Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Well I just graduated and of course I have gotten a lot of money as presents. I am looking to expand my guitar collection again. I only want to spend 400-500 dollars so nothing insanely fancy. I think I have it narrowed down to an Agile AL-3100 (because I can't stand the inlays on the 3000s) and a Steinberger Spirit. I haven't played an Agile of course but I did play a Spirit at a Gibson factory when I went to memphis and I enjoyed it but I don't remember it well enough to justify it as the winner. I was too distracted by the Gibson guitars I want a humbucker or p90 sound. I play blues/classic rock/psych/etc type music. I know that kind of throws the steinberger out but I still am interested in buying a spirit at least. Buck Dharma from my favorite band Blue Oyster Cult plays a steinberger and that is really what sparked my interest. I have an Epiphone Dot and Fender Strat as my main guitars right now. I want something different and solid. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftystratman Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 I've never played a Spirit, but I have been very impressed with the quality of Agile guitars so far. a better bang for your buck. sorry, I'm not much of a help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Don't let the small size fool you. A Steinberger Spirit weighs ten pounds - Les Paul heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 They do? I wasn't really thinking about it weight wise but that actually makes me happy. I played one but I don't remember it well. A lot was going on. I remember being surprised by the playability. It was comfortable as well. I have heard that agiles are great but that they aren't much different than an Epiphone. I have an Epiphone Dot Deluxe that I love the tone of already so I don't know if an agile will give me a diverse sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MahaloVision Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 The Spirit is a lot different than the old Steinbergers. Between the Agile and the Spirit, I'd get the Parker P-36. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Agile AL-2000 models... either is $225 + shipping Steinberger Spirit... $399 http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Steinberger-Spirit-GTPro-Deluxe-Electric-Guitar?sku=518965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Yeah but if I had to get an agile I would prefer a higher end model. I don't like the maple neck on mahogany body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members profgalen Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 My friend has a couple of the high end Agiles that I have played. Real nice. Play very well. But he switched out the pups. He said stock pups were crap. I imagine a lot like Epiphone pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Don't let the small size fool you. A Steinberger Spirit weighs ten pounds - Les Paul heavy. Weight is right at 7 pounds with Spirit inside standard Steinberger soft bag case complete with tremolo bar and tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 I enjoy the pups in my Epi. Sometimes a bit muddy but not enough to justify changing. If the agiles are the same way, I don't know if I would want to invest in changing them, I am kind of on a tight budget due to recoording equipment. Does anyone know anything about Steinberger pups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Weight is right at 7 pounds with Spirit inside standard Steinberger soft bag case complete with tremolo bar and tools. So it is strat weight? That isn't too bad. Better than what I expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special If you know what a Les Paul Special is, then you will know that this is a hell of a deal. Single cutaway body with P90 pickups. I've played one of these at Guitar Center at it was quite an excellent guitar for the money. Beats $1599 for the Gibson LP Special reissue for value. $399 (new) Cherry or TV Yellow http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Limited-Edition-Les-Paul-Special-SC-Electric-Guitar?sku=584590 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Get the Spirit. Once you get used to a headless, you'll wonder why the whole industry hasn't moved to it. The only thing I don't like on the Spirit is the pickups, but then again you're choosing between that an an Agile... no matter which you get the pups will be your first upgrade priority anyway. (And with a name like "NinjaModder", I'm guessing the need to upgrade pickups doesn't scare you.) An Agile is a pretty well-made LP copy, but Steinies are both awesome and unique. Easy choice, as far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 So it is strat weight? That isn't too bad. Better than what I expected. The Steinberger broom shaped guitars are all maple -- mainly cuz they have to be hard. I own one. It's like playing a little sculpture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special If you know what a Les Paul Special is, then you will know that this is a hell of a deal. Single cutaway body with P90 pickups. I've played one of these at Guitar Center at it was quite an excellent guitar for the money. Beats $1599 for the Gibson LP Special reissue for value. $399 (new) Cherry or TV Yellow http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Limited-Edition-Les-Paul-Special-SC-Electric-Guitar?sku=584590 Yeah... I played one. The TV Yellow is not what I expected. It looks nice in the picture but in person its bright horrid yellow. I kind of liked it but I would rather buy the Agile copy for 250 dollars. I think I'm going with the Steinberger. I kind of had my mind made up before hand, just wanted some support. And I figured they will need upgrading. I was planning on maybe throwing a few BG pickups in them or maybe GF if they are better.. And NinjaModder became my name when I used to mod video games I have drastically changed interests and have just got into the technical part of guitars. Mainly with amps though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dogtownmax Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 i have an agile al2800 and a steinberger. both are good instruments, but if i had to choose one, the steinberger would win by a wide margin. the steinberger has a fantastic trem that you can lock down (but i never do), stays in tune no matter what you do to it, and is unique. sure you have to buy strings with a little more forethought, but it hasnt been a problem for me. i can find steinberger strings online or at a couple of local music stores and i buy a few sets at a time. an lp copy i can get any time, anywhere, in any color, and so does everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 And I figured they will need upgrading. I was planning on maybe throwing a few BG pickups in them or maybe GF if they are better... It's true that the EMG "Select" pickups aren't anything to write home about, but they sure aren't horrible. If you get the Spirit model with H-S-H pickups, you could replace just the two humbuckers and leave the EMG Select single coil in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Furtive Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Don't let the small size fool you. A Steinberger Spirit weighs ten pounds - Les Paul heavy. Not mine. More like 7 lbs as Reality Check mentioned. The Spirit is a great guitar due to it's size - forget any other comparable travel guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 I use a string adaptor on the head, so that I can use common strings instead of double-ball-end strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NinjaModder Posted June 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 So what type of pup would be suited to replace the humbuckers? Would BG or GFS work? I know they aren't EMG but would they work or be better than the stock ones? Also there is the question of black or white Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalheadUK Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Don't let the small size fool you. A Steinberger Spirit weighs ten pounds - Les Paul heavy. Mine doesn't...nowhere near it. The Spirit is a GREAT guitar, really well designed and usable with a great trem. It being so light is a big plus point for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 So what type of pup would be suited to replace the humbuckers? Would BG or GFS work? I know they aren't EMG but would they work or be better than the stock ones? Also there is the question of black or white I have a Hohner G2T (basically the Spirit before there was a Spirit - I've been told that these were actually rebadged by a Steinie-owned factory) and it also also had the cheap EMGs in it. I replaced them with the Seymour Duncan double-pack (JP bridge, Jazz neck) and haven't looked back. It's like playing the world's smallest SG, except with a terrific (lockable) floating trem, a two-octave fretboard, a zero fret, and no neck dive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SmoothJK Posted June 4, 2010 Members Share Posted June 4, 2010 Wow, talk about apples and oranges lol. I love my Agile, but the two guitars are just way too different. Depends on your needs and wants dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headless Posted June 5, 2010 Members Share Posted June 5, 2010 Got to go with the Steinberger Spirit. But it's a crying shame that they are no longer building the "GU" models, that had the more Strat-type bodies: http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=steinberger%20spirit,%20gu&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Husafreak Posted June 5, 2010 Members Share Posted June 5, 2010 I liked my spirit a lot, does stay in tune, I did change two of the pickups to bartolinis on a whim (they had them at the local shop), the stockers aren't real expressive. Great travel guitar and I'm on the road every week so... Had it 3 or four years. But i sold it after I got a Synapse at Gibson's store in Nashville. That one has real EMG's, very dark sounding guitar though, no whammy but it takes any tuning and still perfect intonation. Very cool compared to a lot of guitars that sound bad when you detune. Since I only have it on the road and play songs from a lot of different bands with different tunings I love it. Super quick and easy to tune. I put SD Dave Mustaines in there and it brightened up and got really lively, those are great pups! Get that springy Single coil vibe with a high output active humbucker, they are more musical comared to the EMG's in that guitar. one last thing the Spirit is a little wierd standing up playing, it wants to roll away and the body sharp edge digs your ribs. The Synapse is relieved in the back and has a metal arm forward to the strap attatchment so it hangs like any other guitar. I have read a lot about quality control problems with thesteinberger guitars so if yours ain't right get it replaced right away, both of mine were very well made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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