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WildKat Arrival


Just Strum

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I'll do a cut-n-paste from what I posted in another forum

 

Well, it arrived today. The guitar needs a good cleaning of the frets, it looks like steel wool or some other form of good cleaning.

 

The back of the body has some scratches, nothing that bothers me and I am not one to concern myself with the back of the guitar. There is a finish crack (I think) about 5" from the neck on the side of the body that runs front to back. No apparent effect to playability.

 

I was told about all the bumps and bruises before agreeing to buying it and I found no additional issues.

 

The bridge pup has a stripped screw hole that will need to be fixed. I was aware of this and it's an easy fix. The covers are slightly pitted, so I have to look into taking care of that. I'm not sure if I am sold on the P90 pups.

 

Guitar has three volume controls (bridge, neck, and master) and one tone.

 

Right now it is strung with 11's and I like them, so even if I install new ones soon, probably be 11's. Played it through the VJr and AD30VT, but still need to play some more before I really comment. I will say for only having it for 45 minutes I am pleased.

 

Here are some quick photos - you can see the cat stripes in the bottom photo.

 

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Thats a nice looking guitar. how does it play? how much?

 

Well how it plays from a set-up standpoint - GREAT. The action is low, lower than any of my other guitars. It plays fast, I like the neck.

 

How much did I pay? $250 w/case and I ended up with free shipping Philadalpia PA to Cleveland OH. I still haven't cut a check for the guitar, but the previous owner has been paid.

 

The case has a crack on the back, but nothing a sticker can't hide.

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pohatu771 said:

But the Wildkat has a Bigsby, and the Alleykat doesn't...

 

... a condition easily remedied, if you so desire. A Bigsby B7, B70, or B700 can easily be installed on an AlleyKat so you can "pull its tail and make it yowl."

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Is the inside of the guitar painted black?

 

Is that common practice for a dark-coloured guitar? My Cherry Casino isn't painted.

 

Yes it is and now that you mentioned it, I checked my Dot and it is not painted.

 

I'm curious if the newer ones are painted. Mine is a 1999 model.

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I'm trying to figure out how you string this thing. It appears that the end of the string goes on a peg on the tremolo bar' date=' but I can't figure out how to do one string at a time. Google time.[/quote']

 

A quick word of advice from personal experience. Bend the strings into a V angle at the eye before wrapping around the bar. Change one string at a time.

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I'm trying to figure out how you string this thing. It appears that the end of the string goes on a peg on the tremolo bar' date=' but I can't figure out how to do one string at a time. Google time.[/quote']

 

the trick with that is bending the sting a about 3/4th of an inch away from the ball end. its a pain in the butt but that help

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I'm trying to figure out how you string this thing. It appears that the end of the string goes on a peg on the tremolo bar' date=' but I can't figure out how to do one string at a time. Google time.[/quote']

 

This came up a while back, and there were several good ideas.

 

1. Bend the string with a pair of plyers as was mention at about a 90 degree angle about 3/4" from the ball.

2. Attach the ball to the pin, then put a piece of foam under the Bigsby where the ball attached to the pin on the end roller of the Bigsby. This will hold the ball on the pin and make stringing much easier. Other suggestions were to use a capo to hold the string in place as well.

3. Fish the strung over the end roller and under the front roller bar on the Bigsby, over the bridge and to the tuning peg.

4. When tightening the string look to see how straight the string is between the end of the stinrg on the Bigsby and the bridge. If it isn't straight simply move it so it is.

 

This will make it much easier, spoken by someone who didn't know this the first time I did it. It took me WAY TO LONG!

 

By the way welcome and nice Kat.

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I'm trying to figure out how you string this thing. It appears that the end of the string goes on a peg on the tremolo bar' date=' but I can't figure out how to do one string at a time. Google time.[/quote']

 

When I restring a Bigsby Guitar, I have a pair of needle nosed pliers right next to me. I take the pliers and bend the string so that it will stay on the peg as I stretch it and then hold it under tension while I thread it through the tuner and bring it up to pitch. I have also heard of people taking the big pink pencil erasers and, after the string is put on the peg, wedging it in to hold the string in place while the string is secured on the tuner. If you don't do something like these things, the string will always be popping off the peg on the Bigsby.

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Hey everybody thanks for the comments on the Wildkat. JCWillow and the rest, thanks for the tips on string changing - not one of my favorite past times.

 

The 11's made my fingers pretty sore last night, still amazed how much difference there is on the fingers going from 10's to 11's. I like the tone they put out, so I will have to toughen up the fingers.

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