Epiphone Alley Kat

Neck: Mini-humbucker, Alnico, wax-potted
Bridge: Humbucker, Alnico, wax-potted
Body: Routed-out three-piece hollow body! Mahogany with matched flame-maple top
Neck: Mahogany with rosewood fretboard, medium jumbo frets with pearloid block fretmarkers
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece: GIbson/Epi clamshell stop tailpiece.
Tuners: Grover
Finish: Medium-gloss, not a satin finish, but something a little more durable without being thick urethane-looking.
With the above setup, the asking price of $499 is VERY reasonable. Mine was made in 2007 in Korea.
It really is a fine looking guitar. Some folks don't like the original Epiphone nameplate at the headstock. I think it adds to the vibe and authenticity. The only thing I would prefer would be a double mini-humbucker setup, but I can't find the Flamekat anywhere and I wouldn't buy the guitar with that kind of paint job.

The Alley Kat gets a variety of tones. It's really kind of unbelievable. Jazz, R&B, Rock (all varieties), and C/W. Plays everything well; I wouldn't use it for metal, although there's really no reason it couldn't be used for it. I just couldn't bear to see a guitar this beautiful with no pickguard being shredded and beaten.

Honestly, I'm searching for something bad to say about this bad-kat but I really can't find it. Seriously. This is a superb guitar, at Les Paul dimensions, with a wider expanse of sounds.

Okay, the binding is a LITTLE bit uneven in width at a few spots, but you have to really be examining the guitar to see them.

It feels like a tank. Yep, it's mostly mahogany so it's heavier than you might expect a hollowbody to be. STAYS IN TUNE under a variety of weather conditions...thank you, Grover.

Don't know.

Been playing for decades. Jazz mostly, but do enjoy rock bangin' sessions with my ol' buds. If this were stolen I would torture the bastid by making them listen to Celine Dion and Kenny G for a week for 24/7.

The Alley Kat is one of the best guitar values, and could be expected to service the novice through expert/master guitarist for years. If it weren't for the minor binding flaw, this would be a solid ten...but because of it and because of the additional unique setup, it's a weak 10.

My Alley Kat was made in 2003 in China. Mine is the cherry sunburst, which is drop dead gorgeous looking. This is a unique guitar, with 3 different volume controls and one tone. I'm not one who does much tweaking with knobs to begin with, but you can do some interesting stuff, including using the master volume to turn the output down, without messing up the individual pickup volumes.

I got the Epi hardshell case included, the store selling it had priced down the guitar and included the case, they wanted to move it.

The thing that keeps surprising me about the 'Kat is how good it sounds - stock! MANY people on the boards that got these were doing all kinds of mods. I was convinced the electronics were junk, for instance. I installed a new set of volume and tone pots (Stew Mac), and a new selector switch. Know what? It didn't make a darn bit of difference in terms of tone. The thing just sounds GREAT. Ditto for the pickups. For comparison, I have to American Series Strats and a Gibson LP. I think I know good tone when I hear it. The other thing I like is that the two pickups are different enough from each other that you can just flick that selector and get a totally different sound.

For the price paid, how can I complain? There's nothing I would complain about, except the stock selector switch was a little scratchy. The neck feels good, the build quality is really nice, no blemishes or flaws.

I've had this guitar for 2 1/2 years, it shows no signs of wear at all. I don't play it heavily, but it is very solid. I'm not a gigging player, but I think as long as you don't go crazy, this guitar will do just fine. Mine's 7.4lbs, it feels pretty hefty for a semi. I installed Schaller strap locks, btw.

n/a

Been playing 10 years, blues, classic rock, 60s-80s stuff. I would certainly miss the Alley Kat if I lost it...although someday I'd like to replace with a Gibson ES-335. What I like most about it, very simply, is how good it sounds and how versatile it is for being such a relatively cheap guitar. It's also very hot looking, always gets compliments.

Can I give a 8.5 on features? I think everyone knows the features. No big mystery there. The only thing I would say is planning on changing out everything that can be changed out.

Here is the thing. My sound is not stock! I have modded this guitar alot. I bought the guitar knowing that I would do alot of mods. IT was my project guitar. With all of my mods I would take it on any stage and it would lack a thing. The mods are; Seymour Duncan SM-1 neck, Gibson Burstbucker Pro bridge, tone Pro bridge and tailpeice, bonenut, tuners, switch, and knobs. The pots on mine are 500k, so you dont need to change them out. The sound now is great. The stock sound is probably 6 or 7. It is great for classic rock, hard rock, country, and blues. It sounds great what can I say. I'm sure there are other combinations of pickups that would sound great too.

This is a well made guitar. You will need to get it setup by a professional. No major flaws at all. I had a small flaw on my fretboard, but nothing that affected playability or tone. I have definentely seen guitars in this price range that is just poorly put together, but that is not the case with the Alley Kat.

This guitar is built solid, and would be able to take a beating from the road I'm sure. I've already beat it around some. I try to take great care of my guitars, but at the same time I dont freak if it gets a scratch. A guitar needs to be beat up a little bit.

ugh!?

I bought this guitar because I wanted a project guitar, and I loved the way it looked (a great vibe). I took a guitar from a mediocre to one that would rock any stage. If you plan on medding this guitar you will love your final product. It will keep up with any other guitar out there. Even one that someone paid $2,000 or more for. You wont be disappointed.

I just wanted to comment on the confusion about the unusual 3-volume/1-tone control configuration. It took me awhile to grok it, but it actually gives you a lot of tonal flexibility. Because the two pickups have very different and distinctive tones, one can approach tone-shaping via a technique of starting with one pickup and gradually adding in some amount of the other one. For instance, I find that the neck pickup has a wonderful, full-throated blues tone by itself, but I can dial in a little more bite by putting the bridge pickup volume on about 4. Then when it comes time to take a break, I can mute the instrument with the master volume knob yet still retain the special pickup configuration I've dialed in.

I love the sound of this guitar's pickups! They don't seem to have a particularly high output, but I'm comparing them to the Seymour Duncan-design HBs in my Schecter Omen 6, which are some of the loudest pickups I've ever heard. I agree with many previous reviewers that an .011 string on top really brings out the resonance of the body. Initially I did not like this guitar, which originally belonged to a friend. I borrowed it, and started making adjustments like setting up the action and intonation, pickup height, and correcting a tendency for the stop tailpiece to fall off. Suddenly it seemed to bloom, and I couldn't put it down...eventually I had to trade another guitar to my friend for it, so I could keep it forever. This guitar just seems to have such an amazingly rich, complex tone, both when played clean or with distortion. I'm sure the routed-out body cavities contribute to its unique sound. If you've ever been interested in an electric guitar with a piezo-equipped bridge, the Alleykat somehow manages to achieve that kind of airiness/woodiness but without the piezo bridge. To repeat: tone for days, the kind of tone that any guitarist who wants an axe with character could rely on for years to come. It's great for rock n roll, blues, r & b, jazz, and country.

The finish (vintage sunburst) is simply gorgeous. The dyed rosewood fingerboard is supremely easy to play. The frets were perfectly installed and polished. As I mentioned above, the stop tailpiece anchor bolts did not fit tightly in their holes, so the tailpiece had a tendency to work its way out of the guitar. I always adjust action and intonation myself, and I got this 3rd-hand, so I don't know how it came from the factory. My Alleykat also had the issue of the cheap pickup selector switch, which can easily be fixed by removing the switch and bending in the outer metal tabs that make and break contact with the center conductor. The solder joints are good, but couldn't they have used just an inch more wire? It's tricky repairing this switch when one can barely get it out of the access hole. The tuning machines seem to be of good quality (Gotohs), but I've had some problems with the guitar staying in tune. But these problems have lessened as it "settled in".

I've used this guitar on many gigs. Unfortunately, at one of them, it fell off a stage onto a concrete floor, and the neck cracked. But since it was a clean break, my luthier was able to easily repair it and I've had no problems with intonation or anything else since then. I feel I got off lucky, and I'd rate this guitar as "very durable"!

I've been playing guitar for 41 years. I also have a Schecter Omen 6, a '65 Strat reissue (whose fingerboard I played to death and which needs a refret), a Stephan Sobel acoustic archtop guitar, and a Jerry Jones Coral Sitar replica. I also play bass (Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray 5-string; Jay Turser P-bass copy) and mandocello (1907 Gibson K-1). For amplification, I have a Fender Blues DeVille 60W 4X10, a Boss GT-8, and a Vox 30W Valvetronix. With bass I play through a bass POD and a JBL powered EON 15", or a Gallien-Krueger 112.

I feel really lucky to have acquired this guitar...it's definitely a classic, versatile with a deep well of good tones.

bone stock with the beautiful flamed maple.

I can get sounds from calm jazz to crazy metal. If you run the right pedal you can get insane lead tones that'll sustain for days. obviously it will howl but with a good noise gate it isn't bad. Kicks my RR1 w/ a dimebucker and my US Strat loaded w/ active emg's on high gain tone.

The previous owner was a slide player so the action was cranked up high. now I have it super low (like 3mm low..lol) with 8gauge strings and can shred it for hours.

The tuning drifts like crazy but I may just upgrade the tuners. I foreard straplock ripped out but was easily fixed with a dowel rod.

I've been playing about 5 years. I play blues personally, im in a local jazz group and have been in several metal bands and though it sticks out like a sorethumb for metal it covers all the styles tonally (though I personally prefer a crisp strat tone for blues ut that beside the point)

Ok, the finish is the flamed maple, clear black, came with a nice pluch Epi case, typical LP neck although it's supposedly maple.
Interesting but stupid gretsch master volume. I'm a simple man, don't try to confuse me!
Passive pickups, minibucker on the neck can almost do the Slash alnico pro 2 sound, jazz, and flirts with the fender blues sound as well.
The US 57 Bridge pickup sounds a lot like the T-498 which is interesting for a hollowbody. I expected a more woody sound. It must be the maple neck.
Nice and light, can still wango tango with any less paul.

Classic rock, Peavey triple xxx stright in, no bs footswitches, don't need em.
It would probably be a good idea to change the Pots since foreign made pots suck on big ones.
The sound is fairly bright with nice bottom, ya better use 10-46's for that tho.
Tuners are mediocre.

Whoever set it up ought to have his arse kicked. Don't you idiots now what intonation is?
The binding looks good, around the body, neck and F-holes. The top is matched pretty good but whoever said it was tiger's eye like Gibson Les Pauls is an idiot. There are reasons why Gibsons cost so much and Epi's don't.
I like the fact that there is no full center block (only part ways). This allows for a nice unique sound for a slide and yet no unwanted feedback.

The hardware is chrome plated, kinda cheap. Better bring a backup.

This is a fine guitar to buy for your teenage son. It won't break his back, and it won't break your bank.

2006 Epiphone AlleyKat, made in Korea, 2 humbuckers (Epi clones of NY Mini at neck, '57 Classic at bridge), master volume and tone controls + individual volumes for each pickup. Semi-hollowbody with laminated maple top and body routed out from mahogany slab. Grover tuners, tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece. Polyurethane, trans black finish, ebonized rosewood fretboard. Loses points because of crappy Epiphone electronics and the fact that it didn't come with even a gig bag, much less a case.

As mentioned by others, the unique pickup array gives a wide variety of sounds -- anything from mellow jazz through nasty rockabilly. You won't get metal from the AlleyKat but if that's what you like, you probably wouldn't even look at this axe to begin with. I particularly like playing blues on it. The sound is improved drastically by replacing the cheap, Epi pickups. I put a Seymour Duncan SM-1 at the neck and a SD '59 at the bridge to keep it close to what it's advertised to be. I really like the sound of the mini in the rhythm position. Points off due to the crappy original pickups and because it could use just a tad more low end.

It needed a setup right at the getgo. Then, my luthier had to tweak the neck twice before he got it where I wanted it. All the electronics had to be replaced, especially the pickup switch and the do-nothing cheap pots for volume and tone. Points off for all that stuff but, on the plus side, the finish is pretty much flawless and it's a very pretty guitar.

This thing is built like a tank. I've had no problems the times I've played live with it and would use it without a backup if I had to do so. The finish is that bulletproof polyurethane stuff which will last forever but which might have some adverse effect on the tone as opposed to nitrocellulose. And it doesn't have one of those g.d. whammy bars to put it out of tune!

Haven't dealt with the company and, with the mods I've had done, the warranty is doubtlessly just a memory at this point.

I've been playing about 21 years and also own a '72 Gibson SG Pro (my baby), an '85 MIJ Squier Tele modded with Seymour Duncans and an '06 Fender Deluxe Player's Strat. I play all these through a crappy Line 6 Flextone II (but will soon be upgrading to either a Fender or Vox tube amp). This isn't my favorite axe in my collection but I do really like it a lot. Its biggest plus is the tonal versatility from the pickup setup. I don't usually like the pickup switch in the position here and on Les Pauls but have found that I can essentially use the individual pickup volume pots to emphasize each pickup and thus usually just leave the switch in the middle position and "switch" with the volume pots. The biggest minuses are: no case, no pickguard and crappy Epiphone electronics. I was just about to buy an Ibanez Artcore when the salesperson asked if I wanted to try anything else out first. I saw the AlleyKat hanging on the wall, said "what the heck," and the minute I picked it up, forgot all about the Ibanez. If it were lost or stolen, I'd replace it unless I had the $4,000 or so to get a Gibson CS-336 (incidentally, the closest analog to the AlleyKat in the Gibson line).

All been said below - would imagine your gonna love or hate this guitar due to its features. You have to approach it with an open mind. Personally I love mt Alley Kat very very much :-)
Simply cant give top marks for features since it isn't a custom shop gibson with 3 grands worth of harware on it but for what you pay it's unbeatable (and for not much extra you can mod this into a top quality axe)

The natural sound of this guitar is so good. The stock pickps are fine and i gigged them for almost a year with no worries and loved my sound but after putting in a seymor mini bucker in the neck and a pearly gates in the bridge i was in tone heaven.
It is seriously gibson inspired (duuuh!) and it amazes me that i can make this think sound, with the right setup, like a les paul, a 335 or an SG - or better still a cross between all 3 that sounds like nothing anyone else plays. If you want to hear what this guitar sounds like in a rock band check out our bands mp3s - i used the alleykat solely on all the tracks (pre seymours!). The website is www.myspace.com/absinthians It isn't the style of the tracks but can assure you the kat kicks ass for blues, jazz, folk - its just got a lovely tone whatever style you play (as long as you dont expect a strat or tele)

I paid 300 euros for this guitar on ebay. For that i expect garbage - this guitar is far from garbage. It feel like it cost 3 times the price. it has astounding workmanship for a midprice korean guitar. It is quality throughout and i think epiphone were simply having a laugh - were they doing this as a pop at big brother gibson? I've played a long time and played many guitars and this is a better quality guitar than a standard les paul. For 30% of the price??

Unfortunately the one bad thing that epiphone have done is use their own hardware! Dont worry though - for very little money change the toggle switch, tail, pots, strap buttons etc for gibson gear and it tops it all off. The actual guitar is a dream, beautiful finish, great build quality, great neck.

Dunno - second hand on ebay and am who honestly takes guitars back to the manufacturer? U take em to your local guitr tech not send them off to the factory 2000 miles away.

If it were stolen I would cry then kill.
If you are reading this cos you want to know more before you buy - you will get a great guitar players guitar that can cover any style you want a gibson type guitar to cover. It has character and soul and is one of those guitars which you get attached too - feels like a part of you when you play - i have never never never known a guitar to give me that for anywhere near that price - not by a long way. But one, modify it, love it!!!!

We all know the features of this axe so I won't repeat them again. Suffice it to say, This is a pretty unique set-up. I love that this is an original Epiphone design. It seems to have a pride of workmanship and design that the Gibson copies lack.

I'm just getting back into playing so it will be awhile before I discover just what this guitar can do. The blues is what speaks to me most strongly and it "feels" perfect. I play it through a little 15w Crate that I got used/mint for $35. I feel like I've got a perfect set-up for very little money.

I bought it also used/mint from some one who knew what they were doing as far as set up. It might be a little low and buzzy but we'll see. I have the vintage sunburst and it's gorgeous. I can't find any problems in finish, construction or electrics. It feels very solid without being heavy

Time will tell, but as it will probably not venture out of my little apartment I don't anticipate any issues.

Bought it second hand.

I have 2 other guitars; a stunning Martin HD-28 'nuff said and a Harmony Stella 12 string that won't stay in tune through a long tune, but oh the sound!
I feel like I bought the perfect guitar for me. I like a Gibson/Gretch
type guitar but I ain't got that kinda dough. I played an Epi Special II
Les Paul knock off (hated it) and an Epi Dot Studio (ok but didn't love it)and then this Alley Kat showed up for the same price as the Dot. I picked it up and it was a no-brainer. I love it.

Probably a 2003 model, but I'm not sure. Made in Korea, yadda yadda yadda. You've heard all the specs and such before.

I have, however, done a couple of simple modifications, so I'll be submitting my review based on how it sounds post-alteration. The mods I've done are to remove the tone and individual pickup pots. The signal goes from the pickups to the switch, to the master volume, and out. I've also replaced the bridge humbucker with a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat.

I play a lot of arty/indie/pop/weirdness with this thing. It suits this style perfectly, as I have a love for vintage-esque tone through modern equipment. My current setup is as follows:
Alleykat > Korg tuner > Boss BF-2 > Line 6 Echo Park > Boss DM-2 > Barber Electronics Launch Pad (used for A/B function/boost) > Mesa Boogie Blue Angel. I use the Launch Pad to switch between the high and low gain inputs on the amp. It gets a really nice, natural overdrive that way.

The neck position gets a really rich, almost single coil tone. The middle is very full-sounding. In my opinion, this is how a guitar ought to sound. The bridge position is really hot and brash-sounding. I highly recommend the SD Phat Cat for this guitar. It's very vintage-sounding, and if you're into treble like me, this is the combo for you. I've also found that removing most of the controls has let far more of the original signal through. All those options were pretty useless to me anyhow, since I normally run the thing wide open anyhow. I just use the volume knob to kill the signal, or for the occasional swell.

Since it was used when I got it, I have no idea how well it was originally set up. I do know that there are a couple of flaws in the binding and such, but in all honesty I didn't buy this guitar for the looks in the first place. The sunburst is fine, but I really dislike flamed maple. I merely tolerate its appearance. The main complaint I have is that the remaining pot is a little scratchy, the jack feels kind of dodgy, and the pickup selector isn't all that great either. It's no big deal, really. I work around it. I'll probably replace all that stuff sometime, but it's not doing much harm as of now.

The action is also a bit high, but I use heavy strings, and it doesn't really bother me. It's not like I take any real solos or anything.

This sucker is built to last, it seems. The body is carved out of one solid, thick piece of wood, so it's a lot more durable-feeling than most hollow guitars I've picked up. It's currently my main guitar since my Gretsch was stolen. I really should get a hard case for it, but the thing is a tank considering it's a hollow guitar. I'm not worried about it breaking.

Never dealt with them. It's probably very, very out of warranty anyhow.

I've only been playing for about four years, but I've taken to gear and good tone pretty intensely during that period, and I feel like I know what I'm talking about. My other guitar is a Fender Highway-1 Telecaster which I hardly play anymore since getting my AlleyKat. I think I'm pretty done with solid guitars at this point. The tone of this guitar is simply amazing, not even considering its price. It stood up to my Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod for tone quality. The alleykat was a bit deeper (not darker, just deeper. The Gretsch had more chime) sounding. It has its own unique personality. I really recommend getting one of these guitars to anyone considering dabbling in hollow or semi-hollow instruments. The mini-bucker sounds awesome. The bridge pickup was sort of dull-sounding, but since installing the Phat Cat, it's a sparkling, shimmery guitar on all fronts.

If it were lost or stolen I'd probably give up on guitar all together at this point. I would definitely recommend them though. I'm only giving it a nine because the high action may not be for everyone.