Guitars - The 11th Fret

A Polarizing Guitar: The Epiphone Wildkat

September 23, 2022March 23, 2024

I already mentioned how I snagged an Epiphone Firebird VII on the cheap, and how I was offered it from the seller of a different guitar I was buying. This first guitar I was making at go at was a used 2001 Epiphone Wildkat.

So to be clear, I’ve always wanted an Epiphone Wildkat, but never that badly. So I never rushed out to purchase one new because I didn’t know if it’d be practical for what I needed. There was also that nagging, superficial part of me that felt like the Wildkat was ripping of Gretsch, so I wasn’t always motivated to make the move. However, I was always watching to see if someone would list one on the cheap, but that hunt would always prove fruitless for me as most people wanted at the very least $400 for a used one. Sure, that’s still a great price, but not good enough to satisfy my own uncertainty.

But a 2002 Translucent Black Wildkat appeared on OfferUp for $200, and was super clean. There’s not even a chip on it. Best yet, it was listed right here in Burbank making it a quick commute to snag it before anyone else could.

At the time, I had pretty much no money. The recent move to the new house exhausted pretty much all of our available funds. But I made it work. However, the real strain came in when the seller said he also had an Epiphone Firebird VII for $350, which I talked about in a previous blog post. Well, yeah. Clearly I had to get both. …Wouldn’t you?

When I got it home, this guitar was the clear winner as for playability. The neck is a nice modern C shape and is easy to maneuver around. There was zero dead spots on the fingerboard and the action was nice and low. The only real issues was that the Bigsby copy being a bit squeaky and the P90s sounding dull and lifeless. But I had plans for this, of course. Something I’ve wanted to do for a long while.

I had a set of Artec Filtertrons that I’d ordered for another project caught up in a standstill. I wasn’t sure what to think of these but they looked the part. I had no experience with these either. The Artecs I used here are built with AlNiCo Ⅴ magnets, so I knew I was going to get some bright attack, which is an element I love in that Rockabilly sound. But what I really appreciated about Artec Filtertrons is there not being any markings on the covers. No branding, no identifiers of any kind. Most who know me personally knows I love Guitar Fetish’s pickups. But I’m sorry, I’m not putting a Filtertron in that’s branded “GF’Tron”. Call me shallow, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t like markings on any of my pickups, including Seymour Duncan. It just bugs me to see it on my guitars.

The other thing is the stock wiring. Epiphone used so much friggin wire in this thing, it added capacitance to the signal. So I rebuilt a wiring harness based upon Gretsch’s own wiring diagrams. I used Bourns long shaft 500k pots, an orange drop cap, braided wire, and a Switchcraft output jack.

Now it was time to figure out the pickups. I don’t like leaving exposed screw holes, nor did I want to try and fill the dog ear screw holes on a translucent black guitar. So I knew I needed dog ear adapters for a Filtertron pickup. Well, I didn’t find actual polished chrome adapters like I would have appreciated. Instead the best I could find was from TV Jones, which I ordered through the awesome and generous Sweetwater who had them in stock with shipping included (which I paid full price for, and was not sponsored). I bought from Sweetwater as they offered complimentary shipping, whereas TV Jones’ website listed the adapters at the same price, but charged separate shipping. Which I wholeheartedly respect, but opted to save money from Sweetwater.

The dog ear adapters arrived quickly, along with Sweetwater’s generous helping candy. So now it was time to install the new harness, which surprisingly wasn’t as difficult as my 1989 Sheraton Ⅱ was or any other semi-hollow for that matter. Everything went right in through the pickup cavities, and the TV Jones dog ear adapters were a complete and perfect fit for the Artec Filtertrons. Yes, sacreligious. But effective.

On the bench right after the Artec Filtertrons were installed.

After stringing it up, I still had to figure out what to do about that obnoxiously squeaky vibrato system. My guitar bench is also right next to my everything else workbench. Above that was a can of garage door lubricant amidst various WD-40 cans, spray silicone, oils, etc. I figured garage door lube has a high tolerance to just about everything. One little spritz and the squeaking was gone. Not only was the squeak eliminated, but the vibrato returns to a nice, stable zero point each time. Compared to the Bigsby’s I’ve played on Gretsch guitars, the Epiphone variety has a stiffer spring. But I kind of appreciate that aspect. It works, and works super well doing the job I expect.

So now I have this amazing guitar that Epiphone should have been building this entire time. It’s bright, jangly, breaks up nicely, and plays perfectly after going through everything else to clean and polish. I’m actually surprisingly happy with the Artec Filtertrons. For the money, you kind of can’t beat ‘em. Sure I could have thrown down for some TV Jones or Gretsch Filtertrons. But I didn’t want to spend more on pickups than the guitar’s overall value. That never sits well with me as a budget instrument will always be a budget instrument no matter what’s done to it.

We’ll likely get a video shot about this, hopefully sooner than later.

Firefly FFDCS: Is its tone enough to save this?

September 22, 2022March 23, 2024

During my downtime, I’ve been picking up various guitars. I try to focus on higher end stuff so I’m not bogging down my space with too much affordable gear, which is easy to do. Sure, lots of guitars sounds like fun, until you’re tripping over them left and right. But I had to jump at this opportunity to snag a Firefly FFDCS in TV Yellow.

For people in the know, this is a semi loose interpretation of a late-50’s/early-60’s Gibson Les Paul Junior Double Cut. Only the bridge has perhaps the longest intonation screws imaginable and the horns are a little goofy.

Upon initial inspection, I was bothered a bit by the fit and finish. First, the paint’s edges on the neck is uneven up to the fingerboard. Because the edge of the paint is uneven, I can easily feel it with my thumb as I play it. The tuning machines are nothing special. They’re your standard, Gotoh-inspired, generic, sealed tuners. They hold tune okay after spending time stretching out the strings, so I’m not complaining too much there.

I did find a critical problem on this guitar, which was the wraparound tailpiece. The cavities where the poles go into do not handle tention well. The poles were sloping forward and expanding the holes themselves, making the poles easy to pull out. Obviously, having your bridge pop out mid performance is a nightmare most guitars don’t ever consider. So if this was left unchecked, a bridge popping out is an unfortunate potential reality.

The frets were surprisingly awesome. No fret sprout, buffed to a shine, and level. String bends are all glide with no noticeable grind. But something that was strange to me is just how long the neck heel was. It’s almost like it was originally intended to be a bolt-on neck, but glued in place instead.

Super extra long neck heel on a neck that looks like it was meant as a bolt on.

I wondered if mine was modded because I didn’t expect to find any kind of orange drop capacitor. But yeah, there’s totally an orange drop buried in there and it’s stock. Additionally, I was surprised to find a braided lead from the pickup. This isn’t something I usually see on budget instruments, and in some cases higher value guitars like Fender.

Orange drop capacitor and braided wire misleading me a bit.

But no, I pulled the pickup out and it’s 100% stock. Then I started comparing my findings to what others have discussed online. Sure enough, all these components are stock which speaks volumes in favor of Firefly’s ability to not skimp on the important stuff.

Another feature that slipped by me for the first hour of playing it was the arm cut, similar to that of an SG. This adds an extra level of comfort while playing it, and differs from what’s offered out of the Gibson camp. It’s a nice modern spin on a classic design.

The arm cut, and a pile of boxes in the background from my recent move.

But I think the tone is what really wins me over here. I’m someone who loves the sharp, bridge snappy attack from a Telecaster bridge pickup. This P90 delivers a similar attack. It’s not a hot P90, so my amps don’t break up as easily with this Firefly pickup. But, for me, that’s something I actually appreciate. I love lower output pickups through higher gain amps, preferably over the opposite (hot pickups through clean amps).

The electronics are super clean and the neck, despite the crazy long heel, is easy to play. A guitar like this pretty much does one thing: Bright licks. I could see this going over well with a chicken pickin’ country artists to a punk rocker. These are super affordable and accessible.

So should you get one? That depends. My experience with Firefly has been pretty hit or miss lately. Sometimes they’re gems and other times they’re warped and unplayable. So your mileage may vary should you grab a FFDCS for yourself. Assuming you’d receive one identical to mine, they’re great tracking or practice guitars. You won’t fool anyone into thinking you have an actual Gibson as the horns alone are slightly off, but this guitar is definitely a performer that aims to please. Sure, you might have to put a little work into this guitar, including fixing some things Firefly let slip through the cracks (like the sloping bridge). If you can get over that, it’s a winning instrument. Because if tone is what matters most to you, this guitar will deliver and then some. Every pick attack will be heard loud and clear.

As I’m writing, I’ve discovered that this guitar isn’t currently shown on their Guitars Garden website, and I must have purchased from the last of their lot. The bigger brother model, a Firefly FFDCD is also missing from their site. I don’t know if they’ve discontinued this model, or are experiencing supply chain issues. But there are plenty of them used out there, or you can explore Firefly’s other offerings on Guitars Garden.

***Disclaimer: This guitar was not offered to the 11th Fret for a review, nor was this content sponsored in any way. 11th Fret paid-in-full for this instrument to share an unbiased opinion.

Epiphone Firebird VII? An appreciating wonder.

September 21, 2022March 23, 2024

Sometimes deals just fall on your lap and you have to snag it, even if you don’t always want it. Worse yet, when the seller adds in an unlisted item to a deal you’ve already agreed to purchase, it becomes even more difficult to avoid when the price is unavoidable.

First we’ll start with an Epiphone Firebird VII for the sake of this post. Granted, it’s a guitar I’ve always wanted to own, but Gibson’s prices for a new one are absolutely ludacris. This particular guitar was being sold by a gentleman in town where I live, but hadn’t been listed for sale anywhere yet. As I was preparing to buy another guitar he posted for cheap, he asked if I’d be interested in a Firebird too. Well, yeah. Of course. I’ll at least take a look, right?

So I inevitably picked up this 2003 Epiphone Firebird VII for a low low price in addition to the first guitar I agreed to buy. There’s no chips in the finish let alone repairs from a break. It’s super clean. It came in a hard case, though it’s debatable if this case is meant for it. However, it at least fits and that’s what matters for the moment.

I personally struggle with liking gold hardware on import, budget minded guitars. For me, it patinas too quickly and gives an ugly appearance as the remaining gold doesn’t look great with the raw metal beneath. This guitar is no exception. The gold has significantly faded and I’m trying to figure out if I want to mod this guitar or not. And if I mod it, how far down that rabbit hole do I want to go? Do I want to keep it all gold and just replaced what’s needed, or swap everything over to nickel hardware and go triple Filtertron like Doug Kauer does from time to time on his Banshee line?

But, for now, it just needs a good setup and possibly some neck work. The pickups are good and I’m really into how the middle pickup blends in with the knob that’d normally be bridge volume. If the toggle is all the way down in position 1 (bridge), rolling up the blender pot to 10 activates the middle pickup and introduces a Strat-like, position-2 clucking quality. With the blender pot rolled up, the three way toggle (starting at position 1/bridge) represents: Bridge/Middle, Bridge/Middle/Neck, Middle/Neck. At 0 (zero), the middle pickup is completely disengaged, leaving the toggle to me simply: Bridge, Bridge/Neck, Neck.

I’ve personally found that I like the blender pot set to 6. It just gives these mini humbuckers a little extra brightness and snap which reminds me of single coils a bit. So I’ve been leaving the blender pot alone, resting at 6 and have been loving the tones coming out. Having the option to roll the blender up to 10 or down to 0 is nice too. But a sweet resting place is defintely 6 for me.

I’m not sure if I’ll keep her yet or not. I love it and it feels like a Firebird. Even if it’s just an Epiphone, it is still a fun addition to any guitar collection. It’s not often I see these come up used. And if one does, never as cheap as I paid for one. So this was a pretty big no-brainer to pick up at the price offered. Especially considering I could make a quick buck on Reverb as they sell used for 3-4x the amount I paid.

A Defiled Gretsch G5120T made awesome…

September 20, 2022March 23, 2024

In July 2022, I located someone selling their used Gretsch Electromatic G5120T on OfferUp for a price I couldn’t ignore. The seller didn’t list a lot of details around this particular guitar, but it had a good enough photo and looked like a guitar I’ve been wanting. However, in the photo, I did notice what appeared to be gold covered humbuckers, which was not standard on a G5120T. But that was okay because I already knew I was going to pull whatever humbuckers anyway for an experiment.

So I headed out to pick this guitar up after arranging to meet up with the seller. However, we hit some snags as the seller had some sort of medical emergency that delayed him a git, leaving me to wait there like a sitting duck. The seller arrived 20 minutes late after I repeatedly looked over my shoulder for someone, anyone, to ambush me as their delays were concerning. But no, his wife came out with the guitar, I quickly paid, and scurried back home to see the new toy I got.

Once I got back home, I didn’t have any time to work on it. It played okay, but it came with flat wound strings, which – for me – always feel weird and dead. I put the Gretsch aside for the time being, and ordered a set of GuitarFetish’s GFS Surf 90’s in black and chrome. I‘ve been really really curious as to how Surf 90’s would sound in a full hollowbody, especially in a Gretsch after I installed a set into my Squier Mustang Bullet to my own amazement.

Now, I’m fully aware Gretsch once manufacturered Electromatics with stock DeArmond Dynasonics. But I opted to try and save money through this guitar vs buying one in better shape with Dynasonics factory installed. I also loved it because I gravitate towards that classic Gretsch Orange Stain finish. I knew it’d be a perfect home for Surf 90’s having PAF-sized humbucker cavities.

Once I got it on the bench, I was startled that I never noticed a sizable and poorly repaired split off the bottom F-hole. The terrible repair job left the top uneven, but was already super glued to death leaving me to pause on that. I decided to leave it alone for the moment just to get a player assembled.

Split on the top from the F-hole, poorly repaired by the previous owner with lots of super glue.

Next was the pickups. I pulled those two gold humbuckers out, confirming my suspicion that a previous owner installed Epiphone humbuckers. I was crossing my fingers for a nicer surprise like Lollar, Fralin, Seymour Duncan, or whatever. But nope, they were some heavily worn Epi humbuckers, soldered onto a spliced factory lead and wrapped with electrical tape.

Next came some rewiring. One of the best things GuitarFetish offers is their Kwikplug system. Sure, Kwikplug can make swapping pickups a breeze in all electric guitars. But on a semi or full hollowbody guitar, Kwikplug can be a God send for future swaps as replacing pickups in any semi or full hollowbody can require considerable work. So I readied the Kwikplug lead and installed the Surf 90’s.

Next was simply stringing her up and setting the intonation. Of course I first cleaned the fingerboard, polished the frets, checked the neck, etc. She got a set of .009-.042 strings and was ready to go.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but this guitar definitely blew my mind. Not only does it play like a champ, but has that classic tone many come to expect from a Gretsch. With this guitar, my love of higher gain amps with low output pickups became a thing for me. The breakup point is perfect, I don’t have any squealing feedback, and I’m coming up with more and more new riffs after feeling completely inspired.

I’m surprised I’ve not heard more people install a set of GFS Surf 90’s into their hollows and semi-hollows. I mean, I kind of get it with a name like “Surf,” leading people into thinking they’re more for that style of music and not Rockabilly at first. But these totally work and do a stunning job packing a lot of sparkle and jangle. For my own use, I’ve struggled to leave the middle position of the 3-way toggle. This tone is just everything.

A video covering this topic will come at a future date. For now, if you want to check out your own set of Surf 90’s, check the link below:

GuitarFetish.com | Surf 90’s

Want your own Gretsch 5120T? They’re discontinued by Gretsch, but can be found on Reverb:

Reverb.com | Gretsch Electromatic 5120T

Steve Vai’s Hydra on full display at NAMM 2022…

June 3, 2022March 23, 2024

Breathtaking and still unsettling in many ways.

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