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Hi all, Wildkats and Rockabilly


andytj

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I'm a recent proud owner of a Epiphone Wildkat (picture attached) and decided to join the forum and say Hi All.

 

I love this guitar. I've owned a few over the 30 years or so since I bought my first (Strats, Jaguar, Yamaha SGs etc) and have to say this is probably my fav or at least up there with my Jag, which I still wish I hadn't sold.

 

I've recently really got back into Rockabilly, Country and Roots music and wanted a guitar with single coils and a Bigsby. Of course I looked at Gretsch but as I'm not even in a band I felt that outlay was far above what I wanted to pay even for a new one, which from what I gather have a bit of a mixed rep. And the original Gretsches are well out of my league.

 

So after a lot of looking about and studying the superb rockabilly guitar pageI thought I'd have a little look on eBay over the Christmas break and there she was! The guy I bought it from had it for 3 weeks didn't like it and ended up buying one of the new Gretsch! So I was a lucky guy to get a brand new Wildkat for £230.

 

I can't praise my Wildkat enough - it does exactly what I want and is a quality guitar especially for the money. I'm really comfortable with it and with the money I saved on not spending out on a Gretsch a couple of weeks later I got a very nice Squier Tele thinline as well.

 

I'm now on the lookout for an amp. Everyone talks about Fender amps and you have to have a tube amp to play Rockabilly. Out of interest does anyone use or recommend a solid state amp for this genre? And also what about the amps with amp modelling, are these any good? I have about £400 max to spend. I envisage requiring something for practices and hopefully small gigs. Any guidance would be great.

 

Thanks for your help

Andy

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Welcome to the forum!

Congratulations on your new Kat. But I don't see the pic you say is attached. [confused]

 

I like my WildKat also. Maybe not as much as you like yours, but I still like it.

 

As far as amps go? Fenders are nice. But you can play Rockabilly with any amp.

Amps are really a matter of preference. You may have to go through a few to find the one that really grabs ya.

I know I have over the years.

 

I recently got a Peavey MicroValve II amp and I love it. Got a Peavey 1X12 cab with it also.

It has tubes, FX loop, and 2 channels. It's the amp I am currently loving right now.

I found a new one for $390. And the cab was only $129.

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Hi andy and welcome to the forums... [thumbup]

 

I play alongside a Wild Cat quite often and would recommend Roland Cubes for this type of music

 

Well established and with IMO more character than many ss amps

 

I have used Cubes in most sizes from Street up to 30 and 80 watts

 

The inbuilt fx are excellent

 

And if necessary an outboard slap-back echo stompbox can be deployed

 

V

 

:-({|=

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I'm now on the lookout for an amp. Everyone talks about Fender amps and you have to have a tube amp to play Rockabilly. Out of interest does anyone use or recommend a solid state amp for this genre? And also what about the amps with amp modelling, are these any good? I have about £400 max to spend. I envisage requiring something for practices and hopefully small gigs. Any guidance would be great.

 

Thanks for your help

Andy

 

Hi Andy,

 

Congrats on the Kat,, those are very cool rides for sure.

 

So about the amp,, if you want solid state, I would point you in the direction of the Fender Mustangs.

 

The Mustangs are Fenders Modeling amps, which after having the VOX and Line 6 products, IMHO the Mustangs just blow them off the planet. these things are miles and miles ahead of the rest of the market when it comes to Digital modeling amps and do much more than other solid state amps can do.

 

I have 2 of them (the Mustang III 100 watt 1x12 and a Mustang IV 150 watt 2x12 combo). The III will do everything it sounds like you would need, where the 2x12 150 watts offered in the Mustang IV makes for a total beast that can keep up with the heaviest handed drummer, no problem at all.

 

With the options available with these, there's just about nothing you can't dial in. Classic Twin clean, Fender Supersonic burn, Marshall Plexi, Mesa Boogie, Vox, Orange,, faithful representations.. All the essential fx on board as well, with remote control capabilities with the 2 button foot switch (included with the III) and an optional 4 button foot switch which is shipped with the Mustang IV and V) even has a built in tuner...

 

I do suggest both foot switches. The amount of control you will get remotely will be appreciated. 3 Quick Access presets, modes for up/down preset, stomp/fx settings on/off, delay tap tempo, and remote activation of the tuner which displays on the 4 button Footswitch.

 

You do need to spend a few hours and get past the Factory Presets,, however that said,, there are a number of them that are in the ball park of where you're going. But you will need to cut your own to really get the most out of the amps potential.

 

once you get yourself setup with a few of your favorite presets, the only thing you're gonna need is a decent cable.

 

 

there are also the I and II versions that are lower in cost, but they are a bit limited in how you can manage and edit the presets. For the I and II versions, you would need to use the Fuse Software (included) and hook it up to your PC via USB cable.

 

it sounds like the Mustang III is in your wheel house.

 

Seriously,, for the cost involved, (the III is $330 USD the IV is $499 USD) and what they do, worth checking out.

 

http://www.fender.com/amplifier-series/mustang/

 

There are also a ton of YouTube video demos and tutorials.

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I'll give another thumbs up to the Fender Mustang. Any sound you could want can be had from a Mustang. If you really want tubes, I'd suggest the Fender Super Champ. It's essentially the same Mustang modelling front-end feeding a tube power amp.

 

And congrats on the Wildkat!

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And I'll third the motion.

 

The Fender Mustang III v.2 is amazing. I got mine for $299.00 last year and it is a total bargain.

 

I use mine with the Mustang Floor unit which essentially gives me all the controls of the amp at my feet, and than simply use the amp to dial in any number of classic Fender amp models.

 

Being an old guy it took me some time to figure out all its features,but once I got the hang of it I was set to fly.

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Ah, more love for the Mustangs,, Sweet! I have the V1 in both the III and the IV, So if you guys have the V2 you have a few more different options than I do and for anyone buying today, well they get the V2. But I'm just curious,, Did you guys also find that the best factory presets are the ones in the last ~20 slots (like 80s thru the 90 presets) eg:the ones that are labeled as "Basic xxxxx" (Like Basic Twin, Basic 65 Deluxe, Basic Sonic, Basic 70s stack etc) That's what I based all my own presets from,

some of these are just fantastic.

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Ive got a Mustang 1 v1 that I got used. Loved it for a while, but whenI learned about the Super Champ X2 with the same modeling plus tubes, I had to have one.

 

I didn't care for any of the Mustang factory presets without some tweaking. I set up three just the way I wanted and basically stick with those. I decided to keep the Mustang because it has a headphone jack and an aux input (for backing tracks). The Super Champ has neither. Sometimes I play backing tracks thru the Mustang and play my Epi Dot thru the SC.

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Hello andytj. It appears that your "attachment" didn't upload properlymsp_sad.gif. Please try to upload a picture again from Photobucket.com or postimg.org.smile.gif I have uploaded many pictures from both of those photograph hosting sites. You have already got some very sound advice concerning the Fender Mustang "v2" amps. I have a Mustang III V2, 40 watt version, as well as the 2 and 4 button foot switches and Fender expression pedal that works on conjunction with these amps. (I also have other amp "brands", both tube and solid state, but find that the Mustang III works quite well, for me.) You can also attach 2 additional speakers/monitors/amps with the xlr out jacks on the amp, if you want "loud", which that amp is. I haven't tried the 100 watt version...probably too loud for what I need. If you want a tube amp, the advice about the Super Champ X2 is spot on. With the guitar and amp (with the pedal and the two foot switches attached), you will certainly be set to play just about any kind of electric guitar based music, and the Fender site has 1000's of additional downloadable presets and backing tracks to practice along to, and experiment with. Good luck with your Epiphone Wildkat guitar and amp "search". I do think all of us here at the Epiphone forum are all looking forward to your next post, showing your new guitar and amp in a better light. smile.gif As well as a review of whatever amplifier you have decided on smile.gif Come back and post again smile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gif

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Ah, more love for the Mustangs,, Sweet! I have the V1 in both the III and the IV, So if you guys have the V2 you have a few more different options than I do and for anyone buying today, well they get the V2. But I'm just curious,, Did you guys also find that the best factory presets are the ones in the last ~20 slots (like 80s thru the 90 presets) eg:the ones that are labeled as "Basic xxxxx" (Like Basic Twin, Basic 65 Deluxe, Basic Sonic, Basic 70s stack etc) That's what I based all my own presets from,

some of these are just fantastic.

 

kb

I think the "basic" presets sound "clean" because they haven't been loaded down with additional "tweaks". And, you are right, the sounds theses amps can produce really are great, imho. Have you tried any of the downloadable backing tracks and presets from the Fender site ? I have downloaded some of both...but have hardly scratched the surface for what is available there. The additional presets that other users have made and uploaded and the backing tracks that are available on the Fender site make these amps something different than most other amplifiers...there are literally thousands of additional "add ons", if you are willing to take the time to download them from the Fender site. My opinion is that the additional stuff available from Fender for these amps, makes them even more versatile as well as a great learning tool, really special amps...in a very good way...enough said... msp_smile.gifmsp_sleep.gif

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Thanks everyone for your replies. An overwhelming endorsement for the Fender Mustangs and Super Champs. I'll be looking seriously at those over the next couple of weeks and post back with an update.

 

Not sure what happened with the photo. I'll have a look into that.

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hey Crust

 

yes that is exactly it.

 

The "Basic xxxx" presets are just the vanilla settings where the tone/charactistics of that amp, with no Mayo, Lettuce, or Ketchup added. Those are the presets that are indeed where the entire meat of mustangs sounds are. That said, there are a number of very usable presets, Sic Clean is pretty nice, as is the Delayed Princeton, and some of the Deluxe Reverb presets.

 

I've not look at the fender site you mention, I think I'll give it a whirl..

 

Andy,,

let us know how you make out. just goes to show, there's a lot to choose from.. The coolest thing about the Mustang is it's versatility and tone capabilities.

 

and just to show ya I'm not a total Fender Mustang Fan Boy - these also look really nice.

http://www.roland.com/promos/tone_capsule_ej/

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If you have a chance, try out a VHT "Special 6" amp. I have attached a 2x12 speaker cabinet to the one I have here, sounds...well, it sounds great, really good. And if you are into modifications, a speaker and tube(s) change is pretty simple (VHT also makes a tube adapter for this amp, to experiment with different or higher quality tubes, speaker change out is simple too ). Just another amp suggestion...but those Mustang amps are great too. Check out the VHT Special 6 reviewsmsp_thumbup.gif

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