NGD: Agile Geodesic 62527

[littlebadboy]

Ordered last week via Reverb, and it's finally here! The interest free option was too difficult for me to ignore.

This is a headless 6-string multi-scale Geodesic 62527:

The good...
It was good to play out of the box after tuning. It is really light! I like the resonance of this guitar, it sounds good up and down the fret with no buzzing. The pickups are okay but doesn't get my WOW. Considering that it is slanted, it seems I that I will be stuck with it.

This is my first try with fan frets. I immediately got used to it. It's different in playability but has that "this makes sense" feel. I have a 28" baritone and it was difficult to play lead on the wider spaced upper frets. This guitar has a 27-25.5" scale and I thought a multiscale would be a better option.

This is my first time trying a headless and I think I am liking it!

It is a beautiful guitar for me! Plugged it into my rig, and it was definitely rocking!



The bad...
Although it is a beautiful guitar, I see some finish flaws. It seems the paint, or whatever is called, bled into the side borders.

Also, it didn't come with a manual. I have no idea how to change strings and intonate.



Electronics, the pots felt nice. I liked the volume and treble sweeps. The switch feels cheap. The jack is... is that acceptable for guitars? It doesn't have coil splits, but I don't mind. It would've been nice to have. I like parallel better though.


Because of the flaws, I am not sure if I will keep it. I suspect that this may be a b-stock. It seems I do not have luck with Agiles. The last one I had was a 7-string LP 2500 something. It was neck heavy as heck and the strings did not line up with the pickup poles by far. I returned it. However, the Hadean Tele I had before was perfect.

If I decide to keep it, I will make a demo video. Or, I may make one before returning.

Let's see.

Now... what string options are there for multi-scales? I'm thinking of going drop B.

[uwmcscott]

Glad to hear you liked the way it plays, bummer about the paint issues. I have wondered about how some of those seem to have a very light topcoat and without any binding it doesn't seem to be a super high-quality finish to begin with. But I do like the natural back look a lot. Does it play good enough to keep if Kurt gives you some $$ back for the finish issues?

[littlebadboy]

Does it play good enough to keep if Kurt gives you some $$ back for the finish issues?

I may... I just don't like the idea of paying full for a b-stock finish quality.

[uwmcscott]

I just don't like the idea of paying full for a b-stock finish quality.

I don't think many people do - and hopefully it works out in the end.

[littlebadboy]

I don't think many people do - and hopefully it works out in the end.

I hope so too.

Am I being too meticulous about it?

[honyock]

That jack is the same style as I have in my Heritage.

No agile has ever come with a manual I have purchased.

Finish is slightly below average what I've seen from Agile B-stock.

[BrianSkeezer]

To me, it looks like the spalting from the veneer is showing on the sides, just below the dye. Could this be what you're seeing as finish issues? I don't see the top dye on the sides in the pictures. In reference to changing strings, I'm sure there are videos or instructions somewhere on the net that could help, if you haven't already thought of that route.

[dabbler]

Thanks for the review. Looks like maybe intonation is done by moving the tuning machine. Looks like they have slots where the mounting screws are.

And looks like the pups are 4 wire, so you can modify to get splits/parallel or whatever you want.

[mickey]

I never knew you were supposed to tune them or set the intonation?

[uwmcscott]

Am I being too meticulous about it?

I don't think so, i'm pretty picky about those kinds of things too. If it were a $200 firefly or a low end Hadean I'd probably let it slide but that's a pretty high end guitar as Rondo guitars go. It does appear even in the stock photos that many of those matte burst finishes on the headless models are pretty thin to begin with.

[littlebadboy]

Am I being too meticulous about it?

I don't think so, i'm pretty picky about those kinds of things too. If it were a $200 firefly or a low end Hadean I'd probably let it slide but that's a pretty high end guitar as Rondo guitars go. It does appear even in the stock photos that many of those matte burst finishes on the headless models are pretty thin to begin with.

Thank you for the validation. I was thinking if it's just OCD.

To me, it looks like the spalting from the veneer is showing on the sides, just below the dye. Could this be what you're seeing as finish issues? I don't see the top dye on the sides in the pictures. In reference to changing strings, I'm sure there are videos or instructions somewhere on the net that could help, if you haven't already thought of that route.

According to Kurt, it is a spalted top guitar. So, what I am seeing is the spalting on the sides.

I tried looking for YouTube videos for this specific guitar and couldn't find one. I will try to broaden my search and find a similar bridge system.

Thanks, everyone!