Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

StratFreak

StratFreak

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I made a search about similar topics and couldn't find exactly what i was looking for but here goes.


I've heard of Agile guitars before but never really took the time to look at them. I finally did and they are amazing !

GraphTech Nut, Ebony fretboard, triple bound headstock, 18:1 Grovers, Canadian maple top, solid mahogany, and the stock pups arent too bad sounding, but with a set of SD's this guitar is going places !!

How do these guitars compare to Epiphones, PRS SE's, ESP LTD, Ibanez's in its price range, or even more expensive ones ??

http://www.rondomusic.com/product5200.html
 
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Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

Well, they are nice guitars for a budget, and if you intend to fit it with a high output pickup and play heavy music I think thats its ideal use. The better the wood, the more the guitar will play well with vintage output pickups and low gain.

Epi's and Hagstroms seem to have a better time dealing with low output pickups, from the 2 or 3 ones I've had will attest to. I've had 2 semihollows and the hagstrom seemed to be better in this type of guitar, especially with original pickups.
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

The Agile I briefly owned had oddball sized hardware, FWIW
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

I said hardware, more specifically the bridge. The pickup was a dog ear P90, not sure if it was standard dimensions or not.
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

StratFreak said:
I made a search about similar topics and couldn't find exactly what i was looking for but here goes.


I've heard of Agile guitars before but never really took the time to look at them. I finally did and they are amazing !

GraphTech Nut, Ebony fretboard, triple bound headstock, 18:1 Grovers, Canadian maple top, solid mahogany, and the stock pups arent too bad sounding, but with a set of SD's this guitar is going places !!

How do these guitars compare to Epiphones, PRS SE's, ESP LTD, Ibanez's in its price range, or even more expensive ones ??

http://www.rondomusic.com/product5200.html
Click to expand...


MOAR reading for you :1:

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/208788-epiphone-vs-agile-same-price.html

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=227167&highlight=agile
 
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Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

Ill say first of that Agiles are solid value. But you need to stop and think about something for a bit. Why is it that a guitar that is bargain basement price has triple ply binding, ebony and a figured top? These are things you dont see on most guitars until they are well over 2k (unless its a schecter but they suffer from the same problem agile does). These parts are not created equal. Solid Mahogany... well kinda. They call it mahogany but it bears no resemblance to honduran mahogany its weight and density are different. The color is much lighter but vaguely the same. Ive seen tops on 8k dollar PRS private reserves that dont have that much figure in them. So how is it this Agilie has that much figure? Well first its a knifes edge veneer of maple. You can tell this easily but looking at the top carve and how the chatoyance doesnt change cause of the carve. The ebony fret board how can they sell it so cheap? Most other guitar makers are struggling to even get it. Thats cause again its not quite the same ebony. Instead of being one of the traditional woods called ebony from the diospyros family its usually like african black wood. Which is also a black heavy wood but tends to be brittle.


My whole point with all this is dont look at a list of specs and think GDAYUM! it must be the same! cause its not. Agile does offer solid guitars for the price but you arent getting anything above and beyond a 400 dollar guitar. In fact my preference would be for them to ditch some of the bling like multiply binding and figured top and give me real wood or a decent finish.
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

Yeah i definitely thought about that later on. Thats why they seem to good to be true. It's weird some of these Agile look like 4000-5000 dollar gibsons which sort of scares me.

I think im better of grabbing a slightly more expensive cooler alternative, which is actually playable before purchase, the PRS SE245. Ive admired it for some time now, how did i forget about it ???

prs-custom-244-tobacco.jpg
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

StratFreak said:
Yeah i definitely thought about that later on. Thats why they seem to good to be true. It's weird some of these Agile look like 4000-5000 dollar gibsons which sort of scares me.

I think im better of grabbing a slightly more expensive cooler alternative, which is actually playable before purchase, the PRS SE245. Ive admired it for some time now, how did i forget about it ???

prs-custom-244-tobacco.jpg
Click to expand...

If you are thinking along those lines, give some serious consideration to the PRS Korina SE too. It may not have the same looks, but the basics of it are near identical and it will feel very similar in your hands. It may sound a little different due to the woods used, but it makes a really good platform for pick-up swaps, and you shouldn't need to do anything else other than a good setup (and even then they are very playable off the shelf).
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

StratFreak said:
they seem to good to be true. It's weird some of these Agile look like 4000-5000 dollar gibsons which sort of scares me.
[/IMG]
Click to expand...

Everything Edgecrusher wrote is spot on. you get what you pay for. Guitars are no exception.
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

Overrated by people who dont know any better, is my experience.

That SE245 is a better guitar than the agiles I have handled. Same for most current Epi production.
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

From my experience Agiles arent too good to be true. They are your average Korean made imports. You wont get a 2k guitar for 400 dollars, but you do get your moneys worth with that 400 bucks. They do compete well with guitars a little higher than their price range. Ive had an AL-3100 and and AL-2000. The AL-2000 is very similar to an Epi LP Standard Plus top at about half the cost. The AL-2000 is also Korean made, vs the chineese made Epi. The 3100 is similar to an Epi LP Custom. They all suffer from about the same fit and finish problems. I would say those sit well in the mid LTD range. Something like an EC-401.
 
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Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

If you are still looking at single cuts, the one that is closer to being to good to be true is the Michael Kelly Patriot line. They blow the agiles out of the water imo. The only problem some might find with the patriots is they arent really true LP copies, where the agiles have that LP vibe going for them. The Patriots are more similar to the Schecter Solo guitars.
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

The SE245 will destroy any Agile. They are awesome guitars for the money. I feel dumb for not having recommended one in the other thread. :)
 
Re: Agile 3100's seem too good to be true

Chris of Arabia said:
If you are thinking along those lines, give some serious consideration to the PRS Korina SE too. It may not have the same looks, but the basics of it are near identical and it will feel very similar in your hands. It may sound a little different due to the woods used, but it makes a really good platform for pick-up swaps, and you shouldn't need to do anything else other than a good setup (and even then they are very playable off the shelf).
Click to expand...

Not much to add here, except that i have a massive soft spot for Korina made guitars.

So, good call on the Korina SE Chris !


main1.jpg

korinasetynrtyttyy.jpg



Gibson LP Korina - discont.

gibson_korina_front_big.jpg
gibson%20les%20paul%20standard-219852606443896091.jpg
 
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