Some new additions to the herd

[FrankenFretter***]

Just a few since the last time I hung out here.

2003 MIK Fender Esquire GT Custom. Single Duncan Invader with single volume knob.



Mahogany body set neck.



Next up is my cheapo Huntington Tele copy:



It needed stickers.



My Agile AL-3010SE Gold Top:





And last but not least is the McGuitar by Dean:




They're all fun to play, for different reasons. The Esquire has a scratchy pot that didn't improve much after a DeOxit treatment, so I plan on replacing it with a push/pull for coil splitting. My only other complaint is that I only have one of these. It is an outstanding player, the neck is slim and fast with super low action. The pickup is punchy and hot, but if you roll back the volume it cleans up nicely. Not as articulate as my usual vintage-ish alnico pickups that I prefer, but it's good to have some variety and it works well for most of the songs our band plays.

The Tele copy is actually a decent guitar. It was under $100, and after a setup, deglossing the neck and body, and removing a LOT of corrosion on the frets, it's not bad at all. It could really use a crown and level, but that's beyond my skill set at this time. It's fine for a beater, which is what I bought it for.

The Agile GT is a great guitar, nice action and tone for days. I swapped the stock A5 magnets in the P90s for unoriented A5 magnets, which are considered to be right between A2 and A5 tonewise. Unoriented refers to the metal grain in the magnet, not the polarity.

The Dean (I can't remember the actual model) is a hoot. I saw this on a Craig's List ad a while back, and called just after the guy sold it. It just so happens that the guy that bought it is a member of the Agile forum, and ended up not bonding with it. He also lives in the Portland area, so I got to meet up with him when I bought it. He's a super nice guy that has a band called Pandion. Great music. Look them up on Facebook, there should be some clips. The Dean has a single coil sized hum in the neck, and a full sized in the bridge position. Five-way switch for coil splitting on both, although you can't combine the single coils. I find that the neck pickup sounds great, but the bridge is a little sterile. I have a DD Detonator (import version of the Duncan Invader) that I plan to put in the bridge. I'm also thinking about swapping the ceramic magnet for an A6 or A5. Not quite sure about that yet, though.

I think that's all of the new guitars. I did sell one guitar, my Schecter Black Hawk. It's a fantastic player, but I just don't feel the love for it anymore. It's in good hands, though; I sold it to a friend that has been wanting to buy it from me for a few years now.

Questions? Comments? Fire away!

[cebreez]

Did you review the Agile 3010 here? I would love to hear comments on its quality and fit. I've been wanting one of the 3100 series for a long time but have never got to put my hands on one. I have one of the xavier flame tops and would love to know how they compare. The fretboard on the Agile looks a little flat. What is the radius?

[FrankenFretter***]

Did you review the Agile 3010 here? I would love to hear comments on its quality and fit. I've been wanting one of the 3100 series for a long time but have never got to put my hands on one. I have one of the xavier flame tops and would love to know how they compare. The fretboard on the Agile looks a little flat. What is the radius?

I did not review it here, but I did on the Agile forum. The neck is a fairly flat radius...I can't find the specs, but I believe it's close to 12". I find the Agile necks to be very comfortable to play. The quality on the GT is great, but just a hair below my AL-3000 that I bought a few years ago. There's a review on that one here somewhere. I had to send the first GT back due to some badly cracked abalone inlays, but the replacement had/has no issues. It's lighter than my AL-3000 by about half a pound, if I remember correctly. This is the 4th Agile I've owned, and I still own three of those four if that gives you any idea how much I like the brand.

[cebreez]

It does! Thanks! The fretboard radius is my biggest drawback. I really like a smaller radius like maybe a 9" with some beefy fretwire like a medium jumbo or bigger. I know that is alot to ask in an inexpensive import but I was going to talk to a local luthier about radiusing the fretboard and installing bigger fretwire. I figured at the price I wouldn't be ruining much if it turned out I didn't like it. What do you think?

[FrankenFretter***]

What do you think?

I think you have an awesome mustache, sir.

[Bookkeeper's Son]

Sean, it looks like your guitar enthusiasm hasn't waned a bit over the years, and you keep finding and modding some interesting guitars. Glad to see you're having fun, and the newest additions look quite interesting.

[FrankenFretter***]

Sean, it looks like your guitar enthusiasm hasn't waned a bit over the years, and you keep finding and modding some interesting guitars. Glad to see you're having fun, and the newest additions look quite interesting.

Hey Ron! Good to see you're still hanging around here.
Now that I'm in a band, I sort of have an excuse to collect more. We play in three different tunings, and I need a backup for each tuning, and a backup for the backup, and some extras for the other guitar players....or something like that.

Interesting is one word I'd use to describe that yellow and red thing. It was so ugly, I had to have it.

[helliott***]

Wow, that's something. You actually have three guitars in different tunings at gigs? I can't manage that but would love to. Not enough room on small club stages for three guitars and a fairly big board with three-way switching, and all the cables. Best I can do is two guitars. How do you manage three?

[FrankenFretter***]

Wow, that's something. You actually have three guitars in different tunings at gigs? I can't manage that but would love to. Not enough room on small club stages for three guitars and a fairly big board with three-way switching, and all the cables. Best I can do is two guitars. How do you manage three?

Well, we haven't played any gigs yet, so there's that...
Not room for three guitars, that could be an issue. I guess we could have our wives hand them to us through the back door.

[FrankenFretter***]

It does! Thanks! The fretboard radius is my biggest drawback. I really like a smaller radius like maybe a 9" with some beefy fretwire like a medium jumbo or bigger. I know that is alot to ask in an inexpensive import but I was going to talk to a local luthier about radiusing the fretboard and installing bigger fretwire. I figured at the price I wouldn't be ruining much if it turned out I didn't like it. What do you think?

In all seriousness, I don't know how possible it would be to re-radius a fretboard. Then again, I don't even pretend to be an expert. Likely your best choice is to try and find a guitar that already has a radius closer to what you need, which in a Les Paul style guitar might be hard to find. Maybe one that loosely based on that design? Or you could find a custom builder that would build to suit your needs. Or if you don't mind a bolt-on neck, that might open up more possibilities.

[marnold***]

It does! Thanks! The fretboard radius is my biggest drawback. I really like a smaller radius like maybe a 9" with some beefy fretwire like a medium jumbo or bigger. I know that is alot to ask in an inexpensive import but I was going to talk to a local luthier about radiusing the fretboard and installing bigger fretwire. I figured at the price I wouldn't be ruining much if it turned out I didn't like it. What do you think?

I think you'd be better off ordering a new neck from some place like Warmoth.

[Eric***]

Or you could just do the Carvin thing. I know that negates the good price, but for custom stuff like that it seems like one of the more obvious avenues.

[NWBasser]

Or you could just do the Carvin thing. I know that negates the good price, but for custom stuff like that it seems like one of the more obvious avenues.

I wholeheartedly agree with Eric's suggestion.

It seems the best way to get what you want and they are cheaper than most custom builders.

[cebreez]

It does! Thanks! The fretboard radius is my biggest drawback. I really like a smaller radius like maybe a 9" with some beefy fretwire like a medium jumbo or bigger. I know that is alot to ask in an inexpensive import but I was going to talk to a local luthier about radiusing the fretboard and installing bigger fretwire. I figured at the price I wouldn't be ruining much if it turned out I didn't like it. What do you think?

Sorry guys but I don't think I know what I'm talking about. I do like a smaller radius such as a Strat. But I would have swore I played a 1972 Reissue Les Paul Gold Top in the mid 70's with a much more pronounced curve to the fretboard. Maybe because what I was playing at the time did have a decidedly flat fretboard compare to the Les Paul. Now I think I'm just crazy. Its the feel that stuck with me. But here is the rub and I'll stop hijacking FrankenFretter's thread, I have sat in Guitar Center and played several different Gibson Les Paul of varying "cost".... and would swear on a stack of bibles that the Customs and above had a smaller radius on the fretboard. Real physical evidence to the contrary. Proves that I'm just crazy.

Sooooooo....... Thank you FrankenFretter for the mustache compliment. Had it a long time!

[FrankenFretter***]

I do have an appreciation for a good mustache.
Here's mine -

[cebreez]

Thats nuts!! I love it! I was working on some handlebars but the Fire Department wouldn't let me wear them due to facemask restrictions. Now it seems everyone is getting away with it but my fiancee says no. Retirement is right around the corner....... let the stache growing begin.

[FrankenFretter***]

Thats nuts!! I love it! I was working on some handlebars but the Fire Department wouldn't let me wear them due to facemask restrictions. Now it seems everyone is getting away with it but my fiancee says no. Retirement is right around the corner....... let the stache growing begin.

Thanks! My fiancee actually encouraged me to keep my facial hair a few years ago. I used to just grow it for the fall/winter and shave it off on my birthday in March. She likes it, so I kept growing it. I have also been advised that the respirators we use at work are not really much use with facial hair. The way I see it, the face fuzz works as a particulate filter between the mask gasket and my face.

[Brian Krashpad]

Sean, what does the headstock on the Tele copy look like? Also, where did you get the Joe Strummer sticker on it? I've thought of making one for the black beater Tele I have.

[FrankenFretter***]

Sean, what does the headstock on the Tele copy look like? Also, where did you get the Joe Strummer sticker on it? I've thought of making one for the black beater Tele I have.

Not too far off from the Tele shape.
The sticker is from an online sticker seller that is no longer around. If I'd known they were going to close their online business, I'd have bought a couple, just in case.