Great looking guitar FF...Enjoy!
This arrived today, ordered for me as a birthday gift from the future Mrs. FrankenFretter. I threw in my own money for the case, which is the top of the line available from Rondo Music. DVM has already given his review of the case, so I won't post something redundant. The first thing that struck me once I pulled the shroud aside was that the flames were almost non-existent, looking more like a plain top. I pulled her out and gave her a once over, and discovered a small knot on the back of the horn, and a few other minor finish glitches, but nothing too awful. Here's some guitar pr0n for ya:
I've decided to keep her, and I'm growing to see her as unique rather than flawed. I've named her Marilyn, which was actually somebody else' s idea (kind of) due to the knot looking kind of like a mole. I've spent some time playing the new girl today, and although she's brighter than either of my other LPs, it's not a thin sound. Sounds great through my new Blackstar and 2 x 12 cab with the vintage alnico Rola speakers.
More pr0n:
She plays great, and the setup was pretty good right out of the box. The truss rod needs a slight tweak, but everything else is pretty decent. It's amazing what you can get for just slightly over 2 bills from Rondo.
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Great looking guitar FF...Enjoy!
Guitars: 99 Gibson ES-335,1985 Gibson Les Paul 59 Reissue,Schecter C1 Artist,Squire 51,Peavey Generation Triple/single EX,Fender Deluxe Fat Strat, Cortez Acoustic,Epiphone Acoustic.
Effects: Arion SCH-1 Chorus,Boss BD2,Bad Monkey,Boss DD3 Delay,Boss GE-7 EQ ,Arion SOD-1 overdrive,TC Electronic Nova Repeater Delay,Ibanez Tone-Lok DE7 Delay/Echo.
Amps: B52 AT-212 100watt all Tube ,FMJ SS(being restored),1=Epiphone Valve Junior Head and 2 matching Cabs, Hughes& Kettner Edition Blue 15DFX, Crate V18 112,Fender Super Champ XD,Fender 25R Frontman Series II.
Sweet! I dig the top... reminds me of older les pauls for some reason. The flame is nice and subtle. Congrats, man!
Guitars:
Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
Eleanor, the magical, mystical Road Worn wonder Tele
Blackstar HT Club 40
Sweet lemon drop goodness, I like it! Over time, the subtle flame will become even more welcome.
(The future Mrs. FrankenFretter is a smart gal)
I love that lemon drop color. Nice score! And sounds like you found a real keeper in the future Mrs. congrats on both fronts!
I just traded my Agile Harm locally for a rootbeer AL-2000 w/ GFS humbuckers. Was a little unsure since it's the entry level LP but it is 100% perfect - frets are level, action was great, no finish flaws. I was shocked at how nice it was for a $225 guitar. I don't know how they do it.
Dave
Guitars: Ibanez AF-75, Schecter Solo-6 Custom, Douglas SG
Amps: Fender Princeton 65, Marshall AVT50
Pedals: Metal Muff, MXR Smart Gate, EHX Cathedral Reverb, Digitech RP-255
Guitars:
Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
Eleanor, the magical, mystical Road Worn wonder Tele
Blackstar HT Club 40
Thanks again, Fretters. Someone on the Agile forum mentioned a Peter Green/Gary Moore look, and I thought that was pretty cool. Maybe I'll leave it out in the sun to hasten the aging. Oh wait...I live in Oregon. No sun here.
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Nice looking guitar you have there. I like the more natural finish it seems to have. For the record, my friend has an AL-2000 in blue, and the flame is also very indistinct, though I still think it looks cool.
Happy NGD!
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Very cool!
Mo Cat was pawing at the picture on the screen. I think he likes it too!
I'll look forward to a tone report with new pickups in it.
Here's a daylight photo, which gives a better detail of the grain. Yes, we actually had a few minutes of sunshine here!
You'll notice I've changed the knobs already, although I don't think I like the speed knobs on this guitar. I also need to change the crappy Korean strings that turn my fingers black when I play it, and top wrap around the tailpiece.
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Very nice!
Nice looking guitar, Sean. Congrats!
Personally I like the subtle flame. Looks like a player's guitar. As for knobs, 1 vote for bell over speed.
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Cool. Sometimes I wish I had more guitars to mess around with, because I'd like to experiment a little bit more, but I think I'm in more of a find-what-works-and-use-it phase right now.
Do you have an ultimate plan for this thing (i.e. what role will this fill in your fleet of guitars)?
Guitars: Gibson LP Studio, MIA Fender Precision, Carvin C350Originally Posted by Spudman
Amps: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 + Avatar B212 / Genzler 12-3, Acoustic B20
Pedals: Pod HD500X, Diamond Compressor, Tech 21 VT Bass, Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
I love plain tops. That's really one of the best looking Agiles I have seen. Very cool guitar!
"A lot of people in the industry want to blame downloading for the state of the business. But I think if most music wasn't shit to begin with people wouldn't be downloading it for free," - Corey Taylor (Slipknot)
The Blues is alright!
Guitars: 1968 Gibson SG, 2005 Gibson SG Standard, 2006 Gibson LP Classic Gold top, 2004 Epiphone Elitist LP Custom, 1996 Gibson Les Paul Standard. 2001 Epiphone Sheraton II, 2007 Epiphone G400.
Fender Strats: 1996 Fender 68 Reissue CIJ, 2008 Squier CV 50s, 2009 Squier CV 50s Tele Butterescotch Blonde
Amps: Blues Junior Special edition Jensen in Brown Tolex with Wheat front, 65 Deluxe Reverb reissue,1970 Sonax reverb by Traynor, Avatar Custom 2/12 Cabinet with Eminence Legend V1216 speakers,
2008 DSL100 Marshall Amp , Fender Super Champ XD,Fender Vibro Champ XD
Effects and Pedals: Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe, Fulltone Fat Boost, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss DS1, Boss DD20 Giga Delay, Boss TU2 tuner, Boss BD2, Ibanez TS9 Tube screamer, Zoom 505. Radial tonebone hot british.
I like the amber color and the laid back flame. It is a beautiful guitar. Hey, at least the flames aren't touched up with stain to make them stand out like I've seen on some flammed maple top guitars. I like the obviously genuine flame look, nothing too fancy, and commensurate with the price paid and more.
You can't seem to beat what Agile offers. I might get another one myself. Maybe a neck thru or maple cap, or maybe just a plain AL 3xxx. I like the pickups on the 3xxx bettter than the ceramics on the 2000. It is possible that the ceramic pickups are making it sound brighter than the AlNiCo ones on the 3xxx'es. I think you might be able to purchase 3xxx humbuckers from Rondo; it would be worth an email to Kurt to find out. Otherwise there are a lot of good pickups available that would sound great, even improve the sound.
Anyway, it's a beautiful guitar and many a person would be highly content with it "as is", and have the time of their life with it.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do with it. I got a white one with gold hardware for Charity's grandson along with an on sale Peavey Royal 8, Valve King tube amp. I was impressed with both of them. For the price paid I thought that the combination was a great place for someone to start - with something nice - bypassing all the junk starter bungles.
Duffy Bolduc
South Williamsport, Pa.
"Now all the things that use to mean so much to me has got me old before my time." G. Allman, "Old Before My Time", Hittin' the Note.
Major changes to guitars and amps, to be updated soon.
Fiance - Supportive of musical art
That's a good question, Eric. As much as I love the vintage LP type tone, I don't really feel the need for all my guitars to sound the same. If they did, what would be the point of having more than one? I'm now re-thinking what I want from my AL-3000; maybe instead of trying to match the tone of the 57 Classics in my Epi Tribute, I might try for a bolder, more aggressive tone. I may put alnico pickups in the AL2K, and perhaps a ceramic pickup in the bridge position on the AL3K. I'm not really sure what I'll do with the 2K...but maybe a set of A2 pickups rather than A4 or A5. Decisions, decisions...I have more than enough pickups sitting around to play with, so If I don't like one combo, I can always try something else. That's the beauty of an inexpensive guitar, I don't feel guilty about changing things.
Thanks, Jimi!Originally Posted by Jimi75
Thanks Z! I think the reflector knobs will help keep that vintage feel.Originally Posted by ZMAN
I like the amber color and the laid back flame. It is a beautiful guitar. Hey, at least the flames aren't touched up with stain to make them stand out like I've seen on some flammed maple top guitars. I like the obviously genuine flame look, nothing too fancy, and commensurate with the price paid and more.
Thanks, Duffy! I actually have a set of the AL 3000 pickups laying around. I was experimenting with "distressing" the covers. They might be a good choice for a guitar that already has a slightly vintage appearance. These AL 2000s are such a good deal for the money, I think in the future I would just assume buy another one of these than pay the extra $200 for an AL3x00.Originally Posted by Duffy
-Sean
Guitars: Lots.
Amphs: More than last year.
Pedals: Many, although I go straight from guitar to amp more often lately.
Lovely guitar........ enjoy FrankenFretter! You are one lucky man.
Guitars
Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
Amps
Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
Pedals
Digitech Bad Monkey, Digitech Jamman, DVM's ZYS, Goodrich volume pedal