Best Agile Guitar

[JimboJ]

 

check my first post - I actually break down the Agile AL series for the OP

 

 

Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm pretty familiar with Agiles myself, and I wanted to vote, but I had no idea how to reply.

 

I guess the only thing I can add is, Agiles are the better value for the money than Gibson and Epiphone.

[warriorpoet]

I bought the Agiles and other inexpensive to figure out which types of guitars I like and what I've learned is I am not a Tele or Strat guy, I like 24.7 and 25" scales guitars and I like humbuckers for my style. I now know I like 24 fret guitars with floyd rose trems for stability but enjoy Tune-o-matic too and hate all fender bridges.

 

Better than buying a CS Gibby and discovering an affinity for Squiers, eh?

[Orange Jackson]

This has probably been asked a hundred times here, ..at least, but here goes anyway.

 

If you own both, a Gibson Les Paul, and say, a AL-3000, is the Agile even close?

Pretty close, close enough, not at all?

I think my question is based more around tone. But do they even feel similar?

 

If you put Gibson pups in an Agile, closed your eyes, could you tell the difference? (Pots being equal too).

 

I've always been temped by the Agiles, but I guess I'm just skeptical by nature. I'm kind of going through a conversion though. I'm realizing that I find myself much more inspired by the sound of my cheep hard tail than the sound of my more expensive tremo-ed guitars. It's a strange place to be man.

 

How is the fret work on these?

[Timmott]

 

This has probably been asked a hundred times here, ..at least, but here goes anyway. If you own both , a Gibson Les Paul, and say, a AL-3000, is the Agile even close? Pretty close, close enough, not at all? I think my question is based more around tone. But do they even feel similar? If you put Gibson pups in an Agile, closed your eyes, could you tell the difference? (Pots being equal too). I've always been temped by the Agiles, but I guess I'm just skeptical by nature. I'm kind of going through a conversion though. I'm realizing that I find myself much more inspired by the sound of my cheep hard tail than the sound of my more expensive tremo-ed guitars. It's a strange place to be man. How is the fret work on these?

 

 

 

If you put the same pickups in each and were blindfolded and played them side by side you wouldn't notice much of a difference, not to justify the price difference atleast. But to each his own. When I think that I could own 3 AL-3100's for the price of an equivelant Gibson its a no brainer to me.

[Orange Jackson]

 

If you put the same pickups in each and were blindfolded and played them side by side you wouldn't notice much of a difference, not to justify the price difference atleast. But to each his own. When I think that I could own 3 AL-3100's for the price of an equivelant Gibson its a no brainer to me.

 

 

The Agiles feel pretty good/solid then?

[stewiesguitar]

 

This has probably been asked a hundred times here, ..at least, but here goes anyway. If you own both , a Gibson Les Paul, and say, a AL-3000, is the Agile even close? Pretty close, close enough, not at all? I think my question is based more around tone. But do they even feel similar? If you put Gibson pups in an Agile, closed your eyes, could you tell the difference? (Pots being equal too). I've always been temped by the Agiles, but I guess I'm just skeptical by nature. I'm kind of going through a conversion though. I'm realizing that I find myself much more inspired by the sound of my cheep hard tail than the sound of my more expensive tremo-ed guitars. It's a strange place to be man. How is the fret work on these?

 

 

here is a youtube comparison with all stock agile 3100 vs gibson standard. 1 of 3

 

 

 

very very comparable IMHO. in fact though i like the sound of the agile better. has more mids, but not overdoing it.

 

i emailed this guy and he said that he ended up selling the gibson because he couldnt see the price difference being worth it.

 

also my AL-2000 is great, i dont see myself selling it anytime soon.

[warriorpoet]

 

The Agiles feel pretty good/solid then?

I had a really nice Agile open-book headstock guitar once. Really nice. Stock PUs were a little crap and the electronics were really shoddy, but this was an early run guitar (which were known for electronics issues). Wood was really nice, everything was/ felt solid...

 

...but it still felt like it was wrapped in plastic wrap. A set of GFS Fat Pats and an HAS harness turned it into a killer sounding beastie, but it wasn't the same guitar as a Gibby. It was just different.

 

That said, I'm not a Gibson guy, so that's not necessarily a damning statement, but if you want a Gibson LP, buy a Gibson LP or something that was designed to feel exactly like it. The lacquer finish is a big part of the "feel" equation.

[darthyahya]

yeah i guess my OP was a little vague. sorry for the confusuion. the blindfold test did it for me. guess ill get 2 or 3 agiles next week.

as for the automatic strat, it is one of the last ones mafe by mark Erlewine before he released his patent to some korean based company who copied it and churned em out by the thousands. i called Mark down in Texas after an exhaustive search and he gave me the info. he said if I have one, which i do after describing it to him and sending him a pic he sais Id better hold on to it as its worth thousands. the last PT tele someone threw up on ebay years ago, thinking it was some old junk fetched 1300 by the following day. i dont remeber what the final bid was but it was up there. same thing with the bladerunners. 8-900.00 back in '84 when nobody wanted 'em caused they looked too radical now show up for 15-20000 pds british. i lucked out and got THE 1st one [prototype] for 1500. the second pne for 5000 and the third for 1800. last week a pawn shop was selling one on ebay for 699 [1 bid] and a day before the auction ended he pulled it saying that he misrepresented it claiming it was a 2006 model and didnt want to cheat anyone. yeah right! he probably found out what it was worth and will relist it in the thousands.

back to the OP, ive picked out two gold tops, one with dual p-90's, one with triple p-90's and a 2500 12 string. i also thinking about a fourth with a FR type bridge. ill let u guys know. i reall appreciate the post and advice/ last year it seemed everyone had a bug up their rears amd i got so disgusted i stayed away from HC forums until their servers were hacked last month.

[LeftyTom]

If you got $500 - $800, you could pick up a Agile and Epi

[guitarcapo]

Best Agile guitar ever? Hands down it was the Cool Cat Prestige for $425.

 

I bought two of them back in the day. I don't think they've offered them for at least a year and a half. Probably never again it was such a good deal. Maybe see if you can snap up a used one on Ebay because I doubt they'll ever be on Rondo's site ever again. I just look at the things and mutter to myself: "...impossible...impossible..."

[darthyahya]

well thanx for the info and her name. now if'd send me her phone number and address so i could stalk her id be eternally gtaeful.......and probably in jail LMAO!

[darthyahya]

off-topic:

atleast i actually look like my avatar....which probably aint a good thing either.lol

[darthyahya]

im probably going to order the Al-3000 with the 2 -p90's to start this friday. then another 3100 with regular duncans and one of their LP models with the FR or wilinson trem a week or two later. friday ill have 700 dire4ct deposit along with 900+ direct deposit fed refund. Hey Im a 32BJ superintendent for NY Presbyterian Hospital so i got no bills really. but instead of posting pics of my gear i think ill post pics of my wife's face.

She's gonna be PISSED! i already have 19 guitars up here in the house and a handful more in the basement. believe u me, yall gonna hear her $hit from here!

[darthyahya]

You can go to jail for giving someone an orgasm for money....

And you get medals for dropping bombs on children....

-George Carlin

 

here's one:

The titanic was built by professionals. The Arc was built by amatuers!

think about it-

[ihavenofish]

 

This has probably been asked a hundred times here, ..at least, but here goes anyway. If you own both , a Gibson Les Paul, and say, a AL-3000, is the Agile even close? Pretty close, close enough, not at all? I think my question is based more around tone. But do they even feel similar? If you put Gibson pups in an Agile, closed your eyes, could you tell the difference? (Pots being equal too).

 

 

depends which gibson les paul, like it does which agile.

 

duncan options in some agiles > gibson pickups for some people.

 

for me on the humbuckers, since ive not had a duncan equipped agile...

 

gibson classic 57 > agile alnicos.

agile alnicos > gibson 490's.

gibson 490's > agile ceramics.

 

i put my agile alnicos in my gibson SG, and got rid of my gibson LP cause i didnt like the feel.

 

for strictly build quality/cosmetics (different finish styles counted)...

1: squier CV (for real)

2: gibson lp and sg bass

3: agile 3000m and gibson sg faded tied

4: other agiles and epi lp custom

5: gibson melody maker (pretty crap all things considered, even though after modding its a favourite)

[ihavenofish]

You can go to jail for giving someone an orgasm for money.... And you get medals for dropping bombs on children.... -George Carlin here's one: The titanic was built by professionals. The Arc was built by amatuers! think about it-

 

pssst: the ark wasnt real... the iceberg was.

 

[stewiesguitar]

pssst: the arc wasnt real... the iceberg was.

 

lol. some would argue that.

[Crave Case]

Great comparison of Custom Agile AL vs. Gibson custom LP.

 

dspellman from TGP:

 

My comparison has been a bit different (a bit higher level?), but similar. It involved a custom shop Axcess custom and an Agile custom shop guitar. And it's ongoing. Both guitars arrived March 4th of this year. The Gibson over $4K, the Agile $1160 with case. The Agile's got a wide/thin neck with a 16" radius and neck-through construction with single piece mahogany back and a 3/4" figured maple top.The Axcess is standard with a maple top and a 12" radius f/b, standard Axcess neck, set neck construction with a long tenon. Both have Korean-made Floyds (that's where OEM OFRs are made these days). Both guitars PLEK'd, the Agile has superglued frets. The Agile is solid, the Axcess is chambered (stock Axcess are cheesed). The Agile has Alnico V pickups that feel and respond like '57's, the Axcess came with Burstbuckers. Both have scarfed neck heels:

 

 

 

I've got other Gibsons, including some older LPs. I've also got some more expensive guitars, half a dozen Carvins, a variax and some vintage things. I've been hammering on these things for a long time. FWIW, I've also got one of the $200 Agiles (AL-2000); I was curious and it was (relative to these two) pocket change. The one in the photo would more closely resemble the AL-3000, which is about double the price of the AL-2000 in the OP's review. Some big differences between the $200 version and the $400 one.

 

Except for the weight and the construction, these are similar guitars designed for a similar mission.

 

Quality of build: The Agile and the Gibson are pretty well matched; both are custom shop guitars, after all. The fretwork is better on the Agile, and the ebony fretboard is smoother. No noticeable glitches on either. The Gibson has an opaque black paint job, so it's impossible to know anything about the wood grain below. The Agile's is on display, what with a translucent finish all round.

 

Setup from the factory: Neither had a stellar set up -- the Agile's action was a bit low, the Axcess too high. A setup with PLEK brought both in line. The Agile's frets were smooth and surprisingly very level. The Axcess was supposedly PLEK'd at the factory, but it needed a bit of work upon arrival.

 

Playability is a subjective factor, of course, but I ordered a wide/thin neck with a 16" radius on the Agile for a reason (Gibson's custom Shop wanted an extra $1K for a "custom neck profile" and, as an aside, wanted $5760 total for that and a decent flamed top on this guitar). The Agile is a faster player, IMHO. Both have good access to the upper frets. I have very large hands and I hit the inside of the horn cutaway on most LPs (this one's no exception). The stubby horn on the Agile eliminates that hazard. Hmmm.

 

Sound. Both very good. Differences in the pickups, of course, but I'd kick neither out of bed. I called in some guitar-playing friends to listen and play, and they were all pretty much of the accord that you could flip a coin between the two. We mostly felt that the sustain was better on the Agile, which is probably due to the solid body. It's worth noting that the pots and wiring on the $400 Agile is improved over the $200 Agile -- it's likely that the OP experienced some differences there, even though he purportedly used the same pickups on each guitar.

 

The conclusions so far -- there's really not much to choose from between the two guitars. Bag the headstocks (most people didn't notice the difference in the cutaway shape unless it was pointed out to them) and the only real difference for most folks was the weight and the feel of the slimmer neck. Most felt that the weight suggested a more expensive guitar and most liked the slimmer neck's playability; both are highly subjective.

 

In the last month, both guitars have come back from the tech and are now far more alike than when they were acquired. In both cases, all the electronics have been shaken out. Both have modded '57's in the bridge, both have the same neck pickup, both have Fernandes Sustainers, both have sweepable mid boosts, both have a different control configuration (Master Volume, Master Tone, mid-boost on a push-pull and Sustainer Intensity). The Agile has had a pot moved (required some more routing) and we're evaluating that before we decide whether it's a good idea to carve up the Gibson some more (looks like that will be a "yes." In the tone pot's place is a Buckethead killswitch. That's also being evaluated; dunno if that will stay.

 

With both guitars now even closer in terms of pickups and electronics (identical, in fact), side-by-side comparisions are available. The differences? A bit more sustain on the Agile. Sonically, they're virtually identical. The tradeoff for the sustain is the weight of the Agile. The Axcess is lighter, a bit thinner and has a modest tummy cut. A generous tummy cut is definitely on the spec list for the next version.

 

So the question is, does it make sense to hit Gibson up for the next run, given that Agile would provide a chambered guitar if asked and has already shown a production guitar with a better tummy cut? No. Honestly, the Gibson brings nothing to the party that I can't get from Agile, even if we don't consider price. When you bring price to the fore, it's a different story. You can have four of these Agiles for the price of a singular similar Gibson. And when you now factor in reliability (which, given the identical electronics, seems moot), you then have three backups for Agile as opposed to none for the gibson, should anything at all go wrong.

 

At my level, and with just these two guitars as a comparison, the Agile's clearly won this round.

[Steadfastly]

pole is fail

 

Did you mean "poll"?

[Steadfastly]

If you really mean the best "Agile" Les Paul, then why worry, just go for the 3000 or 3100. The difference is price is only $100.00 or so.

[warriorpoet]

 

lol. some would argue that.

 

Arcs are undeniably real. The ARK (with a "k") is the one that's up for debate. Either position is accepted by faith, so really, there is not much of a point arguing it here in a guitar forum.

 

Honestly, why would anyone go there if they aren't looking for an argument?

[Orange Jackson]

 

with all else being equal on the guitars? once again, thanx in advance

 

 

 

 

Brother friend, respectfully, please use the return key on occasion. The eye loves variety. My old man eyes just can't read posts when they are all bunched together like that. A good example would be Crave Case's post just above, it is much easer on the eyes.

Regards.

[vintage clubber]

Brother friend, respectfully, please use the return key on occasion. The eye loves variety. My old man eyes just can't read posts when they are all bunched together like that. A good example would be Crave Case's post just above, it is much easer on the eyes. Regards.

 

Kind of like trying to read a William Faulkner novel...

[Steadfastly]

 

The titanic was built by professionals. The Ark was built by amatuers! think about it-

 

 

Yes, but the designer of the ark was not an amateur.

[ihavenofish]

Arcs are undeniably real. The ARK (with a "k") is the one that's up for debate. Either position is accepted by faith, so really, there is not much of a point arguing it here in a guitar forum. Honestly, why would anyone go there if they aren't looking for an argument?

 

where have you been hiding?!