Anyone try those Agile Les Paul clones?

i have a 2500 goldtop with 3 p-90s. it's no r6. i do think it is equal to the epi. it plays and sounds good. i won't be changing out any parts. i seem to be the only one in my area who has one. it draws lots of attention and comments from other players. the agile guitars have caused more flame wars than any other. there are probably more posts about them than any other guitars. some love them and many hate and despise them. as the folks at rondo are aware there is no such thing as bad publicity.

 

Saw one of these for sale on my local craigslist for $170! Tempted, but didn't swoop. Never played one, but read glowing reviews. Cheap stuff is rising in quality fast- hopefully in 5 years I can get an Anderson knockoff for $300...
Another thread here praised the recent Squiers, I dig my Samick; you can be a regular working person and get a good axe. Thank you Asia.

 

Went by Rondo & tried-out a few...

Necks were too thin for me (1 5/8" Fender width @ nut) and the electronics were anemic.

The acoustic tone varied a lot, due to the different cuts of faux-mahogany Nato, overall I wasn't impressed even for the el-cheapo prices.

The Duncan equipped models were $630 and vastly over-priced IMHO

PRS SE models smoke all those el cheapo asian geetars...

 

The few I've played have been really nice.

 

I totally LOVE my AL-3000 Prestige Goldtop. It plays fantastic and the pickups are good enough although I am going to stick a pair of High Orders in it anyway. The playability is several times it's cost of $369.95. Several times. You can see it in my sig . . .

 

I was tempted by that very model, the Goldtop 3500. Still will have one someday if only to compare it to my goltop. They look killer and I have only heard good from agile owners.

 

Surprisingly good guitars for the money. Asian guitars have come way up in quality in the last few years. The fretwork and setup is better than many new Gibsons I've seen. Pots, switches, and jacks remain cheap and poor quality but are easily replaced. Pickups are very decent sounding.

 

On eBay, Gibson Les Paul Studios been selling for $650 to $1,000 depending...

 

I'm the proud owner of an ash AL-2800. I love the feel and quality. Pickup upgrades are highly recommended though. Otherwise, a real quality guitar!

Daniel

 

I own a 2900. I bought it for the chambered body due to some problems with my back (old age!).

I really like the guitar. I've played it at about 5 gigs now. It stays in tune and feels good. As others have stated, the fretwork is nice, and the finish is terrific.

I just ordered an upgrade set of pots/caps etc from RS, and will install those this week. I think that will improve the sound without investing in new pups. On the other hand, the neck pu is really dark sounding, so will probably play it for a few shows with the new electronics, then perhaps toss in an old SD Jazz pu. I try not to spend too much upgrading a cheap guitar, so I do it incrementally.


All that being said, I saw one offered yesterday on Harmony Central for $220.

I would not hesitate to buy another.

 

I have two: an AL2500 with a pair of P90's and a top-o-the-line AL3500 with a pair of humbuckers. The 2500 is a nice guitar for the money and solid as a rock.

The 3500 is a great guitar at any price. It came with a Gotoh lightweight aluminum tailpiece, 18:1 Grovers, great frets, great finish, rock solid tuning, nice beefy neck, nice pickups with the more expensive "German silver" nickel covers, 3/4" maple top, and a great case for $60 extra. I almost don't want to change anything out on it, but I have a pair of WCR's and a Harmonic Design bridge humbucker crying out for a home.

Once RS comes out with their new taper pots, I'm going in!

 

What is RS?

 

I have a Cherry Sunburst 2800 DLX with the original horn and symetrical headstock. The pickups were decent, Korean made Alnico PAF type clones that sounded pretty good. Mine is made of mahogany (NOT Nato), with a 3/16" flame maple top. The neck is made of maple with a taper of .850" - 1.00" if I remember correctly. The electronics were OK, usable but not top quality. Over-all the guitar played pretty well. I only paid $289.95 plus shipping for it, so I wasn't expecting a Gibson. None-the-less, I have been pleasantly suprised by the quality as a base for modding. And mod it I did. Here's what I've done to it:

-Bone nut
-Fret level/crown/polish
-New Highorder Alnico 2 pickups in 7.8k/8.5k - double
ivory
-CTS longshaft pots
-Switchcraft toggle switch and input jack
-Cloth covered vintage style wiring
-Sprague Orange Drop caps, 715P, 200v, .015mf & .022mf
-Copper based shielding paint in control, pickup, and
switch cavities
-New vintage style gold V/T knobs with pointers

I did all the work myself, so I have only the cost of the materials in it. I have less than $450.00 in it and it sounds and plays fantastically. I've owned Gibson LP's in the past, and while this certainly isn't one, it now plays and definitely sounds like one (largely due to the Highorder pickups, no doubt).

If someone was to buy one of the 3000 or 3500 models, they could save a lot of modding. These guitars are remarkably well made and playable out of the box.

 

RS Guitarworks. Take a look at THIS THREAD and scroll down a little for info on the pots they are developing with CTS. Forum member "Turbozag" works at RS.