Epiphone Alley Kat

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

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

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

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

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

Don't know.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

n/a

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

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

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

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

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

ugh!?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bone stock with the beautiful flamed maple.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bought it second hand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.