wildkat vs. alleykat

[westcoaster]

i'm just learning right now. actually i decided i'm going to learn. my x-mas present to me is a guitar. what is the main difference in these two guitars? is the alleykat a more versitile guitar. i know its discontinued but there is one on craigslist in my city for a descent price.

thanks

[Guest alanhindle]

know its discontinued but there is one on craigslist in my city for a descent price.

 

You can't go wrong with a descent price. It just keeps on going down and down.

[Guest alanhindle]

 

You can't go wrong with a descent price. It just keeps on going down and down.

 

Seriously, I can only speak for the Wildkat but its P90s coupled with the on-board controls make it very versatile. There is a separate volume control for each pickup, a master tone and a master volume. This means you can set a lower volume on the neck pickup and have a cleaner sound and a higher volume on the bridge for a more distorted sound. You then leave these as they are, and control everything as you require with just your master volume and master tone. The single coil P90s give fabulous growl - think early The Who or Green Day, but they can also be very bright and jangly (Strat like) on cleaner settings- . If you want a thicker sound you can select both pickups to on- it doesn't matter that your selection is effectively further from the bridge- you'll get no muddiness from the P90s.

 

So, I can't speak for the Alleykat but the Wildkat is the most versatile guitar, sounds options wise, that I have.

 

Alan

[westcoaster]

thanks Alan. i think i'm leaning towards the wildkat, but does anyone have any experience with the alleykat?

[Just Strum]

I also have a Wildkat and I really like it, but I wouldn't mind an Alleykat.

 

If you get the Wildkat, you will not be disappointed.

[westcoaster]

hey Just Strum, if you have a wildkat, what would make you want an alleykat. pardon my ignorance.

[pohatu771]

The Wildkat has P-90s, the Alleykat has humbuckers... they're very different sounds.

[Just Strum]

hey Just Strum' date=' if you have a wildkat, what would make you want an alleykat. pardon my ignorance.[/quote']

 

1) What pohatu noted - the Humbuckers

 

2) I would like one with a Cherry Sunburst

 

3) When does one really have enough guitars?

 

The pick-ups is the primary reason. I like the idea of guitar variety by body types and pick-ups. I don't like duplicates of guitars, but prefer the variety. Now that doesn't rule out the idea of having duplicates, but I don't strive for it.

[pohatu771]

The only duplicates I'll buy are those that are upgrades from something I already have - the Fender Strat from the Squier, for instance. I'd buy an Elitist Casino, or a Lennon, or an ES-330.

 

Right now I'm looking at Strat-based guitars, but with humbuckers. Technically it would be a Strat (if I bought a Fender), but it wouldn't be anything like what I had.

[Just Strum]

The only duplicates I'll buy are those that are upgrades from something I already have - the Fender Strat from the Squier' date=' for instance. I'd buy an Elitist Casino, or a Lennon, or an ES-330.

 

Right now I'm looking at Strat-based guitars, but with humbuckers. Technically it would be a Strat (if I bought a Fender), but it wouldn't be anything like what I had.[/quote']

 

I agree, I don't consider them duplicates because they provide a different sound. That would be the same and a stock Dot and a Dot with P90's, they are both Dots, but they certainly aren't duplicates. I wouldn't buy a Dot that was red, because all I had was a black one unless I intended to mod one of them to achieve a different sound. However, there are those that will have two guitars that are the same except color and if that's what they are after, then there's nothing wrong with that.

[rpach10115]

I have both. I have many expensive guitars, but I always find myself going back to my alleykat. I can't explain it.

It just seems I always like the alleykat best, for sound and playability. IMHO, between the 2 of them, I find the allykat easier to play than the wildkat.

[eor]

i see a lot of talking, but i don't see any damn pictures.

[pohatu771]

This is my pair:

 

[Guest alanhindle]

i see a lot of talking' date=' but i don't see any damn pictures.[/quote']

 

Your wish is my command:

 

[Guest alanhindle]

This is my pair:

 

 

I very much like your F**der Strat in sunburst with that tortoiseshell pick guard. It looks like an out and out blues machine! That is the style and colour I would go for, although I do like the look of a maple neck.

 

I've been looking at the cheaper alternative of a Squ**e Classic Vibe 60s strat which is a copy of yours, or the classic vibe 50s which has a maple neck and could just have its white pick guard replaced with a tortoiseshell one.

 

I hear that they are pretty good and some say a better buy compared to a mexican F**der. However, I also hear that the F**der Highway One Strat is the pick of the non USA made bunch. It seems to have a nitro finish too.

 

Any thoughts/comparisons from Strat owners on the best bang for buck Strat from the F**der family?

[Just Strum]

i see a lot of talking' date=' but i don't see any damn pictures.[/quote']

 

My avatar to start

 

and

 

 

and

 

 

and

 

 

and a larger shot of the avatar

 

[eor]

ok, so they are full both hollow, but one has p90s and the other mini/full humbucker? i think both are pretty neat ideas. but what is the wiring configuration?

[pohatu771]

However' date=' I also hear that the F**der Highway One Strat is the pick of the non USA made bunch. It seems to have a nitro finish too.

 

Any thoughts/comparisons from Strat owners on the best bang for buck Strat from the F**der family?[/quote']

 

Actually, the Highway One is the cheapest of the Made-in-USA models.

 

Now, I may be partially jaded, but I think the Deluxe Players Strat is the best bang-for-buck out there. It's Mexican, but offers Custom Shop pickups (Vintage Noiseless) and the push-button to unlock two additional pickup combinations.

 

I bought mine in the store, so I got the best feeling one they had. If I had ordered it, I would have bought the blue with maple, but purely for cosmetic reasons - I can't feel any difference between maple and rosewood fretboards.

 

You can get any colour with either fretboard:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Deluxe-Players-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=511597

 

I was comparing it directly to other high-end Mexican Strats and the Highway One, and this just blew the Highway One away... I'm not a fan of the Alnico pickups the Highway One uses. They were actually worse, I thought, than the pickups in my Squier, though the same amp.

[Parabar]

eor said

 

ok, so they are full both hollow, but one has p90s and the other mini/full humbucker? i think both are pretty neat ideas. but what is the wiring configuration?

 

Nope, not full hollow. Both are chambered bodies --- solid mahogany with routed-out hollow sections to open up the tone a bit, but they are semi-hollow in construction, and closer to a solid body than, say, a Dot with its center block added in.

 

The wiring for both is the basic Gretsch tone pot configuration --- master volume on the cutaway, separate volume controls for each pickup and a master tone knob on the lower bout. The AlleyKat sounds somewhere between a Les Paul and a Dot; the WildKat sounds more distictive with it's P-90's, and not all that much like a Casino.

[eclecticsynergy]

eor said

 

 

 

Nope, not full hollow. Both are chambered bodies --- solid mahogany with routed-out hollow sections to open up the tone a bit, but they are semi-hollow in construction, and closer to a solid body than, say, a Dot with its center block added in.

 

The wiring for both is the basic Gretsch tone pot configuration --- master volume on the cutaway, separate volume controls for each pickup and a master tone knob on the lower bout. The AlleyKat sounds somewhere between a Les Paul and a Dot; the WildKat sounds more distictive with it's P-90's, and not all that much like a Casino.

11-year-old zombie thread here. But people are still curious about these and this thread comes up in a search, so I figured it was worth setting the record straight.

 

These are not chambered or semihollow, they're hollow with a twist - a solid block underneath the bridge & tailpiece - which is why they don't require a floating bridge or trapeze tailpiece like traditional hollowbodies. The Johnny A is made the same way. Back & sides are all one piece, carved from a single block of mahogany. Here's a pic of a routed body at the Epi factory.

 

I like the neck profile on these guitars - it's a little chunky, very comfortable. For me. Mine's a Wildkat Royale.

 

I'd love to find an Alleykat. They still come up used once in a while. Just saw a post from somebody who got one in tobacco sunburst and it's beautiful. Not a fan of the cherry sunbursts on these, most of the ones I've seen have been clownbursts like in the publicity photo. If I could find one with a nice fade I'd grab it. But I really have GAS for the tobacco burst.

[AngelDeVille]

Since we are resurrecting....

 

I had a nice wildkat, then got a 339 epi p90 pro. The alleykat looked ok but I never tired one.

 

I traded off the wildkat, and regretted it... it was the better machine.... both are now gone...

 

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Since we are resurrecting....

 

I had a nice wildkat, then got a 339 epi p90 pro. The alleykat looked ok but I never tired one.

 

I traded off the wildkat, and regretted it... it was the better machine.... both are now gone...

 

 

I like my Wildkat; I've had it since 2010. It's not among my most often-played axes but letting it go hasn't really entered my mind.

 

The Alleykat is a really attractive variation - to have that great neck carve without Bigsby would be cool, and I feel the combination of bridge hum and neck mini hum was a brilliant design choice. They don't come up for sale too often and most were in trans black or terribly executed clownbursts. But the one in tobacco sunburst is just beautiful.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Here's my Wildkat.

 

[Yorgle]

I like my Wildkat; I've had it since 2010. It's not among my most often-played axes but letting it go hasn't really entered my mind.

 

The Alleykat is a really attractive variation - to have that great neck carve without Bigsby would be cool, and I feel the combination of bridge hum and neck mini hum was a brilliant design choice. They don't come up for sale too often and most were in trans black or terribly executed clownbursts. But the one in tobacco sunburst is just beautiful.

 

That tobacco burst is gorgeous! I must have it!

[bobouz]

A while back I had an Alleykat made by Samick. It was an early 2000s version if I remember correctly. The mini-humbucker had a very nice tone - punchy & percussive, with good touch sensitivity. The neck was a bit wide & a bit thin - kind of a shallow 'D' carve - different, but comfortable.

 

A very nice guitar overall, but it eventually got traded away for something else.