Review: Epiphone WildKat
As related in my review of the Epi FlameKat, I seriously revisited those guitars intending to add one of the two to my collection. Between the two, I looked at the WildKat the hardest, because on paper, it's quite possibly the most attractive of the three in terms of performance, cool factor, and price.
In terms of the body construction, it's pretty much the same as the other Kats except for the use of flamed maple over the usual mohogany body and maple neck. The neck feels wider and shallower than the FlameKat, and has a nicer feel. Also, that vintage metal headstock logo is love it or hate it, but count me among those who like it.
Like the FlameKat, it has a Bigsby tail, and as such, as good as you'll get in that department. The same button style Gotoh tuners will help you make quick adjustments after any wild dive bombing session with the tremelo bar.
When looking at these guitars, there's the obvious cosmetic differences, and one hardware difference (the AlleyKat doesn't have a tremelo bar). In most other respects, you have the same small bodied semi-solid guitar.
Given that, the main differentiation is in the pickups, which is anywhere from 80% to 85% of the sound. I'll note that the percentage is an average from various sources on the internet, etc., and acknowledge that the number is debatable.
One thing that isn't debatable. The pickups and electronics contribute the most to the sound. The pickup configurations are what make each of the Kat guitars unique. The internal electronics are pretty much the same in all three (tone control, etc.). The Kats are excellent ergonomically, and this guitar is no exception. I'll resist the temptation to quip that it'll sit in your lap like a kitty kat, etc.
In this case, the WildKat has two Alnico V P-90 pickups in silver colored covers. It's a nice touch, as most P-90's are either black or that odd vintage beige that sort of looks like it belongs on an old 60's Japanese Teisco guitar (which may be the intention, I can't read into a pickup maker's soul).
What you get is a semi-solid with very hot single coil pickups that give off the aura of a screaming vintage guitar. Which it can be, believe me. There's nothing like a P-90 blasting at high gain, it's a sound that we've heard from the rockabilly days, to the late 60's Who.
On the other hand, the P-90 has a glorious history in jazz also. It was often the stock pickup on many of the classic jazz models until replaced by humbuckers. To this day, many jazzers still prefer the P-90.
So, many guitar players will find that the WildKat is a very suitable jazz flavored guitar, possibly the best of the three. It has a superb clean tone that isn't muddy (like a 490 humbucker can be), and can emulate early jazz sounds just fine.
I checked out both colors. There's the flame maple, which I played in a guitar store, and the translucent turquoise model which deserves a look before buying. One previous owner of the latter had put a Marilyn Monroe decal on it. You know, it looked as good on it as it would have on a World War II B-17 bomber nose. Very cool.
It's a guitar I would recommend to anyone who wants to play vintage rock to jazz, and everything in between. There are some caveats though. These P-90's are well made, but still will hum like the old ones did, just a lot less so. However, to give you a comparison, it's a lot quieter than an old Strat or Telecaster (before anyone objects to that, I should add that I played a '71 Tele for 20 years as my primary guitar, and I know it hums).
Also, the sound will have a strong clear high to mid-range punch. It's the perfect soloing guitar, and rhythm players will find it has a very clean, cutting chord attack. If you're looking for a humbucker type of sound, this wouldn't be the guitar for you.
However, don't count it out if you're looking for an inexpensive jazz guitar just because it's a single coil type. A lot of your old classic jazz guitar on record was done on single coils.
You might have to look hard for a used copy, as between the three, this model seems to have kept the highest resale value. I even saw a used one at a Guitar Center being sold at it's original street price. That's the highest compliment American capitalism can give an import guitar.
In the end, I didn't get one, as it was too close in sound (to my ears) to my Epiphone Blues Zephyr Deluxe, with it's three P-90's (yes, I am a P-90 cultist). However, given the price difference between the two, you'd be way ahead of the game if you got the WildKat.
Unless you haggled the store owner down to 500.00 out the door like I did for a new Deluxe, that is. But then, how many time will that happen? The guy had turned me down five times before, I have no idea why he finally gave in.
But those are mysteries that man can't answer. The WildKat and it's excellent qualities are something that can be understood the minute you get it into your hands and turn on the amp. From there, you can create your own miracles.
- Al Handa
2006
Note: This review first appeared on the ePinions.com site in 2006. This and other reviews were short takes that accompanied the link to a business that sold the guitar. As a rule, the guitar had to be at least examined and played by the reviewer (and ideally owned). In my case, a severe case of GAS made it possible to have at least owned the reviewed instrument for a short while. I'm reprinting these as having another source on a guitar never hurts, even if the reviews aren't definitive. Other than minor corrections, these short takes are unchanged from the original text. I figure that it might be helpful to keep the older perspective.
COMING IN MAY
