I gave my money to Agile

[devdem]

After getting screwed by a guy that tried to sell me a used Epi LP with an undisclosed cracked neck (I sent it back, he returned the money - whew!), I opted to buy new.

I ordered an Agile 2800 in the blue quilt top. They advertise solid wood mohogany bodies, as opposed to the glued/layered mohogany found in Epi's. I found that interesting. I've also been impressed by many of the Korean made guitars I've tried lately.

I drew the line at the 2800 series for $309, as I never have tried these guitars for myself, and am only willing to risk around $300 to discover. If I like it, I'll be kicking myself for not going for the 3000 series for $60 more and getting upgraded pickups, wiring, pots, ebony neck and abolone inlays.

I only wish they had more choices in the 2800 series. The blue wasn't my first choice, but I like it enough. It would be nice to have this guitar in a standard black, honey sunburst, or some of the other schemes found in the 2000 and 2500 series.

I can't wait for it to arrive! It seems like it will take forever...

Dan

[NattyBumppo]

Hey Dan.....congrats on the new LP! Be sure to give us a few pics and write up after you've had a chance to play it a while.

[Jimboe]

Dan, we`re as anxious to see that new Agile as you are.
Congrats on the new axe.

Jim

[sandman]

I've got a agile LP2500 goldtop with p-90's
solid mahogany, heaviest guitar i have. great feel good sustain. The neck is good and fat which is part of why I think is has such good sustain.
You'll be happy with it. For the money, I think its the best deal on a nock off LP out there.
Kurt is great to work with also.

congrats on your new agile....believe me....you'll be thinking of buying another one after this.

tracy

[gearhead41]

just saw your post AFTER I replied to your pm...

The 2800's are nice. Ive had the entire Agile LP line, including a 2000 series Cherry Flame top i bought several months ago as a backup to my les Paul Standard...

The 2000 is OK, ranks right with the 2500/2800's, but the 3000 and 3500 series are really different animals. With exchange rates driving up the price of the 3500s, I'd say the value spot in the line is the 3000.

You'll edfinately be happy with the 2800, as it compares directly with the Epiphone Standards. Good choice!

Hope you like the AGile. Ive been afer Kurt for 6 months to build me a manhattan Midnight 3500 and he won't listen to me... LOLBT

[devdem]

Thanks for all the well-wishing. I ordered late Aug 31. Today is Sept 4th (well, now Sept 5th early in the wee hours) and it's still being shipped. I'm in California. The fedex tracking update was on Sept 1 - they're killing me. I asked Kurt in my purchase comments to contact me about faster shipping but he just processed and shipped it.... But now I'm just being grumpy.

Sandman, I've been eyeballing the 2500 goldtop p-90 and seriously considering the $199 purchase. Then again, they have the 2000 gold humbucker for $159 right now - geez that's tempting. I haven't played a p-90 equipped guitar before (ok I could just go over to GC and do my own comparison) - how much different is the sound/tone in this config than with the humbuckers? My majority playing is the ol' standard blues and rock variety.

gearhead41, I'm genuinely considering shipping back the 2800 (when it arrives) and requesting a 3000 instead. I know in terms of general features, it's an upgrade from the 2800. But In terms of being superior, can you tell me how so in terms of sound, and in terms of playability? I'd greatly appreciate your evaluation. For sub $500 I'm not too deadset on cosmetics as much as sound and playability performance - if there is no significant gain, I'll stay with the 2800 and apply the $60 differential to pickups or other upgrade, or additional guitar.

Thanks agian,
Dan

[gearhead41]

well, the hardware on the 3000 is better.... knobs, wiring. I think the pickups sound better too. The neck feels better on the 3000, but I have a preference for ebony fretboards.

The fretwork on both were fine, but the 3000 feels like a higher quality instrument. from what I remember about the 3000, the body was more resonate than the 2000, 2500, and 2800.

Wait til you play it. If you are going to upgrade the pups in the 2800, I'd also replace the wiring.

[gearhead41]

the p-90s sound great too. They growl very nicely, but do produce a bit of 60 cycle hum unless you use the middle pickup position.

If you can live without the neck binding, I would get the 2000 p-90 for $199.

[devdem]

Thanks a bunch for all the info. I'll play the 2500 for a few days before I consider returning it in favor of the 3000.

[devdem]

The blue quilt Agile 2800 finally arrived today. For reference, if you're looking to purchase and mail to the California, it takes 8 days. 8 loooong days...

As I opened the box, I checked to make sure nothing was broken, and secondly, to get an eyeful of everything. It's a nice looking guitar. I wasn't sure if I'd like the blue quilt top or not, but it works well for me. I think amber would stand out much more brilliantly, though for comparison.

Craftsmanship: I realise this is a $300 guitar and hold my expectations accordingly. Nonetheless, anytime I drop $300 bucks on something, I take a close look. Hardware is just fine. Bone nut cut just right. No buzzes. Frets are really nicely prepared. No noteworthy issues with the finish - the same as you've read about every other korean made guitar. They bevel the outside edge of the pickguard, and it's a nice touch, but there is still a lot of fuzzy trimming left. I had to clean that up myself. The worst thing I noticed was that every inlay has about 1mm glue on the top edge (parallel with the neck). It's cleaned up nicely, but this is inexcusable. The Epiphone Classic I played tonight had perfect inlays with not a sign of glue. Worth sending back? probably not, but irritating considering the 2800 model is a 50% price increase from the 2500 series. I may think about it though but for a replacement.

Sound: I took it to GC tonight to run it through all the amps. Sounds great through a Hot Rod Deville, Marshall anything, Epiphone 15w tube amp (that new one). A good amp is essential in finding nice sound from this guitar, as is with any guitar. It's a keeper in terms of sound. I don't think I'll need to adjust or replace the Alnico II pickups unless I just feel experimental. I'm a blues and rock player and listened for those tones respectively considering both guitar and amp factors, and was satisfied.

Playability: The stock strings are 10's I believe. I'm used to 9's and may temporarily switch to 9's until I get used to the new feel. The guitar itself plays fine, and I'm a bit picky on necks. The setup out of the box was usable. I could play this guitar several hours straight with no problem.

Overall, I'm happy with what I got. I'm a little upset about the sloppy inlay work, but at least they finished it out nice and smooth. In the end it's a nice guitar worth keeping for the long haul.

pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/devdem/detail?.dir=/401f&.dnm=c507.jpg&.src=ph