PDA

View Full Version : Surprise NGD! Epi Flamekat



FrankenFretter
July 30th, 2010, 11:46 AM
I am a daily reader of my two local Craig's Lists, and as I've said in another thread, there's rarely anyone who wants less than 85% of retail for their stuff. It's stupid. But I guess it must be working for them, because most stuff isn't listed for that long. Yesterday morning I found a treasure, though...an Epiphone Flamekat semi-hollow, with tuner, picks, an extra set of strings and a cord. I have tons of strings, picks and cords, but the price was reasonable, and the guitar was definitely a head turner (although I realize it's not for everyone). I emailed my fiancee the ad, simply so she could see the cool guitar. To my surprise, she said, "Why don't you go look at it after work?". She was a very capable enabler on this one, and I realize how lucky I am in that respect.

I did go and check it out, and the young man who was selling it was the original owner. He had given up on guitar, and was trying to raise some rent money. After checking it out on his Marshall combo (also for sale), making sure that the switch and pots were all in order, and the frets weren't too worn, I was pretty much sold. There is (or was) some noticeable corrosion on the tuners, bridge, and frets as well as on the hinges of the hardshell case. I offered him $50 less than his asking price and he agreed. I think I could've offered him even less, but the guy is struggling to make rent and it's a great guitar.

I unstrung it almost immediately, as the strings were in bad shape. I've been working on cleaning up the corrosion before I restring it, so I haven't had a chance to play through any of my amps, but it sounded good when I tested it. Pretty beefy for mini-hums. After removing the cover on the back of the master volume, I think it should be replaced. It's a tiny import pot, and it's the only one I can access easily, so I'll replace it eventually. For right now, everything works, and as soon as I get some steel wool for the frets, I'll give it a good shakedown.

And now the required photos:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_NPlyZiLy0Pw/TFMLHDt_8QI/AAAAAAAAAig/usbKlk4hwv0/s400/100_2046.JPGhttp://lh3.ggpht.com/_NPlyZiLy0Pw/TFMLHRCKb9I/AAAAAAAAAik/c7pQy87UdMc/s400/100_2047.JPGhttp://lh4.ggpht.com/_NPlyZiLy0Pw/TFMMW6xBItI/AAAAAAAAAi4/ZTxPdmKiSAM/s400/100_2050.JPGhttp://lh5.ggpht.com/_NPlyZiLy0Pw/TFMMXHUFbVI/AAAAAAAAAi8/YCJB99Iao-o/s400/100_2051.JPG

Commodore 64
July 30th, 2010, 12:14 PM
OMG that thing is F'ing awesome. It's so cheesy, it's awesome.

Wanna trade it for a '68 CHamp?

LeadedEL84
July 30th, 2010, 12:19 PM
Cool guitar! I want one. Please post a follow up when you finish cleaning it up and plug it in.

Eric
July 30th, 2010, 12:37 PM
Wow. That's like the Andrew W.K. of guitars.

Congrats on the score!

Kazz
July 30th, 2010, 01:14 PM
Love the dice fret markers....that is one sweet Epi man...congrats. Ole Kazz has a new guit on the way too.....can't wait for it to arrive so I can take pictures and post the good news :-)

FrankenFretter
July 30th, 2010, 01:17 PM
Thanks, guys! C64, yes it is a bit cheesy, but I like cheesy zombie movies and goofy things like that. I also like the Kustom Kulture art, so this is right up my alley. As tempting as that trade may be, the amp and the guitar would be a good pair together, but I don't think I'd want the amp by itself. Thanks though.

I will post more info as it becomes available. Going to get some steel wool soon, then I'll string it up with 10s. This is one that I won't really try to mod, since it's too much of a PITA to work with a semi-hollow.

By the way, the guy also sold me an old Zoom 505 for $15. I haven't had much time to play with that yet, either.

Stay tuned!

Tig
July 30th, 2010, 02:11 PM
Sweet!

Oh man, do I have the car for you!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3756866063_ca4ce0610b.jpg

Heywood Jablomie
July 30th, 2010, 02:32 PM
Yeah, FF, I saw that one, too. Even though I'm not really looking to buy any gear, I still peruse CL to see what folks are selling. The Kat's paint job would look right at home on a '57 Chevy. Epi semi-hollows are great - I think you'll enjoy it.

ZMAN
July 30th, 2010, 02:39 PM
Thanks, guys! C64, yes it is a bit cheesy, but I like cheesy zombie movies and goofy things like that. I also like the Kustom Kulture art, so this is right up my alley. As tempting as that trade may be, the amp and the guitar would be a good pair together, but I don't think I'd want the amp by itself. Thanks though.

I will post more info as it becomes available. Going to get some steel wool soon, then I'll string it up with 10s. This is one that I won't really try to mod, since it's too much of a PITA to work with a semi-hollow.

By the way, the guy also sold me an old Zoom 505 for $15. I haven't had much time to play with that yet, either.

Stay tuned!
Those were a stock epi item a few years ago. They are similar in size to an LP about the same thickness as a Dot semi hollow. They are quite a nice guitar.
I also have a 505 and it is fun to play with. I got mine new back in about 98.
They are quite noisey though.

guitarhack
July 30th, 2010, 10:56 PM
Very cool guitar. Nice grab!

Monkus
July 31st, 2010, 09:32 AM
sweeeet!

Katastrophe
July 31st, 2010, 10:34 AM
That is one kickass lookin' guitar!

Good find, FF!

ZMAN
August 1st, 2010, 12:17 PM
Samick makes a similar size semi hollow body. It is called the Royale. I would bet that the Kat series was made by Samick.

FrankenFretter
August 1st, 2010, 02:57 PM
After spending hours on Friday cleaning the 'Kat, including a great deal of time spend polishing the frets, I finally got to plug it in to my "big" amps up in the music room yesterday afternoon. My initial impression is that it suits the Vox Night Train well, and the Marshall...not so much.

I happened to have way more sets of 9s than 10s, so I strung it with the set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkies that came with it. I've been using 10s on my Lesters, and now 9s just feel wimpy. I think it's time to stock up on 10s and restring this Kat. I don't really like the way that these XL strings feel on the beast, and I'm pretty sure it'll sound better with 10s, too.

The New York mini-humbuckers sound good, but they're not for Metalheads. Trying to get a metal sound out of this guitar is probably an exercise in futility, and I don't know why I even bothered except for the sake of curiosity. It sounds great clean, and even very good all the way up to a heavy crunch, but add too much drive and it kind of craps out, sounding like a $50 department store guitar. For blues, classic rock and good old rock n roll, it's excellent. Probably decent for country too, but I couldn't tell you for sure. I imagine that it would also be a good surf guitar. It definitely has that semi-hollow boom to it, lots of bottom end. The minis also have that "jangle" factor going. As long as it's not overdriven too hard, it's extremely articulate. The neck pickup has a really nice mellow tone, but also enough beef to get the job done for heavier stuff. If I knew how to play jazz, I'm sure it would be great for that. The bridge pickup is brighter and has a bit more growl to it. Both pickups together make a really nice balance, and having individual volumes and a master volume means you can totally tweak the tone until you find what you're looking for. The tone knob doesn't do much, other than when it's either full on or full off, which is pretty typical. Speaking of knobs, those dice knobs look cool, but they're far from ergonomic. That probably goes without saying. Do they bother me enough to replace them with standard knobs? That remains to be seen. I'll leave them for now. The die on the switch knob doesn't want to stay there, so that may be a problem.

So far I'm loving this new member of the family. She sounds as good as she looks, and she plays as easily as either of my Lesters, but without all the weight.

From what I've learned from the limited info I've been able to find when researching this guitar, I know it's made in Korea and it has a mahogany body with a maple top and maple neck. The rosewood fretboard is so dark (even more so after applying lemon oil) that it looks like ebony. I also have heard that there were a few different incarnations of this 'Kat during the brief time it was produced, including models with a genuine Bigsby unit. I don't know much about the pickups, which I'd like to learn more about.

That's it for now, my lunch break is over. I may post more at the end of the week, if I have time before I leave on my vacation.

FrankenFretter
August 1st, 2010, 04:43 PM
Sweet!

Oh man, do I have the car for you!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3756866063_ca4ce0610b.jpg

Sweet hot rod, Doug! Is that yours?

LeadedEL84
August 1st, 2010, 11:27 PM
Sweet!

Oh man, do I have the car for you!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3756866063_ca4ce0610b.jpg

I was at a big pawn shop I used to frequent and I saw a tuck and roll Kustom amp. It looked similar to the one below but the entire top was tuck and roll and the grill cloth had red,orange, and yellow flames. It would match the guitar and the street rod so well. Not sure of the model but it was a tube amp with 1x12. Not sure if the grill was original or a customization. I looked for a pic of one like it on the web but couldn't find one. Add some dice knobs and it would be a perfect match to the KAT.
http://gear1music.com/shared/viewProductImage.html?http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D8Z9lhieL.jpg

Tig
August 1st, 2010, 11:53 PM
Sweet hot rod, Doug! Is that yours?
I wish!
Actually, I'm not a fan of most flame jobs, as they are a bit over the top.
I like a subtle ghost style...
http://www.wideplankflooring.com/i/blog/Rick%27s%20Flames.jpg

However, this one looks cool...
http://www.guitarnoize.com/images/blog/carlino_ghost.jpg

Brian Krashpad
August 2nd, 2010, 05:20 AM
Samick makes a similar size semi hollow body. It is called the Royale. I would bet that the Kat series was made by Samick.

Sfaik, they are made in more than one Korean factory, and some, maybe most, are not Samick. My WildKat was made in the Unsung factory.

Here are the reported Epi factory codes:

Korea
I = Saein
U = Unsung
S = Samick
P or R = PeerlessChina
DW = DeaWon
EA = Gibson/QingDao
EE = Gibson/QingDao
MC = Muse
SJ = SaeJung
Z = Zaozhuang Saehan
BW = ChinaJapan
No letter or F = FujiGen
J or T = TeradaCzech
B = Bohêmia Musico-DeliciaIndonesia
SI = SamickChris

Congrats FF!

FrankenFretter
August 2nd, 2010, 06:50 AM
Sfaik, they are made in more than one Korean factory, and some, maybe most, are not Samick. My WildKat was made in the Unsung factory.

Here are the reported Epi factory codes:

Korea
I = Saein
U = Unsung
S = Samick
P or R = PeerlessChina
DW = DeaWon
EA = Gibson/QingDao
EE = Gibson/QingDao
MC = Muse
SJ = SaeJung
Z = Zaozhuang Saehan
BW = ChinaJapan
No letter or F = FujiGen
J or T = TeradaCzech
B = Bohêmia Musico-DeliciaIndonesia
SI = SamickChris

Congrats FF!

Thanks, Brian! It looks like mine is a Samick. Good to know.

ZMAN
August 2nd, 2010, 07:18 AM
I have a Samick built Sheraton. It is one of the nicest guitars that I own. I had two at one time. The Saien built was totally different and felt heavy and bulky. Also there was a slight difference in where the neck joined the body. The Sammick built Sheraton has a beautiful neck.
I have an Epi Catalogue circa 2004. There were 3 in the Kat series.
The Alleycat, stop tailpiece, with a mini, and regular hb in the bridge. The flamecat as you have , and a Wildcat with 2 P90s and a licensed Bigsby Vibrato. It says that yours is a licensed Bigsby as well. Yours was the only one with the Dice. Mahogany body, and maple necks. Yours has a laminated maple top, and the others are flame because of the see through paint scheme. Nothing mentioned about the FB material.
Scale length 24.75, width at nut 1.68. The body frame is made of a single piece of wood which adds rigity and makes a stonger attachment of the neck.
Could you meaure the bout width for me. I was told that the case for these, and the Sammick Royale will accomodate my Esprit. The Bout width is the widest part of the guitar from side to side acrosss the body. Maybe also measure the width at the top to the outside of the cutaway.

FrankenFretter
August 3rd, 2010, 02:08 PM
I have a Samick built Sheraton. It is one of the nicest guitars that I own. I had two at one time. The Saien built was totally different and felt heavy and bulky. Also there was a slight difference in where the neck joined the body. The Sammick built Sheraton has a beautiful neck.
I have an Epi Catalogue circa 2004. There were 3 in the Kat series.
The Alleycat, stop tailpiece, with a mini, and regular hb in the bridge. The flamecat as you have , and a Wildcat with 2 P90s and a licensed Bigsby Vibrato. It says that yours is a licensed Bigsby as well. Yours was the only one with the Dice. Mahogany body, and maple necks. Yours has a laminated maple top, and the others are flame because of the see through paint scheme. Nothing mentioned about the FB material.
Scale length 24.75, width at nut 1.68. The body frame is made of a single piece of wood which adds rigity and makes a stonger attachment of the neck.
Could you meaure the bout width for me. I was told that the case for these, and the Sammick Royale will accomodate my Esprit. The Bout width is the widest part of the guitar from side to side acrosss the body. Maybe also measure the width at the top to the outside of the cutaway.

Okay, the bout is 13 7/8" across, and the distance at the top to the outside of the cutaway is 10 5/8". Hope that helps!

ZMAN
August 3rd, 2010, 05:37 PM
Thanks FF that helps alot.

FrankenFretter
August 19th, 2010, 01:20 PM
Thanks FF that helps alot.

Hey Z, were you able to find a case? Just wondering.

ZMAN
August 19th, 2010, 02:30 PM
Hey Z, were you able to find a case? Just wondering.

No I really haven't been looking that hard. I just have the measurements in the memory bank and when I run in to one at a music store or on Kijiji/Craigslist I can act on it.
When the Esprit first came out Fender came up with a case, and I had the number. I priced one and it was 199. The guitars were selling for 299 to 399 so it was a little stiff for a case.
The guitars were originally a Robben Ford Elite, and they were big money, and nobody was buying them and they were discontinued Someone at Fender brought them back a couple of years later as a Squier Master Series made in Korea. I had an Elite case come up on Ebay, and I missed it. I think it went for close to 200 anyway.
I am using a regular plush lined Classical guitar case. It is way to deep but it fits the width perfectly.
I can't remember if you had a case with it?

FrankenFretter
August 19th, 2010, 10:15 PM
No I really haven't been looking that hard. I just have the measurements in the memory bank and when I run in to one at a music store or on Kijiji/Craigslist I can act on it.
When the Esprit first came out Fender came up with a case, and I had the number. I priced one and it was 199. The guitars were selling for 299 to 399 so it was a little stiff for a case.
The guitars were originally a Robben Ford Elite, and they were big money, and nobody was buying them and they were discontinued Someone at Fender brought them back a couple of years later as a Squier Master Series made in Korea. I had an Elite case come up on Ebay, and I missed it. I think it went for close to 200 anyway.
I am using a regular plush lined Classical guitar case. It is way to deep but it fits the width perfectly.
I can't remember if you had a case with it?

Yeah, I was lucky enough to get the original hard case with mine. It's not in perfect shape, but it's far from bad. The hinges need some cleanup, since they have some corrosion on them, but the interior is darn near mint. Can't complain.

I know Brian [Krashpad] was looking for a case for his Wildkat a while back. You may want to check with him to see what he came up with. I'd like to see a pic of your guitar. Is there one posted here already?

ZMAN
August 20th, 2010, 06:11 AM
This is the Esprit. It is a double cut, with Duncan Design pickups. It has a chambered body, set neck and binding. It was made by Cort in Korea for Fender. The headstock is like a flying V style. The only thing I don't like about it is the hardware. It is called Pewter and is made to look aged.
The pickups are excellent and it plays like a dream Not a lightweight by any means.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a392/Stewz/Esprit.jpg

Brian Krashpad
August 20th, 2010, 09:04 AM
I know Brian [Krashpad] was looking for a case for his Wildkat a while back. You may want to check with him to see what he came up with.

I ended up getting a used Yamaha case, it was slightly too big so I just put some extra t-shirt/towel in it:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/7534/epiincasefz4.jpg

FrankenFretter
August 20th, 2010, 11:06 AM
This is the Esprit. It is a double cut, with Duncan Design pickups. It has a chambered body, set neck and binding. It was made by Cort in Korea for Fender. The headstock is like a flying V style. The only thing I don't like about it is the hardware. It is called Pewter and is made to look aged.
The pickups are excellent and it plays like a dream Not a lightweight by any means.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a392/Stewz/Esprit.jpg

She's a beauty!

FrankenFretter
August 20th, 2010, 11:07 AM
I ended up getting a used Yamaha case, it was slightly too big so I just put some extra t-shirt/towel in it:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/7534/epiincasefz4.jpg

Nice 'Kat, Brian. Looks like the more dignified older sister of my 'Kat. How do those P90s sound?

Brian Krashpad
August 23rd, 2010, 12:26 PM
Nice 'Kat, Brian. Looks like the more dignified older sister of my 'Kat. How do those P90s sound?

Like P-90's, haha. Unlike the vast differences in humbuckers, I've found there to be much less differences in P-90's, even between an alnico Seymour Duncan (which I have on my USA Hamer Special) and a ceramic no-name (which I have on an Agile Valkyrie "SG"). So, they've got more oomph than a Fender single, but more clarity than most HB's, and usually a good deal of midrange. Will break up sooner/better than Fender singles.

I played the WildKat at my most recent rock band gig, with the hippie side band, Cinnamon Hill:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs189.ash2/45224_429780288878_512618878_4822279_6986868_n.jpg

The WildKat will do everything from clean and mellow to hard rockin.

FrankenFretter
August 23rd, 2010, 07:51 PM
Like P-90's, haha. Unlike the vast differences in humbuckers, I've found there to be much less differences in P-90's, even between an alnico Seymour Duncan (which I have on my USA Hamer Special) and a ceramic no-name (which I have on an Agile Valkyrie "SG"). So, they've got more oomph than a Fender single, but more clarity than most HB's, and usually a good deal of midrange. Will break up sooner/better than Fender singles.

I played the WildKat at my most recent rock band gig, with the hippie side band, Cinnamon Hill:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs189.ash2/45224_429780288878_512618878_4822279_6986868_n.jpg

The WildKat will do everything from clean and mellow to hard rockin.


I've always wondered whether investing in a better set of P90s for my Jazzmaster-ish guitar. I actually like the tone of the pickups quite a bit. Good to know that no-name pickups don't sound much different than big name pickups. Thanks, Brian.

Brian Krashpad
August 24th, 2010, 05:52 AM
I've always wondered whether investing in a better set of P90s for my Jazzmaster-ish guitar. I actually like the tone of the pickups quite a bit. Good to know that no-name pickups don't sound much different than big name pickups. Thanks, Brian.

You're welcome. Of course, tone is subjective, so you should take anything I say with a grain of salt. ;)

Also, I'm a "ain't broke don't fix it" guy rather than having a modder's mindset, so consider the source. But fwiw I have heard a couple other folks say that the gap between various P-90's also does not seem to them to be so great as with other styles of pickups.

Of course, there are also those who will say that their Lollars or Fralins sound totally unlike whatever they replaced, and a bazillion light years better. I don't have any guitars with either of those brands, so really can't say.

FrankenFretter
September 13th, 2010, 12:42 PM
I recently changed the strings out for a set of 10-46s, and set the intonation. I'm having some slight issues with it staying in tune. It seems better since the string change, but it's still happening. I'm now considering a roller bridge to mitigate that issue.

Everyone who's had their hands on this guitar comments on how great it feels, sounds and plays. This was a real Craig's List prize, for sure. I'm very glad that I grabbed this up before someone else did!

NWBasser
September 13th, 2010, 01:21 PM
I'll vouch that Sean's FlameKat is one sweet guitar. It's loads of fun to play!

I recently saw one on the local CL, identical,that was $350, so he got quite the deal.:dude

Brian Krashpad
September 15th, 2010, 06:56 AM
I'll vouch that Sean's FlameKat is one sweet guitar. It's loads of fun to play!

I recently saw one on the local CL, identical,that was $350, so he got quite the deal.:dude

Did Sean ever say just what he dropped on it?

:poke

My WildKat was $300, no case. Not a great deal but a decent one.

NWBasser
September 15th, 2010, 01:25 PM
Well, I know it was less than $300 with the case and I think he paid $250 which seems a very good deal after I played it a bit.

I mean, it sounds and plays sweet for a $500 price-range guitar, so half that price of admission is fairly awesome.

FrankenFretter
September 15th, 2010, 01:34 PM
Well, truth be told, I paid $350 for it. It was listed at $400, and I probably could've taken it home for $300, but the poor kid needed rent money, and I didn't feel right taking more advantage of him than I already was. It did come with the hard case, which retails for around a C-note, so not a bad deal.

The 'Kat is currently residing with my guitar teacher, who volunteered to do a complete setup on it. How could I say no to that? I did notice that he really likes to play it when I bring it in, so maybe that had something to do with him volunteering his setup talents. I'm pretty sure drool wipes right off, so all is well.

Oh, my flat wound strings came a couple days ago. I'll wait until the new 10s wear out before I change them, though. The flats are 12s, so my fingers should get a good workout with them.

Brian Krashpad
September 16th, 2010, 06:03 AM
Well, truth be told, I paid $350 for it. It was listed at $400, and I probably could've taken it home for $300, but the poor kid needed rent money, and I didn't feel right taking more advantage of him than I already was. It did come with the hard case, which retails for around a C-note, so not a bad deal.

The 'Kat is currently residing with my guitar teacher, who volunteered to do a complete setup on it. How could I say no to that? I did notice that he really likes to play it when I bring it in, so maybe that had something to do with him volunteering his setup talents. I'm pretty sure drool wipes right off, so all is well.

Oh, my flat wound strings came a couple days ago. I'll wait until the new 10s wear out before I change them, though. The flats are 12s, so my fingers should get a good workout with them.

Good onya Sean. $350 w/hsc is a good deal. Plus those cases are hard to find separately, I'm making do with a slightly-too-large one.

NWBasser
September 16th, 2010, 11:29 AM
Well, truth be told, I paid $350 for it. It was listed at $400, and I probably could've taken it home for $300, but the poor kid needed rent money, and I didn't feel right taking more advantage of him than I already was. It did come with the hard case, which retails for around a C-note, so not a bad deal.

The 'Kat is currently residing with my guitar teacher, who volunteered to do a complete setup on it. How could I say no to that? I did notice that he really likes to play it when I bring it in, so maybe that had something to do with him volunteering his setup talents. I'm pretty sure drool wipes right off, so all is well.

Oh, my flat wound strings came a couple days ago. I'll wait until the new 10s wear out before I change them, though. The flats are 12s, so my fingers should get a good workout with them.

Sean, keep in mind that the thicker string may change the overall tension (especially on the Bigsby) and you may need to do another light setup after the change.