Once more unto the Agile double cutaway breach, dear friends...

[tobijohn]

I miss the old Harms. Had one and sold it. Foolish. Don’t own any Agile’s anymore. I could go for some type of Harm with the tummy cut as mentioned somewhere in this thread. Don’t know how I would feel in 8 months if it takes that long though.

I got the impression from Kurt that there would be no more Harms because he felt what he would have to list them at would be more than most would be willing to pay. However, he's got a Valkyrie coming in that with shipping will be close to $100 more than a new Epiphone SG (which usually ship for free from the big online places). So who knows, maybe he would be open to trying another Harm...

[nomadh]

Could go some new direction like a mahogany semi hollow strat with two f-clefts and a full maple cap, mahogany center block. Just make sure the neck pocket is exactly fender spec. HHH route for pup type mods. Maybe a 3 p90 version, too.
Route out semi-hollow chambers as large as possible.

That would be cool. Time to start niche marketing for him.

[tobijohn]

I got the impression from Kurt that there would be no more Harms because he felt what he would have to list them at would be more than most would be willing to pay. However, he's got a Valkyrie coming in that with shipping will be close to $100 more than a new Epiphone SG (which usually ship for free from the big online places). So who knows, maybe he would be open to trying another Harm...

Well, I guess he's going to test the $500 Harm price point:

https://www.rondomusic.com/harm1toastbk.html

[andrewsrea]

^ The black 'tuxedo' motif is classy. Kurt must be getting counseling on appointments, considering some of the unappealing stuff (IMHO) he has put out in the last 5 years.

I am glad I got my red Harm 1 in 2008. It sounded great stock and even better when I swapped a few pickup magnets. However, this has got me thinking really going for the 60's Ric sound: making a set of P-90's that are 'toasters' inside and going flat-wound for strings. Hmm...

I did replace the stock tuners in 2008 with Grover Keystones, which were a little lighter in weight and helped balance the guitar better. I recall, it was a little headstock heavy before that.

[tobijohn]

I am glad I got my red Harm 1 in 2008. It sounded great stock and even better when I swapped a few pickup magnets. However, this has got me thinking really going for the 60's Ric sound: making a set of P-90's that are 'toasters' inside and going flat-wound for strings. Hmm...

I did replace the stock tuners in 2008 with Grover Keystones, which were a little lighter in weight and helped balance the guitar better. I recall, it was a little headstock heavy before that.

What replacement magnets did you use? As for "stealth" toasters, I might be interested in a set of those somewhere down the road if you do go forward with that. I have a set of @Buddha Pickups P90s that he calls Buddhabackers in one of my Harms (the very first guitar I bought from Rondo and IIRC, my very first pickup swap). I don't know about the internals but they are very jangly...

[andrewsrea]

I am glad I got my red Harm 1 in 2008. It sounded great stock and even better when I swapped a few pickup magnets. However, this has got me thinking really going for the 60's Ric sound: making a set of P-90's that are 'toasters' inside and going flat-wound for strings. Hmm...

I did replace the stock tuners in 2008 with Grover Keystones, which were a little lighter in weight and helped balance the guitar better. I recall, it was a little headstock heavy before that.

What replacement magnets did you use? As for "stealth" toasters, I might be interested in a set of those somewhere down the road if you do go forward with that. I have a set of @Buddha Pickups P90s that he calls Buddhabackers in one of my Harms (the very first guitar I bought from Rondo and IIRC, my very first pickup swap). I don't know about the internals but they are very jangly...

Jangly is good and so are Tim's pickups!

My Harm is acoustically jangly which helps. If I recall correctly the DC resistance of the bridge was around 11K to 12K and the neck was a little lower. The bridge has one of the original ceramic bar magnets and an Alnico 5, which added a little compression and kept enough 'bite'. I can nail Golden Earring's "Radar Love" main tone with this, a Plexi and post recording plate reverb. It also sounds convincing jamming with earlier Beatles records. The neck, I replaced the ceramics with an Alnico 3 & Alnico 5. Which sounds bouncy and woody, but not muddy.

The sleeper Toaster idea is easy on functional design, but I need to work out visual presentation. Do I insert a Toaster into a P-90 cover or do I just straight-up use a P-90 cover and modify the holes for the rod magnets and let them peek through?

[tobijohn]

The sleeper Toaster idea is easy on functional design, but I need to work out visual presentation. Do I insert a Toaster into a P-90 cover or do I just straight-up use a P-90 cover and modify the holes for the rod magnets and let them peek through?

I wonder how a P90 cover without any holes would look, like the Mustang or old Melody Maker pickups? I've seen them in both black and crème, you'd just have to drill holes for the mounting screws. However, while it's easy enough, the aesthetics of that might leave a little to be desired...

[BatUtilityBelt]

I wonder how a P90 cover without any holes would look, like the Mustang or old Melody Maker pickups? I've seen them in both black and crème, you'd just have to drill holes for the mounting screws. However, while it's easy enough, the aesthetics of that might leave a little to be desired...

You could make them appear like gold foils.

[tobijohn]

You could make them appear like gold foils.

I thought of that too but a quick search found limited sources for open P90 covers. They're out there though...

EDIT:

Here you go:

https://www.wdmusic.com/wd-music-produc ... tails.html

[uwmcscott]

I got the impression from Kurt that there would be no more Harms because he felt what he would have to list them at would be more than most would be willing to pay. However, he's got a Valkyrie coming in that with shipping will be close to $100 more than a new Epiphone SG (which usually ship for free from the big online places). So who knows, maybe he would be open to trying another Harm...

Well, I guess he's going to test the $500 Harm price point:

https://www.rondomusic.com/harm1toastbk.html

I saw that and mentioned it in another thread. I think it's probably a fair price considering current demand and availability. And overall, where else are you going to find a good quality semi-hollow with an ebony fingerboard made in S.Korea for $500?

[mickey]

The sleeper Toaster idea is easy on functional design, but I need to work out visual presentation. Do I insert a Toaster into a P-90 cover or do I just straight-up use a P-90 cover and modify the holes for the rod magnets and let them peek through?

I wonder how a P90 cover without any holes would look, like the Mustang or old Melody Maker pickups? I've seen them in both black and crème, you'd just have to drill holes for the mounting screws. However, while it's easy enough, the aesthetics of that might leave a little to be desired...

I know how they look with holes for a soapbar size humbucker.

[andrewsrea]

@tobijohn & @BatUtilityBelt: Yeah, I was mulling the same concept. The rings like TJ linked and black card stock, dipped in wax, then silicone caulked to the raw pickup assembly. Hmm.

@mickey I remember that gold Harm of yours and the P-90 buckers. Who made the pickups?

[mickey]

@tobijohn & @BatUtilityBelt: Yeah, I was mulling the same concept. The rings like TJ linked and black card stock, dipped in wax, then silicone caulked to the raw pickup assembly. Hmm.

@mickey I remember that gold Harm of yours and the P-90 buckers. Who made the pickups?

They are a T.V. Jones Classic & Classic Plus in the bridge.
(Made for me to fit soapbar mounts.)

[tobijohn]

OK, back to the flat top DC for a moment:

Instead of the Junior pickguard style that came on the AD-2200 Reissue/AD-2250/AD-2300, what about the pseudo Melody Maker that was used on the AD-201 and has the pots, toggle and input jack attached to the pickguard rather than routed through the body with a back plate access? It looks like though if the latter then there would only be room for master V/Ts. I'm trying to stick with layouts and colors from previous Agile models to keep costs down and figuring the factory is less likely to screw things up if they've done the same thing before. Also, bridge will be a TOM, not a wraparound ...

[tobijohn]

Actually, looking at it a little more closely, the difference in geometry between the TOM and wraparound would mean that a different Melody maker style pickguard would have to be modified from the one on the original AD-201 which defeats the purpose of keeping things simple...

[Buddha Pickups]

I am glad I got my red Harm 1 in 2008. It sounded great stock and even better when I swapped a few pickup magnets. However, this has got me thinking really going for the 60's Ric sound: making a set of P-90's that are 'toasters' inside and going flat-wound for strings. Hmm...

I did replace the stock tuners in 2008 with Grover Keystones, which were a little lighter in weight and helped balance the guitar better. I recall, it was a little headstock heavy before that.

What replacement magnets did you use? As for "stealth" toasters, I might be interested in a set of those somewhere down the road if you do go forward with that. I have a set of @Buddha Pickups P90s that he calls Buddhabackers in one of my Harms (the very first guitar I bought from Rondo and IIRC, my very first pickup swap). I don't know about the internals but they are very jangly...

Jangly is good and so are Tim's pickups!

My Harm is acoustically jangly which helps. If I recall correctly the DC resistance of the bridge was around 11K to 12K and the neck was a little lower. The bridge has one of the original ceramic bar magnets and an Alnico 5, which added a little compression and kept enough 'bite'. I can nail Golden Earring's "Radar Love" main tone with this, a Plexi and post recording plate reverb. It also sounds convincing jamming with earlier Beatles records. The neck, I replaced the ceramics with an Alnico 3 & Alnico 5. Which sounds bouncy and woody, but not muddy.

The sleeper Toaster idea is easy on functional design, but I need to work out visual presentation. Do I insert a Toaster into a P-90 cover or do I just straight-up use a P-90 cover and modify the holes for the rod magnets and let them peek through?

It was 40awg wire and either a5 or ceramic mags.

[Partscaster]

Actually, looking at it a little more closely, the geometry between the TOM and wraparound would mean that a different Melody maker style pickguard would have to be modified from the one on the original AD-201 which defeats the purpose of keeping things simple...

That sunburst melody maker looks fantastic. How about looking like that...including the dots on fretboard?

[tobijohn]

That sunburst melody maker looks fantastic. How about looking like that...including the dots on fretboard?

Then we're back to a sort of 2TS finish but asking the factory to do something they haven't done before. Dots on the fretboard like the AD-201, AD-2200 Reissue and AD-2250 are in the current specs. In fact, other than the body shape and hopefully the finish, the specs should be identical to the AD-2250:

https://www.rondomusic.com/Agile_AD-2250_2TS.html

[Partscaster]

That sunburst melody maker looks fantastic. How about looking like that...including the dots on fretboard?

Then we're back to a sort of 2TS finish but asking the factory to do something they haven't done before. Dots on the fretboard like the AD-201, AD-2200 Reissue and AD-2250 are in the current specs. In fact, other than the body shape and hopefully the finish, the specs should be identical to the AD-2250:

https://www.rondomusic.com/Agile_AD-2250_2TS.html

Thanks John. That looks good. And I am getting where I can enjoy doing a 2TSunburst myself.

as22502ts6.jpg (13.7 KiB) Viewed 2347 times

[tobijohn]

The other issue is we're used to striking finishes on a maple veneer or ash or alder body guitars. A lot of times those finishes just don't look right on mahogany...

[Chocol8]

Is no pickguard an option?

[tobijohn]

Is no pickguard an option?

Highly unlikely as most prefer one on this style of guitar. I'm trying to come up with specs and finishes that have the broadest appeal and sell quickly so that Kurt will be open to other ideas going forward...

[LightWingStudios]

Dump the "PRS Neck Joint Heel Hump" if you can.