NGD Agile AS-820 semi hollow, b-stock

[jimytheassassin]

No review yet, but maybe after work. More photos are on the way later.

Here's my gallery. Overall, I'm very impressed, far more than the SX GG6. http://picasaweb.google.com/jimytheassassin/AgileAS820SemiHollow

 

I have a thread here also. http://www.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=7000

I would post pictures here, but this forum seems to dislike my Picasa gallery. I've never understood why even though it follows the correct format, and works in other forums. The IMG tag just won't work. Oh well.. Enjoy:thu:

 

 

MMM KAY.. time for a quick review of my experience

 

-What year was it made? Where was is made? (Japan, Mexico, USA, etc...)

I'm not sure what year it was made in yet, but I will find out, Made in Korea

 

Features

-How many frets? - 22

-Solid-Top? Laminated top? - Laminated.. supposedly spruce top/ maple back and sides.. i don't really know for sure what the laminations are, but the inside is a very decent grade of maple.

-Make and model of pickups? - Generic, Ceramic magnet. I don't know the resistance, but they give a fairly decent response on a tube amp.. Chords seem to compress... single notes really ring out.

- Active or Passive electronics? - passive

-Body and neck woods? - Neck is maple, fretboard rosewood, body maple, except for the spruce top. The wood used as the center block may or may not be a "maple" not sure.

-Finish - (Satin, transparent, quilted top, flamed top, etc...) Gloss black..very pretty

-Body style - (strat, tele, dreadnought, cutaway, thinline, etc...) 335 with neutered horns

-Bridge style - Tun-o-matic, and stop tail piece. Somewhat generic, but adequate and stable. The tun-o-matic has a retaining clip for the screws.

-Tuners - Grover Romantics, of a decent and acceptable quality

-Any included accessories? - a truss rod allen key

 

Sound

-How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)? - I was worried that the neutered horns would sacrifice the comfort when compared to the larger horns of a GG5/GG6 or authentic ES-335. On the contrary... It holds to my chest in the same way.

-What amps and effects are you using it with? - 1965 Ampeg Rocket II [ about 20 watts, with volume, treble, bass and Vibrato speed and depth. ] AND my MacBook Pro with the program GarageBand.

-Is it noisy? On what settings? - Slight grounding issue on the bridge PUP and less on the Neck PUP, but nothing too troublesome. I will look into it later.

Rich/Full sound? Bright sound? - Unplugged it is louder than any solid body I have, though obviously not as loud as an Acoustic. The tonal balance is very even. All strings seem to have the same acoustic volume, though the timbre of the low E isn't exactly full of bass. But that's understandable. Plugged in electrically it has a nice ring and sustain, with no feed back issues what so ever. The pickups are pleasant and round sounding on chords from bright to muddy depending on where the tone/vol is set, but it remains precise and clean on single notes. At first I wasn't sure, but they are growing on me as they seem to fit a character to this guitar.

-What kind of sounds can the guitar make? How much variety? - Tonal Variety is adequate but not stunning. Nothing about the tone is shrill, or flat, but perhaps a bit too muddy in some cases. It's easy to keep the tone dialed away from muddy if you vary the volume with the tone accordingly. Output seems a fair bit less than the Alnico V pickups in the AL-3000 series. But for that trade, these seem to have an oddly appropriate vintage feel. I don't know their DC resistance, but I would guess them both to be in the 8k range.

-Likes and dislikes? - I like the inlay which is very clean, and well done. It doesn't look cheap or fake even though it is Pearloid. I like the feel of the neck, and the weight of the guitar. The binding was very well done and paint masked. The neck binding is joined very well. Nothing on the guitar is cheap, or throw away. The GG6 in contrast was completely different in regards to hardware.

I don't like that the paint is cracked at some of the screw taps, particularly at the side bracket which holds the Pickguard. Not enough care is taken at the factory to prevent damage during installation. I also don't think the NUT was cut correctly and is so deep that it is actually grabbing the strings. I'll have to fix that. But atleast the nut was cleanly installed.

 

Action, Fit, & Finish

-How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? - (How was the action?)It came as B-stock which was apparently a return. The setup is adequate. New strings and a bridge adjustment..now she plays like a queen. The neck relief is just about right.

-How well were the pickups adjusted? - too low.. easy to fix

-Properly bookmatched top? Properly routed bridge? - routing and mounting is perfect

-Did the guitar contain any flaws? (misaligned bracing, poorly filed fretwire, finish flaws, poor quality wood, rusted or oxidized hardware, loose tuning pegs, poorly cut nut, poorly fit saddle, noisy pickup selector, loose controls, etc...) - Grounding noise, and the nut is cut too deep. The flaws in the finish were part of the deal. No biggy.

 

Reliability/Durability

-Will this guitar withstand live playing? - Sure

-Does the hardware seem like it will last? - um...It probably would. I actually plan to upgrade the bridge and tailpiece. But nothing as stock is throw away hardware.

-Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? - Not sure. In time, I think with enough wear you could get through the black, but underneath is a coat of clear. It would suck, but the guitar would still be protected. The finish is quite thick

-Are the strap buttons solid? - yup

-Can you depend on it? - sure

-Would you use it on a gig without a backup? - yes

 

Customer Support

-If you've dealt with the company, how helpful/friendly were they? quick email response, quick shipping. It doesn't get much better than that.

-Ever try and get it repaired? Was it under warranty. No warranty after 30 days.

 

Overall Rating

-How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own? - I started in 1998, and took lessons for 2 years and played in a band for 3. Since 2001 I've played casually. I've owned many used guitars (guild/madeira/Gibson) and own (1998 peavey Predator, 1996 Fender MIA Stratocaster, Agile AL-3000m, Epiphone AJ??? acoustic, Agile AS-820)

-Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar? - no

-If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? - definitely

-What do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature? - Love the price, hate nothing. My favorite feature is the smile it puts on my face.

-Did you compare it to other guitars? Which ones? Why did you choose this one? - I played several Epiphone DOT and Sheraton II's, and one Sheraton Elitist; SX GG6 CUS NA, Gretcsh 5120, Ibanez Artcore series. I chose this for the reviews and price. I was pleasantly surprised. It's better than I thought. I would easily put this up against a Sheraton II. With a pickup upgrade.. maybe beyond.

-Anything you wish it had? - I wonder if internal bracing would have improved the sound. The inside joinery between the back top and sides is just flushed and glued.. nothing extra.

-Anything else you'd like to share? - This is worth the risk to anyone searching for a Semi-hollow. It playes better than the GG6, and sounds sweet. If you're searching for an Epiphone DOT, even at $309 this guitar is better. The horns might turn you off, but once you play it.. you'll change your mind. Not one Epiphone DOT I played sounded better than this. This guitar feels alive in it's resonance, and sustains beautifully. Take the risk.

[jlw001]

Congrats! I love the AS820 guitars. They sound and play fantastic. Even the original pickups in them are nice. The AS820 will definitely do the jazz thing through your Rocket II....which I must commend you for as well.

[book_of_lies777]

it's not just this forum - Picasa runs like molasses in January.

 

Nice guitar.

[jimytheassassin]

Ya, I love my Ampeg Rocket II.. and played the 820 with it for an hour last night. I need to make adjustments to it, but the pickups aren't as harsh as I had feared. In fact ...they might be a bit too mellow. But one thing's for sure. The as-820 is fantastic. I would take this over an Epiphone DOT any day, and probably over a Sheraton II also. Something Just made me smile as I played it.

[leopardstar]

nice. aslan, my world famous guitar kitten, say's 3 paws up

:thu:

HNGD

[Senor Cleavage]

[Tweedledee]

Happy new guitar day! Why was it a b-stock?

[Geeter]

[mike003]

Very nice!! I'm diggin' the white 820 12 string.

[jimytheassassin]

Happy new guitar day! Why was it a b-stock?

The verdict was "scuffs". It turned out to be many scratches, some dug into the surface a bit which numbers between 20-30 all over the back. It's mostly cosmetic and I'm hopeful that they'll buff out easily. There's also some stain over spray on the inside, through one F-hole, but I think that was included for free. Considering it was $100 off, not too shabby. I'm still conditioning it and setting it up, so no review tonight. Maybe tomorrow if I have time. Thanks for the boobs also. No HNGD can be complete with out them.

[wedgehed II]

[Runn3r]

nice guitar

 

HNGD

 

[jimytheassassin]

Just an Update. I added a text review of my experience. I'm thoroughly impressed with the guitar. I may eventually add video or sound, but I've never done that before. One things for sure though. This thing is a real performer. Cheers

[dcindc]

PLEASE get a photobucket account. Picasso is the worst thing google has ever done. You'd think it was Microsoft.

 

You can put vids on photobucket too.

 

anyway.....

 

So it was YOU!!!

 

j/k glad whoever got it is happy.

 

HNGD!

 

boobs later, noseeum At the moment.

[jimytheassassin]

PLEASE get a photobucket account. Picasso is the worst thing google has ever done. You'd think it was Microsoft. You can put vids on photobucket too. anyway..... So it was YOU!!! j/k glad whoever got it is happy. HNGD! boobs later, noseeum At the moment.

Hah, ya it was me Sorry DCINDC, but I had it in my cart not 2 minutes after it posted. Thanks for the congrats. I'll see you over at AGF.

 

Anyhow, My apologies for not being able to post pictures here from my Picasa Account. Unfortunately they work perfectly fine in every other forum I visit, except here. It's as if Harmony Central Blocks them. I use picasa because it's fully integrated with Iphoto, and easy as pie to create albums with out even needing to open my browser. I have ALL of my photos there and I don't feel like migrating them or having two locations. If photobucket creates a Plugin, i'd consider it. Otherwise, we can pray for HC to fix their glitch.