NGD: Agile Hawker 82527

[Matty B]

New guitar day. I haven't seen anyone else post anything about these while I was looking to buy mine so I figured I'd throw it out there.

This is my second agile I've owned but my first mutliscale and first headless guitar.
The guitar comes with a mohogany body with a burled ash top, 1 peice maple neck and rosewood fretboard. With it being headless however it does make it slightly more body heavy. The scale is 25.5" to 27". I do really like the multiscale, it didn't take any time at all to get used to it. It just feels much more ergonomic.

The headless bridge hardware makes changing strings a lot faster in my opinion but the string locks definitely take some getting used to in my opinion. I broke several strings due to the locks being metal on metal contact and creating a weak point. It isn't like on a Floyd rose but where place dispence the pressure evenly. I would like to change these to something more high quality but I can't seem to find any place that makes these. But these are only true gripe about the guitar.

The pickups are cepheus passive 9 string pickups. They don't sound bad but at times the low end on these can be a little bit closer to a bass pickup response. So you do have to play around with the mid-range on amp settings some.

Feel free to leave any questions.
And yes it dj0nts!

7A0A1809-93B8-46FE-B486-C99501A26C6D

• Matty B
• Apr 28, 2018

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• Matty B
• Apr 28, 2018

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• Matty B
• Apr 28, 2018

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• Matty B
• Apr 28, 2018

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Per the string locks on the "headstock", back the screw all the way out and take a look at it. If it's just a rough cut, pot metal bottom try polishing it up. If they're really bad, replace them with stainless and polish those.

 

[Matty B]

Per the string locks on the "headstock", back the screw all the way out and take a look at it. If it's just a rough cut, pot metal bottom try polishing it up. If they're really bad, replace them with stainless and polish those.

I don’t think the issue is the metal itself. It’s more so the design. It doesn’t just mash the strings flat. The screw goes deeper down than the string inserts so it causes the string to be bent at a 90° angle 4 times altogether in the lock.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Ouch, that is some questionable design.

In that case I'd fill in that depression with either a small washer or even epoxy.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

That's disappointing because I really wanted to try one of their headless guitars

 

[lewis]

why not remove those and replace with the abm headless pieces if these are shit -

 

[Matty B]

That's disappointing because I really wanted to try one of their headless guitars

I still thoroughly recommend it. That was my only gripe.

why not remove those and replace with the abm headless pieces if these are shit -

Can you link me??

 

[lewis]

I still thoroughly recommend it. That was my only gripe.




Can you link me??

where are you located mate?
If the UK you can use "BTN Music" I believe as he has a deal with ABM.

If international, contact ABM direct to put in an order here -

https://abm-guitarpartsshop.com/kontakt:..:1.html

 

[diagrammatiks]

this doesn't seem as ugly as the ones on their website.
I applaud your courage.

 

[rx]

That is the ugliest superstrat I have ever seen.

 

[Matty B]

That is the ugliest superstrat I have ever seen.

That's because it isn't a strat lol it looks more along the lines of a PRS

 

[iamaom]

I don't understand the point of a headless when it a) doesn't have a compact body and b) has a big headstock sized paddle. Seems strange how Rondo really kind of missed the mark on these.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I don't understand the point of a headless when it a) doesn't have a compact body and b) has a big headstock sized paddle. Seems strange how Rondo really kind of missed the mark on these.

I lay some of my cheaper guitars on my carpet and have occasionally bumped tuners on the table. Also, whenever I put my instruments in my case, the tuners touch before the headstock does. I feel like it's less of innovation and more of a "this is the way we should have been doing it all along". There's other benefits that can be associated with a headless design but this guitar doesn't implement those (like zero-fret).

 

[rx]

That's because it isn't a strat lol it looks more along the lines of a PRS

The term "superstrat" has nothing to do with how a guitar looks, but more with how and with what it is constructed from. The guitar the thread is referring to may have a body in the shape of a PRS, but it is still considered a superstrat.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

The term "superstrat" has nothing to do with how a guitar looks, but more with how and with what it is constructed from. The guitar the thread is referring to may have a body in the shape of a PRS, but it is still considered a superstrat.

It has everything to do with what the guitar looks like. See: supertele.

 

[rx]

It has everything to do with what the guitar looks like. See: supertele.

To each his own I suppose!

 

[bostjan]

To each his own I suppose!

This is never really a productive argument to make when discussing semantics.

Personally, I'm intrigued as to why the Agile Hawker would be considered a superstrat by anyone. Double cutaway and a tummy cut? But you said:

The term "superstrat" has nothing to do with how a guitar looks, but more with how and with what it is constructed from.

Mahogany? Typically not superstrats, no.
Wood? Yes, but so are 99.999% of guitars, so are basically all guitars superstrats? If so, then the term "superstrat", being synonymous with 99.999% of guitars, is unnecessary.

What a superstrat is, in my mind, and I'm not claiming to speak for the forum, is a strat shaped guitar, or a guitar with a sleekened or sharpened strat shape, with humbuckers and typically some sort of floating trem.

 

[GunpointMetal]

I don't understand the point of a headless when it a) doesn't have a compact body and b) has a big headstock sized paddle. Seems strange how Rondo really kind of missed the mark on these.

That "big" headstock paddle is still going to help negate neckdive that 99% of ERGs suffer from due to the mass of having extra tuners on the headstock. Maybe not as tidy-looking as a Strandberg, but still serves a purpose. I'd be beyond stoked if they started doing Interceptor models with the same kind of idea, as my biggest issue with ALL of the 8 and 9 string guitars is neckdive. There are other ways to combat it by modifying the body shape, but I find few of those options visually appealing outside of Skervesen.

 

[bostjan]

That "big" headstock paddle is still going to help negate neckdive that 99% of ERGs suffer from due to the mass of having extra tuners on the headstock. Maybe not as tidy-looking as a Strandberg, but still serves a purpose. I'd be beyond stoked if they started doing Interceptor models with the same kind of idea, as my biggest issue with ALL of the 8 and 9 string guitars is neckdive. There are other ways to combat it by modifying the body shape, but I find few of those options visually appealing outside of Skervesen.

The paddle helps neck dive versus the regular headstock or versus the regular headless?

 

[GunpointMetal]

Regular headstock.