Members fuzzy4dice Posted January 22, 2006 Members Share Posted January 22, 2006 So, we need pics right?$450.00 shipped ladies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted January 22, 2006 Members Share Posted January 22, 2006 fuzz, the cases aren't cheap, but I'm VERY impressed with them. If your 335 case doesn't fit, eBay it. Music 123 has the Epi case HERE for $79. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted January 22, 2006 Members Share Posted January 22, 2006 Thanks for the heads-up on the Music 123 case, I had seen it, but thanks anyway. It's a whole $20.00 cheaper, that's pretty substantial. I wonder why MF isn't matching that price. I bet they would give you a headache if you tried. As thier case is called "The Flamekat Case" and this case is like the "EHLCS Hardshell Case". We'll see how the 335 works out. I'll let you guys know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strat2 Posted January 23, 2006 Members Share Posted January 23, 2006 Originally posted by BigBone I'm pretty sure, at present, that I'm gonna order this in about 9 days.. MF is gonna have to do a price match on the case though. Eeeeouch!!!!!You gotta buy that right now, novelty sure but too cool...== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members reservoirdog Posted January 25, 2006 Members Share Posted January 25, 2006 Musician's Friend price-matched the 123 case for me. Both the guitar and case showed up yesterday at work. The guitar is 55% off because it has been discontinued by Epiphone. I've been wanting one since around '98, and was going to buy one in August (and buy a Ric 4003 this month) but I've since switched the order of purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted January 25, 2006 Members Share Posted January 25, 2006 Congrats. How do you like it? What did the whole shebang cost you for the guitar and the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members reservoirdog Posted January 25, 2006 Members Share Posted January 25, 2006 Originally posted by guitar-fish Congrats. How do you like it?What did the whole shebang cost you for the guitar and the case? $529.98 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkytone Posted January 25, 2006 Members Share Posted January 25, 2006 Rock my billy, they all look pretty damn good to me!! :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted January 27, 2006 Members Share Posted January 27, 2006 Oh, Jesus..."Out for Delivery"...and I'm not going to be home tonight...However, I'll be there tomorrow morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlackHatHunter Posted January 27, 2006 Members Share Posted January 27, 2006 I am not a big Epi fan, but that looks damn cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted January 27, 2006 Members Share Posted January 27, 2006 So last night I'm telling my friend I bought the Epiphone Alleykat and how much I like it and he says, "That's funny, 'cause I just got the Wildcat..." How cool is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigBone Posted January 27, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 27, 2006 $599.00 for the FlameKat now. I noticed it last night and freaked out that they jacked the price up. Anyway I checked and the one I had added to my cart at the lower price was still there so I went to checkout and it shipped TODAY and is set to arrive the 31'st by FedeX.. hopefully they don't punt the thing here. I passed on the case, I'll order it from music123 with some other stuff later and get free shipping. I had emailed them twice on doing a price match for the case but got no response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted January 27, 2006 Members Share Posted January 27, 2006 I noticed the FK is no longer on Epiphone's website, someone said it was discontinued. Weird that they raised the price, you'd think they'd lower it and blow them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted January 28, 2006 Members Share Posted January 28, 2006 Ok... So, I have it sitting in my lap as I type this. My camera is currently {censored}ed up (actually the card is), so you'll have to be patient for pics. First this, it's HEAVY as {censored}. It's totally as heavy as a solid Les Paul. It's not a prob for me, I like heavy guitars, but I just didn't expect it. Ok, the dice knobs look good, but they are a little foggy, and not quite up to par. The pickup selector switch dice knob is loose and I can pull it off. I could carefully superglue it on with no trouble, but y'now... Bigsby is great and very responsive. The flame decal looks great. The decal comes up a little bit on the top of the left-side neck joint, but not much at all. However, it just kinda reminds you that the flames are a decal and not a paint job. The neck is highly polished, it reminds me of my Agile Cool Cat's ebony neck. Very shiny, and very smooth. The dice inlays look neat and sexy. The Grover tuners are really responsive. Now, acoustically, this thing sustains FOREVER. It has a lot of vibration and overtones that I think will make it a great player. Now...to plug it in... And get a damn camera card! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted January 30, 2006 Members Share Posted January 30, 2006 Pics as promised...The pup selector switch that comes off on command...Nice...Here you can see the poopie decal against the neck...Gaudy, but fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted January 30, 2006 Members Share Posted January 30, 2006 Hey fuzz, I hope with a few minor repairs it works out good for you. It is a unique item, even more so now that it's discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted January 30, 2006 Members Share Posted January 30, 2006 STRAP LOCKS anyone? I ordered a set of Schallers, I put them on all my guitars. Anyone do this with these Epi's? I'll lt you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted January 30, 2006 Members Share Posted January 30, 2006 Originally posted by guitar-fish STRAP LOCKS anyone? I ordered a set of Schallers, I put them on all my guitars. Anyone do this with these Epi's? I'll lt you know how it goes. I put them on most of my guitars (actually all), I would definitely recommend them for this AS IT WEIGHS THE EARTH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigBone Posted February 1, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 I got my FlameKat yesterday evening. FEDEX Driver pulled in the driveway and gingerly carried the brand new looking box to my door, barely a ding or dent in the box...WOW. Way to go FEDEX!! The guitar... setup is awful. Bass side of the bridge jacked way up and the treble side down wedging the bridge so tight it wouldn't move, had to loosen the strings and gently pry it up with a pencil while pulling (being careful not to do any damage), couldn't get the posts to turn until it was freed but then that is fine. I notice the only parts with the protective plastic are the bridge pickup, the Bigsby bar and the rear switsh cover, all others have either previously been removed or weren't there to begin with. The strings... good grief, are these things 9's or something, just awful, well awful because they are too light. Whoever cut the nut drew the file towards the bridge and left all the loose nut materiel there dangling so I picked that clean as it was bad enough to interfe with the notes on a couple of strings. The neck.. Hmm, hardly any relief, I'm not gonna touch that unless I decide to keep this thing. A small little ding on the back neck just beyond the 6th fret about 1/3 of the way around from the 6th string. Another black speck on the yellow by one of the f holes. It looks like the pole peices of the neck pickup have been raised, or maybe they come like this from the factory?. The bridge pickup pole pieces are flush, neck are all raised so thet the bottom of the screw slot are flush with the top of the pickup. one of them has a burr like someone was a tad careless with a screwdriver, not really visible but easily felt. One of the Bigsy mounting screws has the screwdriver burr as well, maybe this was done at te factory.. I don't know. There is also a marring at the end of the fretboard, could be cleaned up I suppose. The knobs, all have different numbers showing, cool but unlike others who have been loose these are tight. So tight I can't pull any off with a reasonable amount of force and I have suspicions they may be glued on.... just a suspicion, maybe not but they are definately on there. I can possibly live with any of the above sincemy intention is to play the guitar but it doesn't appear to be New from the Box. Heres the killer, it's NOISY. Buzzes like a high tension power line. Of course if I never take my hands off the strings or bridge then it's quiet. Well I'm gonna take it somewhere to check it out on a different amp since all I have here is an old yamaha practice amp and just maybe, the problem isn't the guitar but right now it looks like it's going back, and possibly not the first time. I suspect this guitar is a floor model or an in store return. According to the inspection paperwork this thing was "setup" before epiphone USA shipped it so eother the inspector just signed the form or somebody has been dinking with the bridge etc. The guitar plays fairly nicely after adjusting the bridge a bit and setting it back to epi adjustment specs. the strings are still too close, can;t get a .010 feeler between a 12" straight edge and the frets anywhere. so there is a bit or string rattle but not as much as I'd expect, and the excessively light strings don't help, this guitar needs at least 12's or 13's for me anyway. Haven't really evaluated the bigsby yet all things considered but the string angle from the bridge to the tension bar is a bit sharp for a standard tuneomatic. I'd really like to keep this guitar rather than go through the hassle of an exchange. The only issue I can't live with right now is the hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted February 1, 2006 Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 That really stinks Bigbone. Feels like being violated, doesn't it? FWIW, you do need to loosen the strings before adjusting the bridge, that's normal. I read someone saying that heavier strings were recommended for these guitars. I have 10-46s on mine, and am planning to go to 11s. No excuse for all the other stuff. That's one of the downsides of buying online - hit and miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted February 1, 2006 Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 I successfully installed Schaller straplocks on my AlleyKat. Because the existing straplocks have screws that are larger than the Schallers, I had to do the old glue-toothpicks-in-the-holes trick. Let it dry for 24hrs, then drill a small pilot hole, and install the Schallers. Perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BigBone Posted February 1, 2006 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 Originally posted by guitar-fish That really stinks Bigbone. Feels like being violated, doesn't it? FWIW, you do need to loosen the strings before adjusting the bridge, that's normal. I read someone saying that heavier strings were recommended for these guitars. I have 10-46s on mine, and am planning to go to 11s. No excuse for all the other stuff. That's one of the downsides of buying online - hit and miss. Yeah, it does kinda feel that way. The bridge problem was really only that it was adjusted to each extreme and wedged tightly in place. Even with the strings off of it it still wouldn't budge. Pretty obvious it was not even close to being right too. It's Fine now though. Nice guitar though. I'm hesitant to do anything else to it at this point as whether it stays or not depends on the hum issue. It definately overall looks nicer in person though and I could see myself playing this in public. I have a couple sets of D'Addario Chrome 13's itching to get on this thing. I'm gonna go play it again here in a couple of minutes and see if I can blame the hum on something other than the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted February 1, 2006 Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 Sorry for the bad luck Big Bone, but it doesn't sound like it's all that bad. At least not much worse than mine. I mean, everything has been fixed by you already. I set the guitar up when I got it too, but it was wacked out for sure. I had stickers on the pups, Bigsby, and that's it...I feel like it had never been touched. I am pretty sure I'll keep it, I'm just trying to make sure the general style of the thing is for me, and not going to far into cheese factor. I still have my giant dice tattoo on my right arm to justify the thing, but still... I don't want to be a cornball. The mini-hum's might "hum" a little more since they are really kinda single-coils. I'll play mine some more tonight and let you know what's up. I've been focusing on my ES-295 a little more than on the Flamekat. By the way, the Flamekat, for all practical purposes, does fit into my 335 case. It is a little loose in there, but if I can glue some foam or something in there it would take care of it. {censored}, if it saves me $80.00! Keep us updated Big Bone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted February 1, 2006 Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 Originally posted by fuzzy4dice I still have my giant dice tattoo on my right arm to justify the thing, but still...I don't want to be a cornball. Hey, everybody needs a gimmick now and then. Just ask John Fogerty...playing his "bat" singing "Centerfield". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzy4dice Posted February 1, 2006 Members Share Posted February 1, 2006 Originally posted by guitar-fish Hey, everybody needs a gimmick now and then. Just ask John Fogerty...playing his "bat" singing "Centerfield". They didn't mention that thing in last months Vintage Guitar Magazine expo of his guitars, WHY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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