Agile 3100

Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:12 pm

fatjack wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:22 pm I've got a 3100,ocean burst lefty. I picked up and I love the thing all 10 pounds of it. I will say that with the pickups spend the time to adjust and fiddle around if they seem a little off . I love mine after getting them set or consider a magnet swap.

Regarding the quality of Agiles in general and their pickups in particular, I came across this old setup video a few days ago. The guitar in question is an Al-2000 which was discontinued probably 4-5 years ago ,came with lesser quality specs than the 3000 series and had stock pickups with ceramic magnets (the AL/AD-3xxx model pickups all have Alnico 5s) but the points and info are still valid:

Razzle · Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:41 pm

You did good [mention]Stoli[/mention] . I'm sure you're already loving it.

I had several JT-220's years ago and IMO the Agile is a fairly significant upgrade. They're very well solidly made guitars. And you made a GREAT choice on the Lemonburst! I think it's one of the best Agile finishes. I have a Lemonburst AL-3100mcc but it's got a floyd. A fairly rare bird for any LP with a floyd. Kurt made two batches of them and they sold out really quick. One of the last AL's with a floyd they had (a B-stock) that was a red flame top at a pretty good price, and I mentioned it on a FB group and some guy bought it within an hour. Cool!

Kurt and Rondo are a great company to deal with it. Obviously already you got your guitar with no issues, but on the rare occasions when the guitars do have issues Kurt is very generous and responsive to make it right.

Love where you live, been to Gatlinburg and Knoxville many times, and geez can't temember how many times I've been to Nashville. I live a couple hours south of there and amazingly in this small town of H'ville there are a few agiles here! (although I probably have more than anyone else here).

Congrats on your NGD... you chose... Wisely

fullonshred · Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:17 pm

Welcome to our humble home. I think the Lemon Drop models are beautiful. I also think buying the case was a solid move, and their cases are decent for the money. I agree with you that their shipping is very reasonable.

I hope you get a Great one, and a little AGF tip - We LOVE pictures and New Guitar Day posts. I hope you will feel up to it when yours comes in. Stick around, we are a pretty relaxed bunch of folks here.

Stoli · Fri Oct 16, 2020 12:45 pm

It looks like the guitar is shipping today and arrive on Tuesday. I will be interested to see what it looks like. I have a guy that has worked on a couple of guitars for me and have been very pleased with his work. If he looks at one and does not see any issues he just tells you. I had him to look at my Eastman a few months after I bought it and he was like I would not change a thing. When I bought my Eastman the seller had done a setup on it so I have never done anything to that instrument. Sadly, there are not a lot of people out there that are really good with setup and repair work. This guy is in his seventies and has worked on guitars and other instruments for years. I know he works on a lot mandolins and banjos in addition to guitars and has done some impressive restoration work.

My Eastman and parlor guitar are not as sensitive to humidity as my Jay Turser. When it gets time to turn on the heat it goes nuts for a few days. My Jay Turser is a cherry burst plain top. It looks a lot like the Gibson that Jimmy Page plays in some of the videos on Youtube. For a $200 guitar, I feel like I got very good value from it.

I will probably play it a few weeks and let it acclimate and get used to it before I do anything. On the cases, I have read that they are very good quality.

I will try to post some pics when it arrives.

Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:35 pm

FWIW, my experience has been that other than maybe adjusting action to your particular preference (and then possibly the pickup height), Agiles are generally good to go right out of the box....

Stoli · Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:01 pm

Thanks for posting the video on the setup and I hope you are right that if something is off you can fix it with raising or lowering the action. I watched another video that guy did where he was working on a guitar that had some issues where he went through a lot of things that can go wrong over time or production issues that can happen. Was very interesting and thanks for the link. I would not be comfortable tackling all of that by myself but some of it you could do pretty easily on your own.

My geetar is supposed to arrive tomorrow so I guess we will see.

Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:59 pm

Stoli wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:01 pm
My geetar is supposed to arrive tomorrow so I guess we will see.

Odds are all you will need to do is touch up the tuning & play until your fingers get sore.

Stoli · Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:28 pm

mickey wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:59 pm
Stoli wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:01 pm
My geetar is supposed to arrive tomorrow so I guess we will see.
Odds are all you will need to do is touch up the tuning & play until your fingers get sore.

That will certainly work for me. When I ordered my Eastman guitar a few years ago, that is how it arrived.

golem · Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:34 pm

My dad's currently in East Tenn. were these different times I'd offer to bring out my 3200MCC the next time I visit for you to check out.

Agiles are great guitars, but mine is really heavy. And, it doesn't have the stock pickups, pots, or wiring. After all that was done, I wouldn't trade it for Gibsons I've owned that I probably had 3X-4X more cash in.

Partscaster · Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:09 pm

If the 3100's weight seems too much, I recommend the SX Callisto "CUS" or "STD+" as they are generally less than 8lbs, have a 1/2" maple top, and bring out the best in good pickups, IMO.

They come with ceramic pickups, which aren't bad. But all my alnico pickup upgrades sound very good in the several I have owned.
And, they cost about half of a 3100mcc. Some did need fret leveling work.

I did like the looks of that Lemon burst. Cheers.

Stoli · Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:24 pm

Partscaster wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:09 pm If the 3100's weight seems too much, I recommend the SX Callisto "CUS" or "STD+" as they are generally less than 8lbs, have a 1/2" maple top, and bring out the best in good pickups, IMO.

They come with ceramic pickups, which aren't bad. But all my alnico pickup upgrades sound very good in the several I have owned.
And, they cost about half of a 3100mcc. Some did need fret leveling work.

I did like the looks of that Lemon burst. Cheers.

Thanks, the weight is not that big of an issue to me as I mostly play sitting down. I do not know the weight but I have an Eastman that feels pretty heavy. I do not know that much about pickups. Will see what it sounds like.

Stoli · Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:25 pm

golem wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:34 pm My dad's currently in East Tenn. were these different times I'd offer to bring out my 3200MCC the next time I visit for you to check out.

Agiles are great guitars, but mine is really heavy. And, it doesn't have the stock pickups, pots, or wiring. After all that was done, I wouldn't trade it for Gibsons I've owned that I probably had 3X-4X more cash in.

That would be great when things get better with all this.

nomadh · Mon Oct 19, 2020 9:51 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Wed Oct 14, 2020 5:57 pm Feels like old times again, us all talking about the Agile 3100 and Rondo.

Go ahead, feel free to unload on me guys. The truth is, I have Agiles, and I have Epiphones, and I have PRS SEs. When the chips are down I grab first my Gibson, second a favorite modded PRS SE, third a favorite modded Harley Benton, fourth an Epi, and lastly one of my Agiles.

Who let you in here?

nomadh · Mon Oct 19, 2020 11:11 pm

9.5 lbs on my al3001. They are great guitars but prices have gone up and selection down. As things are now I would also be looking at a used studio gibson as a possible. But if you like the looks of an agile in stock and the price. Then there is no downside. The return warranty is the best

toomanycats · Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:26 am

nomadh wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 9:51 pm
toomanycats wrote: ↑Wed Oct 14, 2020 5:57 pm Feels like old times again, us all talking about the Agile 3100 and Rondo.

Go ahead, feel free to unload on me guys. The truth is, I have Agiles, and I have Epiphones, and I have PRS SEs. When the chips are down I grab first my Gibson, second a favorite modded PRS SE, third a favorite modded Harley Benton, fourth an Epi, and lastly one of my Agiles.
Who let you in here?

Not to worry. I got my comeuppance last weekend. Partly because of this thread I pulled my Agile AL-3101M out of the case last Friday afternoon and had something like a new love affair with it. It has a Duncan JB2 in the bridge and a Harley Benton A5 PAF flavor pup in the neck, but other than that it's stock. Took it to the gig Friday night and played it all evening. It sounded amazing. So good in fact that I took it Saturday night's gig too.

Longblacktie · Tue Oct 20, 2020 5:37 pm

They are fantastic guitars, you’re going to love it!

Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:50 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:26 am ...It has a Duncan JB2 in the bridge and a Harley Benton A5 PAF flavor pup in the neck, ...

Did that neck pickup come out of the L-450+?

toomanycats · Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:46 am

tobijohn wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:50 pm
toomanycats wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 4:26 am ...It has a Duncan JB2 in the bridge and a Harley Benton A5 PAF flavor pup in the neck, ...
Did that neck pickup come out of the L-450+?

Yes. You may have actually sent it to me.

mark_morton · Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:44 pm

So... it's Thursday... where are the pics?

Stoli · Thu Oct 22, 2020 10:03 pm

mark_morton wrote: ↑Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:44 pm So... it's Thursday... where are the pics?

No pics today. I will try to post photos tomorrow or Saturday. Wife is out of town and I do not have a camera but will try to get some with her tablet when she gets back home. I did receive the guitar today and have played it a good bit this evening. I like the looks of the guitar and do not see issues with the finish and fit. The hardware including the tuners, switch, knobs, and jack seem to be good quality. I do not see any issues that I can recognize with the neck. The frets seem to be in good order. I think I am going to like this guitar. The only issue that I have noticed so far is some fret buzz when strumming chords. I am guessing that the bridge may need to be raised a hair.

My initial impressions...

1. I think I got what I ordered. Seems everything that I understand or can see meets what was advertised.

2. If you order a guitar from Rondo, get a case. I think they did a good job packing but there was a nasty hole in the box and I wonder what would have happened had I not ordered it with a case. By the way, the case seems like a pretty solid one and nice one. I do not blame Rondo for the hole in the box as pretty much any shipper can do a job on a package.

3. The guitar looks great and better in person than it does on the Rondo website. I do not see any issue with the fit or finish.

4. The hardware seems to be good quality. The tuners, bridge, stop piece, switch, jack, and the knobs all seem to be good quality. Also, the frets seem fine at first glance.

5. The electronics seem to work well and the knobs seem very responsive to turning up or down. I have mostly played it with the volume knobs at low volume and it works well with my amp but you can easily hear the difference when you turn either the volume or tone knobs.

6. The wood construction seems good. As best as I can tell it looks like a one piece neck, three piece body, and cap. I think you would probably have to take something a part to figure whether the top has a veneer. Either way it looks great I think.

7. As I have read from many others the guitar has a heavy feel to it but that is not a big issue to me as I mostly play sitting down.

8. With the pickups, I think they sound fine but I will have to play it a while to really judge that and fine tune my amp to it. They seem to sound pretty good with clean or distortion or at least good enough for me.

9. Love the playability with the action and ebony neck. It is a very comfortable guitar to play. I have not found any dead spots in the frets as of yet.

10. The only issue that I have found so far is fret buzz at times with chords. I suspect the bridge being slightly raised may take care of that.

11. The pickups are loud and this seems like a rock and roll guitar. My 335 seems to have softer pickups but I think you could play whatever you like on this and sound good.

Overall, I am very pleased with what I have seen and heard so far with the guitar after playing it a while. I guess I got more than what I expected. I think you would be hard pressed to find a guitar at Guitar Center that is as nice as this one for a comparable guitar at the price.

fullonshred · Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:20 pm

[mention]Stoli[/mention] - if the fret buzz continues maybe put on a new set of good quality strings. There is a known deal with some strings from overseas guitar makers causing fret buzz. Something about them having a hexagonal inner core vs round like it should be.

All I can tell you is I had a brand new Gorgeous Epiphone Nighthawk Custom Reissue that I was miserable over due to significant fret buzz no matter how I adjusted the neck and bridge. As a last gasp attempt to not send it back I called the nearest Authorized Epi Service guy. He was not nearby. He explained that no matter how good the strings looked or felt, they were likely the problem. He further stated, you can drive all the way here and leave it, and drive all the way back to get it - but the first thing I will do is change the strings and that will probably fix it. IIRC these strings had a D'addario tag on the headstock. But I took them off, put on some D'Addarios I had purchased locally and Voila! Buzz was gone and I was able to lower the action where it should be without it coming back. Hexagonal cores. Go figure.

Stoli · Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:46 pm

You know you might be onto something there. I am going to let the guitar settle a little as it has probably seen all sorts of temperature and humidity changes between warehouse, trucks, etc. Per the specs on the guitar, it has D'addario 10s. Those are the only strings that I have used for several years on my Eastman and my Jay Turser and they tend to sound good and last a long time. These strings have a different feel that I cannot really describe when bending and so on. I do know that the real D'addario strings last for a long time and they either go dead or you get fret buzz or the high e breaks when they get to the end of their life which is usually several months.

To look at these strings you would think that the guitar had never been played and the strings went on today just to look at them. I do not want to send the guitar back and am guessing it is either action or as you suggest just some funky strings.

glasshand · Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:23 am

fullonshred wrote: ↑Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:20 pm @Stoli - if the fret buzz continues maybe put on a new set of good quality strings. There is a known deal with some strings from overseas guitar makers causing fret buzz. Something about them having a hexagonal inner core vs round like it should be.

Interesting - and I always figured round cores made more sense - but aren't the vast majority of guitar strings hex core? It sounds like there are a bunch of tradeoffs.
https://www.stringjoy.com/round-core-gu ... r-strings/
https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/blog/he ... e-strings/
https://www.ghsstrings.com/pages/faq-guitar

I'm a happy user of DR Pure Blues (round core) but I can't say that I've noticed much difference in tuning stability or frequency of breakage one way or the other.

Chocol8 · Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:13 am

The top should be a flame veneer on a solid maple cap.

fullonshred · Fri Oct 23, 2020 1:16 pm

glasshand wrote: ↑Fri Oct 23, 2020 10:23 am
fullonshred wrote: ↑Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:20 pm @Stoli - if the fret buzz continues maybe put on a new set of good quality strings. There is a known deal with some strings from overseas guitar makers causing fret buzz. Something about them having a hexagonal inner core vs round like it should be.
Interesting - and I always figured round cores made more sense - but aren't the vast majority of guitar strings hex core? It sounds like there are a bunch of tradeoffs.
https://www.stringjoy.com/round-core-gu ... r-strings/
https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/blog/he ... e-strings/
https://www.ghsstrings.com/pages/faq-guitar

I'm a happy user of DR Pure Blues (round core) but I can't say that I've noticed much difference in tuning stability or frequency of breakage one way or the other.

I think my experience was probably 6-7 years ago. If we had our old posts from old AGF I could say for sure. Maybe things have changed, but the Epi Guy, who also builds his own custom guitars was sold that the overseas strings with hex cores were causing fret buzz problems. And when I followed his advice the fret buzz went away. Maybe they have improved hex core based strings since then, or maybe my experience was a one-off fluke. But it kept me from returning an absolutely beautiful, unique guitar.