OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

[Moonsorrow]

Looking to get a ESP LTD guitar for a project and i`ve been hearing all different opinions about what Agathis wood really is. Some say it`s another name for mahogany,some say it`s plywood,pine,ect....Does anyone really know what it is and is it any good as a guitar body? I know ESP LTD and BC Rich use it alot but....:argh:

 

[Bludave]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

http://www.agathis.info/guitars.php

 

[Moonsorrow]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

http://www.agathis.info/guitars.php

At least it`s not plywood!!!!

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

its not terrible, but lets just say its no poplar or basswood

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

it's a guitar manufacturers way of saying "don't buy this guitar"

 

[MikeS]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

At least it`s not plywood!!!!

Often close enough. It's very often milled into square stock and not uncommon to find agathis bodies made of more pieces than you can count on one hand. I had an Ibanez RG series made of agathis that was constructed of 8 pieces.

Given the availability of blanks made from woods like Agathis, I'm not even sure who uses plywood anymore... shoot, I've heard of plenty of plywood guitars, but never actually seen one unfinished with the ends exposed.

 

[timccart]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

Conifer = Pine Tree

 

[Moonsorrow]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

Anyway, i`ve axed the idea of getting an ESP LTD guitar......i guess i came to my senses! Not that`s there`s anything wrong with them, but i decided not to go ahead with the project! Thanks for all the info people!

 

[Kostas]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

Agathi (not with "s") is a Greek word and means thorn!

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

I had one guitar made of Agathis (an ESP LTD EC-100QM) with the Hot Rodded combo in it. I loved it. However, once I started playing guitars with better woods in them, I definitely though of agathis as cheap krap. So I guess it depends on the person. And I agree, it could be worse: it could be plywood.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: OK.....So what is Agathis exactly?

My only Agathis guitar looked like this when I got it:

Then it became this:

And finally ended up as this:

I have since replaced the neck with a Japanese SC420 neck, I've replaced the pickups several times, replaced the bridge with a NOS Japanese Ibanez Gibraltar, so the only thing original about this guitar is the three piece Agathis body. I would think that is the most extensive study of what Agathis can sound like in all forms EVER! By now only the guitar body is original, and I've listened to it in all incarnations. It's pretty hard to get a great sound out of this thing. You can feel that it's resonating, just not in frequencies we're used to. I finally settled on a Dimarzio HFH in the neck and Fred in the bridge, but I'm not happy. I can match every guitar to the "right" pickups, and this one has got me puzzled. Well, not really... I could put in a Bartolini system with a custom preamp tailored for the guitar's sound, but I'd rather keep the search going for the right passive match. Next up will be some Duncans, like the Jazz/PG/AIIPro neck and something from the Custom series in the bridge. My point is, it doesn't fall into traditional tonal categories. It's kind of bright in the upper mids like Soft Maple, the lows are like Hard Ash but spongy too, and the treble can bite like Walnut, but it's not open like Swamp Ash or anything. Under my finish you literally can't distinguish it visually from Mahogany, but sonicallly you'd never mistake the two. Hope my case study has helped someone.