Epiphone Alley Kat

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.

Made in 2002 in Korea, 22 frets, laminated highly figured flame maple top, one master volumn control, individual volumn controls for both pickups, one tone control, two humbucker pickups (Gibson designed New York mini at the neck, classic 57' at the bridge, chrome), mahogany semi hollow body, maple set neck, rosewood fret board with pearl block inlays, Vintage sunburst finish, single cutaway design in 3/4 scale. Chrome tune-o-matic bridge and stop bar tailpiece, Chrome Gotoh tuning machines, 24 3/4 inch scale, nice fat frets, neck wide and thin, rather SG like on the width, but much thinner. no accessories, case $79

This Kat suits my music style perfectly. I play mostly blues and some Southern rock, though I suspect it could be utilized in most any kind of setting imaginable. She is a blues machine! I play it through a Fender twin reverb, and a Trace Elliot 60 watt acoustic amp. It literally crys when played with the pedal. The neck is super for playing slide. The humbuckers are quiet, and as one reviewer said, satisfactory enough to not justify changing them out to genuine Gibson pickups. The sound is bright, rich, and full for sure. As advertised this guitar can go from a purr to a growl. She sustains like a champion!
It stays completely in tune even with considerable string bending and passionate playing. I challenge anyone to find a better sounding guitar for the buck.

The guitar was set up nicely from the factory, with perfect intonation. I did lower the action considerably with no change in the intonation. No fret buzz at all. This adjustment is so simple with the adjustable tune-o-matic bridge. The pickups were adjusted perfectly, and were still so after I lowered the action. The flame maple bookmatched top is splendid. This guitar came to me nearly perfect in fit and finish. The body binding is impeccable, the well coated chrome hardware shines like, well, chrome. The finish did have one slightly dull spot around the pickup selector. It is hardly noticable. Several of the other reviewers talk about the "cheesy" cheap looking headstock emblem. Well, it is chrome and I think it complements the other chrome hardware nicely. It gives it character and distinction. I like it. One point I would like to make, although semi hollow, this is not a light guitar. It shoud not be confused with an acoustic/electric. It weighs about what my strat does. Very well balanced.

Here's the catch: Just as 90% of all the reviews have said, the volume/tone pots are obviously junk. My master volume control had a short in it right out of the box. If you leave it wide open, it plays fine, and you can adjust the volumn with the other two volumn controls. I am going to change all of them out with genuine Gibson pots and switch, and this minor problem will be rectified. I cannot for the life of me figure out why Epiphone would send out instruments that look and play like $2000 instruments, sound like $1000 instruments, and put crummy electric controls on it. I mean, Gibson did their homework to develop the fine pickups in this guitar. They should not install 75 cent pots when the good ones cost $1.50. Slap yourself Epiphone!! The strap buttons are rock solid. The finish seems good. This guitar has been professionally gigged and it will definately withstand the rigors of the road! Other than the faulty electronics, (easily rectified), she is a battle axe! Never gig without a backup. Even on the finest guitars, electronics can fail, and strings WILL occasionally break.

N/A, Haven't dealt with them.
limited (non transferable) lifetime warranty

I have played for 30 years or so. I have owned, or presently own Gibsons, Fenders, Guilds, Martins, Yahamas and an Ovation, and probably a few I can't think of right now. If it were lost.... what? how do you lose a guitar?, or stolen... now there's a possibilty, I would go and buy two more of them in case any of the above mentioned happened again! After many, many other guitars, and much, much research via the web, I conclude that for the buck, The Epiphone Alleykat is absoulutey the BEST and ONLY choice available to man today. I love it and you will too!!!

This is just a follow up to my original review. I have since gigged numerous times with the Kat, and aside from that selector switch problem we all have run into, it has done everything I could expect, and more.

My band comments all the time how much more 'authentic' the guitar sounds for the jump/swing/blues we do. And it'll rock as well as any semi-hollow I've heard! I am running it straight into a a 2001 Blues Junior (completely stock-I guess I got lucky, and I'm patient) and again, the sound is everything to my band. Still miss the other tone pot...but still thrilled with the master output pot!

Still love the look. Restrung with 10/14/17 on the high strings, and found it comfortable and toneful... eventually I'll go back to the wound G. Raised the bridge pick-up very slightly, the NYHB is factory set so well, why mess with it? Dropped the action very slightly...no buzz, helped accomodate my aging hands on the heavier strings...

So, the switch... replacement is the best idea, and I agree that a Gibson USA selector such as in an SG or Les Paul is the best solution, and simple enough to do if you can solder. I discovered, however, that by bending the contact springs on the the inner side, I have ceased to have any problem in months... a design flaw easily corrected.

Gibson is notoriously bad; when I tried to order a replacement switch, they quoted six weeks... hence my self fix noted above.

That cheezy head plate...but as one reviewer noted, it looks too generic without it...
The best deal for the money! Feels and plays like a far more expensive guitar....it has become may main axe over the last six months

I got the Vintage sunburst. Everyone else has already made the features known. No case, and kind of a pain to find one that fit.

Wonderful tone. Put her on clean and it's so fat and warm. Clean with that great Gibson tone. I play everything form jazz, blues, to some modern pop stuff. It can adapt to just about everything but shines with a nice clean, or screaming blues sound. I own a strat too, and play through a Fender Delux 85. It's only a solid state amp, but the tones I get out of this thing (As long as I don't turn it up too much) are just simply heaven sent. Put the gain on, and it just screams. Upon playing it for the first time with my new band, they must have said 8 times that they LOVED the tone. Great sound!!!

I've looked at Epi's in the past and was not impressed at all with the fit and finish. Even on some of the dot models, it was fair at best. This guitar is beautiful!!!!! The lines are clean, the wood is flawless, and everything has done what it's been intended to do. It even takes sweat well when gigging.

Well, this is the only complaint I have for the guitar. I had to replace the original switch within the first 48 hours of owning it. The guitar tech advised me that this was common. I replaced it...and sure enough this one has gone bad too. I also had a small problem with the cord input, but it's somehow corrected itself.

When taking my guitar to the tech I got the impression that Gibson Customer Service in general was weak. He had all these loops he had to jump through just to replace a switch on a guitar I had owned 48 hours. Ugh...

Overall, this has been a wonderful guitar. It had great action out of the box, great tone, and some downright gorgeouse wood. If it were lost or stolen it would be replaced. Nothing I played in it's price range was even close. I really wouldn't change anything about the guitar but the quality of some of the parts. The guitar istelf is GREAT!

2001 model made in Korea. 22 frets, two humbuckers, etc. See the previous reviews for the particulars. Mine is the Cherry Sunburst. I've had it since Christmas. I wanted to use it for a while so I could offer an honest review. I'm ready now.

I've got to admit I've had a love-hate relationship with it up until a few weeks ago but fortunately, after three months I am in love with it at last. It's a keeper for sure now that we understand each other.

The sound is very good now that I've played around with the adjustments for three months. I've been an acoustic player for a very long time so I had acoustic expectations for this guitar. Boy was I in for a learning experience. When I first got it I wasn't sure it had more than two tones. Read on. I put 9's on it and immediately had what appeared to be a High-Fret problem. Where any mixture of open and fretted strings sound very out of tune. So I went to tens, still there. I tried new high-end Les Paul and a Gibson 335 at the store and it did the same thing. So I wasn't so certain that something was actually wrong with the Alleycat. I sure was confused. I then tried 11's still there. I was ready to take it to get refretted when I tried 11's with a wound 3rd. Bingo - problem solved. It plays and sounds great although I now have to bend the G string so hard I inadvertently have to bend the D string along with it - or else bend one fret higher on the G alone.

Tone is also (mostly) a function of a good amplifier. I have a VOX AD60VT which allows me to select from a bunch of amp models and pedal settings. I can get my Alleycat to do a full range from B.B. King to Jeff Golub to Stevie Ray, etc. I did move the treble side of the humbuckers a little closer to the strings than the factory setting. I can now get every tone from very mellow to very bright - even through the pre-amp on my Jam Station which is a very clean output. It's now perfectly balanced. As perfect as my Lowden acoustic which cost about six times as much.

Wish I could get the action a little faster but, afterall, it's an arch top hollow body so I can't expect a Strat.

All-in-all, it does a lot of things pretty well.

The fit and finish are very good to excellent. The sunburst is a very pretty guitar.

Factory set up was okay. Pickups were a little low for my taste on the trebel side. Bass side was too loud. I dropped the low side and upped the treble side. The action was a little high but I fixed that easily enough. Strings really buzz if I get it where I really would like it. But for a Jazz guitar it's close enough. Lower than my acoustic.

Intonation was set up very good.

The factory setup was pretty good all things considered. Especially for a quitar in this price range. Believe me I've seen a lot worse for more money.

I gave it a ten because it's so pretty to look at. The bookmatch of the maple is execellent and really shows through the sunburst finish. I also love the neck. It's a little flat, very smooth, and just perfect for me. The fingerboard is also very nice. Best neck I've ever had on any guitar. I've had a bunch over the past thirty-five years. My hand never gets tired. Of course, it's all a matter of taste an playing style.

One other thing. It really cries for a pick-guard - finger rest. I like to anchor my little finger on something sometimes. So, I bought a small black Les Paul pick guard, whittled away about one third inch of the bottom cutout so the top pickup would be centered in the top cutout (it's made for a full size humbucker) and stuck it on the guitar with about five small chunks of double-stick foam tape 3/8ths inches thick. Then I cut off the threads of the screws (left about a quarter inch of thread) and painted the tops black and glued them in the screw holes with Elmers glue (dries clear) Looks like it was factory installed. It has been very stable and secure for three months. Makes the guitar play and look like it's supposed to.

One last thing. That pseudo chrome do-dad on the head is really cheap. I took it off and spray painted it with a hard black enamel - screws too. Then re-installed it. It now blends in with the black paint on the head and even tho it still looks kind of cheap, it's not as noticable as it was.

Gave it a nine because of the lack of pick guard and cheap thing on the head. They should leave the cheap thing off and put on a cheap pick guard insteal.

Okay. Now for one bad point. I read in someone else's early review on this guitar that the switches suck. Well they do. My tone switch went out within three hours on Christmas day. I mean it just quit working. I changed it out the next day with a real Gibson three-way and it's been fine since. I'm a good with a soldering iron but I don't think the average person should have to re-build their brand new guitar or have to wait days while the shop does it. For an extra dollar Epiphone could have put a better switch in it.
The original pots have held up fine so far and I crank 'em often. They shouldn't be too hard to replace if needed.

Other than that - no problems. Seems too bad they have to make such a nice guitar and populate it with such cheap switches. This is my only real complaint. Beware if you try to gig with it within the first few weeks. The switch is gonna go on you.

Lifetime warranty. Have never dealt with either Gibson or Epiphone so I can't comment. I'll give 'em a 9 just because they're a reputable company and I would hope they will stand by their products.

I've been playing for (gulp) forty-three years. Gees, that scares even me. I'm only a baby geezer - I just started playing very young. Play semi-professionally twenty years ago.

I like light rock, heavy blues, jazz, and everything in between.

I like the neck, the tone, and the looks. I play it every day and ignore my very expensive acoustic most of the time.
I would replace it if stolen. I would also recommend it to anyone wanting a hollow body. It plays as nice as any Gibson I've ever played.

2000 Epiphone AlleyKat. Vintage sunburst finish. My wife ordered it through Musician's Friend for Christmas. I was supposed to get the cherry sunburst finish, but the vintage looked great too.
Two p/u's - New Yorker mini-h/b in the neck and humbucker in the bridge, two volume knobs and a master volume, one tone knob.

I play modern/hard rock, and this axe is pretty versatile for everything I do. I also own an '81 Gibson Les Paul and a Squier Venus, and the AlleyKat gives me tones right between the two. I get both warm, mellow tones, and sparkly, bright tones as well. I thought I might have trouble with feedback when I used my Boss DS-2 (there's two F-holes), but man, IT RIPPED!!!! It sounds great going trough a Boss OD-3 Overdrive as well. I just got a Marshall Jackhammer, so we'll see how it sounds. This is truly a piece of art and a workhorse. I set the height for the neck p/u about 1/16th below the mounting ring, and the neck p/u right underneath the strings. What a world of tone. I omly wish there were two tone knobs.

The action was a little high for my taste, but that can be remedied. The neck feels nice, a bit wider than a Gibson neck, but not that thick like a Fender. The finish was beautiful, I could just put it on a stand and stare at it.
The master volume is parallel to the toggle switch, so depending on how you strum, it could get in the way. Takes some getting used to.

This guitar is just too pretty to use all the time (at least for me), but I do use it frequently. Becasue of the finish and since it's a semi-hollow, I take extra precautions. But if your not really into shiny guitars, I believe this one can take a licking.

I emailed Gibson to confirm my warranty, and they responded. Works for me. But even if I did want to get repairs, I don't think I'd want to part with it for too long.

This is just a great guitar, and the funny thing is, I wanted it before even trying it out, I just knew.

Brand new 2001 Alleykat with vintage sunburst finish. Otherwise like the others reviewed here: Korean semi-hollow, 2-p/u, stop tail, sort of an archtop, but without much "arch." Laminated maple top.

I'm loving the mini humbucker!! Smooth, fat, clean and jazzy. The bridge pickup is bright, very much like Gibson solidbodies. The variety, thus, is one of this guitar's strong suits. Versatility is the keyword here. Whatever you want, you can have. I'm a fan of the "master" volume pot. You can go from bridge to neck with total control; no surges or drops. Ingenious! I play pretty much clean all the time, ina wide variety of styles, from Matt Sweet pop to experimental non-rock. I can dial this guitar perfectly to whatever is called for,

Good set-up, although as another revieer noted, the knobs weren't set straight. An easy DIY fix, but also easy to get right at the factory. Vintage sunburst is heavenly. It's a head-turner, to be sure. I get LOTS of compliments and comments like, "Dude, what year is that guitar?" It has "vintage" written all over it. But the headstock logo plate thing looks pretty cheap. I took it off, but didn't like the generic look, so it went back on. Great action. I play with 11-guage, and they feel right and stay in tune. Intonation is spot on, right out of the box. Someone's doing their homework in the make-ready department. If it was legal, I'd marry the neck. God, I love those fat frets!

I'd like to think this would last forever, but I'm not exactly a basher. For the limited, small-hall gigs that I do, it absolutely has been 100% reliable. Solidly built throughout. I don't use straplocks, but my new strap so far has been snug. Play without a backup? That's an unfair question.. NEVER play without a backup!

n/a

This is now my one and only electric. It does everything that my others used to, and maybe more. I would replace it in a heartbeat if someone ganked it. I love the way it looks, I love the way it sounds, and I love that NECK!! I'm sure that spending three grand on a guitar has its rewards, but I've always been philosophically opposed to laying out that much cash for an electric.. it always seemed to me that the amp had more to do with the sound than the guitar. The Alleykat has disproved that theory. I play this through a small Marshall combo (notoriously good sound), and it totally delivers. I play everything form pop rock to post-rock, and I can always find the right tone. For 400 clams, I defy you to find a better playing, better sounding electic guitar.

This is a brand new 2001 Translucent Black "Kat". Amazingly made in Korea, but the workmanship seems extremely high quality. Do I need to repeat the stats on this axe again? Unlike it's sister models, this hardtail "Kat" stays in tune and really sings! The matched grain under the finish is subtle but beautiful.

I play a variety of styles, but lately mainly jump blues, swing, old R&B and traditional blues...with an occasional foray into jazz. I have been a solidbody guy for nearly 30 years, but the sound I was looking for had to come from an f-hole instrument. So far this amazing piece of Gibson oversight has done everything I've asked it to do in rehearsal, but I have not gigged with it yet. Gibson should have put this out instead of the Blueshawk, IMHO! I just miss that second tone control so the pickups can be "split" in the mid-position of the selector, the way my SG and Melody Maker do. But for under $500, what am I complaining about?

The guitar came with .011's and a wound G, and the action was a bit high, but the tone was excellent. I had to replace the original strings after about a week, because I had burned throught the winding on the D and G strings! Currently it is wearing .009/.011/.015 on the high end, but I think I'll go up to .010/.012/.015 for deeper tone, as befits this remarkable guitar. I am still fine tuning the intonation, and will have to again when I go to the other strings. I did drop the action ever so slightly when I changed strings.
The only apparent mis-alignment (which I have heard about $2400 Les Pauls, too) is that the front pickup screws aren't lined up under the g, b and e strings ...but they aren't on my SG either! So that may be an intentional designed in feature, for all I know!
The finish was almost flawless, there is a minor 'ridge'in the binding of one of the f-holes...I really had to look for that, too!

The pickups sound so sweet (BTW, these had the Gibson USA plastic on them when I got it!) that I haven't considered taking off the covers, adjusting the pole screws, or raising/lowering them! Plus, I think taking the covers off would destroy the elegant appearance of the guitar!

I am certain this instrument will serve me well for many years of gigging. The tuners, tail, and tun-o-matic seem to be reliable. I immediately replaced the strap buttons with strap locks (all my electrics have them except the SG, which has a permanent strap). I've never dropped a guitar yet, and I don't plan to; but I've seen it done!
Would I gig without a back up axe...probably not; there are several reasons for that, and not because I don't trust the guitar. Mainly I always have at least 2 on a gig for string breaks/alternate tunings/ different styles.

I will give this a 9 only because I have not gigged with it yet...

Lifetime warranty on workmanship... of course they all will say that... I don't think I've ever bothered to take an instrument back to the manufacturer in 30 years.

I have been playing for thirty years or so. I had a Guild Starfire when I was very young, but felt that the sound was not rock'n'roll enough for me, so I went through a parade of solid bodies (still have the '72 SG, '63 Melody Maker and a '74 Strat and a late '50s Magnatone lapsteel). Now I wish I had kept that big hollow beast! This was the only semi-hollow archtop in it's price range that had real tone and character (the only other one with a set neck that I found even in the ballpark was a De Armond 'Starfire', but it sounded weak and wimpy in comparison).

What do I hate? The cheap-looking metal Epiphone 'nameplate' screwed on the headstock (which has the distinctive Gibson scroll!).
What do I love... the feel of the neck is so close to my SG, I felt at home immediately on it, althogh it obviously does not have the same accessibility. The tonal capabilty is awesome. For those who have not figured out the need for the Gretsch-style master volume, play through a small tube amp, and use the master to roll up for your solos... the tone of the guitar, it's voice, stays constant, only the volume changes. (And for Oscar, no, the pots are pulled up into the face after contruction (using fishing line or wire...geez how could they do all that finish work with the pots in?) Think about it...)
What do I wish it had? The second tone control, and Gibson on the Headstock! but then it would be an ES model and cost four times as much!

Made this year (2001), Korean. Pickups: 1 '57 humbucker, 1 mini-humbucker. Hardware: Chrome (Gotoh tuners, stop tailpiece, tune-o-matic bridge). Scale: 24.75". Nut Width: 1.68". Neck Joint: Set. Neck Material: Maple. Fingerboard: rosewoord with block inlays (rosewood looks and feels like ebony). Binding: Body/Neck. Body Material: Mahogany (semi-acoustic guitar with f-holes). Top: Lam. Maple. Finishes: Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Translucent Black, Vintage Sunburst. Frets: 22, Gibson-style. Big, comfy neck.

A guitar like this isn't meant to be a gizmo-laden instrument; it's a retro-flavored rock/blues/rockabilly instrument and for that task it has everything that's needed.

I play rock'n'roll and blues, both infused with tons of jazzy voicings, plus lots of clean stuff. Up 'til now I basically always played single-coil instruments (Teles, Les Pauls with P90's, etc.) but this guitar sounds so good that I had to have it and it's my #1 now. It's super-responsive and the sound (though much more airy than a solidbody) isn't 'dark' at all: it's lively, complex and incredibly dynamic. It really breathes. With the proper amp setting, you can go from a whisper to a scream just by varying your picking attack (without touching any controls). Way cool! I use it to play any kind of music - tough, heavy rock'n'roll (think AC/DC), gritty blues, Knopfler-esque clean, no problem. Wherever I wanna go, this thing goes with me. I play it through Fender amps (a HotRod Deluxe tube amp and a Frontman Reverb practice amp); it sounds absolutely gorgeous through both. I was worried beforehand about the pick-ups; I mean Epiphone pickups aren't exactly the holy grail of tone. After playing the guitar for a while I decided against upgrading; an A/B comparison with my Les Paul told me that the increase in tone quality I can expect isn't worth the money. These pickups are different from earlier Epi pickups; they sound pretty darn good, period. That neck minibucker is pretty amazing even.

I saw the guitar in the store, the owner put on the strings I like (.011's with a wound G), did the intonation and handed it to me. It fit like a glove right away. The nut is cut perfectly; even with the big strings it doesn't pinch 'em at all(no tinkling sounds when tuning). Same thing with the bridge: the strings don't get stuck at all so this guitar stays in tune really well. I remember having to do some work on the nut and bridge of my Les Paul that cost me thrice as much so I'm really happy with the way Epi set this thing up. I didn't do anything to it at all - the action is perfect for me (not too high but not too low either). The fretwork is fine - no uneven fret heights at all (so no buzzing problems) and nicely crowned and set. Pickup adjustment was fine. As hard as I tried, I really haven't been able to find a construction or set-up flaw. Quite amazing.

I've only just bought the guitar a month ago so ask me again about durability in a year. I'd definitely take it to a gig without backup. Of course I added a Schaller strap-lock.

The one worry that I do have is the accessibility of the electronics. There are little back covers for the pickup switch and the master volume but the volume and tone controls can only be reached through the lower f-hole. Now THAT is a problem! These controls were added to the top before assembling the guitar! So, depending on the wiring scheme, changing pickups or pots could be a hellish job (if the pickups are routed to their individual volume pots BEFORE going to the pickup switch, then you can't change pickups fast)! As long as it works and you're happy, fine. But if it needs work: you're in trouble.

Dunno, hope I never need it! Plus, in Holland, if a guitar malfunctions you just take it back to the store where you bought it and they take care of it.

Been playing for 22 yrs. Own a Gibson Les Paul, a couple of amps and the usual assorted guitarist's junk (pedals etc.). I've never, ever become THIS attached to a guitar in such a short time. I saw it, looked at it, it said "pick me up" and that was that. I never would've considered buying an Epiphone but apparently they really have their business together these days. This guitar is a marvelous deal (it's sister, the Wild Kat, got an Editor's Pick Award from GP Magazine - that's the same guitar with other pickups, a Bigsby, dot inlays instead of blocks and other finishes). 'Nuff said.

Well as every other person has stated, these are Limited Edition, made in Korea guitars. 3 volumes (which befuddles my mind) and 1 tone. Maybe I just haven't goofed around enough with the 3 of them to figure what I can do with 3 that I can't do with 2 but hey, I turn 'em and it either gets louder or it gets quieter. The 3rd control is supposed to control the volume after you have selected the mix between the 2 pick ups. A novel idea that so far is kinda useless.

Maple neck, laminated maple top and mahongay sides and back. Gotoh tuners. Tranparent black finish. Ivory colored bindings. Nice heavy frets, neck feels very good to me!! This thing is heavy!! Lets face it, it aint a Gibson but for $320 (new!!) I am more than happy!!!


Oh ya, I am pretty sure the pick ups are made in USA Gibson.

I like to play rock as in the mode of Skynyrd, Stones, Georgia Satellites and CCR. I also like hillbilly country. Yikes, what a combo!! Scares my neighbors too! You hear that this is a mellow guitar? Huh? It rips like a buzz saw! Tell ya what, play Nuge mans Stranglehold on it and I think you would rather hear it on this bad boy than on Ted's Gibson. Slide is a breeze. And if you get any hollow body, you are gonna get feed back. IF you practice, you can control it and then WOW, you got something nicer than you thought!

I play this through a Fender Priceton Chorus and a '69 Twin Reverb. On either channel on either amp I am very very happy. This is smooth blooze and wild smiles!!!


I wouldn't change a thing!

This isnt a Gibson, it doesnt cost $3000. Everything was fine with one exception, I had to adjust my "G" string, but I did it in private and no one saw me do it! Just had to set the saddle up a bit higher and then fix the iontination. No problem.

Stings must be 13s cuz I know have arms like Popeye's. Makes playing my other guitars much easier too!! My advice is, if you want to get the most sound and tones from this beast, keep heavy strings on. Light strings will just make this thing sound like every other $300-$400 guitar youve played. Keep 'em on and people will think you are better than you are. Trust me.

So far, I have been pleasantly suprised. When I started playing, shit 30 years ago, we all laughed at Epiphones. And justly so. No more my good people. Do yourself a favor, try one with the big strings. I am pretty sure you will be sold.

Id say its a good thing that I have no idea what they are like.

OK, well by now you know that I am very impressed. So much so that I bought another and I even have ordered a Wildkat. I'd ask Epi to ditch that 3rd volume and put sonething cool on like a variable phase selector or a coil tap. But heck... I aint crying the blues, Im playing them and anyhting else I like with this thing. It is a alley cat, it sreams bloody murder it you turn it up and beat on those strings and it meows if you stroke it gently. Try it, you'll but it.

Lastly, in the for what its worth department, this was given an Editors Choice award in 2000 by Guitar mag.

Features have already been well described by previous reviews.Mine is the antique flamed sunburst finish - very pretty. No accessories included, case was not in stock ANYWHERE locally - which forced me to buy a cheap gig bag until I could get one ordered over the internet. The music megastore (Mars) had only the display model in stock, but knocked off $100 and wiped off the fingerprints.

My main guitar is a PRS CE22, which has a great range of sounds. My band plays alternative pop/rock, ala Radiohead, Toad the wet sprocket, Cold Play etc. I wanted to add a mellow, hollowbody sound to some of the songs where I play the clean backup guitar. I run mine through a Line6 Flextone head with a 4x12 Peavey cabinet. I REALLY enjoy the warmth of tone I can get from this guitar. The PRS is a maple-topped, maple bolt-in neck, and has a fairly bright sound, so the two guitars complement one another well. You can get a decent range of tones by blending the neck and bridge pickups on the Alley Kat, but all are on the mellow side. High gain settings tend to cause feedback, but no worse than the Rickenbacker 360/6 I had last year.

I have yet to find a flaw in this area. Surprising but true... I have noticed this guitar is a bit harder on my fingers than my PRS for some reason, but it doesn't seem to be the fault of the setup. Perhaps it has something to do with the wide-thin neck carve.

Only played one gig, three practices so far. Everything feels and looks very solid. I can't rate the quality of the wiring job inside... time will tell. Strap buttons are solid, but small (like all Gibson style buttons). I intend to install straplocks soon. This is my backup guitar, but I would be comfortable using it without a backup if necessary.

No dealings with Epiphone Customer Support.

I've been playing off and on for 30 years, more seriously in the last 5. I did not go into the store to buy this guitar - I don't even like the name... I had my eye on several more expensive hollowbodies by Epiphone and Gretsch, but the complexity and richness of the Alley Kat's tone really spoke to me and won me over. I'd definitely replace it if it were lost or stolen.

This is an update to my previous review, which is the first one for this model. I received my replacement AlleyKat, sealed from the factory in it's original carton. The guitar I pulled out was nothing like the first one I had. It looked 5 years old, and not in a cool way. One of the pickups was hanging out. Glue was splattered all over the fretboard. It was dirty, not set up, had a shitty nut, and was just bad in every way. So much for quality control. I rate this one a ZERO in every category, and say good riddance as I send it back for a refund. Whoops - as I go to rate it, I see zero is not a choice.

Gotoh Tuners, block inlays, beautiful laminated top, 57 humbuckers, mini NY in the neck. The action on the backside of the neck isn't real fast, but is decent. Master volume, individual volumes for each humbucker and a master tone. I THOUGHT This was supposed to have a solid block center, but it DOES NOT! It is merely a block of wood where the Tune-o-matic bridge is, and a block up at the neck. There is no solid wood under the humbuckers which makes it a weak sounding guitar.

I honestly felt it was piss poor on the sound variations. The tone knob doesn't seem to do much for it. I think they are dull and muddy. There are some tweaking to do on these.

I was very sickened with the alley kat I purchased.

The one I received had a blemish at the nut on the neck. It looked like someone at the factory chiped it and just glued the chip back and clear coated over it. The one F-hole had two mis-cuts in the binding. It was disgusting. Also, the most PATHETIC thing I found was that all the volume/tone knobs were mounted cockeyed so the knobs would look like they are wobbling like a flat tire on a car! The only thing I can give them credit on is the heritage cherry laminated top. Looks real!

They need to get their act together and build a decent guitar and not slap them together like a 2 dollar whore.

didnt use support.

I'm think it's junk. Don't get me wrong, I like a good bit of Epiphone guitars, but this one in my opinion is shit.

This is a very nice foreign guitar. Probably made in Korea, but their factories are a lot better than they used to be. It's semi-hollow, by the way. Beautiful, almost flawless finsih, even though I suspect it's not really a flame-maple, just looks that way. Bound F-Holes make it impossible to tell. It has 1 master volume, 1 tone, and 2 volume controls; 1 for the the "New York" mini humbucker, and one for the '57 humbucker in the bridge. Unusual, but very nice pickup config. Brand new body style, tune-o-matic bridge, decent gotoh tuners, thin neck, low frets on a rosewood fretboard. Not even a gig bag included. I had to hunt down a case on-line, it doesn't really fit in any other case, I tried them all.

I've been playing guitar for 4 years now. I've been studying jazz and blues and for about that long, but I use this guitar in my band. We play some punk, alternative, and even a little ska. I either use a Peavey Badnit or a Roland JC-120. It goes a little like this. Alleykat>Boss Chromatic Tuner>Boss Turbo Distortion>Ibanez Chorus/Flanger>Danelectro Echo. It always sounds great. Big fat mellow sound for jazz on the neck (It never gets muddy!), blend the pickups and roll up the tone for some good rock sounds, plays really great with distortion, good for ska too, you might want to use a bright switch on your amp though. Just remember it's a semi-hollow body guitar, you might have to do some tone tweaking with knobs to get it to sound prefect. It's suprisingly twangy at the bridge, great for some kinds of blues.

The action was nearly perfect for my tastes. The pickups were set-up well. Cheap plastic nut, I'm going to get it replaced pretty soon. I hate tune-o-matic bridges. At first I would break strings like crazy (I use D'addario 10 guage) so I raised the stop bar. It helped a little. I had the problem still for a while. I started rubbing graphite in the saddles, and it seems to be fine now. I would buy some graph-tech string saver saddles, but I'm a student, and a musician, and I'm studying music, so $30 is more than I have.

This guitar is well built. I am amazed at the quality of guitar for the price. It will stand many years of playing, the hardware seems sturdy ans well built. The finish is beautiful. Definetly reliable nad a good buy.

I love this guitar. Any guitar that can withstand a big guy like me jumping around a stage with it, and then playing a jazz concert the next day, is a winner im my eyes. I compared it against some other hollow-bodies and a couple les pauls, best neck and feel out of all of them. I would definetly replace it of something happened to it. It would be nicer with independent tone knobs though.

2001 Model, Korea, 22 jumbo frets, 24.75 scale, laminated maple flametop, master vol, master tone, vol for ea pu, 3-way pu selector, NY mini hb neck, Gibson 57 hb bridge, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, mahogany semi-hollow thin body, just a little bigger than a Les Paul smaller than a 335. Single cutaway, very much Les Paul styled, tuna matic w/stop bar. Gotoh tuners - very very nice, thanks to Epi on that. Cardboard box included.

Good rock & roll guitar, puts out nice creamy distortion but feeds back on high gain. Clean it's ok, thought it would be better - overall a bit colored towards the bass. I bought it to dip into some jazz chords, and it's ok for that, but surprisingly to me its a rocker. The sound is very good to average except for the sustain which is anything but average. I've never touched a guitar that sustains like this thing. Sustains too much. I raised the stop bar to cool it off a bit. Really - it won't stop.

Set up with 10s or 11s, I swapped for 009s right away. Intonation was set perfectly, bridge and nut are nice. The NY mini hb polepieces are not perfectly under the treble strings. Not bad, but not good either. The finish is perfect, mine is transparent black, so the flame top is subtle. Very nice. The rosewood fretboard is dyed black with block inlay. Sweet. This a very cool looking guitar, with fantastic playability. Unbelievable for the price. Overall a superb piece of workmanship except for the electronics. The tone pot cuts out at one end. The bridge pickup stopped picking up after three weeks. Seems unfair to have to rate the woodwork and electronics under the same category, so I'm rating the wood, neck etc here, and the other stuff under "reliability".

Wiring and electronics replacement is a must. This thing will quit in the middle of your first gig. The rest of the guitar is great. The strap buttons are huge and nice, and the tuners are superb. Gotta give it a 2, 'cause it won't fall apart (so it's not a 1), but it won't make any damn music either. For the price plus some good pots and wiring work, its still a great deal.

Gibson said to take it to my nearest authorized repair center, where I was told that Gibson won't pay the shop anywhere near what it will cost to fix it, nor will they send parts anytime soon. So as far as I'm concerned, Gibson sucks. Perhaps if I had bought the guitar from the dealer he might have been interested in fixing it. Thanks to Musician's Friend for being the only ones willing to support a customer. They're sending me a new one.

It is a shame that such poor electronics went into what is otherwise a great guitar. The attention that went into setting up the nut, bridge, neck, bookmatching, etc has to be spoiled by cheap work concerning the pickups. I played the guitar 3 or more hours a day for more than three weeks before I had to send it back, and I'm looking forward to getting my new one. I guess I'll have to do some work on the new one myself, perhaps re-wiring it with good stuff. Then it would rate an overall 7.