Tanglewood Tomkat

24 Frets,
Dark green mahogany body and neck, quilted maple top, rosewood fretboard, flower and leaf inlays.

2 passive humbuckers with pickup switch gibson type selection. Only thing missing is a coil tap, which doesn't bother me, as Gibson have done ok without one.

Strat/Gibson cross body - double cutaway but more PRS in style (or PRS more Tomkat in style ;o) ) Wilkinson Trem.

Neck thin/flat, very playable nice action.

I play all sorts of music, from cleans to "full on" rock, through either a Mesa Nomad 45 4x10 or Mesa Stiletto Deuce with 2x12 cab.

It has clear cleans and is noise free. However, despite its refined looks, turn up the gain and it's a rock machine. AC/DC is well within its capabilities and the neck is easy enough to play fast runs. A good all rounder. The sound is rich and chimey at the same time, as the Wilkinson trem imparts a ring to the sound, but the mahogany gives it a push from the bottom end as well. Sustain is very good for a tremolo guitar.
Can play pretty much anything with it. I don't do the drop D riffage, so can't say whether it would be any good at it, but I think it probably would be.

I bought it second hand (for ??80!) and the last owner had worn the top nut away on the top e string. I had a graph tech nut fitted, for ??30 and it now plays like a dream. Tuning is stable.

The pickups have a touch of rust on them and the gold has worn away on the trem a bit, the last owner didn't clean it very well. I blasted it with brasso and the gold has worn off a bit more, but the metal is a nice colour anyway. Not concerned. The rust on the pickups has gone down a bit (I could polish it all away but can't be bothered) and the brasso has renewed the plastic pickup bobbin protectors - like new.

As the guitar is at least ten years old, it has aged well.

The pickup surrounds are fragile, easy to crack them when tightening up the fixing screws, but could probably be replaced if I thought it needed it. Not bothered.

The quilting is nice, and the wood is well sourced and matched. This is a pretty guitar.

The selector knob had come off and vanished - see below.

This guitar would stand a nuclear blast. I replaced a yamaha pacifica with it. It is probably 10% smaller than the pacifica, and 50% heavier.

It remains in tune and sits comfortably when seated or standing. Whilst it is almost flawless in finish the fact that the nut had worn away on the top e means that it has been played. A lot.

If it wasn't for the metal having aged slightly, you'd think it was new.

I haven't gigged it, but I would have no hesitation using it without a backup.

This is the reason for this review. I normally don't bother with reviews but I contacted Tanglewood and asked for the cost of a new pickup selector, and after asking me for a photo of the guitar to identify it, they just sent a new cover to me. They didn't need to do that, but they did it just to be helpful. Nice. I would definitely buy from them if I was getting another guitar.

I've been playing for a year, but messing about for lots longer.

I'd get it again if I lost it, after beating the perpetrator to death.

I love the size of it, it's dinky but reassuringly heavy, I also love the maple finish. The colour is nice and makes it look genteel, but underneath it is a big scary tone monster - makes people sit up when it's played loud!

The fretboard is nice, but I am not enough of a professional to play without distinct fret markers, so sometimes get confused which fret is which - I think that wil come with practice.

Other gear - amps listed above, Mex strat - heavily doctored, Michael Kelly Patriot Custom, Epiphone sheraton. Boss ME-50, Korg A4 (weird but nice)

I think 'tangy' was made in korea, 24 fretts, volume, tone controls, three way pickup selector. H/H pickups, un named.

I play literally any style of music and am in a gigging band, it suits and type of music that i have tried, as long as you know a little about the sellinas such as treble ect. I found, however that you needed to turn your treble up a bit more that with most guitars and that you need your bass a bit lower (owing to the very bassy sound). I use a marshall valvestate 8080 with it and not many effects. I have been playing guitar for just over 7 years now and i've obviously had a lot of amps. In my opinion (up untill i bought my marshall valvestate 8080) the amps were letting down the guitar a lot.

The action on 'tangy' is awesome; ultra low with absolutly no buzz, i love the action because it makes it so easy to slide up scales faster than you can pick (hammer-ons). I have had to have the guitar repared once when the input jak needed re soldering, i simply covered it loads in solder (not too much mind) and then sleeved it to avoid any short-circuiting that might happen, that was two years ago and ive had no troble with it since.

I use it regulary for live playing (ie twice a month or more) without a backup guitar.
The hardware lasted for a few years, then the tip of the pickup selector came off, and it has been mashing up my casses ever since lmao.

Never had to deal with it.

Ive been playing (as previously stated) for just over seven years.
If the guitar was stolen (i would no way loose my baby) i would firs decapitate the criminal, and then buy a new one, but i wouldn't buy a tomkat if it wasnt exactly the same as mine (ie green to black with no violin markings)

there seem to be many variants of the tomkat. mine is a 24 fret twin huumbucker with a solid body and the flower inlay down the neck. the body is a dark tobacco brown sunburst over what appears to be a quilted maple top. there is a three way selector but no coil tap (something that with a bit of work would be a great mod.) the hardware is gold and it has a wilkinson trem that stays stable and in tune even after a good workout.

due to its set neck and quite thick, but nicely contoured body, it has a warm solid sound. the pickups are good for what they are but a re-fit with named ones would be worth while. the guitar can sound wooly if used with too much distortion but has a clear and ringing tone when played clean. with a coil tap and some single pickup sounds this guitar could be very versatile. the pots let the guitar down a little, with the volume rolling off too quick and the tone control a little flat.

after a little set up adjusting the height of the saddles this guitar has the best action i have played on. the neck is comfortable without being fat and the trem works like a dream. the finish has a deep shine and the fretboard feels smooth. there are some minor flaws in the inlay up the neck and some of the saddles have tarnished a bit but the frets are smooth and even. my only complaint is after many years owning an ibanez getting used to the flower inlay took some time...the flowers replace leaves on the 3.5.7.9.12 frets!

i am only a humble bedroom player but this guitar is my first choice for practice. it feels like part of me when picked up. it is comfortable to play sitting or on a strap and feels sturdy and dependable. my friends have all said that on picking it up it seems natural to play. as yet it hasn't let me down and the bridge doesn't seem to eat strings like my floyd rose.

bought from a mate so never had a warranty.
never got a reply from tanglwood via e-mail though!

having owned several makes and models over the last 20 years the tomkat is a good reliable work horse, not fantastic or unique but trustworthy and solid to play. would i get another if this one got nicked, yes. if it had better pickups and a coiltap it could be special. as it stands one of my favorites

Price Paid: #50 list price #349 (Pounds Sterling)Bought new at auction, Yes, #50! No one else wanted it!!!
Purchased from: Local store having a 10th anniversary ayction of unsold instruments.

Year of Manufacture I wish I knew more about this guitar. Made in Korea - The serial number is 8091521.
24 Frets (I've just counted them), Solid body, Similar look to PRS shape. I've had the twin humbuckers replaced with an EMG61 in the neck position and an 85 in the bridge, as the originals show themselves up to be what they are, cheap far eastern items built to a strict price ceiling.I've replaced the cheap pickup surrounds as they snapped around the screw holes whenever a screwdriver came within a mile of them.with The replacements are custom brass items which enhance the look of the instrument. All switches replaced with EMG circuitry as they wouldn't have handled the EMGs. The volume and tone dials were again, cheap and have beenasigned to the parts bin in favour of Gibson Les Paul gold dials, The body wood is unknown but has a nice red/pink quilted finish fading to black at the edges. Tuners non locking gold effect finish, they are showing a little sign of wear but after two years are still better than I expected for a working guitar.- The trem is the original Wilkinson in gold, it is an excellent item and should give years of service. As you can imagine, because it was an auction all I got was the guitar complete with a set of corroded strings.

I play lead/rythum in a blues/rock band. Clapton, SRV and the like. I used to use a Burns and a Fender but these two have now become my backup guitars as I love the tones I get from 'Jeannie'(my Tomkat)

I play through a Digitech Blues Screamer and Digitech digi-delay and then into a Scott-Dixon 2x12 100 watt combo, I used to use a Boss DS-1 but have ditched it in favour of the Digi Techs, The guitar sounds well through any valve amp especially if you push it. I have fitted Elixr 9s and find that even with extreme bends it returns to pitch. No truss rod adjustment has been necessary. The guitar sounds very warm and gutsey on the neck setting and a little trebley on the bridge, so I tend to use the neck and neck/bridge settings rather than the bridge alone. Sustain is there in bucket fulls but there is no 'presence' even at high levels of volume. Feedback can be provoked if you want it and when you get it it can be easily controlled. I used to use a Burns and a Fender Stratocaster but both have been relegated to back-ups by 'Jeannie' who I bought as a knock about guitar.

Considering that this guitar had a thick layer of dust and grime all over it and the strings were black and corroded. The trem arm and strap buttons canibalised. All it took to return it to a playable condition was a can of furniture polish and a set of strings. The neck was and still is straight. The finish was compared to my friend's PRS and found to be 'as good' (A poor reflectoin on falling PRS standards). The inlay in the fret board is first class and can not be faulted. The action was a little high but was soon adjusted to ultra low without any fret buzz. I would have expected to have paid 10 times the price.

Oh yes! This guitar is gigged regulary, the finish shows little wear after 18 months/2 years. There is slight wear on what remains of the original hardwear. The replacement strap button are holding strong. The only problem I have had is that the strings break at the bridge. I beleive that this may be a problem with the Wilkinson trem 'sawing' through the string below the saddles. I always keep a spare just in case.

I bought it at auction but the shop have been superb. But that could be because of the small forture I have spent with them customising this guitar.

I bought this guitar so that I could throw it in the back of my Landrover, knock it about at work and generally practice on it without having to worry about damage. What I actually bought was a guitar that has the ability to grow from a very good starter instrument into some thing that can hold its own against the likes of Gibsons and PRS. I also own a Burns, fender and a Gibson. The Tanglewood is more comfortable to play than the Burns, it has a much warmer tone than the Fender and is more flexible than the Gibson. I use it to practice with and to gig with. Whenever I am with other musicians tyey all end up playing 'Jeannie'. They mostly comment on the action, tone and neck. It is heavily customised even to the point of having a gold trust rod cover inscribed with my initials. All I can add is that this model could have been a classic had Tanglewood used better quality hardware. I have advertised in the 'wanted' ads for another Tanglewood Tomkat so that if 'Jeannie' is ever 'lost' I will have a replacement.

It was made in Korea
24 frets
3 way selector coil tapping i think and 2 dual humbunkers
wilkinson bridge
i got mine for 129 quid second hand which was a wicked price and i like it alot compared to my old squire telecaster...the only downfall is its got a smaller neck and im not used to it yet but i will be soon
. its a cool browny colour that fades to black it reminds me of a PRS

its great for soloing but the acoustic simulator is abit of a let down...but i dident buy it to sound like a acoustic so who gives a shit. it sounds really bright on the bridge pickups and mellow on neck.
it makes a really bassy sound, too basy sumtimes but im not really botherd.

when i got it it was hardly scratched or dented and the action was low. the only flaws it contained were the 18-24 frets were abit chipped and rutted but its still playble
the tone and volume knobs switches were loose and i havent got round to fixing them yet and also the neck pickup is loose it seems, coz it moves if u touch it

it probably would withstand live playing...but one thing that REALLY PISSED me off was it ALWAYS goes outta tune because of that #$%#ing bride!!! u whack the trem down and....guess what.....it goes right outta tune.
the finish is really good it looks really cool and yeah i would depend on it

never delt with them

ive been playing for around a year now, i own a digitech RP50 and a kustom amp. i wished i asked them to bolt the bridge down or something because wen it goes outta tune it pisses me right off. if it got lost or sotolen i might replace it...dunno.
i was going to buy a yahama pasafica but this guitar was cheaper and looked better. i wish it has a floyd rose bridge or lockin trem or something that doesent go out of tune!!!
hey tryin to play a guitar with cold hands is a right bastard dont u aggree??? arghhh why is devon so cold!

2000 Tanglewood Tomkat made in Korea
24 frets
nice Moss green fading to black finish with gold machine heads and wilkinson Tremolo and a mother of pearl inlay up the neck of the guitar
1 volume 1 tone 3 way selector(i didnt like the selector as it didn't allow me to put it in the case i bought for it without gouging out a lot of padding)
Pickups are dual Humbuckers look a little tacky but get the job done nicely

loses it's colour very early on but doesn't lose any contrast in tones till the volumes really cranked up

nice action
needed to get fret one trimmed as it was too high
pickups needed a lot of work as they weren't really working right
well made
no flaws in the body of the guitar

it'll take live playing but i wouldn't suggest it's use for live but rather a sit back and relax with guitar due to the really nice action.
the only thing that i have had to replace is the 3 way switch as it got broken when i put it in my Hiscox liteflite case
finish is made to last
had to replace the screws for the strap buttons with larger screws after one of them stripped off during a guitar lesson
You can depend on this guitar once you have all of the little flaws and niggles sorted out.
No i would not use it at a gig without a backup

N/A

i have been playing for 3 years now i own a Jim Deacon Aria pro series two bass guitar and a squire duo-sonic

Would it stand being played solo is a question i wish i'd asked the store i bought from

i would buy something else if it was stolen however i would not sell
it because i think it would make quite a nice display guitar

i wish it had a more radical shape

would have preferred to have a hard tail as the wilkinson just makes it so much harder to tune and the moment you start using it what little amount of tune you could get out of it dies as it goes out of tune.
changed the wilkinson to a floyd rose after much time spent in the local shop
i wouldn't recommend replacing the pickups as even though they look a little tacky they really do the business.

i found that the two humbicking pickups were let down by the 250K volume and tone pots, the first thing i changed were the pots to better 500K gibson pots, this increased the tonal range as a whole, after this simple conversion the pickups were louder and sounded a lot more like a les paul, they are cheap no name brand pickup, these i will replace with a seymour duncan jeff beck model at the bridge and a jazz model at the neck.

the coil tap switch was in an arkward position so i swapped the possition with the very fake sounding "acoustic reality circuit" with this switch i was able to get convincing strat and les paul sounds,

the full contact system trem is of poor design compared to the vintage style trem of a strat, because i use a heavier guage of strings i found that they would pull the pivot forward, this in turn put it out of tune, that pissed me of because i play a lot of shred and wammy bar reliant styles of music,

there are many features on this guitar, though the accoustic simulator could of been left out and seperate coil taps fitted, the trem may as well be hard tail, this would of helped the tuning stability.

before changing the pots and pickups the sound was very fat and full of bass, the coil taps worked well and made a huge variaty of tones and sounds, harmonics at first were hard to find,

when i changed the pots, it sounded a lot better and gave a more full and rich tone.

the first thing i noticed about this guitar was the finish, very nicley done, the f-hole gave it a very jazzy look witch caught my eye,

when i purchased this guitar the action was to high due to a warped neck, this was ea\sily sorted,

as mentioned before, the tuning stabillity is not as good as it could be, i have only had the guitar 1 week,

compared to my fender strat this guitar is not very good, but as a begginers guitar it is fine, but if you want tuning stability for steve vai esque solos, do yourself a favour and by an ibanez with locking nut and trem.

made in korea.24 frets, twin humbuckers,three way switch.very attractive red/wine sunburst affect leading out to black.non locking tuners and wilkinson trem.

mainly play blues rock which it takes to quite well.when put through marshall bluesbreaker 2,dunlop original cry baby into carlsbro rebel twin reverb it sounds very les-paulish.

have had no problems with set-up so far.

i'm not in a band but my impression is that its very well built and it just gives you the feeling that it wont let you down.

n/a

i've been learning to play for ten years now(dont laugh,im serious)and i should be great in about twenty.i find the tomkat great value and very solid,i also have a 91 japanese strat and the sound from the tomkat is just as good if not better.i would definitley replace it.

Made in 2000 and in Korea, this is the first Guitar I have purchsed.
It has 24 Frets, I dont know why someones put 22 frets in a review, it has twin humbuckers for a great range of sound, 3 way selector, volume and tone (looks a bit cheesy) cherry burst body fading to black, with great finish, mother of pearl rose going up the fretboard to the head. Locking tuners which are great with gold plated finish (aswell as the bridge). Looks like a PRS and even fits in my mates PRS case - nice one

I play varied music from classic rock all the way to indie and metallica, i use a laney as-400 amp and manage to get a great variety of sounds from this bute, can be slightly distorted when whacked up full balst, but i think thats my cable. I love this guitar and have no quarms with its sound.

The only flaw about this guitar for me as a learner is that the frets can sometimes be hard to find because of the mother of pearl rose, still it looks great. The action on this guitar is fantastic, I use no effrt at all in getting the notes I want, and find solos a hell of a lot easier on it.

This guitair has been used constantly and has gone out of tune hardly ever (exept from when my strap falls off, now sorted with clip locks :)) I have replaced the strings twice in two months, and I know I can depend on it. I havent needed a backup (yet)

N/A Havent had a problem

I would buy it again, I love everything about this baby, i would choose it instead of my girlfriend if I was going on the ark

DoB: 2000 as far as i know
Made: Korea
24 frets
cherry red quilted finish (i was assured in the shop that this was a "genuine quilted finish" as opposed to a transferred one)
2 humbuckers w. 3-way selctor switch but volume/tone controls allow for a wider range of sounds to be produced than on any other guitar i've tried with the same pickup arrangement.
genuine Wilkinson bridge w. push in/pull out trem.
holds tuning really well
beautiful "plant" finish on fretboard instead of usual fret-markers

very versatile
suits funk/soul to jazz to thrash metal...
which is what i need because i play everything from Marvin Gaye to Pat Metheny to Nirvana!
use with Marshall amp... lovely tone
even non-guitarists compliment the sound it makes!

one complaint:
design flaw rather than poor quality in that when detuned from standard pitch (even by a semitone)the bridge drops so that it is touching the body of the guitar. these does not allow for the pitch to be bent upwards using the tremolo arm in alternate tunings.

have only had for 2 months but everything is in perfect working order so far.
frequently use for gigs without backup
i TRUST my guitar

originally, it caught my eye (Wayne's world style!) in shop window...
i saved up and tried it out, love at first sound.
been playing for about 4 years but this is my first real performance quality instrument and i am very happy with it... a bargain.
i also own a fender squire tele and an aria pro II fullerton, neither of which even compares!