NGD!! Wildkat

[Sada Yairi]

After months of searching and trying guitars and amps, not only did I get the Valve Senior amp, but I bought an Epi Wildkat! Loved it the first time I tried it, but it was too expensive (around $850 in Aus). I was after a semi-hollow, and preferably with p90s so it was exactly what I wanted. Anyway, when Gallins in Sydney had a big sale, I bought the amp and the Wildkat. Of course, if there aren't photos it didn't happen:

The guitar was sent up from Melbourne so it took a while to actually get my hands on it. It is very well made, but at the same time the standard of finishing was pretty ordinary. There were parts of the neck binding that were rough to the point of actually being abrasive which was realy nasty rubbing against your left hand up around the 12th fret. And the double-sided tape securing the clip which holds the internal wiring in place had come loose so the wiring was all visible through one of the f-holes. Got the guy there (Dan) to sort out those couple of issues, and the setup he had done was spot-on. She's beautiful to play and the Bigsby is fun (haven't used a tremolo at all for about 20 years!). This is my first guitar acquisition in around 18 years so it took a while to make a decision. I have a very indulgent and kind wife so I now have a Wildkat!!:dance

 

[Hampus]

Congratulations!

The wildkat was high on my list, but I ended up going for the Hagstrom viking instead. I still like the little kat a lot though.

 

[Sada Yairi]

Yeah, the Vikings are a sweet guitar. I couldn't actually find one here to play, but even if I did they're very pricey here, plus I really wanted a single-cut. I also like with the Hagstroms in general that they're not very common, they're a bit more out-of-the-ordinary which is always good.

 

[FrankenFretter]

The Kat series are great guitars. I have the Flamekat, and I believe Brian Krashpad has a Wildkat. Is yours made in Korea?
Happy New Guitar Day!

 

[Tig]

HNGD! That's a nice guitar with a great maple top.
If I didn't already have a semi-hollow with P90's I'd look for one myself. I love P90's.

 

[Sada Yairi]

The Kat series are great guitars. I have the Flamekat, and I believe Brian Krashpad has a Wildkat. Is yours made in Korea?
Happy New Guitar Day!

Nope, China, at the Epi factory in Qingdao. I suspect the Korean ones would have been finished better (based on my Korean-made Dot) but the underlying build quality is to a good standard.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Looks beautiful - I'd love to try one of those someday and hear what it sounds like. Sure is nice to look at! How deep is the body?

 

[Sada Yairi]

Sure is nice to look at, a real looker! The body seems to me (without putting them side-to-side) to be just a touch deeper than my Dot. The relatively small body also means there's no feedback. So pleased with this guitar in every way.

 

[markb]

Sure is nice to look at, a real looker! The body seems to me (without putting them side-to-side) to be just a touch deeper than my Dot. The relatively small body also means there's no feedback. So pleased with this guitar in every way.

Plus (iirc) it doesn't have a traditional semi hollow construction but is more like a very hollowed out solid with a pressed top. That'd make it more feedback proof due to the thicker ribs and back.

 

[Sada Yairi]

This is the internal construction:

It doesn't have a sound block the way a Dot does - I don't know how it would compare in terms of the percentage that is actually hollow (not taking into account the fact that it's a significantly smaller body).

 

[tjcurtin1]

Wow - that's interesting - I had no idea they were made this way - or any guitar for that matter: that's a lot of carving out to do!

 

[markb]

Thinline teles and chambered Les Pauls are made pretty much the same way with varying amounts of wood removed.

On my Vintage Mahogany LP Studio (chambered) you can follow the side grain through the carved top which leads me to think that the top and back were cut from one mahogany blank sliced through, the back thicknessed and routed for chambers, the top thicknessed and carved and finally stuck back together. It's one piece too :thumbsup.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Outstanding mate! Congrats and good onya. She's a beaut. If I lived in Oz I'd be brokedy broke broke with those prices.

I loves me my WildKat!

 

[Katastrophe]

This is the internal construction:

It doesn't have a sound block the way a Dot does - I don't know how it would compare in terms of the percentage that is actually hollow (not taking into account the fact that it's a significantly smaller body).

That's some clean routing right there. Despite some QC foulups, Qingdao is putting out some great guitars.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

deleted

 

[shupe13]

Old as dirt post, but here’s mine.


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[tjcurtin1]

Have never seen a Kat in that color - very classy looking! I just finally changed the pickups in mine, after haveing remade the wiring harness with low-capacitance cable in an attempt to get rid of the muddiness. It helped, but i thought maybe the high output stock pups (12.6k) were also contributing, so I replaced them with a set of Artec p-90s at 7k. It has the came characteristic sound, but cleaner and clearer now.

I love the way the Kat plays - it's my go-to electric to just pick up and noodle on, and I love having a guitar with a Bigsby. And, yes, they are beautiful to look at with the flame maple and chrome.

 

[shupe13]

Thank you. It’s the only Kat I’ve seen like it. It was a gift from my wife. She named her Grace. When I got her I spent a good amount of time balancing the volume of each string by adjusting each pole piece. It was well worth the time.


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[Brian Krashpad]

My prior post's photo link broke, so I deleted it.

For a short while I had TWO WildKats, both identical, in the same "Limited Edition" white-blonde color and cream binding (not the later pure white Royale with gold binding). Found both years apart, used, locally. I only bought the second to flip, because I knew I could re-sell and make a decent profit. I kept the one I'd already had (the one on our left, with the strap). I love mine.

 

[Jimi75]

I dig the design of the Kats! Never played one, but I can imagine they are great players too. I remember back in the 90s there was an edition with flames on it - a real rocker!

 

[Brian Krashpad]

I dig the design of the Kats! Never played one, but I can imagine they are great players too. I remember back in the 90s there was an edition with flames on it - a real rocker!

That's right! The one you remember was actually called the FlameKat (at least here in the States). It also had dice controls and inlays, and mini-humbuckers, rather than P-90s.

Since they were in production only a short time, it looks like Flamekats are currently selling for about twice as much as used WildKats!

 

[shupe13]

The tonal possibilities seem endless.


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[shupe13]

That's right! The one you remember was actually called the FlameKat (at least here in the States). It also had dice controls and inlays, and mini-humbuckers, rather than P-90s.

Since they were in production only a short time, it looks like Flamekats are currently selling for about twice as much as used WildKats!

That particular guitar was way too loud visually for me!


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[Robert]

Cool looking guitars!

 

[Jimi75]

That's right! The one you remember was actually called the FlameKat (at least here in the States). It also had dice controls and inlays, and mini-humbuckers, rather than P-90s.

Since they were in production only a short time, it looks like Flamekats are currently selling for about twice as much as used WildKats!

Yeah! That’s exactly the one I was talking about! Great looks and the dice knobs are a pretty cool feature.