Agile AL-3100M B-Stock Guitar - NOW WITH PICS!

[Bloozcat]

Here's my preliminary review of my new Agile AL-3100M Plain Maple Top B-Stock guitar:

The overall appearance of the guitar is quite nice. The higher level of quality in this model over lesser models is apparent. The finish is obviously thinner, but with a nice uniform gloss. The binding is well executed and attractive. The fretwork, nut, fit, finish, and general construction is superior. The total weight is 9.7 lbs which is in the normal range for an LP with a thick maple top (the maple top being denser and heavier, adds weight). It's definitely an aesthetically appealing guitar. The case that the guitar came with, and in, is a very well made case. In addition to the soft, thick pile padding inside, there is also an attached satin sheet that is form fit to the case interior that covers the top of the guitar when the case is closed. No flimsy, bargain case here.

After removing the foam packing sleve in which the guitar was wrapped, the first thing I looked at was the plain maple top. Many of the 3000M/3100M plain tops I've seen have had nicely book matched pieces of maple; or at least the grain patterns were matched in a way where the pattern flowed together at the center joint. On this guitar, the two pieces of maple are noticably different and don't match up very well at the center line. It's not so bad that it makes the guitar look weird or poorly made, and the wood tones (coloration) do match. I've seen much more expensive Gibson LP's that have much the same look. It's something I can live with.

The next think I checked was the bridge and tail piece. The ad copy says that they are Tonepros TPFP-N and CT-1 N respectively. I have been under the impression that the whole point of Tonepros bridges and tail pieces is that they can be locked in place via allen set screw that tightens the bridge and tail piece against the posts in the body of the guitar. There are no set screws visible and there is no indication of a brand name anywhere on any of the pieces of hardware. Does anyone have any direct knowlege of this bridge/tail piece who can add anything more?

I then turned my attention to the reported flaws that make this a B-stock guitar. The ad said that there is a 1/2" crack in the fret board just above the 22nd fret. In actuality, there is only about a 1/4" dent in the fret board, no crack at all. And, the dent is so shallow that whoever it was who discovered it must have done so by using a magnifying glass. I would say that I only found it because I was informed that it was there. Otherwise, I might have missed it. The other reported flaw was a red stain on the body binding near the input jack. There is in fact a small, barely noticable red stain on the top side of the body binding. Again, only a close inspection would reveal it.

So, as far as the "defects" go, they are more than acceptable. In fact, on many guitars I've seen they wouldn't even warrant a B-stock labeling.

Next, I pulled the neck pickup to check on the thickness of the maple body cap. It is 3/4" thick as advertised, so that was checked off.

After the visual inspection was done, I tuned the guitar and tried it out acoustically. The tone is warm and resonant, but with the characteristic snappiness or added brightness that a thick maple cap adds. The frets appear to be well set and finished with only one very slight area of concern. On the G string between the 5th-7th frets, there is a very slight fret buzz. It is so slight that the strings can be manipulated through finger pressure so as to eliminate it. A very minor issue, and one that may simply be polished away or require only the slightest of leveling on the frets in question. As it's a new guitar, I wouldn't even think of doing anything beyond polishing the frets until the guitar settles in.

Finally, it was time to try it out through an amp. I chose my Ceriatone OTS as it has the best, most high fidelity tone of any of my amps. The first thing I noticed here is that the guitar has modern LP wiring, not vintage 50's type wiring. That will have to be rectified. I like independent volume and tone controls in the middle pickup position, and IMHO the tone of the guitar is just better when wired to the vintage 50's spec. It's interesting to note that my AD-3000M has the 50's wiring, and that guitar was purchased within the last 6-8 months. The pickups in this particular guitar are USA made Seymour Duncan's - an SH-1 Vintage '59 model in the neck, and an SH-3 Stag Mag in the bridge. Most people who know Duncan pickups are familiar with the Vintage '59 (one of Duncan's PAF clones), so I won't go into detail about that except to say that it is a little bassy/boomy in this guitar. Could be the wiring scheme, the cap, an under spec pot...can't tell at this point. The bridge pickup is another story altogether. The SH-3 Stag Mag is actually two single coil pickups with individual, staggered, Alnico II pole pieces, that are side by side in std. humbucker fashion. In dual coil humbucking mode the pickup has a resistance of 16.2k and is fully splitable for single coil operation. If the coils are wound evenly (which I'm not certain they are), then the single coil would read right at 8.1k. Certainly in the hot range for a single coil. Interestingly, this pickup is not wired for coil splitting in this guitar...which makes one wonder why Agile chose it in the first place. In humbucker mode, this pickup is clear, bright, and loud. It does not respond like any humbucker of standard construction that I've ever used. This is definitely a specialty pickup. As I played it, I couldn't help but think that it would probably do very well in the bridge position of a Tele with dual humbuckers. There it could sound like a great single coil pickup when split, a super single coil with both coils, and still have some standard humbucker tone to boot...and all noiseless.

I will be re-wiring this guitar very soon and at that time I will evaluate the electronic components. Since I bought this guitar to be as close to an actual (and much more expensive) Gibson LP as I could get, I'll probably replace any components that fall short of the proper LP specs, i.e., Switchcraft toggle switch/input jack, CTS pots, PIO caps. And since I have a set of Guitarforce Lord of the Blues Alnico IV custom wound PAF pickups that are made to go in an LP type guitar with a thick maple cap, that's what I'll be putting in.

My first Agile purchase from Rondo music was an LP-2800-DLX CSB back in 2004/2005. At that time I was pretty impressed with what the Korean factory that makes Agiles was doing...especially for the $289.95 I paid for that guitar. Over the last several years, Agile quality has improved even more. I have an AD-2500 P-90 that is better quality than that original 2800...and this is for what is in the Agile pecking order, a "lesser" model. The AD-3000M Prestige I last purchased has reinforced that perception of quality with this 3100M being the pinacle. Newer versions of Agiles due out this spring are supposed to raise the bar even higher (and the $$$ as well, I'm sure).

New gear purchases always come with the standard "new gear glow". Often times that elation over a new piece of gear turns into complacency once the bloom is off the rose. This Agile AL-3100M should endure the test of time as a solid, true to spec, LP type guitar. And, for several hundred (or even thousands?) less than the "real deal" it deserves a "best buy" award. I think it's a keeper....






That's my bass player Bloozduck looking on in the background...