Members twotimingpete Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 because they've got agiles on that site that go outside of the realm of "cheap bangers" -- when you're talking $400 to $700 or so, for that amount of money you can get a pretty serious instrument in the "real world". for example, michael kelly guitars are in that price range and they are IMMACULATE, head to toe. so how do these agiles hold up to close scrutiny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Yes, they were on the same level as Epiphones in a similar price range. For $700 I would look for something used from Gibson or Fender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lordofthe Frets Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I think the better question is - close scrutiny by whom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I bought the AL-4000 Duncan. I'll put it against any LP style guitar under a couple grand. Fit/finish is superb. http://www.rondomusic.com/product1000.html Seymour Duncan SH-2N (Jazz) in neck position. Seymour Duncan SH-1B (59) in bridge position. High voltage pots with brass shafts for reduced noise. Improve bridge (Gotoh GE103B-T) and tail (Gotoh GE101AM-T). Both in nickel. Improved (Japanese made) pickup selector switch. 3/4"+ (20mm) two piece maple cap. The flame pattern runs the entire thickness of cap. solid 2 piece mahogany body. Triple bound body, neck and headstock Nickel hardware, including Nickel die-cast Grover tuners with 18-1 turning ratio for ultra fine tuning (Model 102-18N) One piece Mahogany set neck with 13.7" (350mm) radius neck for fast play and adjustable truss rod Ebony fret board with 22 Jumbo (2.7mm) frets and real Abalone Block inlays GHS strings installed at the factory and a professionally cut bone nut A pre-cut graphite nut is also included in the bag with the trus rod adjuster for those who prefer graphite Individually hand filed frets for professional feel and playability It's better than ANY Epiphone at any price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChihliDog Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Mchale, I'd love to try one of those out. How would you compare it to other popular Korean makes, like Schecter or the PRS SE line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 It's better than ANY Epiphone at any price. Nope: http://www.gbase.com/gear/epiphone-e-230tdc-casino-1967 http://www.gbase.com/gear/used-epiphone-wilshire-ue0800937-1964-red-1 http://www.gbase.com/gear/epiphone-riviera-epiphone-riviera-1968-sunbur http://www.gbase.com/gear/epiphone-wilshire-1964-cherry-red-1 etc... The Agiles are close to newer Epiphone quality. Maybe a little better/worse - nice guitars for the money. The rub is they tank on resale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Large Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nope:The Agiles are close to newer Epiphone quality. Maybe a little better/worse - nice guitars for the money. The rub is they tank on resale. You don't think the Duncans give the Agile the edge over Epiphone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted September 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I guess the heart of my question is if you look at the $200 - $300 agiles, and then look at the $400 - $700 agiles, are we mainly talking cosmetic and hardware/electronics upgrades, or is there also an improvement in the quality and care of the construction? I don't have any experience with any agiles (I have an SX bass, but that's not agile, and I understand they're completely different makers). are all the agiles on par with epiphones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nope there are some yucky sounding seymour duncan pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Large Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nope there are some yucky sounding seymour duncan pups. These have the Jazz/59 combo, would you say that's bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChihliDog Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I guess the heart of my question is if you look at the $200 - $300 agiles, and then look at the $400 - $700 agiles, are we mainly talking cosmetic and hardware/electronics upgrades, or is there also an improvement in the quality and care of the construction?I don't have any experience with any agiles (I have an SX bass, but that's not agile, and I understand they're completely different makers). are all the agiles on par with epiphones? I cant speak for the high end agiles, but the ones I have played are definitely at least Epiphone in build quality. The electronics are another matter altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members darkcheef Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Nope: http://www.gbase.com/gear/epiphone-e-230tdc-casino-1967http://www.gbase.com/gear/used-epiphone-wilshire-ue0800937-1964-red-1http://www.gbase.com/gear/epiphone-riviera-epiphone-riviera-1968-sunburhttp://www.gbase.com/gear/epiphone-wilshire-1964-cherry-red-1 etc... The Agiles are close to newer Epiphone quality. Maybe a little better/worse - nice guitars for the money. The rub is they tank on resale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I thought we were talking current guitars found in guitar stores. I didn't know we could go back to when Epiphones weren't ALL crap... just most of 'em with a shining start here and there. Agile's really are good guitars. Depending on which model you get determines how "high end" it is. My PS-924WE and the AL-4000 use real maple caps - no photo or veneer. Now my E1's have an Agathis body with a maple veneer. There are also varying quality levels of pickups offered or fret woods. All of the non-Floyd trems are Wilkinson. But it's complete bull{censored} that they are Epiphone quality. None of 'em are that bad. Rondo's SX line is Epiphone/Squire quality. Agile's use better pickups and NO plywood - and that's ALL Agiles. Can't say that about all Epiphones and nobody knows which are which. Hell, Gibsons quality is so hit or miss, I would take a chance on those any more either. My buddy bought the top of the line Epi Les Paul Select and it sounded good but was setup so poorly it looked like drunk monkeys set it up. None of my Algiles were that bad out of the box. I have some very sought after name brand guitars and I'll put my Agiles against any of 'em in terms of quality and dependability. My 7 Current Agiles: ST-1000 (strat)AL-4000 Duncan - (LP)PS-924WE (PRS)E1 - 4 of 'em (Wolfgang copy) PRS just sent Rondo a legal letter requesting he quit making the PS series. It must because they suck so much, right? Or could it be that you could get a guitar that is close in quality for 1/5th the price? Now if you buy an Agile you like and upgrade the pickups, how can you go wrong? Anybody in IL who wants to see/try 'em. Lemme know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members darkcheef Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I thought we were talking current guitars found in guitar stores. I didn't know we could go back to when Epiphones weren't ALL crap... just most of 'em with a shining start here and there. Agile's really are good guitars. Depending on which model you get determines how "high end" it is. My PS-924WE and the AL-4000 use real maple caps - no photo or veneer. Now my E1's have an Agathis body with a maple veneer. There are also varying quality levels of pickups offered or fret woods. But it's complete bull{censored} that they are Epiphone quality. None of 'em are that bad. Rondo's SX line is Epiphone/Squire quality. Agile's use better pickups and NO plywood - and that's ALL Agiles. Can't say that about all Epiphones and nobody knows which are which. Hell, Gibsons quality is so hit or miss, I would take a chance on those any more either. My buddy bought the top of the line Epi Les Paul Select and it sounded good but was setup so poorly it looked like drunk monkeys set it up. None of my Algiles were that bad out of the box. I have some very sought after name brand guitars and I'll put my Agiles against any of 'em in terms of quality and dependability. My 7 Current Agiles: ST-1000 (strat) AL-4000 Duncan - (LP) PS-924WE (PRS) E1 - 4 of 'em (Wolfgang copy) PRS just sent Rondo a legal letter requesting he quit making the PS series. It must because they suck so much, right? Or could it be that you could get a guitar that is close in quality for 1/5th the price? Now if you buy an Agile you like and upgrade the pickups, how can you go wrong? Anybody in IL who wants to see/try 'em. Lemme know. Right before I saved enough money to buy the 900 series Sadly I spent the money in a day "takin tha boyz out to eatz" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Right before I saved enough money to buy the 900 series Sadly I spent the money in a day "takin tha boyz out to eatz" They really are nice. Funny thing is, there's a used one on ebay bringing new price and it's butchered. I'm upset (and you probably are too) that you didn't jump on them when he blew them out. I bought mine for full price when he got the last batch in. Cured my PRS gas. I'm still hoping for a TRUE Wolfgang copy. Instead, I'm ordering one from China that looks pretty damn authentic. I'll change out the pickups and floyd and it should be a good players guitar. Price: about $100 plus shipping. -Mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Probably the best guitar I ever played was a high end Agile. I forget the model, but it was a PRS type. About a year later I got a chance to buy one very close to what I had played. It is a Agile PS924. Unfortunately Rondo no longer makes that line. The only downside (like someone else said) on Agiles is resale. But Agiles are well respected in this forum. You would probably do alright on resale if you did not like it, - w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GibsonVMan Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Are Agile's Korean made? Because I dont know. The PS ones look nice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wulver Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 They really are nice. Funny thing is, there's a used one on ebay bringing new price and it's butchered. I'm upset (and you probably are too) that you didn't jump on them when he blew them out. I bought mine for full price when he got the last batch in. Cured my PRS gas. I'm still hoping for a TRUE Wolfgang copy. Instead, I'm ordering one from China that looks pretty damn authentic. I'll change out the pickups and floyd and it should be a good players guitar. Price: about $100 plus shipping. -Mc Funnier thing is, Rondo seems to have BROUGHT BACK a sort of PRS copy. Minor design variations, but you can still tell what it's supposed to be. http://www.rondomusic.com/hawkerfloydte.html Looks to also be two with Wilkinson bridges, tribal green and amber respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 ^^^ That is interesting. I'm probably biased - but I like the body shape better on the PS924. - W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members germs Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 My experience is limited with the higher end stuff, but the mid range is good. Electronics are fine. SO much emphasis is placed on pup's, caps, etc...Yeah, it's all changeable - and especially on a $200-$400 guitar - but they don't sound all that different than from what's in any other import series. Hint - there are only so many pickup winders in Asia. Chances are, they're all coming out of the same factory. In regards to "resale": Dude, you're buying a cheapo import. What do you expect? That's like buying a Kia new and trying to sell it a few years down the line for what you paid. Get real... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 agile vs. prs The Agile is higher quality in every way. Check out that maple cap! That's NOT a veneer. It's also got SD's in it (59/Jazz-n). I was getting either this PS-4000 (pictured on right) or the AL-4000. I decided on the AL-4000 (I hate wrap around bridges) and the PS-924we. And I'm with you. The PS line was SO much better looking that the new Hawker. I find it ironic that none of the other copy makers have to stop making theirs. I take that as a sign that Agile's were good enough for PRS to care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McHale Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 Comparison: actual photo of the guitar: This isn't MY guitar, but mine is the exact same guitar (same finish) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 I guess the highest Agile i have played are in the $400 ish range. The ones in that range beat any Epi LP's I have played... The cheaper/lower end Agiles play like the Epi LP's, imo. After all, Agiles are made where Epi's used to be made and, most people think the Korean Epi's were better than the current chinese ones anyways.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted September 30, 2009 Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 These have the Jazz/59 combo, would you say that's bad? They may sound stellar in that guitar,or they may not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted September 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2009 They may sound stellar in that guitar,or they may not. because the same pickups sound way different with different shapes of wood sitting below them, true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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