What replaced your Agiles?

[PsychoCid]

How has your collection evolved?

What replaced your Agiles and why?

------

First it was early 80s Kramer's that replaced my Agiles. The neck carves were just ridiculously good plus great stock pickups and the all amazing Floyd.

Then later I replaced all those with Musikraft Kramer copies to my exact specifications. Plus a real 1976 Ibanez Destroyer which is the tits. And the remaining Les Paul spot is owned by... Epiphone! Again for the neck carve more than anything.

Agiles neck carves were actually pretty close to the medium (not too thin, not too thick) C shape I like. But ultimately replaced by some real legends. So, still a pretty good credit to Rondo. They held up well.

[bleys21]

A US made PRS 508 McCarthy replaced my AL3000 and their PRS clone whose model I can't remember. I added a US made Gibson acoustic, and haven't bought any other guitars since then, unless you count the Harley Benton Jazz bass I bought for my son to use.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Replaced? Nope. But complemented, sure. There's no such thing as too many guitars, though it's hard to keep them all in the rotation.

[PsychoCid]

Replaced? Nope. But complemented, sure. There's no such thing as too many guitars, though it's hard to keep them all in the rotation.

Hehehe

I felt that way as I collected 70+ guitars...

But in the end there's basically only 1 I wouldn't want to live without.

For me, the guitar either does everything you need it to do, or it doesn't.

The rest are just art. Even the 76 Destroyer is really only a prototype for my 82 Kramer set up.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Hehehe

I felt that way as I collected 70+ guitars...

But in the end there's basically only 1 I wouldn't want to live without.

For me, the guitar either does everything you need it to do, or it doesn't.

The rest are just art. Even the 76 Destroyer is really only a prototype for my 82 Kramer set up.

It really depends on what you're after. There's nothing wrong with having one ideal, but to me, there are many ideals. A Dobro for this, a 000 for that, a Jazzmaster for the other thing, a 12 string for yet another, a sitar for that oddball texture, etc. I love having a wide range, and each guitar just has its sweet spots.

[PsychoCid]

Hehehe

I felt that way as I collected 70+ guitars...

But in the end there's basically only 1 I wouldn't want to live without.

For me, the guitar either does everything you need it to do, or it doesn't.

The rest are just art. Even the 76 Destroyer is really only a prototype for my 82 Kramer set up.

It really depends on what you're after. There's nothing wrong with having one ideal, but to me, there are many ideals. A Dobro for this, a 000 for that, a Jazzmaster for the other thing, a 12 string for yet another, a sitar for that oddball texture, etc. I love having a wide range, and each guitar just has its sweet spots.

Why?

It's chasing superficial goods instead of relevant feelings.

Traditional men are happy eating beans and rice and feeling fed. The youth, on the other hand, need taco bell and McDonald's to be sated. One is wholesome, the other will ruin you.

[dabbler]

Why?

It's chasing superficial goods instead of relevant feelings.

Traditional men are happy eating beans and rice and feeling fed. The youth, on the other hand, need taco bell and McDonald's to be sated. One is wholesome, the other will ruin you.

If your musical tastes are wide and varied, you will need more than one guitar. No single guitar does everything well. Diversity is a good thing, in my book.

Different strokes for different folks.

[Partscaster]

My Agile AL's (4) are gone, my two Agile AS 2000's I keep.

What I got for LP's are SX Callisto's, and 2018 Gibson Tributes.
The Tributes have no weight relief and both are about 8.5 lbs. They sound good with pup swaps, play well, I might sell them.
The Callisto' STD+ models are all about 8 lbs except the last one which I bought that weighs just over 9lbs.
They have "mahogany" body and neck with full 1/2 inch "maple" cap. Although, they weren't listed with mahog necks or maple caps at the time I bought the most. Kurt or SX has since changed the descriptions to be mostly accurate.
I found that the light STD+ models sound the best to my ears with my vintage style humbucker preferences, and play great. Lively, rich, not too honky. They just happen to be the least expensive of any LP style I've bought.

The last Callisto STD+ I bought weighed just over 9lbs, has a magnificent top. Thats why i bought it. But, it may not sound as lively as the earlier lighter ones from more than a year earlier. Jury is still out on that last one. Eventually I'll whittle down that Callisto herd.

I like light, non weight relieved LP's that arent too mid dominant. Might be that I'm a strat guy long before an LP guy.

[tonebender]

GIBSON

[toomanycats]

I'm reading the OP's question as something like, "Since the Agile brand by Rondo is no longer the best and/or only option for an inexpensive Les Paul replacement, what has become your new go to in that category?"

A few years ago that would have been Harley Benton. I've also picked up some used Epiphones, as well as other brands that generally fit the Les Paul category, amongst them Dean, Urban, Maestro, Memphis, Epoch, and others.

But the truth is, I don't believe that right now there is a true replacement for the value of an Agile AL circa mid 2010s. Everything has changed.

For the record, my Agiles never replaced anything, and by the same token they were never replaced by anything. I owned real Gibson Les Pauls before I ever owned an Agile, and I own even more Gibsons now. I've never sold any of my Agiles, but that's just me, as I hang on to everything.

[PsychoCid]

Why?

It's chasing superficial goods instead of relevant feelings.

Traditional men are happy eating beans and rice and feeling fed. The youth, on the other hand, need taco bell and McDonald's to be sated. One is wholesome, the other will ruin you.

If your musical tastes are wide and varied, you will need more than one guitar. No single guitar does everything well. Diversity is a good thing, in my book.

Different strokes for different folks.

You're right. I was feeling particularly philosophical and reductionist last night.

Diversity for me is great provided there's still cohesion! Keep on rockin @dabbler

[PsychoCid]

My Agile AL's (4) are gone, my two Agile AS 2000's I keep.

What I got for LP's are SX Callisto's, and 2018 Gibson Tributes.
The Tributes have no weight relief and both are about 8.5 lbs. They sound good with pup swaps, play well, I might sell them.
The Callisto' STD+ models are all about 8 lbs except the last one which I bought that weighs just over 9lbs.
They have "mahogany" body and neck with full 1/2 inch "maple" cap. Although, they weren't listed with mahog necks or maple caps at the time I bought the most. Kurt or SX has since changed the descriptions to be mostly accurate.
I found that the light STD+ models sound the best to my ears with my vintage style humbucker preferences, and play great. Lively, rich, not too honky. They just happen to be the least expensive of any LP style I've bought.

The last Callisto STD+ I bought weighed just over 9lbs, has a magnificent top. Thats why i bought it. But, it may not sound as lively as the earlier lighter ones from more than a year earlier. Jury is still out on that last one. Eventually I'll whittle down that Callisto herd.

I like light, non weight relieved LP's that arent too mid dominant. Might be that I'm a strat guy long before an LP guy.

Very interesting on both the AS models and the SXs. I found the Agile neck carves to be extremely consistent across multiple guitar bodies, it was a very nice medium C in that era. How do the SX necks compare?

Also same here. Mainly a Strat (okay well, Pacer) guy. My ideal Les Paul is 8.2-8.5 lbs non relieved. I think my Epiphone is heavier, but it's also got a very unique maybe D shaped neck, and it belonged to Derek Jones (given to me by his band mate / my producer), so it stays with me.

[PsychoCid]

I'm reading the OP's question as something like, "Since the Agile brand by Rondo is no longer the best and/or only option for an inexpensive Les Paul replacement, what has become your new go to in that category?"

A few years ago that would have been Harley Benton. I've also picked up some used Epiphones, as well as other brands that generally fit the Les Paul category, amongst them Dean, Urban, Maestro, Memphis, Epoch, and others.

But the truth is, I don't believe that right now there is a true replacement for the value of an Agile AL circa mid 2010s. Everything has changed.

For the record, my Agiles never replaced anything, and by the same token they were never replaced by anything. I owned real Gibson Les Pauls before I ever owned an Agile, and I own even more Gibsons now. I've never sold any of my Agiles, but that's just me, as I hang on to everything.

I still pine for a Gibson because it's a GD Gibson.
As I recall you were fashionably late to the Agile party as well. You caught some great stuff but the era right before was also incredible.

At the time I was incredibly jealous of your Benton Explorer (still got that??) But then I was fortunate to catch a real Ibby Destroyer for $1750. When I can swing it, it does need new frets though.

[toomanycats]

I'm reading the OP's question as something like, "Since the Agile brand by Rondo is no longer the best and/or only option for an inexpensive Les Paul replacement, what has become your new go to in that category?"

A few years ago that would have been Harley Benton. I've also picked up some used Epiphones, as well as other brands that generally fit the Les Paul category, amongst them Dean, Urban, Maestro, Memphis, Epoch, and others.

But the truth is, I don't believe that right now there is a true replacement for the value of an Agile AL circa mid 2010s. Everything has changed.

For the record, my Agiles never replaced anything, and by the same token they were never replaced by anything. I owned real Gibson Les Pauls before I ever owned an Agile, and I own even more Gibsons now. I've never sold any of my Agiles, but that's just me, as I hang on to everything.

I still pine for a Gibson because it's a GD Gibson.
As I recall you were fashionably late to the Agile party as well. You caught some great stuff but the era right before was also incredible.

At the time I was incredibly jealous of your Benton Explorer (still got that??) But then I was fortunate to catch a real Ibby Destroyer for $1750. When I can swing it, it does need new frets though.

I joined the old AGF late December 2014 immediately after ordering my first Agile. So yeah, I missed the golden age by a sliver.

I've still got the Benton Explorer. Currently it has a nice set of A2 PAF alike pups in it wound by @mozz. I still kick myself for not ordering the Benton Flying V.

[Milkman]

I still have my 12 pound AL 3200, but I almost never play it (or the tele I made from scratch), because my MIM Blacktop Strat just does what I want it to do, and feels good doing it. The only other guitar I play is my Simon & Patrick acoustic, because the Strat can't do that.

[Partscaster]

My Agile AL's (4) are gone, my two Agile AS 2000's I keep.

What I got for LP's are SX Callisto's, and 2018 Gibson Tributes.
The Tributes have no weight relief and both are about 8.5 lbs. They sound good with pup swaps, play well, I might sell them.
The Callisto' STD+ models are all about 8 lbs except the last one which I bought that weighs just over 9lbs.
They have "mahogany" body and neck with full 1/2 inch "maple" cap. Although, they weren't listed with mahog necks or maple caps at the time I bought the most. Kurt or SX has since changed the descriptions to be mostly accurate.
I found that the light STD+ models sound the best to my ears with my vintage style humbucker preferences, and play great. Lively, rich, not too honky. They just happen to be the least expensive of any LP style I've bought.

The last Callisto STD+ I bought weighed just over 9lbs, has a magnificent top. Thats why i bought it. But, it may not sound as lively as the earlier lighter ones from more than a year earlier. Jury is still out on that last one. Eventually I'll whittle down that Callisto herd.

I like light, non weight relieved LP's that arent too mid dominant. Might be that I'm a strat guy long before an LP guy.

Very interesting on both the AS models and the SXs. I found the Agile neck carves to be extremely consistent across multiple guitar bodies, it was a very nice medium C in that era. How do the SX necks compare?

Also same here. Mainly a Strat (okay well, Pacer) guy. My ideal Les Paul is 8.2-8.5 lbs non relieved. I think my Epiphone is heavier, but it's also got a very unique maybe D shaped neck, and it belonged to Derek Jones (given to me by his band mate / my producer), so it stays with me.

AS-2000 feels like a routed out AL.
SX Callisto's I have, have neck feel seemingly identicle to the Agiles AL and AS2000.
The AS-2000's are essentially Agile's copy of a Gibson CS336. LP sized semihollow, routed out solid mahogany body, w/ solid maple arched top. No laminates, so tone is different from the 335/339 family.

[Rollin Hand]

Nothing really has. I sold my 3100 this fall because it was sitting. My Spad is sitting because I still don't have the pickups working right.

And my Scope 725 (more brootz and fresher breath!) sits as well, but because I just haven't been doing the 7 string thing of late. Maybe time to let that one go....

[honyock]

My Heritage H157 made me feel OK to sell my traditional ALs. Kept my 3200s. Need to ditch my SX Callisto next, it is so far down the list of players that it has been booted to the garage rack with my project guitars.

I am starting to downsize so more will go out than in. Don't have many Agiles left Harley Benton mid-level stuff had become my insert Futurama Fry "Shutup and take my money" meme here in the past year, but I'm over that I think and GAS is very weak and flame it created within me is nearing extinguishement altogether.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[PsychoCid]

Interesting

Yeah, what I had recalled from the old AGF days was that many people no longer even owned Agiles.

[dabbler]

...

I am starting to downsize so more will go out than in. Don't have many Agiles left Harley Benton mid-level stuff had become my insert Futurama Fry "Shutup and take my money" meme here in the past year, but I'm over that I think and GAS is very weak and flame it created within me is nearing extinguishement altogether.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

Yeah, I am in downsize mode, I need to get rid of a lot of stuff though and am procrastinating because it will be so much work.

I'm not really an LP kinda guy, even though I have a fair number of instruments in that mold. I will likely keep at least 3 though. 2 are an Agile AL2000 and a Douglas (basically a Callisto but alder body and bolt neck) that I put SD Prails with triple shot rings in (also on board tuners and locking tuning machines.

The other is my neck thru AL 3000, just 'cause it's so purdy.

I play mostly bass these days and Harley Benton has gotten my attention too.

[Milkman]

Man, @dabbler I wanted that neck thru AL 3000 sooooo bad when it was up at Rondo. Shoulda pulled the trigger!

[slowhand84]

How has your collection evolved?

What replaced your Agiles and why?

I still have a few Agiles (my custom shop AS-1000 is irreplaceable, far and away the best semihollow I've ever owned; and I love my Agile Epics too with the roasted neck and stainless frets).

I've gotten rid of all of my Agile ALs, they were great guitars and I had 3 at one point but ultimately I just decided I don't need that many LPs. I got a pair of 1980 Matsumoku-made Cortez LP Customs on the cheap recently, sold one and kept the other which was the better of the two. That Cortez, minus the inlay material which is a purely cosmetic thing, is every bit a match for some of the nicest Gibson LP Customs I've ever played. I actually think a lot of the higher end MIJ LP copies blow much of the Gibson stuff out of the water.

Here's my AS-1000, this was a custom order (rosewood fretboard instead of the ebony, and MOP traps instead of the usual blank board or blocks):



And here's the 1980 Cortez LP Custom, which is going to be the LP I keep forever:

[PsychoCid]

How has your collection evolved?

What replaced your Agiles and why?

I still have a few Agiles (my custom shop AS-1000 is irreplaceable, far and away the best semihollow I've ever owned; and I love my Agile Epics too with the roasted neck and stainless frets).

I've gotten rid of all of my Agile ALs, they were great guitars and I had 3 at one point but ultimately I just decided I don't need that many LPs. I got a pair of 1980 Matsumoku-made Cortez LP Customs on the cheap recently, sold one and kept the other which was the better of the two. That Cortez, minus the inlay material which is a purely cosmetic thing, is every bit a match for some of the nicest Gibson LP Customs I've ever played. I actually think a lot of the higher end MIJ LP copies blow much of the Gibson stuff out of the water.

Here's my AS-1000, this was a custom order (rosewood fretboard instead of the ebony, and MOP traps instead of the usual blank board or blocks):



And here's the 1980 Cortez LP Custom, which is going to be the LP I keep forever:

Dig that Cortez!

[dabbler]

@slowhand84

Even stock (and even in crappy pics like this), the AS1000 really is something special!

[slowhand84]

@slowhand84

Even stock (and even in crappy pics like this), the AS1000 really is something special!

IMGP2571~2.jpg

Nice one! For sure, it's def. my favorite of all the models Agile has put out. I grabbed my custom spec one from GC for a whopping $199 . I ended up grabbing a pair of Bareknuckle Mules used for a great price and putting them in there, and now it's one of the very best sounding guitars in my collection. Absolutely perfect for getting your BB King on!