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Wildcat Black Royale


Ricktoo

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I was at the local Epi/Gibson shop today and was messing around with one of the new Black Royale series Wildcat guitars. I thought it looked pretty nice sounded great and the Bigsby totally sold it for me. Thought I would ask some of the experts here wwhat they thought of them, the salesman told me it was a pretty solid guitar but would probably benefit from better quality P90's. Any thoughts?

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I love mine. Its a pretty sweet rig. The P90s I find are pretty good for what it is, I wont be changing them out any time soon. I did install a Tusq nut and a roller bridge and now with the Bigsby it holds tune pretty well after dive bombs. I like the fact that this is an Epiphone that doesn't have a Gibson big brother. Right now it is my favorite guitar but my ES339 is pretty close as well.

 

I was at the local Epi/Gibson shop today and was messing around with one of the new Black Royale series Wildcat guitars. I thought it looked pretty nice sounded great and the Bigsby totally sold it for me. Thought I would ask some of the experts here wwhat they thought of them, the salesman told me it was a pretty solid guitar but would probably benefit from better quality P90's. Any thoughts?

 

 

 

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I was told the same thing when I was looking at them. I jumped on a bunch of forums (including this one) and asked around about how many Wildkat owners had felt the need to upgrade the pickups. A few had, but not the majority. Personally, I've had my Wildkat for a while now and I just love the pickups. Mind you, I'm no p90 expert - this is the first p90 geet I've had. I just love 'em, and can't see a reason to swap them.

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Personal opinion?

 

The pups, unless defective, don't play, the person does. Epi pickups are fine. Another type of pup dropped in aftermarket may give a somewhat different sound, but the question of "better" always will be subjective. IMHO, play what you have and make it yours, especially if it helps you play as a good partner should.

 

m

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Thanks for all the input guys, I didn't know they had a standard/regular wildkat. Is the black version a true black or is it charcoal grey like the Royale? I can't find any close up pics that really show the finish well, also the binding, is it white?

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The black version is the black royale version. So yes, it is more charcoal grey than black. The binding is more sparkly silver.

Thanks for all the input guys, I didn't know they had a standard/regular wildkat. Is the black version a true black or is it charcoal grey like the Royale? I can't find any close up pics that really show the finish well, also the binding, is it white?

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Personal opinion?

 

Epi pickups are fine.

Yes and no. If you notice my avatar, my 'Kat has black Lollar P90's. The reason is about 10 months in the bridge pickup just flat died. Since I was going to have to replace, I decided to upgrade away from Epi's, even though it was still under warranty. I changed the p/u's on my Dot to SD Classics a few years ago, and the difference was very, very noticeable. Much crisper and brighter, IMO anyway [biggrin]

 

That said, Epi's are a really, really good bang for the buck overall, and I really can't complain.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I love mine. Its a pretty sweet rig. The P90s I find are pretty good for what it is, I wont be changing them out any time soon. I did install a Tusq nut and a roller bridge and now with the Bigsby it holds tune pretty well after dive bombs. I like the fact that this is an Epiphone that doesn't have a Gibson big brother. Right now it is my favorite guitar but my ES339 is pretty close as well.

 

 

Hi, I have a Wildkat too and also changed the nut but not the bridge yet. What roller-bridge did you buy and where did you order it? Did it fit exactly?

Thank you for your answere.

 

 

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AT first I put on a this roller bridge http://www.guitarfet...Paul_p_661.html but I wasn't in love with it, so I went to a Wilkinson locking roller bridge. After a quick setup having it locked into place it works like a dream. The radius on the Wilkinson is different than that of the fret board radius of the Kat, but I have not noticed any difference in playability.

robrchplfile.jpg

First roller bridge used

 

 

$%28KGrHqUOKj8E342NF85+BOJn4f1%29cQ~~1_1.JPG?set_id=8800005007

Second Roller bridge which I like a lot better

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