Epiphone Review: Alley Kat

History:

Purchase: Ordered it from Musicians Friend. The price at the time was (US)$479.99. I also ordered the matching "Flame Kat" hardshell case at $79.99. Epiphone's list price is $799.

What I Like About This Epiphone Alley Kat: I'd been looking for a hollow body f-hole guitar for about a year, but they were either way too pricey ($1300 to 3000), or, at under $1000, had terrible or wimpy sound (the De Armond Starfire, for instance). I came across the Kat series of guitars doing a search in the Epiphone website...I was actually looking for the Sheraton and Dot models, and came across these new guitars, a "Limited Edition". I was immediately intrigued both by the appearance, features and novel design concepts. The guitar is solid feeling, but lighter than a a 335 since it does not have the block-through body construction. It can go from clean and jazzy to down and dirty. The neck is exactly to my taste. Now that I am used to the controls, I have really begun to appreciate the master volume control, which doesn't change the character of the output, just the volume. And it looks great (except as noted below).

What I Do NOT Like About The Epiphone Alley Kat: My biggest gripe is that the headstock decoration looks really cheap, and it is screwed on, which is a shame because the headstock shape is pure Gibson. Also the truss rod cover has the Epi "e", whereas I think the name of the guitar would have been far more appropriate, especially since nearly every guitarist who has seen this instrument has had to ask me what it is. I miss the second tone control, which allows a bit more distinction between the pick-ups, and creates an 'out-of-phase' effect with the toggle in mid position. The other issue I have is the strap buttons are those woefully inadequate standard Gibson/Epiphone dinks. They were immediately replaced with strap locks.

Epiphone Alley Kat Quality Rating: The one I chose was the translucent black, which shows a "tiger" bookmatched woodgrain through the finish, subtle but elegant. The body, neck and f-holes are bound. The body size is a bit smaller that a 335-style, with a single cutaway. There are two USA Gibson humbuckers, one standard size and one 3/4 size (a New Yorker, or something like that...) with a stop tailpiece and a 'tun-o-matic' bridge. The stop tailpiece threads into an isolated block of wood, so that the body cavity is almost totally hollow, creating a very interesting tone. It has only one tone control, two volume pots and a gretsch-style master volume pot mounted a couple of inches below the neck pick-up, and a selector toggle on the upper bout. The neck is very reminiscent of the "fretless wonder" necks of old, and feels very close to my '72 SG. The pick-ups each have a distinct character, yet both are warmer sounding than the old Epiphone humbuckers. There is no pickguard, like on a good Les Paul or a 335, which saved me having to remove it.

Review Summary: Want a semihollow body guitar that sounds like it should sell for three times it's price? The jazz players I know have been shocked that this little Korean import sounds almost as good as their Es 130, Es 325, Gretsch Falcon, Epiphone Joe Pass, etc. The blues and Classic Rock guys are stunned by the tone and output. The country players love the clean sound and the master volume effects... they are all just too lame or ashamed to buy an Epiphone. This guitar is destined to become a classic!

Rating of this Epiphone product: 4

This Epiphone Alley Kat Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: K.C. McCarthy

Review Date: 2002-01-25