Agile Guitars

[MetalHorse442]

So I'm kinda new around here and not sure what everyone is playing guitar wise. My band is currently finalizing an endorsement with Rondo Music. My rhythm guitarist has an Agile PS 900. I was really impressed with it, for a guitar that cost under $300 it looked really nice and I was shocked at how great it sounded thru my recto. It not only looks stunning but it is certainly a well built guitar. I just got one of their les paul knockoffs, the AL-2000 tiger eye finish. That guitar was REALLY impressive especially since with shipping it was $219.73. They were very prompt with their delivery, 5 days from CT to AZ and that includes a weekend. This guitar looks and plays just as nice as an Epiphone elite series les paul. So I was rather impressed that a guitar that cheap would sound that good. I'm actually getting ready to gut the electronics after I retube my head and replace the pickups with some rather hot dimarzios and just kinda fine tune things. Anyone else know much about Agiles?

 

[RJ2213]

i have a Brice 6string bass made by rondo. best $150 ive spent, great playability considering i'm a guitarist with small hands.

\m/rondo is awsome for the money

 

[MetalHorse442]

Yeah for the price you really can't beat them. I mean if you take a great looking guitar that plays great and you get it for a few hundred bucks, just gut the electronics and drop in some EMGs or PRS pickups.

 

[user 7737]

what do you think of that ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaxIQNkirk

 

[Nitrobattery]

i bought an agile, and sent it right back. i work in a music store and have done setups on a few, and i've found that they tend to have neck angle problems.

*edit*

i just watched the video. first off, that guy is a terrible guitar player. a bad guitarist can make a great rig sound horrible, and a good guitarist can make a horrible rig sound pretty good. add in the bad recording, and it makes the differences pretty hard to hear. i've owned a slew of les pauls, owned an agile, and have worked on hundreds of guitars. les pauls, even sub par les pauls, smoke the agiles. a well set up epi compared to a well set up agile smokes the agile. for the money an agile is an ok buy, but it doesn't even hold a candle to a les paul. i'm not knocking your endorsement, that's awesome! congrats man. i just want to stress that an agile isn't what a lot of people make it out to be so no one gets it with greater expectations than is deserved.

 

[user 7737]

thanx for your opinion dude...

i'm very doubtfull about what i heard about agile guitars... but the fact is that i heard only good things about those... i'm trying to have some other opinion...

 

[Nitrobattery]

thanx for your opinion dude...

i'm very doubtfull about what i heard about agile guitars... but the fact is that i heard only good things about those... i'm trying to have some other opinion...

yeah i heard a lot of great stuff too so i thought, "why not?" i mean they're super cheap and i figured they'd it'd be a great guitar for the money. in my opinion at least, they're ok. nothing special, but not crap either.

 

[disassembled]

I am posting this just to add more options to the table and not as a first hand account of Agile.


I have an LP custom flame top with stock pickups which I thought was a great playing and sounding guitar. I then stumbled upon an 85' Japanese Greco LP Custom copy and was more than surprised with the quality but was sold on the playability. The Greco just plain plays better IMO and sounds as good as the LP if not better (depends on your opinion of course). To be nitpicky the Gibson has terrible quality control as seen in a comparison of the fit and finish of both instruments. I've even tried some of the new Edwards LP copies and they didn't compare as favorably as the Greco did.

If you are looking for an alternative to Gibson then I would suggest looking at a vintage Japanese copy first.

The Agile market is meant for those who can't afford their Gibson counterparts and I don't imagine someone would sell off their favorite Gibson or any other quality instrument for a low range Korean instrument.


Greg

 

[Nitrobattery]

I am posting this just to add more options to the table and not as a first hand account of Agile.


I have an LP custom flame top with stock pickups which I thought was a great playing and sounding guitar. I then stumbled upon an 85' Japanese Greco LP Custom copy and was more than surprised with the quality but was sold on the playability. The Greco just plain plays better IMO and sounds as good as the LP if not better (depends on your opinion of course). To be nitpicky the Gibson has terrible quality control as seen in a comparison of the fit and finish of both instruments. I've even tried some of the new Edwards LP copies and they didn't compare as favorably as the Greco did.

If you are looking for an alternative to Gibson then I would suggest looking at a vintage Japanese copy first.

The Agile market is meant for those who can't afford their Gibson counterparts and I don't imagine someone would sell off their favorite Gibson or any other quality instrument for a low range Korean instrument.


Greg

I couldn't agree more. The owner of the music store I work in has been building guitars and do professional repairs for 28 years...and is going to drop being an authorized Gibson repair station. The quality control on the newer Gibsons is terrible. Most stores have to return 30% of the Gibsons that come in due to flaws. However, Japanese guitars like Greco, Edwards, ESP, Ibanez, and especially Caparison have top notch quality and are half the price of a new Gibson. I've owned over of a dozen Gibsons (newer and vintage) have had a few PRS's, a bunch of cool Fenders, Jacksons, ESP's....and now I'm playing Presitge Ibanez's. They're just built better. They're consistant, can handle the abuse of constantly changing climates going from show to show, and their attention to detail is flawless.

I want another Les Paul, but I don't thinking I'm buying a Gibson again. I'll probably track down one of the pre-lawsuit Ibanez Les Pauls or get a Caparison Angelus.

 

[user 7737]

If you are looking for an alternative to Gibson then I would suggest looking at a vintage Japanese copy first.

yes of course ! but with a budget of around 400€, it's pretty hard to find a good 70's set neck LP copy :?

in fact i don't want to find an alternative to gibson, i only want a les paul tone for a decent price :?

so forget about tokai, greco or burny, lots of them are more expensive than a new epi :|
i didn't even found a single greco on e-bay

i really wonder if those agile got the same quality of an epi... a little more expensive but the new hagstrom seem to kick ***, as well...

http://cgi.befr.ebay.be/HAGSTROM-SU...oryZ2384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[satchaholic]

i really love my agile! has become my main axe since the LP's headstock is being repaired...

dropped in some EMGs. Even the guys at the local shop say it plays amazing. they had never heard of agile.

it's a PS900

 

[clutch71]

I have owned many guitars in my day and have found that some "lower" end guitars can be found if you take your time and know what your looking for. Build quality like Nitro mentioned is key, even with "higher" end guitars. I've played some new LP's that I really enjoyed and others that have made me cringe. Especially with the price tag.

The key to a great guitar is the set up.

Most of my guitars are modified in some way/shape/form and professionally set up. NOT buying a LP (yes I want one and will own one again someday) now, has allowed me to own more guitars while picking and choosing components I want. Let's not forget the EVH original Frankenstien was a Fender or Charvel body factory 2nd he found in some shop in California for like $25 bucks. He then wound the pick ups from stock gibsons that he found himself. That's it.

I've had friends that have owned Agile, Tradition, Epi's and other "low end" guitars that have been very happy with them right off the shelf.

 

[Leng]

I have an Agile Silverburst with the same pickups Adam Jones uses (SD JB + 59). I recently had the chance to put it up against a Gibson Silverburst and here's what I have to say.

The neck on the Gibson was slightly more comfortable to use the "thumb over the top" position, which I very rarely use anyway. And it's a lot sexier than the Agile.

My Agile has frighteningly similar action, fret buzz, linear-ity to rolling volume pots, silent pickup switching, and intonation. Both guitars were professionally adjusted. (The agile took a lot more work to get it to this point, however.)

When put against an Epiphone silverburst, it's actually laughable how much better the Agile is (as far as tone and playability go). Not to mention, the Agile has a MUCH MUCH more similar paintjob to the Gibson than the Epiphone does. The back of the epiphone isn't silver at all, and the entire front is (whereas it should be a teardrop, not just all over silver).

Don't get me wrong. I would rather have a Gibson. But there would be very little improvement (and almost all in the looks department) over the Agile, especially for an extra $2500.

 

[carlsoti]

All I know about Agile is that the Rondo lap steels sell out in a matter of MINUTES every single time they come in. The idea is that, even if it's not perfect, you can mod it to what you want it to be for far less than having a "real" custom guitar built. I've always wondered about their regular guitars. I may have to pony up and check one out.

I just checked out the Rondo web site. It looks like Agile name has been changed to "Douglas". Anyone know anything about that?

EDIT...NM, it looks like "douglas" is an addition to the brand.