Electric Guitars

[jds22]

I've been wanting an LP type guitar for a while and this matte finish model caught my eye.



Does anybody have any opinions of the XV500 models?
Are the necks chunky?

[Steadfastly]

My opinion, although I've never played one, is that it is a nice guitar and very hard to beat at that price point for what it offers. However, the neck is too narrow for me so I would pay a little more and get an Agile 2500 or 3000 with the wide neck.

[twotimingpete]

xaviere is hit and miss. I've gone through several. it's a bit of a dice roll when you order one, just based on my own experience here, but, they do (again, just in my experience) have been pretty good about exchanges. It could be the case that problem guitars are rare, but I've had a problem xaviere show up twice. I've also had a really really good xaviere.

when you get one without problems, it's definitely a hell of a lot of guitar for the money.

[PunkKitty]

I have 2 XV500s. They are nice guitars. But expect that they will need a fret level and a setup when you get them. I'm also not a fan of GFS pickups so I switched those. If you don't want to do any work when you get a new instrument, take a look at the Agile 3010SE's from Rondo. I have one of those too. It was flawless out of the box. They stock pickups sound good. And by the time you add the cost of a fret level and maybe a new nut to the XV500, you can have a Agile that you won't have to mess with. And it will have a ebony fret board.

[chimi]

I got one from a forum member a few years ago and loved it. Of course i imagine he had tweaked it to his personal specifications but it played and sounded great. And had split coils as well.

I actually asked a question last week but received no responses. Do the newer Xavieres have the same sleek body style (just different headstock) than the first models? Seems like the pictures of the newer models make them seem a bit bulkier, but i'm not sure if that's just the way the pictures look.

Also if anyone has an older one of these hit me up, very interested.

[wagdog]

I've had a few X's over the years (here). My experience has been that they are good, playable guitars that don't cost very much. I've sold every one I've ever owned and found they do not have a good resale value.

[jds22]

Thanks for the heads up on the Agile. I might go that route.

[gt5litre]

The 500's are not the same body as they used to have chimi; they used to have a fairly skinny waist. Also, they used to have a better model the 700 that used to have a 1.5 inch thick body and a belly cut too. I do not recall if it had the skinny waist...

[Hurricane Eyes]

I just got one last week and am very happy with it.  I am going to post a review on here soon with pics

Maybe I was lucky but mine was perfect out of the box, no need for setup.  I would compare the neck to a les paul 60's neck.  The guitar sounds great and seems solid.  It blows away any epiphone that I have played.  Awesome guitar for the money

PS: These are the original pick ups.  The picture on their site had the zebra pick ups but when it arrived it had the nickel covers (maybe this is a newer model).  I ordered the guitar on a Sunday, it was shipped on Monday and I had it on Tuesday. 

[ermghoti II]

I have a couple of the LP styles, but no 500. I have done well with Xaviere, ended up with about six of them (you can't stop!), exchanged one for cosmetic issues. I am not a fan of the usual PAT variants, either the Crunchy or Fat, but the VEH, are excellent pickups, in the bright/snarly and middy/grindy categories, respectively. I might recommend replacing the pots, jacks and switch, especially if something is wonky out of the box. I have one with a volume knob that trends towards on/off, bad taper.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, neck is not remotely chunky. You'll want to go elsewhere for that.

[Marko]

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Steadfastly wrote:
My opinion, although I've never played one, is that it is a nice guitar and very hard to beat at that price point for what it offers. However, the neck is too narrow for me so I would pay a little more and get an Agile 2500 or 3000 with the wide neck.

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I like that Rondo offers some “wide” models, which have been of great benefit to me with the two I’ve bought from there.

I’ve done some research on LP-style axes, and if/when I get one, it’ll be an Agile.

[kayd_mon]

From what I've personally played, Agile does the best budget LP clone (and I don't consider Epis to be clones). Very solid, good-sounding instruments. I sometimes wonder why Agiles aren't at stores like Guitar Center.