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OK, I give.... (NGD)


A_Gitarman

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I recently had an AL-2500 12-string come across my workbench & was VERY impressed with the workmanship; that was the final straw that drove my Agile GAS over the edge & I've finally succumb to the peer pressure here and picked one up!

 

It's also my first 7-string (after ~30 years of playing)!

 

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*yeah, I know I didn't pull the sticker off of it yet :facepalm:

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first impressions:

Out-of-the-box, it plays pretty well & the action is decent. The frets, though smooth and seemingly nice & level, are freakin' HUGE! Having only run it through my GuitarPort so far, I can't really comment on the pickups too much, but they seem to hold their own pretty well. Artificial harmonics jump off of this thing like none other. The hardware & other electronics seem like quality.

 

Of course, the stock strings are junk, but I'm going to have to live with them for a few days until I can pick up a proper 7-pack. I'll also wait until that time to give it a proper set up, but action & intonation are already pretty close.

 

As you can see by the third pic above, the bridge is raised a little high. The action seems pretty good, the strings aren't striking the back of the bridge, & the neck angle feels OK, so I'm not really sure if I'll do anything about that or not (shim the neck).

 

The 3-way is a vintage-style job & needed some adjustment (ie, bending) so that it would make proper contact when set to the neck pickup (ironically, this is the same problem I had with my BC Rich Mockingbird Special... easy fix, though).

 

There is one minor flaw in the finish along the bottom edge near the jack... I've seen worse on much more expensive guitars, though.

 

The top is only a thin veneer. Either way, I don't care; my wife chose the finish/ color, I'm more concerned with how it plays/ sounds.

 

Overall, I'm VERY pleased with my purchase & having a BLAST with the extra string. It's got me wondering why I didn't pick up a 7-stringer years ago!

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I dig how those look... they sort of walk just the right line between screaming 'metal' and being able to work in a jazz setting.

I've only owned one 7 string and bought it specifically to flip, but I wouldn't mind getting a keeper if the right deal came along... Maybe an Ibanez with the flat gray or black finish and a non-reverse headstock.

Either way, looks great. :thu:

TLHNDGirl900.jpg

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Thanks all...

 

I agree that it's sort of got a more refined vibe going on that your usual 7-stringer these days. That's one of the reasons I bought this one over a comparably-priced Schecter or Ibanez; those just scream METAL to me (not that there's anything wrong with that).

 

It actually has a really nice Jazz tone on the neck pickup with the tone rolled down. I imagine it'd do a good country twang or surf-guitar as well, with the right pickups (or at least a coil split) of course :thu:

 

Plus, as a bonus, the Agile has a really nice ebony fretboard; something no other 7-string in this price range (under $300) has.

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So, the 7th string is a low B string, right?

How does it impact your ability to play barre chords?

M


Yes, it's a low B. & I actually don't notice much of a difference when playing barre chords other than my hand got a little sore from the extra stretch (played it for ~2 hours last night) :idk:

I'm just starting to learn how to best utilize my new-found low range, but it does create some interesting voicings, though.

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