Xaviere XV-550

[pedalbuilder***]

So I picked one of these up the other day to see if the quality was really as good as people say for the price at which they are offered ($195, I believe).

I actually ordered a XV-560 - that's the hollow-body, LP-shape with the P-90's. What I actually received was the XV-550, the same guitar, but with GFS Crunchy PAT humbuckers instead of P90s. I e-mailed the appropriate kids and they are sending me out some GFS Dream 90's so I can put those in and the issue is semi-resolved.

Anyway - the guitar. So the setup was okay out of the box, definitely playable, but it can use some adjustment. Really, the only major impediment to playability is the hugeness of the neck heel with really gets in the way of hitting the upper frets. I may have been lucky with the LPs I've played up to now, but this seemed out of hand and definitely makes this guitar a poor choice if you spend much time in higher ranges.

Overall I'd say these things are better than I'd expect considering that they go for under two bills. You will spend some time on setup, and you may spend some money replacing some bits, but in all you will get more than what you pay for. And - honestly - a great looking instrument (I got mine in tobacco sunburst). Keep it in the livingroom as a beater if nothing else - it will look fantastic sitting in its stand, and it's the kind of thing you'll never mind your drunk buddy picking up and trying to pound out freebird on.

[progrmr]

How are the frets on it? Pretty level? How well is the nut cut?

I don't mind doing basic setup stuff but I don't want to have to level/re-crown frets. Nuts are typically jacked up anyway so that's less of an issue but still something I'd prefer to avoid.

How's the tone??

[pedalbuilder***]

Frets on this are fine, honestly I won't mess with them. The nut seems like it was a pretty amateur job - going to be replaced pretty soon. The tone is pretty good in the neck position, and pretty weak in the bridge. I haven't had time to mess with the pup height and whatnot to try to rectify that, and I won't since I'm going to take it out and replace it with the P90 anyhow, but you get the feeling the tone is there if you do some work to drag it out. It's no tone monster, mind you, but it's a nice sounding guitar, pretty playable and I think it will make a nice addition to 'the family.'

Since I see an Agile in your guitar lineup I would say that the overall quality is not quite on par with Agile offerings, but the cosmetics are, and the tone likely is (I'd have to A/B to be sure).

[Eric***]

Nice review, and pretty accurate too based on my experience with Xaviere guitars. Not bad for what they are, but what they are probably isn't what people wish they were.

[stingx]

I'm not a gear snob by any means but unless you are just starting out or buying for a child I just don't get the attraction to these cheap, as in price guitars. I am even more baffled when I see people buying several when that money could have gone into a better built, more expensive option. As nice as these guitars are and god bless CNC, you get what you pay for and corners are cut to keep a low price point. The electronics are junk, the hardware is junk. These, along with pickups, are usually swapped out after purchase. I tried a Xaviere a few years ago. I found the neck heavily glossed and chunky. I didn't like the pickups and tuning machines. I realize these are matters of opinion and taste. Also, I used to frequent Rondo music when they were still in Union, NJ. I tried so many different guitars and the scratch and dent section alone had a boatload to choose from for ridiculously cheap yet I could not buy one because they felt off to me and I new I would need to swap many parts, negating the cheap price.

I'd rather have one really good guitar than several mediocre ones. And if it is money you are looking to save then buy used. I have many great guitars in my collection that I bought this way and I now prefer this route.

I guess for a beater as you say then that is money put to good use.

I really wanted to love Xavieres and Agiles but they dont work for me. Sorry for the rant I'd be interested in any pimping that you do to this guitar and how you make any improvements to it.

[Eric***]

I really wanted to love Xavieres and Agiles but they dont work for me. Sorry for the rant I'd be interested in any pimping that you do to this guitar and how you make any improvements to it.

I get what you're saying, and I agree about Xavieres. Honestly though, I haven't yet found anything to dethrone the Agile that I bought, and I don't think it's sentimental. I'm assuming that eventually I'll find something I like better than it, but I really thought I would find something much nicer as soon as I started looking/buying other guitars. After owning many more guitars that cost much more, it's still number one for me.

Now, I will readily admit that I do not have a very refined palette when it comes to guitars, so it's possible it's junk and I just don't know it, but I think from my perspective, the proof is in the fact that I still play it more than any other guitar.

So yeah, lots of cheap stuff probably doesn't make sense, but I think there's a lot of fluctuation in quality in the cheaper market, and there are some very nice guitars to be had.

[FrankenFretter***]

^ What he said. My Agile is a really nicely made guitar, and many have compared them favorably to Gibsons. They may be inexpensive, but they are not cheap by any means.

[Duffy]

My Agile double bound cherryburst AL3100 is great; my Xavier xv500 solid body LP type is not in the same category - not close. I really like the Agile and have heard the 3000 and above are noticeably better in quality than the lower level LP type ones.

[NWBasser]

Keep it in the livingroom as a beater if nothing else - it will look fantastic sitting in its stand, and it's the kind of thing you'll never mind your drunk buddy picking up and trying to pound out freebird on.

So, clearly you were thinking of me when you bought this one!

Very pretty guitar. Congrats!

[stingx]

I get what you're saying, and I agree about Xavieres. Honestly though, I haven't yet found anything to dethrone the Agile that I bought, and I don't think it's sentimental. I'm assuming that eventually I'll find something I like better than it, but I really thought I would find something much nicer as soon as I started looking/buying other guitars. After owning many more guitars that cost much more, it's still number one for me.

Now, I will readily admit that I do not have a very refined palette when it comes to guitars, so it's possible it's junk and I just don't know it, but I think from my perspective, the proof is in the fact that I still play it more than any other guitar.

So yeah, lots of cheap stuff probably doesn't make sense, but I think there's a lot of fluctuation in quality in the cheaper market, and there are some very nice guitars to be had.

Eric the guitars themselves aren't "junk." To save money they all use low grade electronics. My point isn't to berate these guitars. They could all be manufactured greatly but not for the price point they are commissioned to sell for. If you add up the money you would put into them to better the components you could have bought a better quality, midrange guitar. That's all I'm saying here. And, again, this is just my opinion based on my experience with these guitars. The bottom line is always play what you like. I hope no offense was taken here because none was meant.

[Eric***]

Eric the guitars themselves aren't "junk." To save money they all use low grade electronics. My point isn't to berate these guitars. They could all be manufactured greatly but not for the price point they are commissioned to sell for. If you add up the money you would put into them to better the components you could have bought a better quality, midrange guitar. That's all I'm saying here. And, again, this is just my opinion based on my experience with these guitars. The bottom line is always play what you like. I hope no offense was taken here because none was meant.

Not offense...just confusion. I think some other people followed up after my initial reply with possibly stronger, different sentiments than I had.

My whole thing is that people routinely write off stuff like Agiles because they cost less. I can totally understand that idea in theory, as well as almost all of what you're saying. But in practice, I don't get it.

Since buying the Agile ($380 new), I've owned a Godin Redline ($500 new), Godin LG Signature ($1000 new), and Highway 1 Tele ($700 new). I've also played an Ibanez AS-73 ($400) and Epiphone LP ($400) a little bit, and I've owned the cheapies too: an Xaviere XV-900 and an SX (both of which were crappy and had bad hardware).

Being perfectly honest here, none of the guitars I listed is better than the Agile. I haven't been playing electric guitar for decades, so as I mentioned previously, maybe I just don't know how to judge guitars yet, but I don't get why people say Agiles aren't good. Nobody wants to love that Godin LG the way I do. Same goes for every other guitar listed -- the more expensive it was, the more I wanted to have it as my #1. And they aren't bad guitars, but I keep going back to the Agile.

In a way, this drives me nuts, because I want an excuse to go buy a more expensive guitar. But it also forces me to be honest with myself in saying that there's not much reason to do so if I can't tell the difference between a cheap guitar and an expensive one.

Now, when people tell me the LG is a much better guitar than the Agile, I have two options: 1) assume I'm just missing something that's plain as day to "real" guitarists, or 2) assume that they're blinded by the names on the headstocks and have lost objectivity.

So because I can't empirically tell why the other guitars are so much better, I have a little bit of trouble believing people when they tell me so. Does that make sense? I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but it's just been my experience.

[NWBasser]

Not offense...just confusion. I think some other people followed up after my initial reply with possibly stronger, different sentiments than I had.

My whole thing is that people routinely write off stuff like Agiles because they cost less. I can totally understand that idea in theory, as well as almost all of what you're saying. But in practice, I don't get it.

Since buying the Agile ($380 new), I've owned a Godin Redline ($500 new), Godin LG Signature ($1000 new), and Highway 1 Tele ($700 new). I've also played an Ibanez AS-73 ($400) and Epiphone LP ($400) a little bit, and I've owned the cheapies too: an Xaviere XV-900 and an SX (both of which were crappy and had bad hardware).

Being perfectly honest here, none of the guitars I listed is better than the Agile. I haven't been playing electric guitar for decades, so as I mentioned previously, maybe I just don't know how to judge guitars yet, but I don't get why people say Agiles aren't good. Nobody wants to love that Godin LG the way I do. Same goes for every other guitar listed -- the more expensive it was, the more I wanted to have it as my #1. And they aren't bad guitars, but I keep going back to the Agile.

In a way, this drives me nuts, because I want an excuse to go buy a more expensive guitar. But it also forces me to be honest with myself in saying that there's not much reason to do so if I can't tell the difference between a cheap guitar and an expensive one.

Now, when people tell me the LG is a much better guitar than the Agile, I have two options: 1) assume I'm just missing something that's plain as day to "real" guitarists, or 2) assume that they're blinded by the names on the headstocks and have lost objectivity.

So because I can't empirically tell why the other guitars are so much better, I have a little bit of trouble believing people when they tell me so. Does that make sense? I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but it's just been my experience.

Eric, I've played Frankenfretter's Agile. I've also played many Gibsons, PRS, etc. high-end guitars.

The Agile is a great guitar. Period.

The lower-tier Agiles may be a bit more dodgy, but the 3000 and up are certainly very good instruments without a doubt.

Hell, my Epiphone LP has decent hardware and pickups, good fretwork, and a nice finish. It's as easy to play as almost any Gibson that I've tried and sounds fairly close.

I would freely admit that my LP isn't quite as nice as a Gibson, but it is close enough for my purposes and I'd say the same about the Agile.

[oldguy]

An older friend of mine just retired. He bought himself a Gibson Les Paul. I visited him last week and got a chance to play it. My AL-3100 w/ the WCR pickups plays and sounds better. That's just a fact. A lot of people refuse to believe that. If I tell them I have a Korean knockoff of a Paul and it plays and sounds every bit as good, they scoff. Until I bought it (used, off e-bay, pickups + Gibby hardshell case) I would have too. I thought I must have really lucked out and gotten a good one until I saw what people here were saying. I now believe they are as good or better than the Epi's, and quite often, the Gibson's. I had actually been thinking of buying a Gibson LP when my tax refund came in, but there's really no point. The Agile's just as good. If I wanted to see the word "Gibson" on the headstock and obsess over every detail it'd be different, but I just want a guitar to play and sound right, that's it.

I think the Epi's and CV Strats and Teles are great guitars. Period. Not great "for the price", just great. There may be a lemon in them now and then, but by and large, they're great instruments.
I have 2 Am Roadhouse Strats I bought used. Great guitars, but I've played CV's that were just as nice. The CV's are recognized as good to great guitars by nearly everyone.
So are the Agile 3100's. I also own an Agile AS-1000 semi-hollow. I just installed a B-5 Bigsby + Vibramate mounting plate (no drilling, yay) on it and it's quite nice. It is a tad neck-heavy, that's my only gripe.
I have no experience with the Xaviere's. If I bought one and it was worthy, I'd spend a few bucks to upgrade it, like the Bigsby on the AS-1000. If it just plain felt cheap in my hands I'd flip it or give it to a kid who needed a starter axe. I've traded off several Squier's. I haven't bought a CV Squier, tho. I think if I chose one it would be a keeper.

[Eric***]

I have no experience with the Xaviere's. If I bought one and it was worthy, I'd spend a few bucks to upgrade it, like the Bigsby on the AS-1000. If it just plain felt cheap in my hands I'd flip it or give it to a kid who needed a starter axe. I've traded off several Squier's.

That's how the Xaviere felt to me, so I sold it on eBay. And ultimately, that's the whole point: IMHO, Agiles (at least 3x00) don't feel cheap to me, so it confuses me when people lump them all together. I don't even think the hardware is all that bad, honestly.

Anyway, I didn't mean to make this into an Agile fanboy thread, so my apologies to stingx.

[FrankenFretter***]

I've never owned a Xaviere, but from what I've read on the Agile forum and here as well, the quality can vary greatly. I think DVM either has one, or had one, and he was pretty happy with the initial quality, although I'm sure he didn't leave it stock. I had contemplated buying one several times. At least with most of them, they have decent pickups. One of the things that has kept me from buying one of their LP style guitars is the headstock. That and the inlays. I know I'm not going to be playing the headstock or inlay, but I still have issues with that part of the cosmetics.