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View Full Version : The Agile Goldtop Blues



Nelskie
April 4th, 2006, 02:06 PM
Well, the Agile P-90 Goldtop arrived via FedEdx courier this morning. With high expectations, I wasted no time in unpacking my new axe. The unit was satisfactorily double-boxed, with styrofoam inserts to keep the guitar from moving within the box. A styrofoam circle protected the toggle switch, and the whole guitar was nicely wrapped in a protective styrofoam sheath. All was well in the packaging dept. I explored further . . .

Unwrapping the guitar from its sheath, I beheld the lustrous Gold finish and clean lines of the Agile. Cosmetically, its a very nice-looking guitar, and indeed a very close approximation of a Les Paul. While giving it the once-over, however, I noted something very odd about the nut. It was kind of "sloped" from the high E to the low E string - like a "wedge" (*see photo attachments below.) Wheter this was a QC issue, or a part of the design, I did not know. All of my other guitars have nuts that are "flush" across the top, so again, out of the ordinary. (*P.S. - I e-mailed Rondo, and here is their response to the nut issue: The nut slope is normal as you generally want lower action on the high e then on the low E.) The rosewood on the neck looked extremely dry, but the pearloid inlays were neat, and the frets were nicely finished. Grover tuners and chrome hardware looked nice against the gold top and dark-stained underside of the mahogany body / neck. Enough of the details, now it was time for the real test.

I plugged it into to my awaiting Classic 30, dimed the tone / volume controls for the bridge pick-up, and waited for the amp to warm up. I was greeted to the sound of nothing. Nada. I toggled to the full up position to see if the neck p'up was working, and it was. I played on that setting for a few minutes, noting somewhat of a "boomy" character to the tone. Not very defined, and in some cases, a bit "muffled". After a few minutes, back to the bridge - and again nothing. Turning the vol / tone off of the "10" pos., suddenly, the guitar came to life. After noodling around a little with the controls, I found that the vol / tone contols cut out just past the "9" pos., but if set at a lesser point, worked fine, although a bit scratchy. Bummer.

Well, after finally getting around to playing on the bridge pos., I was able to coax some O.K. tones out of the guitar. The action was set way high for me, so I was probably not able to give it a real "go", but did like a bit of what I heard. The guitar was not quite as responsive when played through my Valve Jr., and that I found surprising. Again, the note and tone definition seemed to be lacking, and for P-90's, I found that odd.

After a short playing, I decided to e-mail Rondo Music regarding my problems. My e-mail was returned promptly. At first, they offered to send out a new switch and pot controls. Since my guitar mechanical skills are on the light side (way light side, actually), I said that would be fine, but that I would have to have someone else put them in. I then inquired on whether or not I would be compensated for those costs. The reply was "no", and at that point, a return was the suggested course of action. However, due to the warehouse closing on 4/10/06 (moving to a new location), there would be a (3) week delay in getting a replacement unit out. Since I did not want to incur out-of-pocket costs for return shipping, and certainly did not want to have to wait (3) more weeks for a replacment, I decided that the P-90 endeavor was not meant to be. I filled out the return form, and packed her back up for the return trip back to Jersey. *sigh* :(

Good things: Well, there aren't a lot to report on the guitar itself. It sounded O.K. in the very limited amount of time I played it. The tone, however, did not jump out at me, as it did when I played the Epiphone GT P-90 model out in Mpls. The Agile's p'ups seemed kind of boomy, and bit inarticulate - not the raging tone beast that the Epi was. The more I think about it, it wasn't even close. Quality-wise, not considering the weird nut, and the non-functional tone & volume controls for the neck pick-up - not bad. Fit and finish seemed to be pretty good. But hey, at this price range, it's hard to complain. I liked that it had Grover tuners. The newer Squiers I've had have all sported the absolute worst stock tuners I've ever had the misfortune of playing. Again, that's just my opinion (I definitely don't want any back-lash from the throngs of Squier players who frequent this forum!) Packaging for shipping was good, and the service was prompt and friendly in all of the e-mails received. The gutiar arrived as scheduled, and in good shape.

Not-so-good things: Well, the warehouse-closing thing certainly turned out to be a huge bummer. Probably the deciding factor to me returning the guitar. The set-up out of the box seeemed rather marginal, as were the factory-supplied strings, which refused to stay in tune for more than a few minutes. There was a lot of flash on the plastic pick-guard, which is again a minor issue. Lastly, the pick-ups, at least to my ear, were a bit disappointing. True, they could be changed out. If you were to go with something decent, like Seymour Duncans, there's another $150. The P-90's on the Epi model were far superior tonally, but they should be a lot better for a $600 axe!

Overall, I think that the Agile is a decent guitar for the $$. For a beginning player, they're the cat's pajamas. A discriminating player, however, may not be fully satisfied with some of the spec components, and seek to upgrade. And that being said, you've basically pushed that budget axe into a different tax bracket. Again, just my opinion. I probably didn't spend enought time with the guitar to really get a feel for it.

If I were to live the P-90 dream, and the good Lord willin', I will one of these days, I'd probably just bite the bullet, and mate my Epi stallion with gold-topped filly of the same Epi bloodlines. But that may require that I let one of my lesser-played axes go, which with the Agile, wouldn't have needed to happen. *sigh*

Just wished that things could have turned out differently.

Tone2TheBone
April 4th, 2006, 02:21 PM
Nelskie,

That sucks bro.

You have mail.

Tim
April 4th, 2006, 02:22 PM
Nelskie – I love when you write your Guitars Fretter’s editorial of the month. In this April’s edition you really know how to capture your audience. It’s like a chilling novel being unwrapped as one continues to read with anticipation. The climax comes with the joy of playing the work of art that took eternity to arrive at your chateau. Then we are slowly brought down to earth as the little disparities are discussed. The ending comes with the assurance that the small discrepancies can be mended to bring the masterpiece to the pinnacle of every one’s desire.

Oh, nice guitar there man.

Tone2TheBone
April 4th, 2006, 02:32 PM
...The ending comes with the assurance that the small discrepancies can be mended to bring the masterpiece to the pinnacle of every one’s desire.

Oh, nice guitar there man.

Tim, he returned it. The pinnacle came crashing down.

Tim
April 4th, 2006, 02:37 PM
Dang! I could not the complete story because of the tears in my eyes. Thanks Tone for setting me straight. It's still one hell of a write up.

Tone2TheBone
April 4th, 2006, 02:39 PM
*lights a candle for Nelskie and hands Tim the box of Kleenex*

I too feel the burdening sorrow for such a disapointment.

warren0728
April 4th, 2006, 02:42 PM
thanks for the report nelskie...makes me leary to buy a guitar (from anywhere) with out playing it first...

ww

Nelskie
April 4th, 2006, 03:46 PM
No worries here, guys. All is good. Lest you forget the solid quintet of toneful six-stringed beauties I already have at my beckon call. And one Les Paul in particular that'll wash those Goldtop blues away faster'n you can say have mercy! Indeed, it be gettin' time to head down to that lil' ol' shack fur' a little mellow down easy, Pearly-style. A how, how, how! ;)

Spudman
April 4th, 2006, 07:33 PM
It is a good idea to play guitars first before buying them. It is a stronger connection between the two of you if you can do it. However, where I live the selection is, hmmm...nonexistent. Thankfully I've gotten really lucky. I've gotten a few guitars that are absolute gems that I never tried first.

I tried an Ibanez SA160 and SCR220 at a store then months later ordered one of each without playing it and they both turned out to be almost identical to the ones I tried.
I got an Ibanez RG470 and a Peavey Falcon from online pawn shops and they are such cool, high quality and wonderful guitars to play. Both I had never played before. All in all I have at minimum 10 guitars that fall into this category. I got my Agile LP this way. No regrets here.

The deal with Nelskie is that we think they changed factories and that is why they are letting these go so cheaply. His guitar is different than mine of the same model. Mine cost $100 more years ago. My guess is that Rondo isn't happy with the quality either and that is why they are letting them go cheap. Still, with Rondo the customer satisfaction is still high quality even if this model of guitar or just this unit isn't. They still want you to be happy and will take reasonable steps to make sure that you are.

tot_Ou_tard
April 4th, 2006, 08:35 PM
A candle is lit chez `tard.

I was contemplating an agile, but I think I'll wait.

marnold
April 4th, 2006, 08:49 PM
FWIW, the nut on my Fender is angled like that too, although not to the degree that yours was.

Oh, and "The Angled Nuts" would make a great name for a band.

tot_Ou_tard
April 4th, 2006, 08:52 PM
FWIW, the nut on my Fender is angled like that too, although not to the degree that yours was.

Oh, and "The Angled Nuts" would make a great name for a band.
I agree. I always thought that The Laughing Stocks was a good name for a band.

r_a_smith3530
April 4th, 2006, 09:29 PM
I agree. I always thought that The Laughing Stocks was a good name for a band.

Now watch out guys. Y'all gettin' close to The Crispy Noodle Band now, y'hear? :)

Nelskie, sorry to hear about your axe man. I had recently contacted Rondo about a toofless bass, mentioning that I wanted one in either Lake Placid Blue or Natural on Ash. I was told that it would be possible but that I would have to wait until about May 1st. Is it a coincidence that this lines up with your 3-week turnaround time on a replacement? Hmm!

From checking out the posts at TalkBass, it appears that Rondo is indeed very responsive to their customers, and it seems that your issues bear that out. Too bad your problems had to occur just now, eh?

It also sounds like this guitar is just what I thought it would be, a great platform for upgrades and tinkering. How would you consider the basic body and neck to be? I'm thinking materials, construction, etcetera, leaving out pickups, electronics, and other bolt-on hardware. How would you rate the bare body and neck compared with an Epi or Gibby Paul? When you plucked a string, did it feel like you had good acoustic tone and Les Paul like sustain? Just curious...

Robert
April 4th, 2006, 09:49 PM
Too bad, Nelskie. I hope my SX bass will be a more pleasant experience for me. I've never owned a bass before though, so I think it will be hard to disappoint me.

SuperSwede
April 5th, 2006, 02:46 AM
Nelskie, Just let me know if you wanna go
to that home out on the range. I know they got some nice P90 guitars there...

Nelskie
April 5th, 2006, 06:44 AM
It also sounds like this guitar is just what I thought it would be, a great platform for upgrades and tinkering. How would you consider the basic body and neck to be? I'm thinking materials, construction, etcetera, leaving out pickups, electronics, and other bolt-on hardware. How would you rate the bare body and neck compared with an Epi or Gibby Paul? When you plucked a string, did it feel like you had good acoustic tone and Les Paul like sustain? Just curious...
Yeah, r_a_, the body, materials, and appointments were well above what I've seen in that same price range. The body components were nicely finished, and weight-wise, it had a nice balance to it. The fretwork on my Epi was nicer, but the Agile's wasn't bad. Playing-wise, I only played it for about 10-15 minutes, and the intonation was way high for my tastes, so I don't know if I could give it an honest take in that dept. Sustain was OK. I think that me not particularly liking the overall tone of the p'ups may have had an effect on formulating that opinion.

I do agree with you that the Agile would be a good platform for mods. But as I'd mentioned, by the time you change out p'up, pots / caps, tuners, etc., your right in that $350 range, and your "budget" guitar is no longer a "budget" guitar. If I'm going to spend that kind of dough on an Agile, I could just as well get myself another Epiphone, and bring that up to Gibson-type specs, like I've already done.

Overall, the Agile really didn't "grab" me, nor did its tone. Although it was a nicely-made axe, to me, it seemed very "pedestrian" both sound and playing-wise. Perhaps that opinion is formulated because of the other guitars I presently own, and also because of the problems my Agile had with the vol / tone knobs. Whatever was the case, I guess I was expecting more, and unfortunately, it just wasn't there.

I do think I'll be getting some type of P-90 guitar down the road, but don't think I'll consider another Agile.

tot_Ou_tard
April 5th, 2006, 09:38 AM
I do think I'll be getting some type of P-90 guitar down the road, but don't think I'll consider another Agile.
What about a Godin LG-P90? I've heard good things about them. They have Seymour Duncan pups.

Tone2TheBone
April 5th, 2006, 09:42 AM
...or the PRS Soapbar IIs. They're supposed to be killer. But I know you won't be happy unless it's a Les Paul type bro....

Nelskie
April 5th, 2006, 10:11 AM
I think for now, I'll be happy to wait until the right guitar comes along. After the misses with the SG, and now the Agile, my desire for a different axe has cooled considerably. As such, I will continue to focus my present tone-farming efforts with the guitars I have. Then again, you never know what might come along . . . ??

Bloozcat
April 5th, 2006, 12:48 PM
Nelskie,

I'm sorry your Agile experience didn't turn out like you had hoped. Rondo did, I assume, pay for the return shipping costs when you returned the order, didn't they? They do try to satisfy their customers as best they can.

The issue with the nut is not right. Yeah, the nut should slope some towards the high E side, but not as much as you describe. In fact, it shouldn't really be noticable when you consider the overall difference in thickness of the two E strings and the nut slot depth requirement for the different strings. It's fractional.

I believe if I remember correctly that you ordered the AL 2000 w/P-90's. Is that correct? The one I order from Rondo is the AD 2500 DC, which is the double cut LP style with a flamed maple top and cream colored P-90's. Mine came through with minimal issues...very minimal. The nut on mine was as uniform as any of my other guitars and any LP I've seen. The fret work was excellent - better than the original 2800 DLX (higher grade) that I first bought from Rondo. The only things I did to the frets was to check them for level, and to polish them. The action was a little high, but that was easily remedied.

In regards to the electronics mods, you can change out the pots, toggle switch, input jack, caps, and pickups for under $155.00. And that's with CTS pots, Switchcraft toggle switch and input jack, Mallory 150 caps (or Sprague Orange Drops), and Vintage Vibe P-90 Alnico pickups. The Vintage Vibe P-90's ($125.00 delivered) are excellent pickups. They come with the Alnico magnets installed and an extra set of ceramic magnets in case you'd like to alter the pickups tone for more bite and snarl. They're copper shielded and quieter than most P-90's you'll hear.

So, you'd still be way ahead of the game if you only paid $199.99 for the guitar. You were happy with the cosmetics of the guitar. The frets could easily be polished. The nut problem was an anomoly that you're not likely to encounter again. So, if you were to re-order after Rondos move, you could still get the guitar you're looking for, with mods, for about $355.00.

Or, you may be able to get an upgraded model w/P-90's for a few bucks more. I can tell you that I'm very pleased with my AD 2500 P-90.

Nelskie
April 5th, 2006, 02:07 PM
r_a_ - Hmmmm - you bring up some interesting points. I hadn't gone quite as in-depth with the modding option, but indeed, you could trick that axe out pretty nicely with the upgrades you've mentioned. Initially, my mindset was to just get a good, out-of-the-box player to monkey around on, and dig the groovin' vibe of P-90's. The stock p'ups, as I said, were kinda' weak, so those would have to go pronto. In addition to the mods you've already stated, I would also have to: 1.) Have someone else do the work, cuz' I'm not a guitar mechanic by any stretch of the imagination - that's addt'l labor; and 2.) Probably would have to have the nut replaced with a bone or graphit unit - again, addt'l cost. Now we're in the range of $400+, which is a long ways from where we started.

Hey, I've been on the Agile website, and already know there's legions of happy Agile guitar owners. Maybe I didn't give it much of a shot. I mean, $400 for a screaming LP Goldtop copy - that's pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, isn't it.

Now you've at least made me want to sleep on it.

warren0728
April 5th, 2006, 02:23 PM
Now you've at least made me want to sleep on it.
you know if it you sleep on it not only would it be extremely uncomfortable but if you end up breaking it then you are f'ed :D