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Post subject: NGD!
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:57 pm
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Well, once again, the GAS bug bit me...

Went to GC for the Black Friday sale. I was primarily looking for an Aqua $@!& or DMM or such. I also wanted to test drive the Fender Champion amp. I figured $150 for an all-tube amp couldn't be a bad thing, right?

They had one right out front, all plugged in and ready to try. So I went in search of something to play. My eye was caught by the rack of hollow body electrics- esp this gorgeous white Gretsch. One look at the price tag, and I almost crapped myself- WAYY out of my range. As I turned away, I spied a couple of semi's with dog eared P90s. One in particular grabbed my attention: An Epi Wildcat in blonde with a Bigsby.

Armed with a guitar, I plugged in and let her rip. I started with the high gain channel. Ugh, muddy as hell... No eq on the amp, either. The low gain channel was better, but still too muddy/muffled sounding. Checked out the volume and tone controls on the Epi, thinking one might be turned down, but they were all wide open. I'm thinking the pair was just a mismatch. The guitar was also out of tune pretty badly.

Lo and behold, the was an MIII right under it, so I switched to that to use the tuner. Night and day difference! Through the Mustang, this guitar sounded incredible! HUGE sustain! ( NOW I see why all you guys rave over these hollows and semi's!!) The Liquid Solo preset just brought this thing to life. Again, you guys were right- turning the wick up on these amps makes a whole lot of difference. Switching to the Johnny Marr Tremolo was even better.

Some 8 yr old kid was hacking away at a Frontman with a Squier Strat, and all the scoop and distortion he could get. I just HAD to turn up to save my ears, right? (that and it was hard to hear what I was playing...) I'd also noticed a Squier VM Jazzmaster back in the used section, and the sales guy went and got it for me after we got talking.

WTF is going on?? WHY are the "cheap entry level" brands so freakin good these days? This turned out to be an Indonesian made Squier, in light pastel green. Felt really solid and well built. No obvious flaws with the fit and finish, just a teensy bit of roughness to some of the fret ends. And it had that comfortable "PLAY ME!" feel that a lot of Fenders have.

THEN I plugged it in. Wow, these Jazzmasters have a sound all their own, don't they? I couldn't believe how percussive it was, esp in the middle position. I was hooked! I tried them both through a bunch of different Mustang Presets, then switched to a SuperChamp X2- for the clean channel. What a dilemma: 2 really nice affordable guitars, with UTTERLY different sounds. So much so, that it took my ears a minute or two to adjust when switching between the two.

Just or fun, I gave the Aqua $@!& a try out, too. Using the SC X2. I quite like it! Really combines well with the tremolo effect in the amp. I'm perfectly happy with my Carbon Copy, and the Mustang's delay effects, so I reluctantly put it back.

Anyone care to guess which guitar went home with me? That was a tough decision, let me tell you!

The Epiphone Wildcat. That sustain, and the dog eared P-90s... For $400, this guitar is a steal. Sounds great, plays great, and it looks awesome! Nice maple top, too. Even though it's a single cut, upper fret access is pretty darn good- better than my Les Paul, anyway. It sounds like a beast when you feed it gain, and it sounds killer clean as well. Can't argue with that, right? ( also re-affirms my belief that Gibson guitars sound really good through Fender amps.)

I WILL be getting a Jazzmaster sometime soon though! That Squier was a really nice sounding and playing guitar. I think I'll wait till after Christmas, and hit up The local used guitar place, once everyone trades in their old stuff. I'm anxious to try the Fender version.


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:33 pm
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Good story pyroman, any chance for a photo?

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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:48 pm
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No pics, it didn't happen.


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 7:15 am
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Always loved the looks of the Wildkat, especially the Blonde...but unfortunately, I couldn't play one because of the selector switch up top. That is right where I play.

If I were to get an affordable semi-hollow, I'd have to go with the Epi ES-335 Pro. Don't get the beautiful Bigsby with it...but the switch is at the bottom where I need it. This has been my biggest dilemma in choosing a semi-hollow; would rather have the Wildkat (smaller body, and Bigsby, purely cosmetic to me).

Too late to try and change my playing style, I've tried....find my way creeping back up to the neck every time with my pick-hand.

P.S.- Before anyone recommends the Starcaster or Coronado because the switch is on the bottom of both...don't bother...they are ugly in my opinion. If the Coronado had a 3 and 3 headstock, it would not even be an issue for me.

Have fun with the Blonde Wildkat! 8)


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 8:19 am
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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:24 am
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White Dog wrote:
Always loved the looks of the Wildkat, especially the Blonde...but unfortunately, I couldn't play one because of the selector switch up top. That is right where I play.

If I were to get an affordable semi-hollow, I'd have to go with the Epi ES-335 Pro. Don't get the beautiful Bigsby with it...but the switch is at the bottom where I need it. This has been my biggest dilemma in choosing a semi-hollow; would rather have the Wildkat (smaller body, and Bigsby, purely cosmetic to me).

Too late to try and change my playing style, I've tried....find my way creeping back up to the neck every time with my pick-hand.

P.S.- Before anyone recommends the Starcaster or Coronado because the switch is on the bottom of both...don't bother...they are ugly in my opinion. If the Coronado had a 3 and 3 headstock, it would not even be an issue for me.

Have fun with the Blonde Wildkat! 8)


So, I take it you aren't a fan of Les Pauls either? The funny thing is, I see the same comment from LP players inre Strats, Tele's, Firebirds, and SG's with the switch on the bottom. The builders just can't win, I guess!

Me, I kind of like the looks of the Starcaster. Being a Firebird guy helps you get past the headstock. I'm still not buying the whole reverse Strat/Tele headstock thing- it just looks goofy to me.

No digital camera for me...

Now for the $4,000,000 question: What is the extra volume control for??


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:54 am
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pyroman wrote:
So, I take it you aren't a fan of Les Pauls either? The funny thing is, I see the same comment from LP players inre Strats, Tele's, Firebirds, and SG's with the switch on the bottom.
No...not a fan of the Les Paul. Like the looks, like the sound, like it when OTHER people play them...but I can not.
I learned the hard way (but luckily not the expensive way). Bought an Epiphone Les Paul 100 for about $250.00 (U.S.) new...played it for a couple weeks...hated it...put it on Craigslist...got $225.00 (U.S.) for it...took the $25.00 loss, and moved on.

And I too have heard the Les Pauler's complain that the selector switch is in the wrong place when it is somewhere on the bottom half of another guitar. It's all about what you get used to. I cut my teeth on a Strat (copy), and now it seems impossible for me to play any guitar that has the switch above the strings.

As for your volume knob question; I assume the tone and the volume knobs on your Wildkat are pickup specific?


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 1:28 pm
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White Dog wrote:
pyroman wrote:
So, I take it you aren't a fan of Les Pauls either? The funny thing is, I see the same comment from LP players inre Strats, Tele's, Firebirds, and SG's with the switch on the bottom.
No...not a fan of the Les Paul. Like the looks, like the sound, like it when OTHER people play them...but I can not.
I learned the hard way (but luckily not the expensive way). Bought an Epiphone Les Paul 100 for about $250.00 (U.S.) new...played it for a couple weeks...hated it...put it on Craigslist...got $225.00 (U.S.) for it...took the $25.00 loss, and moved on.

And I too have heard the Les Pauler's complain that the selector switch is in the wrong place when it is somewhere on the bottom half of another guitar. It's all about what you get used to. I cut my teeth on a Strat (copy), and now it seems impossible for me to play any guitar that has the switch above the strings.

As for your volume knob question; I assume the tone and the volume knobs on your Wildkat are pickup specific?


Yes- a volume for each pickup, and a global tone control. THEN there's an extra volume where the selector switch would be on a Firebird or Jazzmaster. ie on the lower bout. Just wondering what it's for. I've seen them on other hollow bodies, too.


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 4:58 pm
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pyroman wrote:
White Dog wrote:
pyroman wrote:
So, I take it you aren't a fan of Les Pauls either? The funny thing is, I see the same comment from LP players inre Strats, Tele's, Firebirds, and SG's with the switch on the bottom.
No...not a fan of the Les Paul. Like the looks, like the sound, like it when OTHER people play them...but I can not.
I learned the hard way (but luckily not the expensive way). Bought an Epiphone Les Paul 100 for about $250.00 (U.S.) new...played it for a couple weeks...hated it...put it on Craigslist...got $225.00 (U.S.) for it...took the $25.00 loss, and moved on.

And I too have heard the Les Pauler's complain that the selector switch is in the wrong place when it is somewhere on the bottom half of another guitar. It's all about what you get used to. I cut my teeth on a Strat (copy), and now it seems impossible for me to play any guitar that has the switch above the strings.

As for your volume knob question; I assume the tone and the volume knobs on your Wildkat are pickup specific?


Yes- a volume for each pickup, and a global tone control. THEN there's an extra volume where the selector switch would be on a Firebird or Jazzmaster. ie on the lower bout. Just wondering what it's for. I've seen them on other hollow bodies, too.
It's a master volume. So you can tweak the levels between your pickups, and then keep that ratio at different volume settings.

So you have a master volume, and then one for each pickup.

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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 7:07 pm
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Epiphone Wildkat guitars...you don't say
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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:34 am
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Nice!! I have the one on the top.


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Post subject: Re: NGD!
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 12:17 pm
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The only slight problem I've encountered is that the nut that holds the whammy bar on comes loose and actually gets tighter with aggressive attack and vibrato, and then "locks up". I put a piece of felt "washer" under the lock washer, all better now. :D

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