SG or Wildkat?

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

'Nothing personal' but people without any talent of their own generally aren't.

What if you're someone like me who never really listened to SRV because I grew up as a metal fan? Nothing personal, but you'd be hard pressed to say that SRV is more talented than many metal players.

 

[ErikH]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

The best advice I can give is to go play both and choose the one you like best. Which one fits you better, which one is more comfortable to play, which one gives you the tones you're after? All questions you can ask yourself while evaluating them.

I like SG's but a nice semi-hollow can be nice too.

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

The best advice I can give is to go play both and choose the one you like best. Which one fits you better, which one is more comfortable to play, which one gives you the tones you're after? All questions you can ask yourself while evaluating them.

+1. While I had trouble bonding with the Wildkat, it's a fairly popular guitar so to me that says it DOES bond well with others. Play several of each (if you can) and go with the one that feels best and inspires you the most.

I like SG's but a nice semi-hollow can be nice too.

+ another 1. I play in a classic rock cover band (late 60s into the 80s, bluesy and Southern Rock styles mostly) and my semi-hollow is just a blast to play and sounds great for it. I "officially" bring it as the backup to my #1 (which is a solid-body), but I almost always get it out and play it for a set just because I enjoy playing it.



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[blueman335]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

What if you're someone like me who never really listened to SRV because I grew up as a metal fan? Nothing personal, but you'd be hard pressed to say that SRV is more talented than many metal players.

+1. All you have to do is listen to Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, Yngwie, etc. Have you seen how their fingers move? Incredible. They're a few levels above SRV. Geez, it's nice to have loyalties, but there's a lot of blues players better than SRV.

This reminds me of John Lennon's response when an interviewer asked what it was like playing with one of the best drummers in the world. Lennon said: "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles."

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

You could strike a balance between the big fat bodied Wildkat, and the slim SG, with one of these...Ibanez ASR70

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

I think a lot of it would depend on how loud you are going to play. If everyone in the band is blasting out with 50--100 watt half-stacks, they you will probably have problems with the Wildcat (or a Casino) producing feedback. The solid SG is less likely to feedback, and you'll have less noise with its 2HB pickups.

The compromise would be a 335-style guitar...a semi-hollow that is more resistant to feedback because of the solid center block under the pickups and bridge. These guitars have proven to be one of the most versatile ever made, across many genres. If you're of smaller stature, the 339-style with its smaller body may be more comfortable. When I need 2HB tones, I'm often reaching for one of my 335s over a Les Paul.

So my selection would depend a lot on how loud I intended to play that guitar.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[Wattage]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

I like the Wildkat for something a little different but still familiar

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

The Wildkat would probably be great if you were playing mostly sets of songs with less overdrive, but if you've got your amp up and using overdrive pedals the SG would be the way to go. Personally, I think you'll get a lot more mileage out of an SG than the Wildkat. Plus, the SG looks very rock n roll.

 

[ErikH]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

Hell, Ted Nugent plays a Gibson Byrdland loud and proud with lots of overdrive. And that thing is a full hollow body. It does feedback and he is ok with that but he controls it. If you can control feedback from a semi-hollow or full hollow body, great. To own a Byrdland would be sweet.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

+1. All you have to do is listen to Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, Yngwie, etc. Have you seen how their fingers move? Incredible. They're a few levels above SRV. Geez, it's nice to have loyalties, but there's a lot of blues players better than SRV.

This reminds me of John Lennon's response when an interviewer asked what it was like playing with one of the best drummers in the world. Lennon said: "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles."

Even Joe Bonamassa, who has done covers and tributes to SRV is a much better player in my small experiences with both. I think SRV gets his legacy for being one of the big reasons blues hit a spike in the 80's but I don't think he's necessarily one of the best. Just one of the most recent.

 

[BriGuy1968]

SG or Wildkat?

I think SRV gets his legacy for being one of the big reasons blues hit a spike in the 80's but I don't think he's necessarily one of the best. Just one of the most recent.

I love Stevie, but quite frankly, I think it's also the fact that he was killed relatively young.


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[blueman335]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

Even Joe Bonamassa, who has done covers and tributes to SRV is a much better player in my small experiences with both. I think SRV gets his legacy for being one of the big reasons blues hit a spike in the 80's but I don't think he's necessarily one of the best. Just one of the most recent.

Agreed, SRV was at the right place at the right time in the 1980's, as was Robert Cray, who's a nice guy but not a particularly good player. Bonamassa's one of the great blues guitarists, as are Robben Ford, Mick Taylor, Gary Moore, Mick Abrahams, Coco Montoya, Matt Schofield, Aleks Sever, etc. Blues attracts a lot of talent, no reason to put blinders on with SRV, when there's so many better.

So, it's settled then, SG?

 

[Lampy H]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

'Nothing personal' but people without any talent of their own generally aren't.

Please explain why you feel justified in your responses to the thread.


Megalomania, you'll know right away if you like the hollow body/semi hollow tone when you pick one up. Most guitar shops carry a hollow in some capacity. If you're afraid of feedback, I've heard of guys shoving socks into the cavities to cut down on that. (Someone with more knowledge, please fact check that for me.)

If you end up not digging the hollow thing, SGs are great guitars for virtually anything labelled classic rock.


SRV's a monster player in my book. I never really got on with Bonamassa.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

Please explain why you feel justified in your responses to the thread.


Megalomania, you'll know right away if you like the hollow body/semi hollow tone when you pick one up. Most guitar shops carry a hollow in some capacity. If you're afraid of feedback, I've heard of guys shoving socks into the cavities to cut down on that. (Someone with more knowledge, please fact check that for me.)

If you end up not digging the hollow thing, SGs are great guitars for virtually anything labelled classic rock.


SRV's a monster player in my book. I never really got on with Bonamassa.

Malcolm Young stuffed a sock into the neck and middle pickup cavities of his guitar because he removed the pickups and didn't want the feedback. I've heard of others doing the same for their semi hollows like a 335 and such.

SRV was a good player and a better songwriter, but I don't think you could consider him one of the greats for his playing alone. I just never found his guitar playing to have any "OMG that sounded amazing!" Like I said, I think a lot of his legacy comes from the fact that he was really big recently, so it's a name on a lot of people's minds.

 

[Wattage]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

The Wildkat is semi-hollow not full hollow and the P-90's in it aren't too bad either I'd probably see if I could find an Alleykat with the humbucker bridge and mini neck pup.

.......and since everyone is in derailer mode Stevie was a masterful player if you ever saw him live he was a force of nature with a guitar

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

Play the one that feels right. Ignore the sound. You can tweak that with pickups, pedals and amps. Play them unplugged and see which one sings amd speaks to you. That will be the correct choice. If it truly yours, you will make it work for most types of music.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

Popularity doesn't equal talent. Guthrie Govan (awesome guitar player) was once an employee of McDonalds. I watched a rig rundown of him and he keeps a McDonalds namebadge on his guitar strap to remind him of where he came from/keep himself humble.

I love SRV's tone but never really cared for his music. He was crazy fun to watch live and dying young definitely added to his legacy.

I think arguments about who is better are silly–I don't view music as a competition and how do you define "better"? Album sales? Speed? Tone? Popularity? Studio playing vs live playing? etc. My brother and I have completely different tastes in music–the artists he thinks are great I don't really care for and would be biased even if trying to give an objective analysis on their talent.


Back to the OP, as mentioned by others–play both (and I wouldn't rule out other guitars as well such as Strats an LPs) and find the one you like and are comfortable playing. You can swap pickups and effects/amps to work on the tone you are after. One thing I'd like to mention, a cool combo you don't see a whole lot is a regular Humbucker in the bridge with a P90 in the neck. This combo can nail Classic Rock as well as the Blues. Best of luck!

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

Like the Gene Vincent Grestch. That thing sounds cool.

 

[blueman335]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

I think arguments about who is better are silly–I don't view music as a competition and how do you define "better"? Album sales? Speed? Tone? Popularity? Studio playing vs live playing? etc. My brother and I have completely different tastes in music–the artists he thinks are great I don't really care for and would be biased even if trying to give an objective analysis on their talent.

No, it's not a competition, but I think most of us can listen to or watch guitarists and get an idea of their skill level (not that it's rated on a scale of 1-to-10) and have a reasonable idea of how well they play their instrument, how nimble their fingering is, how creative and varied their note and chord vocabulary is. When I see/hear someone who's very talented on an instrument, I stop and listen, whatever the genre of music is. I just like seeing someone who's good at what he does. It doesn't have to be a song I like, but there's an appreciation for those who made the effort to reach that proficiency.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: SG or Wildkat?

No, it's not a competition, but I think most of us can listen to or watch guitarists and get an idea of their skill level (not that it's rated on a scale of 1-to-10) and have a reasonable idea of how well they play their instrument, how nimble their fingering is, how creative and varied their note and chord vocabulary is. When I see/hear someone who's very talented on an instrument, I stop and listen, whatever the genre of music is. I just like seeing someone who's good at what he does. It doesn't have to be a song I like, but there's an appreciation for those who made the effort to reach that proficiency.

But how do you judge one is better? There is no scale/metrics to determine it and people can argue for/against each set of artist comparisons. I'd like to see those knocking SRV pull off the live performances he did... Comparing guys like Satch or Malmsteen to SRV is not a good comparison IMO–completely different style of music. And plenty of people bash Satriani's and Malmsteen's playing.

Michael Phelps is a better swimmer and Usain Bolt is a better sprinter than I am–you can measure that by distance and time (both hold World Records.) Comparing musicians is extremely subjective...that's my whole point.