Epiphone Alley Kat

I just bought this brand new alleykat. Definetley impressed by this Korean axe. The master volume knob is sweet for blending sound and quickly turning down. The new york mini is very bright and more versatile than expected and the '57 reissue humbucker sounds like the real deal. The body and finish is beautiful!! The tuners are true grovers, really nice.

I play alot of blues and rock. Everything from Allman Bros to pearl jam and then some experimental stuff like radiohead too and this guitar can pulll it all off. Sounds great for slide guitarists!
It can be noisey if u want but then produce warm bb king like tones
you wont be dissapointed

Ive played live twice and my American fat strat has taken second seat to the new AlleyKat. Finish is amazing, buttons are cool...no slipping, yet.

havent looked into this yet, sorry.

Ive been playing for 11 years and this si my most favorite purchase yet. I went to the store to but a es335 or an SG but couldnt decide what sound i wanted more. The Alley kat is so versatile i have all the osunds i want in one

Made in Korea, hollowbody, 3 volume and one tone (which is nice as you can blend the two pickups and use the master volume rather than mess with the nice blend), NY minihumbucker in neck, Classic 57 in bridge, real Grover tuners, mahogany body, maple neck (so epi says?), flame maple top (stunningly beautiful). Neck is similar to a thin necked LP and body is slightly larger than an LP, lower bout measures 14".

Now this is where it gets interesting. The pickups are extremely versatile, the ny mini hum is a close cousin to a p90 without the annoying hum and the classic 57 can do it all. Can do jazz, blues, rock, country, slide, even heavy metal. Quite surprising versatility from a hollowbody. Pickups are silent, no hum. Sounds excellent.

Set up was pretty good, maybe I might lower the action 1mm or so but it seemed perfect. Raised the pickups up a tad. There were zero flaws with this guitar and shockingly arrived in tune, which never happens after shipping a guitar.

I think this guitar is solid and reliable, yet being a hollowbody its probably quite a bit more fragile than say an LP. Can't knock it for that as it is typical for all hollowbodies and not anything abnormal.

Never dealt with Epi. This is my first Epi actually, out of around 30 guitars I've owned in my 10 years of playing.

Playing 10 years, running this through a Peavey XXX Super 40 EFX. I would almost buy a 2nd one since they are a great instrument at a blowout price. I wanted a semihollow but wanted something a bit smaller in size and this fits the bill perfectly. Shockingly it seems to be near quality to every Gibson I've every played.

Recent model, purchased used, though in new condition on arrival. All details can be seen in the other reviews, though mine has a very nice EBONY fretboard: literature lists it as rosewood--I noticed another reviewer got one w/ the ebony board also. Must've been a short-run deal.

Has a very nice, flamey top in antique sunburst. Sure it's laminated, but so is a Gibson 335.

Quite versatile range in this baby, especially after I switched out the bridge pickup for a Duncan Screamin' Demon, and the neck pickup for a hard-to-find Bartolini Beastie II (doubt they've made this one for a few years, but it's a mini-hum replacement that can be wired every which way). I've tapped both pickups and placed the mini toggle switch in the hole that previously carried that master volume knob (I removed IT altogether).

I also replaced the nut with a graphite job.

I run it thru a GK 250ML-II and Rocktron Rampage amp, and I play both on high-gain settings for fusion, shred, blues, whatever. It's quiet, with great sutain and bite. The ebony fretboard adds to the rapid single-note response--it really speaks.

I use the clean settings, too, and this guitar is even more versatile in that mode, producing some real spank and sparkle with the pickups in single coil modes, and it gets some near-perfect complex jazz tones with the Bartolini pickup in hum mode.

This guitar is beautifully made. The Korean makers have their craft down pat--just about to the level of the Japanese makers of the late '70s. I really can find no flaws.

Looks pretty durable, though I haven't had it out of the house yet. Time will tell.

I've played for over 30 years, and own about 13 axes: a '95 Gibson LP studio, a recent Hamer Artist Mahogany, numerous others.

I wanted a smaller-sized thinline, one that was versatile, and this critter fills the bill. I looked at some Gibson Pat Martinos, but their price is out of my range these days (I have a mortgage, after all). I then saw one of my students' FlameKat, and flipped over it, but decided I didn't need the FlameKat's bigsby and mini hum at the bridge. Once set up my way, this axe is just as useful as the Martino, and about 1/8 the price.

If I lost it I'm sure I would look for a replacement.

This is a follow-up to my review below. Since the review I have done three more things to the guitar, two modifications and one maintenance:

1) I reworked the tone control so that it is effectively a 250 k ohm pot with .03 worth of caps, instead of the stock 500 k ohm pot with a .02 cap. This gets rid of any residual harshness, and starts the tone rolloff curve a little sooner. Since the mini has a higher resonant frequency than a full sized humbucker, this gets the tone shaping a little closer to a rolloff with a full sized neck humbucker. Since you really can't buy 500 k ohm resistors (they're "standard" at 470 k ohm, then you have tolerances to deal with) you need to measure out a 470 k ohm resistor to get its true value, then add another resistor to get the resistance up high enough that when you solder it over the lug that has the pickup hot lead and the wiper, the resulting resistance is at least 250 k ohms. I had tried only going down to 350 k ohms from the stock 500 k ohm pot earlier, and that wasn't enough to get rid of all the harshness. The value of the other resistor will vary depending on the measured value of your tone pot. There's no simple way to say this: the value of the other resistor, in series with the 470 k ohm resistor, needs to be such that the reciprocal value of the sum of the reciprocal of the value of the pot, along with the reciprocal of the sum of the 470 k ohm resistor and the added resistor together in series, all together read at least 250 k ohms. Any less and you lose definition. More gets more edge. Since it is also difficult to get .03 caps, you can solder a .02 and a .01 together in parallel across the tone pot (not series). Remember: to increase value linearly, resistors go in series, capacitors go in parallel; To decrease value, resistors go in parallel, and you must take out the capacitor and substitute a smaller value.

2) Then, I stacked all of that onto a push-pull pot with a Bill Lawrence Q filter. It's hard to describe the effect, because it's not just like turning a tone knob on either your guitar or the amp. Impedance is a strange thing that would take more than a short review to explain. The Bill Lawrence website has a link to a discussion page that says more. The best way I can describe it is that it takes the "heaviness" out of pickups, so that you get more clarity, especially in strummed chords. Some say it's almost a processed acoustic tone, others say it's better than Strat quack, depending on how you fine tune the circuit per Bill's directions and set your level. The effect is subtle, however. Don't expect a huge difference like, for an opposite example, the EMG tone shaping circuits you can get to go with their active pickups, made most popular by Gilmore.

3) My b tuner wasn't holding. When I took it off, it was apparent that the drill had wobbled in the headstock. I wrapped the tuner with a couple of winds of electrical tape and reinstalled it. Now it holds perfectly. I'll probably check the rest of the tuners likewise.

This kept the front of my guitar looking stock. I don't remember if I mentioned in my review that I swapped out the top hat knobs for Les Paul style speed knobs: they're easier to grab for the push-pull and I think they look a lot better.

I'm now getting very positive compliments on tone, from people who don't normally notice guitar tone. And a few more gigs later, the guitar is holding up great, the hardware is holding up great, and I anticipate many years of gigging with this guitar. I've quit taking backups in favor of a couple of extra sets of strings. Again, not a perfect guitar, but the most versatile guitar I have ever played, even before the mods. The mods just rocket it to a whole new level.

got it 2002 cherryburst flamed top- absolutle perfect with the creamy binding head stock is a little chunky and cheesy but other than that perfect. '57 and ny mini humbuckers the '57 kicks ass and you can get suprisingly serious crunch from the mini beside that not to heavy and well balanced piece of equipment youll love the feel

love the blues and and jazz but im rock and role at heart. the alleykat is more versitile than anything to date. the variety of tone is phenominal the bass can get a tad bit quacky but just adjust your amp. i cant get enough of the clean sound on this guitar. its so sweet and moody when you need it to be but this thing really just wants to rock.

one look and you wont be able to say no. the cherryburst flamed top with cream binding. ive never seen a prettier guitar. its all in your style casue i love the classic look of a strat too but really you wont believe it til you see it. find one and play it becasue pictures and reviews dont do real justice.

of course like everyone else said... replace the switch mine shorts out every once in a while which can piss you off but i just fiddle and itll work again. i plan on replacing it soon i just dont want to be without it for a day itll stand up well though even being semihollow. i knicked the headstock last week and im still distraught

great great guitar but dont believe me. go find it and play it.

It's all been said. See the other reviews and the Epiphone website. However, I believe mine (black transparent finish) has an ebony fingerboard instead of a rosewood. I'm no expert, but several people who know wood also say it looks more like ebony, and it definitely feels and looks just like the ebony on the 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom I had for twenty years. Also, mine is a little wider at the nut than the advertised 1 11/16. I took a caliper and measured it, and it is about 1 23/32", the same as most of the new Gibson acoustics. Between the ebony and the wider nut, this is a good thing, because it keeps the tone forward and makes fingerpicking a little easier. I give it a ten because I just love it when something comes out not to spec that is actually better.

As in the reviews below, this is the most versatile guitar I have ever played. Moreover, I'm not only having more fun playing it, but I am actually getting compliments, not in the nature of how well (or not) I play, but on the tone, which I never got before. I have sold the following after getting this guitar: Japanese Squier Strat, 1979 Les Paul Custom (it weighed 11 lbs and my back just couldn't take it anymore; besides, I have always liked minis in the neck position ever since I had a Les Paul Deluxe many years ago; I had to sell it with mechanical problems, but that's another story...) Washburn Idol Deluxe (a great guitar, the Buzz Feiten and VCC really work after you upgrade the pickups, sounds real close to a good SG, and it replaced the Les Paul until I got the Epiphone, but the neck was too skinny for my dislocated thumb). I am keeping my 1982 FireGlo Rick 360-12 with checkerboard front binding and my mid-30's Gibson L-00 for obvious reasons.

I live near Branson, so I play everything from Friday night to Sunday morning. I'm using it with a mid-70's Marshall Master volume biased for 6CA7's (American version of EL-34, a little bit rounder tone) run through a closed back Dual Showman cabinet with two 1967 vintage 12" Jensen Vibronto EM-1200's and a silver-faced Bassman export head (same as domestic, but instead of the outlet for accessories, it has a rotary voltage switch) run through an open 2X12 cabinet with two more of the same, with the standard boxes as necessary.

Now, the fun part. I tinker with all of my guitars. This is no exception. To start with, change out the trash pickup selector switch with a real Gibson Switchcraft and get rid of the pot metal bridge and get a good Gotoh or Tone Pros bridge to get real sustain and tone out of it. Next, very carefully whittle away 1/8 inch on the bridge side of the bridge pickup cavity so you can move the pickup to where it should be to get the bite back into the bridge pickup. If you have done it right, the pickup ring should just barely clear the neck edge of the pickup cavity, so it is not noticable, and the adjustable polepieces on the bridge pickup should be at that magic point of just to the bridge side of 1/16 of the total scale length, the magic number for the cluster of overtones that give a bridge pickup bite without getting honky or thin, as even a real Les Paul can do. This also has the added effect on this guitar of removing just enough of the little squares of plywood reinforcing the top to let the guitar breathe without sacrificing integrity. Remember, even the venerable Gibson ES-175 has a plywood top, but oh, what nice plywood! Next, trade in the neck pickup for a FlameKat BRIDGE pickup to get enough mids to match the humbucker and compensate for the fact that the guitar is a semihollow body. Then put a 250 kohm volume pot instead of a 500 kohm on the neck pickup to even out any spikyness. Next, to get a simulated Tele/Rick tone out of the bridge pickup, (hey anonymous below--here's how to do it) change out the Bridge volume pot with a 500 kohm pushpull pot so that you can wire a .0047 capacitor switchable in series with the pickup before the volume control (Rick has done this forever, especially on their 12-strings, and vintage Fender Jaguars have a similar circuit). Change out the top hat knobs with speed knobs as they not only give the guitar a better look, but they're much easier to use with push-pulls. Finally, use D'Addario 11-49's with a wound 3d instead of 9's or 10's to get bigger tone. The neck is good enough that I don't feel any added tension; it actually plays better than a lot of guitars I have played with 9's or 10's. Oh yeah, if you're In the Mood, like another guy below, flatwound 11-50s are a real trip, too. Adjust out the truss rod, tunamatic bridge and the pickup height and polepieces, add the boxes, amp & speakers of your choice and it doesn't get any more versatile without a whammy. If you like whammys, you could get either a

See above for the mods. Five before, nine after. Like all assembly line guitars, there are some other nits to pick with the finish, and the octave side dots are not centered. I'll probably have to replace a couple of the tuners, which are not holding on. Like everyone else, I had to replace the pickup selector switch, I went ahead and upgraded to real Gibson Switchcraft. I like the fact that, unlike a Les Paul Custom, it does not have a position marker at the first fret. I always thought that the extra position marker at the first fret was overkill, so I like the aesthetics of this guitar much better.

Being a semihollowbody, it will react with changes of humidity more so than either a Les Paul or a Strat. But so do ES-335's, L-7's and every other guitar. So keep an inline tuner with a built in mute in your signal chain just before the amp. I play it live without a backup. The chrome is good chrome, and should last. I like the design of the strap buttons, they seem to hold better than regular vintage-style conical buttons.

The switch was replaced under warranty, and the dealership did a great job getting me the pickup I wanted to change out the neck for a good deal. I've now had the guitar a couple of years, and I can't remember what I paid, it may have been @$550. But then add the cost of a new bridge, new pickup, upgraded switch, push-pull pots, etc... I lost track. But the end result was worth it.

I've been playing for way too many years, and too many guitars have come and gone. Since I have what appears to be non-standard features on this guitar (fretboard and nut width), I hope it doesn't get stolen or fall off the back of the car like George Harrison's 2nd Country Gentleman did! Yeah, I have a Rick 12 and an Epiphone that looks like a Gretch. You won't need any Help figuring out who my favourites are. I dislocated my thumb a few years ago, and I thought to get my chops back a skinny neck would be the answer, hence the Washburn. Actually, it turns out for me the slightly wider nut and thicker neck on this guitar keeps my top thumb ligaments from stressing better than a narrower or thinner neck. I would have played any guitar that didn't cause my hand to cramp up, I got lucky with my personal favourites and the variety of music I play that it was this one.

Mine came with its correct case in the price, which was actually less than stated due to services I'd performed for the dealer. Only con, besides the marginal switch & pots, is that control layout was designed by a sick person with Gretsch disease (grin). I'd love to put the 4th pot where it belongs & can actually be used while playing, but unsure if there's enough wood room. Knobs suck too & may change to hatboxes. Considering trying a Z-90 in the bridge position, but no complaints about either bucker, they are both fine peformers. Unsure date of mfg. Axe appeared unplayed except for well-travelled case.

This guitar, if accidentally, is everything that early 335's wanted to be but never were at any price. It is also the most versatile axe I've ever picked up in 46 yrs of playing (31 of it workingman), and the only thing it won't do is pre-'54 unpotted Tele (that's why I keep my '59 Melody Maker around, which will). This is one of those seldom-made guitars which when you pick it up, you find yourself playing it for much longer than you intended. It is a player's machine and if you don't like it, you are an unhappy person or have a playing problem. It does nothing perfectly but everything very well. The ideal do-it-all axe. Interestingly though not importantly, it sounded better acoustically than an Epi JP I played extensively in a store. Also, whatever body feedback I get at high rock volumes through smaller BF Fenders is exactly like the *good* feedback my '68 335 used to get through a cranked SR.

I frigged with its setup extensively at the store (it was a consignment) before buying it, to be reasonably sure I could set it up the way I like. Its trussrod was over-tweaked and the neck too straight. Slacking it totally off barely gave the slight bow I like with the 10/50's it was strung with. I'm not sure if it will handle 9/46's yet without getting flimsy and am thinking of 11/50 flatwounds instead.

More robust than 335's or LP's, a little less likely to break off the headstock like an SG, probably a 9 with its crappy controls replaced. No guitar with a conventional headstock gets a 10 from me. Also unclear as to the odd trussrod tension situation versus possible future uneven neck movement, we will see.

I never deal with factory service by anyone, it is almost always disappointing and a waste of time no matter who they may be - just by virtue of the distance & unknowns, if not more. I buy an axe after careful inspection, take responsibiity for the results of my choice, and fix things myself or as locally as possible.

It doesn't get any better than this for a wonderful and versatile axe at any price, not to mention the short money this one goes for. It has all the hallmarks of a furture high-end collectible - and most of those today were cheaply made axes that turned out to be great as accidentally as this one has.

Semi-hollow. with chrome hardware. Stop tailpiece. One Epiphone 57 Humbucker, one NY mini humbucker. Master Volume Pot
I would like an optional pickguard (i added one like on an ES-335) or a trapeze tailpiece would be cool.

Sounds Really cool. I play Rock and Roll, Garage style, country style rock (the vein of Hellacopters, Mooney Suzuki, Ryan Adams, Drive By Truckers) It is a rock machine. I play through a small VOX amp and a Fender Stage 100 with a Snarling Dog pedal. It gets the greatest vintage sound and a great Rock n Roll tone. I have spent a while playing with it to get it perfect. It has a little fret buzz when the action is set low. I replaced the nut with one that is supposed to fix intonation problems, but consiquently the low E string lost a little sustain. This is the problem of my nut however. I've read of some problems with intonation, i never had a lot of problems but i replaced the nut anyway just in case.

The pickups sound pretty good. They are bright on a clean setting, the bridge position (57 humbucker) is quiet and clear the neck (mini humbucker) is full of tone and clarity. Distorted the pickups may become a little muddy with high gain or a lot of low end. I stick to mild distortion and trebly settings.

I want to replace the bridge pickup with a TV JONES TV'Tron (www.tvjones.com) for a more rockabilly sound.

I bought it as a factory second from Musicaiansfriend.com so there were some scratches that were refubished by Epiphone, they said that it met their new guitar standards, and i have to say that they did a flawless job of refurbishing it (perhaps i got lucky)

The Black transparent finnish is beautiful and the chrome hardware and cream binding are beautiful

The strings are factory set a little high and with a high gage, however if you lower them and put a smaller gage they tend to buzz a little.

The toggle switch farts out sometimes, i would recommend that it is replaced.

A pretty strong guitar. it can take a beating, but of course its not recommended.

Like i said the toggle switch is a little testy sometimes, probably should be replaced.
Other than that nothing has gone wrong, very durable.

Dont know

A great guitar for the buck. Take a little while to get it set up the way you like it, youre set. This guitar will do it all for you. as good as any high priced guitar

Not much new to add to what's been said. Love the tuners, put up with the cheap metal Epiphine name plate, beautiful looking, the pickups are delicious for blues, straight ahead rock, some jazz etc. I'm giving this an 8 because of the name plate and even though I only need that one tone control, I'd like the option of two.

I love the sound. I have a China made practice amp now-a-days with only EQ, overdrive and Vol., but this Alley Kay makes it sound fat and sassy. Just got a Digi-Tech RP200 pedal and WOWZERS! Put it on Hotrod, ad a touch of reverb and a touch of chorus or flange, put on both pickups and this guitar makes my amp jump up and down! Muey Hot! Can even get old surfer tones from the big bridge humbucker. Put on the clean, a hint of Phaser and the mini-bucker at the neck and this is is a very smooth, mello blues or jazz guitar.
I usually play with all the pots full on and make adjustments at the amp. FUn to cut the tone (treble really) to "0", put n some overdrive and get down and dirty. The more I play it, the more I realise I can do with it. If this KAt is this good on my Chinese SS, I can hardly wait to play it through tubes.

I had the the guitar (action and pick-ups) set up and once I got used to the lighter touch (I've been playing accoustic for years)this guitar plays about as well as any Gibson, which will never be as fast as a Strat, but I prefer it over the Strat because I can put more "color" into the strings and the semi-hollow body allows me to mix n match a deicious range of color. Speaking of which, like others have said, this is a beautiful guitar. Sometimes I hook my little finger in the top of the F-hole to steady my pick hand and get a feel of teh guitar.

I take good care of my equipment and I only play at home - so far, so I can't say about durability. Looks solid as a rock. Beautiful finish, Great tuners. But like everyone else says, the electrics are crapola. When I had it set up I replaced the dead three way switch and master tone control. I also found out that the humbuckers have singel wire leads so you can't put a coil tap on, no problem. If I want a single coil sound the RP200 has a good enough adjustment for that. I'd allow a 10 here except for the electrics - no reason for crap on a guitar of this quality.

I didn't mess with Gibson or Epiphone when the pots and switch died. Just took it to local master luthier (Moonstone-one of the very best)and got it done.

I've been playing guitar off and on since 1957 and have played many guitars through all sorts of amps. I compared the Epi AK to a Gibson LP (A fine guitar, you pick it up and it's all there.) The Alley Kat's semi-hollow body and different humbuckers take a little more "getting to know" time. But once I got a handle on the subtlies I can honestly say I like my Alley Kat better because it has a wider range of personalities. Replace the pots and switch, get it set up by pro's who know what they're doing and this is a top quality guitar that can do it all for lsss than half the price of its equals.

2002 Alley Kat made in Korea. Vintage Sunburst. Has 2 volume (1 for the bridge, or treble, pickup and 1 for the neck, or rythm, pickup), and one master volume for both PU's. One tone control and selector switch. Pickups are the supplied '57 humbucker and NY humbucker. The finish is very glossy matchbook maple, lines of grain running from ceiling to floor. This is a single cutaway, semihollow body style with the f-holes. It has a tune-o-matic bridge, Gotoh tuners, rosewood neck. The case was extra. I too would exchange the master volume for the other tone pot, so it gets a nine.

I play this through a Carvin AG100D acoustic amp. It suits the semi-hollow body style for this guitar. I have only really needed to pre-shape the tone depending on what I am playing and use a little treble and turn the rythm PU off to get a twangier sound, but it still has a touch of mellow smoothness. I have rarely needed to adjust the graphic EQ, and usually have it flatlined for this guitar. I find the onboard tone control does sweep well from bass to treble and can actually control those settings from there once I pre-shape the sound on the amp. The neck PU (NY humbucker) is very mellow sounding, offering deep tones and great sound when mixed with the bridge PU. Alone, this pickup seems very bassy, but adding some treble at the pot makes strumming sound very good.

I needed to lower the action quite a bit, but that was very easily done with the twist of a screwdriver on the tune-o-matic bridge. No fret-buzz afterwards. The frets are just about perfect and my fingers slide over the fingerboard. My right hand forefinger tends to bump the neck pickup and I have to adjust where the guitar sits if strapped on in order to avoid. It feels more comfortable without the adjustment, but not a problem. When sitting with the guitar resting on my right leg, the position is just right and feels very good. The guitar does not tend to slide outward on my leg and I am not having to continuously readjust it or support it with my left hand. I guess you'd call that well balanced. The knobs suffer some slight tilt when rotated, but I'm not that picky. I have also not yet experienced a problem with the selector switch. Checking under the cover found well soldered joints, so perhaps they are improving on that. I found the second string (B) to be very loud compared to the other strings when fingerpicked. The intonation sounded fine, so I lowered the bottom edge of the bridge pickup and that seems to have toned it down a bit. Cannot notice when strumming or flatpicking. The wood and finish are beautiful.

I've so far limited playing to the living room and with my brother. It has taken some bumps and hard playing, but have not done anything too wild with it. It feels solid enough, and I can access all the electronics if they need replacement. Strap stays on, button heads are nice and big. I believe I could use this guitar in a live gig, but I would want a backup with any electric guitar because of the difficulty in replacing any of the electronics if anything went wrong, and since the selector switch seems to be the bane of this guitar...

Haven't had to deal with them. For that, they get a 10.

I've played guitar for 23 years. All of those years I've owned acoustic guitars of one kind or another. For 5 of those years I've had 2 electrics, a Les Paul Custom and a Squire Strat, but have not played electric in 13 years, just acoustic. I currently own a Carvin C850 acoustic/electric, an Ibanez Performance acoustic and this Epiphone Alley Kat. The Alley Kat is definately lighter than the Les Paul and has about the same sound features. I never really cared for the Strat and sold it within a year of buying it. I guess I'm partial to the humbucking sound and the shape of a single cutaway. I would certainly buy another if this one was stolen or lost. I think it is an excellent substitute for a Les Paul and much less expensive. My favorite feature is the shape and finish. I just love the way guitars look. I don't have a problem with the nameplate on the headstock. I think it looks normal on this guitar. I wish it had decent pots and switch so I could enjoy it forever without having to worry about when those will go. I will probably replace them, just so I can stop worrying about it.

I really like this guitar. I've been wanting to get another electric for a few years now for recording alongside the acoustic, and I am very happy with my choice. My brother played it and ordered one the same day.