing is absolutely Beautiful ;-)
nice review man greetings from Ireland
Very melodic playin... with no acrobatics...I love it.
great review! !!
Sounds great, I love Epiphone Guitars they are inexpensive and they look great and if you put a decent set up pickups in them it's hard to tell the difference between them and more expensive guitars.
wonderful playing! kudos!
Great stuff man!
Love the thing you play at about 4:25 is it from a particular tune or its it your own?
+shaunm1983 Hey thanks...it's just a little riff I wrote a long time ago.
I had one of these a year ago. It was cheap, but looked amazing. But there were some problems and I had to sell it. It didn't stay in tune well and the pickups had a very very dull sound.
despite my complaints ... on the quiet end this thing is heavenly ... no chance of bright ... it would feed too much squel ...
put he cap back to what it was by using decent wiring and let us manage the squeal
nice i enjoyed your playing!
Damn! Now I want one of those. I own an Epi ES-275 (which I love), sounds somewhat similar to your Kat, but is too cumbersome to tote around.
Great review and playing! What’s the backing track?
Nice arpeggiated playing. Very well done review. Keep up the great work!
tasteful playing.its good to see someone with a strong sense of melody.i always put atleast 3 instrumentals on my cd similar in style to this one..do you have a website for the jam tracks.bernie marsden ,the famous brit guitarist did a jam gtrak cd that you will probably like.i am looking for a copy myself
Nice Shadows sound.
Great review thanks
anyone notice the bigsby tailpiece seem to vary from shiny chrome to an antique dull finish on these guitars? I noticed at GC comparing two that one was bright polished and one is dull...huh!
Hey Matt can you share your amp settings with us please? I have the yellow Wildkat myself. You're getting a beautiful tone
***** Sure thing -- for the overdriven solo tone, it's this:
Volume 10
Fat Switch OFF
Treble 9
Bass 7
Middle 6
Master 3
Reverb 5
For the clean tone, here ya go:
Volume 5
Fat Switch OFF
Treble 9
Bass 7
Middle 6
Master 5
Reverb 3
Hope this helps man!
Thanks Matt I have a Traynor YGL-1 I'm going to try these settings with
Nice job here. Really digging that middle position tone. I've been drooling over one of these for a short while but I'm on the lookout for something that gets a bit lively and brighter in the neck than most neck tones I've heard. Having problems finding a guitar or pickup to suit that requirement. Really like the look of these though and the compositions were nicceeee.
edit: wrote comment too soon. The neck tone in the last third of the video is what I'm speakin bout. Think I've found my next target. GET IT UP IN THE MIX THOUGH SON!!!! ;) (just kidding I'm on laptop speakers ;P) Good job.
Nice guitar I like the tone of it, good playing aswell amigo :)
He said, "I dig the hell out of it" lol. I dig it, too man!
very nice demo! what amp and pedal are you using in your video?
thanks man!!
yup i will tell you what did i get..
i checked on used at guitarcenter i never buy from used department so are they good and rely able id it said good or great condition....................i went and tried this guitar love it
I'm considering buying this guitar and came across your video. Great review and even greater playing. You rock, bro! 🤘🏽
thank you man i like the gretsch look on wildkat but the price difference here is only $50 (gretsch g5425 electromatic jet club)
i am really confused now what to get..should i stick to epiphone es-339 pro or wildkat? or should i get the g5425?
lomodj07 Hahaha man that's a tough one! I think it mostly depends on what styles of music you play, and what type of guitar would fit those styles the best! I haven't played a Gretsch g5425 specifically, but of the Gretsch guitars I have played they're great instruments for the money!
I can say this -- if you like to play a bunch of different musical styles (blues, rock, heavy stuff, jazz, etc.) you can't go wrong with the ES-339 Pro. It has really nice sounding stock pickups and if you go with the humbucker version, those coil-splits will come in handy when you need nice single coil sounds. It's definitely the most versatile guitar of the three you've mentioned.
Let me know what guitar you end up going with!
Hi Awesome Review
what is the difference with this wildkat and other ones?
which do you prefer wildkat or es-339 pro?
lomodj07 Hey! As far as I know, there are no differences between this Wildkat and any others except for the color of both the guitar and hardware! And as for which I prefer, that's a tough one -- the ES-339 Pro is probably a little more versatile, because it comes with your choice of coil-splittable humbuckers or P90s. I also like that the ES-339 Pro comes with a mahogany neck -- it's more true to the classic Gibson ES-339 in that regard.
But nearly every Epiphone semi-hollow guitar I've played has been a great instrument -- semi-hollow guitars are what Epiphone does best IMO! Hope this helps!
You´ve got a very good sense of musicality in you... Like your reviews! :D Try to get your hands in some Reverends and do a review man! Amazing guitars.
Andres Fulcar Thanks Andres -- I actually just played a bunch of Reverend's newest guitars at Summer NAMM yesterday and I'd LOVE to get my hands on a few for review! Hopefully one will find its way to me soon!
Sold real nice
Nice playing, great demo. I would like to buy one, but i play some harder stuff( Neil young, classic punk) too. Could the guitar do that?
You go and watch Dave Rude from Tesla play one on the song" no way out"live in concert and see how heavy it can be, with the right gage of strings and you will be amazed.
MT Rich ,Dave uses an Alleykat,not an Wildkat,pickupkonfiguration is a little different between those models,A.kat uses a minihumbucker and a regular one vs.W.kats P90s,stopbar vs.Bigsby otherwise pretty much the same guitar.
ibanez blazer from the mid righties was one of the best strat copy ever.ibanez guitars all have a lp radius which makes all their necks so playable.fender only started to make strats with different radius in the last 10 yrs.any lead player from the 1980 on would replace the fender neck with a compound radius warmoth or have the fender neck radiused then refretted............
Nice, gotta get me one. Ty
Tracks sound great too
Got mine (natural finish) super cheap ($270) from Musician's Friend early 2015, and it had sharp fret ends and it frets out on the high E. It's a 2013 so probably was sitting in MF's non-climate controlled warehouse for over a year, that's why the fretwork is so bad. Also, you're lucky, mine can't stay in tune using the Bigsby. I got a roller bridge from GFS but it didn't do anything for the tuning. The GFS is a better quality bridge than the Epi one, which rattled like crazy. The guitar looks nice, but if I could do it over I I probably wouldn't get it again.
+Beermaker2000 It isn't the bridge, although a roller bridge does help, but it is your nut... partly because of it's design, and partly because the plastic nuts found on even higher end guitars bind, leading to your tuning issues... fix the nut on the Wildkat, and it will work fine...
I use to have a Wild Kat and likea fool I sold it. I have a chance to get another one. I hope I get it. Let you know.
Hey man, I just picked up on without a bigsby(no need for me). I brought it to band practice tonight. Not only did I love the sounds but so did the band. However, like you said I was fighting feedback. Any suggestions? For my live set up i simply use a mustang 4 amp(solid state, and easy as hell to cary around).
That's a tough one man -- some folks will stuff the guitar with fabric or foam, and supposedly that can help prevent the guitar from feeding back. I've never tried it personally, but the principle of it does make sense. Recently I just got home from tour and used my Epiphone Casino for a good bit of it, and had issues with feedback a few times -- eventually I learned to just control it and use it to add some cool effects to some of the songs we were doing.
It's just the nature of the beast with semi-hollow and hollowbody guitars!
Great, thanks for the help. I am learning to control it more and more.
Very nice!
Now they have a Epiphone Wildkat ltd.ed. studio 2016 model (same as yours but without the bigsby) for $299.00 thats a deal I went to guitar center to check them out and i have to tell you those Wildkat's are heavy due- i couldnt imagine them if they were solid bodies- i ended buying the Squier 51 anyway $160. another bargain -right! Take care
How did you get that "creamy" sound on the last tune? I'd like to get a sound like that but I don't know what to change first: my cheap stratocaster-like guitar, my small amp or buy some pedals or perhaps a digital processor
Hey Matt. Great vid and review. I also have the Wine Red 'Kat (2015). did you find the pickups to initially be kind of dark and muddy? I saw in another comment that you raised the pole pieces a bit, which made it a bit brighter. mine seemed to be mosly low end and tended to get lost in the mix. I resolved the issue with amp eq adjustments, but I'd like the guitar to sound great using "typical " settings. it's easier to share amps in jam situations. I did adjust the pole pieces down on the low strings, which seemed to help. I think I will try you method of raining them.
Also, do you think its necessary to oil the neck? it just looks so dry.....
Thanks Matt.
+Casey Mac Hey Casey! Yes, I did find the pickups to sound dark and muddy -- I had to crank the treble controls on my amp all the way up to get the tones you're hearing in this video. I've read online that the reason the guitar has such a muddy sound is due to the stock internal wiring -- apparently there's a helluva lot of it and because it's low quality, it saps the hell out of the high frequencies of the pickups. Who knows!
I like to oil rosewood fretboards if they're looking dry. About once a year in my neck of the woods seems to do the trick...if it looks dry, go on ahead and oil it! Thanks Casey and good luck with your Wildkat!
Wouldn't waxing the pickups help the feedback?
+Lorie Steed Hey Lorie -- the pickups in the Wildkat are definitely already wax-potted -- it's the almost full-hollowbody carve of the body that causes the feedback at high volume. And you're right -- some guitars with unpotted pickups (like many old Les Pauls with PAF-style pickups) would definitely benefit from wax-potting to keep squealing and feedback down.
Hey the guitar that got damaged in the shipping, did it came with a har case? or a soft gig bag?
So was the cards shirt with the wildcat guitar done on purpose lol. Seriously I'm from the ville... Go cards
Brock Adcock Hahaha you got me on that one! #L1C4
Nice review. I really like this guitar. I think I ll buy one. It seems warm and smooth. I usually play some blues and I dont Mind about super crystal Clean tone. I like playing some crunch and it seems perfect. What do 2 think? Ciaoo e grazie