Epiphone Alley Kat

I believe I have a 2003 model, made in Korea. Flame laminated maple top semi hollow body with a mahogany body and neck. Volume controls for each pickup, tone control for both and a master volume. This is a standard 22 fret model, with one mini humbucker on the neck. Comes with a Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tail piece. Nice Gotoh tuners as well.

I use this guitar for older 60?s R&B as well as on those blues numbers which require more attack than sustain. I perform live along with a bass player at community fund raising events. For practice I play it clean through a Fender Blues Jr. and for live performances through a Peavey Delta Blues 210. The sound of this guitar is cutting, with what I like to call a nice soft growl;-) The one complaint I do have is that it isn?t very loud, leastwise not in comparison with my Austin Sessions Master (ES-335 Clone). However this is easy to compensate for by switching my amp to boost.

I have rather smallish hands and the neck was one of the reasons I bought this guitar. Also it?s sound reminded me of the sound of Gretsch models that come with mini humbuckers, and while I love the sound of Gretsch guitars, their necks a too thick for me to play proficiently.

I bought this guitar used and the set up and intonation of this instrument were dead on and I couldn?t be happier with the way it looks. Though the 3 way selector switch could be of a higher quality, and will replace it if and when the need arises.

So far this guitar has done well in live performances and seems to be more solidly constructed than most semi hollow body arch top guitars.

As state earlier, I bought this guitar use. It came form the Guitar Center and I really enjoy doing business with them, great deals on accessories. So I have not had any dealing with Epiphone Guitar Company. However I will say this: Epiphone seems to do best with their own guitar designs when compared side by side to the Gibson guitar model clones they put out.

I have been playing guitar since the mid 1960?s. In addition to those items already mentioned, I won an 83 Yari DY 47 and a Washburn J12SN.

The most convenient feature of this guitar is the master volume control, though I also use passive volume control pedal when performing live.

The Alley Cat is a uniquely designed guitar no doubt about it. The body is one solid piece of mahogany hollowed out, not laminate and the pickups are free standing without supporting blocks as in most semi hollow body electric guitars. This is a lot of what gives this instrument its great sound.

Its a standard model made in korea , laminated top, one volume knob for each pickup, a master volume and a master tone knobs. Passive pickups, one humbucker on the brige position and one mini-humbucker on the neck position. Heritage sunburst color (front) on flamed top wood and dark purple on the back and sides (very nice looking one). Single cutaway (rounded) , thinline with tune o-matic bridge, Grover tuners , 24.75 short scale (gibson style). Mahogany neck, back and sides , laminated top. Creamy bindings on the top side. Vintage epiphone metal name on the headpiece.

I play mainly progressive rock, some jazz, some rock , some pop. I own several guitars and I have to say that it has a sound that I didn't have yet. Pickups are both has a chracteristic midrange-ends response. No deep basses but also not edgy high ends (at least much less than my wildkat model with P-90). Another common characteristic of both pickups is that they tend to get into distortion very easily. Expecially if they are setup close the strings. In fact i quickly lowered down them and i did a good setup of adjustable poles. WOOW! Finally i got an interesting sound! .. This guitar now
gives it best with "low gain" settings on the amplifier ...
Both pickups sounds very smooth with this setup ... making it perfect in these ranges : 1) Light distorted (or clean) chords 2) Fingerpicking pieces and guitar strongly in foreground
In these two fields this guitar gives a smooth attack ...distinct string sound and a full distorted sound in the same time (a little
miracle!).
It is not suitable for lead guitar sounds (bridge pickup) when merged
in a complex (and full instruments) scenario. (as the Wildkat does)
The neck pickup is very present and suitable for rockabilly, and jazzy sounds ... very nice... it is not very versatile as other people on here says ... on the contrary I think its very good for the its specific range of music. You can think to it like a sort of Gibson ES 335 with less low-ends.... its airy and complex timbre ... very nice (not like a Les Paul as I read from other reviews)

I don't know how it was the factory setup (I bought it used ...like new) but I know that after several setups I did by myself i can say that this guitar , like the wildkat model (I also have) has the same neck ... the action can't be lowered down too much without to get frets buzzing (not so much low as I manage to do on my Gibson 175) but I have to say that it is not bad at all .. these guitars manages
to preserverve a very good playability ...being 8.5/10 compared with my Gibson 175 action ... for the rest ... I have to say that the top is flamed and very beautiful so it is the finish ... as usual I had to tight strongly the input jack nut that is a common defect on epiphones and tends to loosen. Anyway I'll soon replace the washer and I'll solve this problem forever. The volume/tone knobs weren't so flat ... I replaced them already with beautiful cream speed knobs.

Everythings seems quite solid ... except the input jack nut as I said

I hadn't reasons to contact them

I play (as composer ... for pleasure ... no gigs) for 25 years ,
if I would lose it I would buy it again , I love its look , size , sound , weight. I would compare it to an ES335. I choose it because it small size /weight/ look/ short scale/ pickups/ epiphone good quality. I liked the true mother of peart inlay in the place of pearloid ones

The features of this guitar are given in many other reviews.
I did have a problem getting a case for it. The one I ordered
from Musician's Friend didn't fit properly. Eventually the
local Guitar Center ordered one and kindly said I wouldn't
have to buy it if it didn't fit properly.

An interesting feature of the guitar is that the neck pickup
is a mini-humbucker while the bridge pickup is a full-sized
humbucker. Surprisingly, this doesn't make the guitar look
strange.

Having a single overall volume control plus individual
volume controls for the two pickups is handy.

I wanted a guitar I could play rock, blues, or jazz on, although
I have a hollowbody that I use for jazz. Although it doesn't
sound like a hollowbody, you can get a nice warm sound very
suitable for jazz by selecting the neck pickup and rolling the
tone down to about 2. I also like the range of sounds you can
get through combination of the two pickups. I'm not a tone expert,
but I really like the warmth of this guitar. I couldn't comment
on whether it does a good job for those seeking a very bright
sound -- I rarely use the bridge pickup alone.

My guitar arrived beautifully set-up from Epiphone. I believe
it was strung with 10's, maybe 11's. The action was reasonably
low, slightly lower than I like on a jazz guitar. Since I pick
reasonably hard I got an occasional but slight buzzing on a
string or two, but nothing that could be heard through an amp
or that affected sustain.

The intonation was great. Kudos to Epiphone for such a nice set-up.
I recently bought a Epiphone USA Sheraton II that was much more expensive, and apparently set up in the US. Sadly, the set-up on
that guitar was absolutely terrible (there were not even string
grooves on the nut!).

The finish and appearance of the guitar are fantastic. It is much
better looking than in the photos I've seen.

Also, I love the feel of the neck; both the shape of the neck and
the slinky feeling on the fretboard. I literally considered if a
legal procedure would allow me to either adopt or marry this
guitar! :-)

I'm writing this a year after purchasing it, so my comments are
not just a reflection of buyer's excitement.

Generally the guitar seems durable, but I had heard many problems
about flaky pots and pickup switches. Sure enough, the pickup switch
on my guitar is flaky and occasionally I get no output in the middle
position. I plan to replace the switch, but so far no problems with
the tone or volume controls. I don't plan to replace the pickups,
as they sound fine to me.

I haven't dealt with Epiphone.

I've been playing for 30 years, but haven't bought a lot of guitars.
I've got a (Korean) DeArmond jazz guitar, an old cheap Gibson
solid body, a Wechter Pathfinder acoustic/electric, and this
guitar. Currently I'm interesting in playing jazz and recording
pop/rock/jazz.

As mentioned above, I bought an Epiphone USA Sheraton II recently.
There were problems with the setup, but I could still see that I
preferred the sound and feel of this guitar -- it is warm and the
fretboard has a great silky feeling. The experience made me realize
that there is not much sense in looking for another thinline hollowbody.

The only thing I don't like about this guitar is the flaky pickup switch. Also, I'm not crazy about the metal T shape affixed to
the headstock. Everything else about this guitar I like very
much. It was a steal for $299 and I think it's a good value
at $500.

I won't rate it 10 because of the pickup switch, but I'd like
to rate it 9.5.

This is an update of my review posted here 9/10/2005. After replacing both pickups I still thought that the bridge pickup wasn't bright enough. If you page/scroll down to Scott Pope's review from 10/19/2003 he mentions that the bridge pickup should be moved 1/8" closer to the bridge to get a better sound. On my guitar I measured 5/16" from the opening on the top to the block under the bridge so I decided to cut out this piece of the top and glue it in at the neck side of the opening. I used a Dremel tool to start the cut and a small scroll saw blade held manually to finish the cut. I used a tongue depressor under the top and the piece to hold it in position with two mini-bar clamps from Sears. There were a few gaps that I filled with a quick drying wood filler that I sanded down and finally used colored pens to blend the color in. (My guitar is the Heritage Cherry Sunburst so I used oranges, reds, browns, yellows and white.)

After doing this I put the Gibson BB Pro back in and it sounded much more like I would expect it to. I decided to try the Seth Lover bridge pickup again, but this time I tried potting the magnet (and just the magnet) with wax, as suggested on the user forum here. I put a piece of masking tape on the top of the stud bobbin to keep the cover from vibrating. The Seth Lover pickup sounded more open than the BB Pro and I've been happy with it ever after.

With these mods the guitar sounds really great. The SD mini-humbucker at the neck doesn't get muddy (or middy) like most humbuckers at the neck, the Seth Lover bridge pickup sounds really great and the blend positions are really nice. Now that I am satisfied with the sounds of this guitar I will hardwire in the pickups, probably trying the other mods suggested by Scott Pope.

Well, I had to downrate the fit and finish after cutting and patching the top but what do you want- good looks or good sounds?

After working on this guitar, I can tell that the body is very strong- much stronger than an ES-335. Not quite as strong as a LP but it is lighter.

Like I said in the previous review, this guitar is a lot of fun to play. It is also particularly well suited for blues since the neck seems a bit wider and thicker than most Gibson. After playing awhile I can feel the muscles in my arm hurting a bit; it takes more effort to play this than a LP but what they say is "no pain, no gain!" I remember always seeing John Lee Hooker with an Epiphone guitar; I think that they make a better blues guitar than Gibson.

Here's a link to my website with more mods for guitars and amps:

http://www.blueguitar.org/

I'd like to say up front that this review is for a heavily modded Alley Kat so if you are looking to read a review on a stock model you may want to read on however if you are looking for some tips on making your Alley Kat an absolutely killer instrument please read on. Made in Korea in 2004. 22 frets (or 23 if you count the final fret). It has a laminated maple top with a pretty decent translucent black finish. It has two volumes (one for each pickup, a master volume and a tone control. It has a two humbucking configuration. I placed Seymour Duncans in mine (will elaborate further down). It has single cutaway semi-hollow body with two f-holes. Another mod made here is a Tone-Pro's bridge/stop tail piece set as well as Gotoh locking tuners. I originally purchased this guitar brand new off ebay for $330 but a case was not included. I purchased an Epiphone case for $69 from a retailer. This is a pretty basic guitar so it is not loaded with features compared to some modern guitars.

This amp suits my style well for I am mostly a classic rock/folk/blues player (Think anywhere from Dylan to Ten Years After). I have been playing it through a Reverend Goblin and Carr Rambler tube amps. This guitar is very quite after the mods. It originally had some very scratchy pots so I changed them out with some I purchased from StewMac.com. I also changed the switch with a better one. This is the weakest point of a new Epiphone, crappy electronics! The sound with the original pickups was clean but very much lacked bottom end. I changed them out with a Seymour Duncan SM-3 mini-hum at the neck and an SH-5 at the bridge. All I can say is WOW! What an improvement. A full warm sound with character to spare. The sound is very balanced now. There was still one weakness left so after reading some other reviews I decided to change out the bridge/stop tail piece with a Tone Pro's metric set. My local luthier installed it for me as well as a bone nut. This finalized this instrument. It is now one grade A instrument. It stands up with much more expensive guitars. Since this guitar is really a unique design in the first place I really like the size/feel. I absolutely love playing this guitar now. Before mods I give this category a 7 but after mods a definite 10!

I would not have made any of the forementioned mods if I was not satified with the fit and finish. The original setup was terrible but my local luthier took care of that. The fret work is very nice for an inexpensive guitar and the laminate woods are decent. It is not as nice as a custome shop Gibson but consider the price difference. I absolutely love the metal Epiphone plate on the headstock. Very retro indeed! The quality of the workmanship on this guitar considering the quality of materials used is excellent. Very much worth the price. The hardware was fitted tightly and I could not find any cosmetic flaws. I give this category a 5 from the factory but a 10 after my local luthier set it up.

With its solid maple neck and laminate maple body with a maple center block it seems to be rather sturdy. No complaints here. The original tuners were made for Epiphone by Gotoh however I replaced them with higher grade locking Gotoh's. the orih=ginal tuners were decent and stayed in tune. I gig with this without worrying about a back up.

NA. Have not dealt with them however I love Epi's web site.

I have been playing on and off for over 30 years. I have owned numerous other makes and models including Carvin and Gibson electrics, Martin and Larrivee acoustics. I researched these guitars before purchasing and concluded with a few mods they could really become a decent guitar. I don't know what I would do if lost or stolen. Maybe would replace it with something else. I love the size and weight and the semi-hollow design. If I could change anything I would move the master volume down towards the butt end of the guitar so I wouldn't periodically strike the knob. Overall it has been transformed into a rock machine with very controllable feedback.

My guitar was made in Korea in 2005. It is semi-hollow bodied, with the back and sides evidently carved out of a single block of wood, with a carved and bound top added. It is not constructed like an ES-335, with a center block and wings, although there is a solid block underneath the bridge and tailpiece. Under the pickups there is a black coating, which might be conductive paint for shielding or something to reduce feedback.
The pickup configuration is quite unique: at the neck is a NY-style mini-humbucker while at the bridge is a full-sized humbucker. The controls are also a bit unusual, with a single master volume across from the selector switch and 3 controls where you would normally expect 4. The individual volume controls are wired up "backwards" compared to most guitars; in the blend position you can turn either of the controls down to 0 without muting the other pickup. This allows you to balance the two pickups in whatever proportions you desire. There is a single master tone control which effects both pickups.

The sound of the stock pickups was better than expected but I usually upgrade the pickups on my guitars. The mini-humbucker at the neck sounded pretty good, but I tried replacing it, first with a Seymour Duncan SF-2 (AKA SM-2... too bright!) and then with a SD SM-2 (just right). The bridge humbucker was supposed to be an Epiphone 1957 model, but with a DC resistance of 14k it is not exactly a vintage design. I replaced it first with a SD Seth Lover, which for some reason did not sound very bright on this particular guitar so I replaced it a second time with a Gibson BurstBucker Pro, which seems to work much better.
The upgraded pickups bring out the sounds suggested by the stock pickups, rather than changing them drastically. I'd give a 7 for the stock pickups and a 9 for the upgraded pickups I put in, which averages out to an "8". BTW having a mini-humbucker at the neck is a great idea since full-sized neck humbuckers can get very muddy sounding. The mini-humbucker is very bright and clear, although it can growl like a P-90 when you crank it up.

It was the fit and finish of the guitar that first attracted me to it. The bindings are very precise as are the frets. One thing I should mention is that the first Alley Kat I tried out did not play well. I tried adjusting the bridge height to make it play better but that did not help. There was a second Alley Kat in the store that played like butter but it was gone when I went back to buy it. I did find a third Alley Kat in a different store which played like the nice one so I bought it. So I would suggest that you try the guitar out before buying it (always a good idea).

I don't expect the stock Epiphone hardware to last very many years, but if it starts flaking it would be easy enough to replace the bridge or tailpiece. I do suspect that the top is a photo finish contact paper. But the guitar sounds great and is really fun to play, and I can deal with these problems later (if they do turn into problems).

I don't think that Epiphone offers much customer support... I think that if you have a problem you are better off dealing with the store that you bought it from.

This guitar is worth a "9" with the two upgraded pickups I put in. I've been playing for 40 years, and have been avoiding Epiphone guitars for the past few years (I don't want to buy a Korean copy of a Gibson USA guitar). But this guitar is an original Epiphone design and is as fun as a barrel full of monkeys.

Just a quick update on my review which is just below this one. Some corrections. I meant to say dyed rosewood for the fretboard. It has a great feel though; It feels like ebony. I think they put a finish on it and buffed it. I'm putting an SM-1 Vintage in the front, not a SH-1. That's where I wanted to address an update. I gigged for the first time with this guitar a few days ago and I was astonished! Before that I had just played through a pod into my home recording system. Playing out of an amp made this guitar really come alive. I am not a big fan of middle positions on any guitar. But this Alleykat! the middle position has a beautiful, strat-like chime to it. I assume that is the mini-humbucker influence. The guitar just sounded great! The irony is that with this guitar, I may never leave the middle position! Anyway, now I'm a little leary about changing out the pickups. I just want to re-iterate: unless I have a rare one of a kind mistake to the general production (and most of the reviews below suggest otherwise), I have to say that this guitar is the best mid-level guitar I have ever owned and sonically it sits very comfortably with the top of the line models I have owned.If I decide to change out the electronics/pickups/bridge I'll let you know what it sounds like.

See other reviews. I am unsure about the neck fretboard wood. I am seeing some reviews saying mahogany and others ebony. Mine has a gloss and color like ebony but is grainy, like mahogany. Could be died mahogany, don't know. I do know that regardless, it is one beautiful hog of a neck!

This guitar is mind boggling for the price I paid for it. I play just about everything but straight forward jazz, and this guitar can hang. Acoustically, it is very loud and complex. The pickups sound surprisingly good, but not great. The neck pickup is a bit muddy and lacks some definition. I'm replacing it w/ a Seymour Duncan SH-1. Bridge pickup sounds surprisingly good! It loses a little when you go up high on the neck, but it is not pronounced and your fingers can drag the extra sound out if you don't want to replace. I just figure that for the money, why not? I'm replacing with a PRS McCarty. But I'll probably hang the stock pickup in one of my strats. I never use the bridge pickup on strats and this pickup sounds good enough that I actually might use the bridge position if its there. You can tell that the electronics are where Epiphone did some corner cutting. Its funny that they put the extra volume knob on the horn where it can be used, but use pots that have no dynamics and do not taper properly. Definitely going to replace the electronics. One thing I have to say about this guitar is that you get noticeably diverse sounds in the three positions. The combination of the Mini humbucker and the bridge humbucker is really unique. I can see myself using the three positions a lot more with this guitar.

Absurd for the price!! the action is perfect, there is no fret buzz anywhere. Frankly, that is the first time I have ever owned or played a guitar at this price range where there was no buzz anywhere on the fretboard. The thing about this guitar is that the body and neck are so solidly built and sound so good acoustically, that you really can't go wrong buying and then swapping out the electronics and hardware as you see fit. There are some cosmetic problems, but is it really worth $1,000-3,000 more for cosmetics? And those cosmetic problems are problems with finish and not joinery. All the joints are tight and smooth. Even the inside is well done. It has a maple neck which pulls out a little more definition in sound and the neck is wider than normal. I find myself playing faster on this guitar than I ever have before. I think someone else said the same thing in a previous review.

This guitar feels substantial. Very solid. Only problem I see is that it is a bit neck heavy.

Haven't dealt W/them so I can't say.

I've been playing for almost 30 years and have played almost all varieties of music. I'm like most non-professional or semi- professional musicians out there. I don't make a good enough living after family expenses, etc, to afford a Gibson or PRS. So I have to look for diamonds in the trash. This Alleykat is a definite diamond. I would replace it in a heart beat. Very unique guitar. I'm giving it a 10 for what you get for the price, but also the potential it has, after some replacement, to be a first rate instrument.

Brand spankin new Alleykay hollowbody in beautiful tobacco-burst finish. Body is slightly larger than a Les Paul, but much lighter. Made where all other Epiphones are made, but apparently assembled and Q/C'd in the US of A. Maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard and medium frets. Back and sides are mahogany with flamed maple lid (I think the top is laminated, but you can't tell). Top, f-holes and fretboard are fully bound. Nice perloid block inlays in fretboard, and really cool metal Epiphone badge on headstock. Classic '57 humbucker at bridge and NY mini humbucker at neck. Treble/Rhythm switch at upper bout (same as on a Les Paul), with master vol. control on treble horn and 2 individual volume knobs with master tone control knob. Tune-o-matic bridge. Grover tuners. Standard scale. Weight is nicely balanced, perfect action, beautiful finish. Really one of the finest examples of an Epiphone I've ever seen.

I play a lot of straight-up rock n' roll, country-rock and the like...stuff you'd hear on Sirius Outlaw Country. This guitar does everything I need a guitar to do. The bridge humbucker is unbeleivable. I dial up the O/D on my Laney LC30 to 2 and it sounds sooo crunchy. Flip the switch to the neck p/u in the clean channel, dial back the master vol. and it sounds like a high-end jazz guitar. Very sparkly and sultry. A combo of the two pickups is powerful like the middle selection on a Les Paul, but with way more clarity and balance. Like I said, I use a Laney LC30 with no effects. No noise. Humbuckers tend to be quiet (hence the name), but these are apparently wax potted to prevent any excess interference.I have to say there is nothing I dislike about the tonal qualities of this guitar. The pickups combined with the small hollow body make for a very satisfying range of sounds.

The only adjustment I had to make was to the bridge height to lower the action, which is now perfect. No other changes to set up needed. The top is matched nicely, with a beautiful tobacco burst flame and mellow arch. If I had to be picky, I'd replace the plastic nut, but I don't care so much about that. I doesn't look plasticy and cheap. In fact, nothing on this guitar looks cheap at all. The fit and finish is so damn impressive, I was really shocked at the price tag. Not your typical Epiphone copy of a Gibson. This is a guitar designed and executed solely by Epiphone and is done so magnificently.

This is a pro-quality guitar, with legendary pickups and top-notch hardware. Very dependable. I've played a lot of different guitars professionally and otherwise, and this one can compare easily with an overpriced Gibson any day. If Orville was still alive, I'd tell him myself. I am surprised I haven't seen more of these being played. This is now my main guitar. I won't even bring a backup to my next gig because I would rather play with a broken string than play another guitar at this point.

Never dealt with customer support, so no opinion here.

Been playing bass and guitar for 20+ years. Sometimes professionally (whatever that means), sometimes for my dog. I can't wait to record with it. I also own a Fender Jazz bass, Guild d-4(pre-Fender) and vintage Selmer acoustics, a heavily modified Rroyd - Roar mandolin (Korea's finest), a mutt drum kit, Laney LC 30 amp, Randall B-210 bass amp, early 70's Fender bassman 2x15 rig and other stuff.
I'd cry if this guitar were lost or stolen. I really love the feel, look, tone and playability of this guitar. It rocks any other Epi I've played and lots of Gibsons I've played too. Why pay over $1000 for a Gibson that may not even sound as good? Besides, I'm not aware of any other company that makes a true hollowbody guitar this size of this caliber in this price range. Fantastic pickups, great fast, slim neck, great looks. Truly a rare find in quality to price ratio these days. I will add a Bigsby later. It compares closely to a Les Paul in feel and tonal quality, but IMHO is more versatile, and definitely more comfortable.

This guitar has a humbucker in the bridge and a mini humbucker at the neck. Another odd feature is that 3 of the 4 control knobs are for volume. One for each pickup and a master. The other knob adjust tone after everything is done. This is a great setup for people who swap pickups a lot looking for the ultimate tone. By setting the switch to activate both pickups and adjusting volume controls, it's like having an assortment of different humbucker tones at you fingertips. It doesn't have a Bigsby, coil-tapping etc so i'll give it a 7 here.

Here's where it gets low marks. Out of the box this guitar sounded horrible. All muffled and weak. At first I thought it was the pickups but after some tweaking, I discovered that the pots were the problem. swapping them out with some store-bought ones fixed the problem. My guess is that they were just poorly made and not rating at 500K. The pickups were o.k. but not great sounding. Contrary to some mis-information out there, the bridge humbucker is NOT an American made Gibson Classic 57, nor is the neck pickup American made. They are both Korean copies. I didn't find that splitting the neck pickup coils yielded a very useful sound to me... so I didn't bother modding the guitar with a coil-splitting switch. Coil splitting the neck pickup makes the volume drop and seems to sound a bit tinny. I ended up swapping out the neck pickup for a GFS mini humbucker and the bridge with a Scaller humbucker. It now sounds great...But since I had to swap out pickups and pots to get there I can't give high marks.

This guitar was built fantastic. Action was perfect out of the box. Neck was straight. Perfect finish. The finish is polyester of course. Fretwork very nice. The only gripe I can come up with was that the pickup wiring seemed to be a bit tangled and messy and shows a lot through the soundhole. I wasn't able to fix this easily after modding the guitar because the wires were tied together on knots in places. The reason i didn't send this guitar back was that I bought it for 300.00 including shipping and since it structurally was fine I just decided to fix the sound. Another point I'd like to make. This isn't a true semi-hollow in that there's not a block running the entire length of the guitar. It's more like an island block just underneath the bridge and tailpiece. The back and sides aren't thin either because the body is a routed out block of wood instead of a built up guitar box like an ES335. It's more like a Les Paul Cloud 9 in construction than an ES 335. Hollowed out chambers instead of a built up box. The tone unplugged is great.

It's well constructed. The electronics sounded bad but didn't seem unreliable. I've heard some friends complain that the swiches and output jacks needed to be replaced new out of the box, though. The inside of the guitar is spray painted over with some sort of shielding paint and a little of it got on parts like the output jack...shorting the signal a little. I had to clean that up too.

Great design and excellent execution except for the poor electronics. I've talked to other people online who had better luck with the electronics in theirs so I think I might have just gotten a bad one in that department. Still, I'd rather it be that than a twisted neck, finish flaws etc. I got it cheap and for an extra 100 dollars in electronics got an awesome guitar. The flame maple is just the right amount. Not outrageous and not lame.