Agile Lemon Drop Project is finished! New photos 5/27/11

[FrankenFretter***]

I just got the new pickups in the mail today (see this thread). The tuners and some different reflector knobs came on Monday, so I hope to get this all finished today. More photos to come upon completion!

Update: Pickups are in. I won't be able to play her tonight since I still need to finish mounting the new tuners, but here's some guitar pr0n for you anyway-





Almost done now. I just need to finish mounting the tuners, then string her up, top wrapping the tailpiece in the process. At that point, I do believe that I'll be finished with this one. I just hope she plays as nice as she looks!

[FrankenFretter***]

I finally had a temporary break in the rain today, so I shot some outdoor photos. I still need to re-solder that neck pickup, and put the guard back on, but other than that this project is finished. I'm very happy with the bridge pickup, it sounds amazing. I expect that the neck will be just as nice. Without further ado, here it is in finished form-








This was a fun project, and my favorite so far. The guitar has a certain feel to it that I have a hard time explaining. It feels almost like an older guitar that's been around for years, and has been worn in by my own hands. Any Fretters ever in my neighborhood are invited to come and try it out.!

[Rockermann]

Man, I've been fighting the Agile LP urge... this thread is NOT helping at all. Great looking guitar!

[duhvoodooman***]

Looks great! Nicely done, Sean!

[FrankenFretter***]

Thanks, guys! I got the neck pickup situation straightened out last night. Turns out it wasn't a cold solder joint like I thought, it was the outer jacket (which is also the ground on these pickups) shorting out on the bridge volume pot. This is the first time I've ever had pickups with that vintage style wiring, so I wasn't really thinking about that when I put them in.

The guitar sounds great. The pickups have great clarity, and that great Alnico II tone rounding. They're not muddy at all, and they take gain exceptionally well without losing any of the character of the pickup. I'm very happy with this guitar. It's right up there in my top three.

[Duffy]

One thing about those maple necks on the AL 2000 is tha it will probably never break like the mahogany ones have been known to do after falls, etc. I think that can be a good thing especially for a guitar that is out of the case most of the time. Beautiful job. How is the tone? I played thru a club 40 the other day that was a very cool combo amp.

[FrankenFretter***]

One thing about those maple necks on the AL 2000 is tha it will probably never break like the mahogany ones have been known to do after falls, etc. I think that can be a good thing especially for a guitar that is out of the case most of the time. Beautiful job. How is the tone? I played thru a club 40 the other day that was a very cool combo amp.

The tone is really amazing. One of my best sounding guitars, for sure. Thick and chunky, but also creamy and articulate. I'd dare to say that I'd put this up against most any Les Paul out there. I've put a total of less than $500 into this guitar (actually less than $300 considering the guitar itself was a gift), but I think it's easily the match of something costing four to six times that price. I love pie.

[marnold***]

WRT the sanding would you be able to make the neck satin-y? That's been the big thing that's kept me from getting one of those--the glossy neck finish.

[FrankenFretter***]

WRT the sanding would you be able to make the neck satin-y? That's been the big thing that's kept me from getting one of those--the glossy neck finish.

Like you, I prefer the satin neck, Rev. That's usually the first thing I do when I get a glossy neck guitar; break out the Scotchbrite pad and take the gloss down. That was also where I started on this one. Some guitars I've left alone, either out of respect for the finish, or because I don't want to ruin the resale value, but all my Agiles have the neck de=glossed. It's a five minute job, and well worth it.

[Eric***]

That looks very nice, Sean. What's going on with your other Agiles?

[FrankenFretter***]

That looks very nice, Sean. What's going on with your other Agiles?

They might be a tad lonely at the moment. I haven't forgotten about them, though. The CSB still needs to have another pickup swap, and the TSB needs some more work to get the action dialed in. This one though...she's special. This and my new Bender have pretty much eclipsed the others for the time being. Thanks, Eric!

[Eric***]

They might be a tad lonely at the moment. I haven't forgotten about them, though. The CSB still needs to have another pickup swap

What does it have in it right now? Stock pups, or the VEH or those A2 eBay specials?

and the TSB needs some more work to get the action dialed in.

Weren't you going to resurrect the scotchbrite job on that one too? Seems like it looked kind of dull and swirly from the early pictures.

This one though...she's special. This and my new Bender have pretty much eclipsed the others for the time being. Thanks, Eric!

Cool; glad to hear it! It's sort of inspiring when I hear of someone modding a guitar and making it end up as something really great. I can only imagine what it's like to actually be the one who did the modifications.

BTW, does that mean you got a Hell guitar? I checked, but didn't see a NGD thread from you on that one. Is the Bender the SG, or maybe the 335-inspired one?

[FrankenFretter***]

What does it have in it right now? Stock pups, or the VEH or those A2 eBay specials?


Weren't you going to resurrect the scotchbrite job on that one too? Seems like it looked kind of dull and swirly from the early pictures.


Cool; glad to hear it! It's sort of inspiring when I hear of someone modding a guitar and making it end up as something really great. I can only imagine what it's like to actually be the one who did the modifications.

BTW, does that mean you got a Hell guitar? I checked, but didn't see a NGD thread from you on that one. Is the Bender the SG, or maybe the 335-inspired one?

The thread about my Bender is here.

You are correct sir, I am going to finish the Scotchbriting on the TSB Agile. I'm pretty sure I'll have a Duncan Jazz pickup for sale from that guitar, too. I just don't feel it with that one.

The CSB has the Ebay pickups in it, but I swapped the A5 magnets for an A4 in the bridge and an A2 in the neck. They sound pretty good, and I'm reluctant to swap them, but I'm really curious to see what those VEH pickups sound like since the magnet swap in those. That, and I really like the look of zebras in Cherryburst LPs.

Eric, you should try some modding of your own. You seem fairly competent, and you can't be any worse than me at it. Hopefully it doesn't lead to this disorder I have that makes it impossible to leave things alone, though...

[NWBasser]

The tone is really amazing. One of my best sounding guitars, for sure. Thick and chunky, but also creamy and articulate. I'd dare to say that I'd put this up against most any Les Paul out there.

I've played quite a few Les Pauls, and I'll have to agree that this one sounds and feels at least as good as the best ones I've played. Maybe better.

Sean did quite a job on this one and it's possibly the nicest guitar that I've played!

[Eric***]

Eric, you should try some modding of your own. You seem fairly competent, and you can't be any worse than me at it. Hopefully it doesn't lead to this disorder I have that makes it impossible to leave things alone, though...

Yeah the thing is that I'm rarely dissatisfied with my stock guitars, and it's equally rare for me to care enough about a given guitar to pump money into it. Maybe I'll give it a whirl someday when my opinions about things are a bit more set.

The good thing about people going nuts with modding is that you can let them experiment and then buy their pimped-out guitars off of them when they end up with too many in inventory...right??

[FrankenFretter***]

Yeah the thing is that I'm rarely dissatisfied with my stock guitars, and it's equally rare for me to care enough about a given guitar to pump money into it. Maybe I'll give it a whirl someday when my opinions about things are a bit more set.

The good thing about people going nuts with modding is that you can let them experiment and then buy their pimped-out guitars off of them when they end up with too many in inventory...right??

Heheh...well, probably not this one. You might see one of my other projects for sale in the future, but I consider this an heirloom guitar. Pretty funny considering that it's a $225 guitar, but it does prove that a name on the headstock doesn't always mean that it's the best out there. I think all this one really needs now is a really cool custom truss rod cover. Everything else is pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned, although I've heard that these stock bridges aren't always terribly reliable. I've never had a problem with one though, so I won't be changing it unless I do.

I've played quite a few Les Pauls, and I'll have to agree that this one sounds and feels at least as good as the best ones I've played. Maybe better.

Sean did quite a job on this one and it's possibly the nicest guitar that I've played!

Thanks, Jason. It's good to have a second opinion. I know what I like, and I probably have a bias about something that I've put that much work into, so it's good to know that I'm not the only one that gets that chill when I play this guitar.