alexmurphy
Banned
So, I ordered this guitar last may, i believe. It is an Agile Hornet Pro custom 7 string. I dont remember all of my exact orders, but whats different with this one is the original FR, the black outlining on the body, no marks on the fretboard, and the length of the neck (28"). If i remember anything else thats different, I'll be sure to let you know.
Guitars were expected to be delivered in October. October went by...then november....then about halfway through december, i shot an email to Kurt, asking what was going on. He said that he had sent me an email regaurding the guitar in October and I had not responded (which is reasonable, because this particular email account doesn't always send my mail). So he resent the email. I've since deleted it, but he told me that there were flaws in the guitars finish and some minor damage where the guitar meets the neck. He sent some pictures, and though the neck damage was noticeable, the flaws in the finish are very hard to notice, especially from father than 3 or so feet away. So he went ahead and sent me the guitar.
When it came, it was packed in 4 or 5 boxes (i guess to prevent shipping damage, but it took 15 minutes to unwrap the damn thing). Once I got in, I picked up the guitar, scoping out the damage he mentioned. Though it wasn't all that much I did ask for a small refund. Some other things i noticed, however, was that some of the specifications i made were messed up: i asked for a thru-neck guitar, and got a bolt on; I asked for an inverted headstock, got a normal one. Though neither of those were big deals, they kind of annoyed me, being that I paid 400 more than the standard hornet and they couldnt so much as get some orders right.
but, those things aside, this guitar plays AMAZINGLY. the action is the best i have ever played on. just because of that I would have been willing to pay extra. The tone with the guitar was alright, nothing too special either way. I ordered EMG pickups, which for the most part, all sound alike, so there wasnt really much difference. As for the clean tone, its alright, but I can tell the action is low, it sound kind of boxy and stacatto. Its not buzzy, but this guitar wasn't really made for clean tones. The neck is very thin, which i much prefer over the "gibson style" neck. it makes it a lot easier to play what you want, and it really gives you a feel of the guitar.
The floyd rose, is a floyd rose. It stays in tune as well as it can, it does exactly what its made for. I set the FR in january for the last time, and haven't had to re-tune this guitar again, through dive bombs or whatever else you would throw at it. Only bad thing with the floyd (and all floyds) is that its a truly daunting task to change the strings, and because of that, i haven't even replaced the strings the guitar came with. I will do it soon, because they are starting to get rough, and i dont want them to damage my frets. At a time, I was used to the Ibanez ZX tremolo, like on the S series guitars. That thing was a breeze, honestly. Easiest thing ever to tune, or change strings. Floyds are different, though.
Something that sort of caught me off-guard with it, however: under the tuning knobs and pickup selector, its hollow. If i play my guitar unplugged, it resonates in that hole (mildly). You dont really notice it when you are playing, though. I don't really think that's a good or bad thing, i just wasnt expecting it. And, while im on topic with tone knobs, they are exceptionally hard to turn. Its not to the point where i can't, its just that I'm used to the knobs on my ESP 8 string, where i can flick it with my pinky just before i start playing, and with this guitar, i physically have to grab it and turn it.
These pictures are crappy because i took them with a video camera.
Pictures -
(send a comment if you want to see something i didnt picture)
Something I came to notice, however, is that the V shape is inconvenient. I mean, you can play it sitting down, but you have to work at keeping it perched on your leg right, and when you are standing up playing it, to a small degree it's off balanced. However the off balance part is partially my fault; the guitar came with one strap knob in place and the other to screw on where you wanted, and i most likely put the other one in the wrong place. but, that aside, I've learned that V guitars are more for show and less for practice. Another thing is that the case for the guitar (which was expected to delive in february) came, and the guitar is about an inch longer than the guitar. I notified the guys at Rondo about that, and they had me measure the length of the guitar, so I assume they are working on something, but they haven't gotten back to me. Whatever.
Overall, I do like this guitar. it has given me some difficulty with the guys at Rondo, but it was worth it. This is an amazing guitar to play and an amazing one to look at. I like that its white, which gives it a sense of class, and the black outlining contributes to that as well. Just looking at the guitar, you know that it can play. Would I buy another agile? Definitely. They are cheaply priced (non-customs, that is) and they play like guitars 3 or 4 times more expensive. They are very much worth it. I won't be getting another guitar for a while, seeing that I need a car, and only work in the summer, but once i get money, I will be buying an Agile again.
Guitars were expected to be delivered in October. October went by...then november....then about halfway through december, i shot an email to Kurt, asking what was going on. He said that he had sent me an email regaurding the guitar in October and I had not responded (which is reasonable, because this particular email account doesn't always send my mail). So he resent the email. I've since deleted it, but he told me that there were flaws in the guitars finish and some minor damage where the guitar meets the neck. He sent some pictures, and though the neck damage was noticeable, the flaws in the finish are very hard to notice, especially from father than 3 or so feet away. So he went ahead and sent me the guitar.
When it came, it was packed in 4 or 5 boxes (i guess to prevent shipping damage, but it took 15 minutes to unwrap the damn thing). Once I got in, I picked up the guitar, scoping out the damage he mentioned. Though it wasn't all that much I did ask for a small refund. Some other things i noticed, however, was that some of the specifications i made were messed up: i asked for a thru-neck guitar, and got a bolt on; I asked for an inverted headstock, got a normal one. Though neither of those were big deals, they kind of annoyed me, being that I paid 400 more than the standard hornet and they couldnt so much as get some orders right.
but, those things aside, this guitar plays AMAZINGLY. the action is the best i have ever played on. just because of that I would have been willing to pay extra. The tone with the guitar was alright, nothing too special either way. I ordered EMG pickups, which for the most part, all sound alike, so there wasnt really much difference. As for the clean tone, its alright, but I can tell the action is low, it sound kind of boxy and stacatto. Its not buzzy, but this guitar wasn't really made for clean tones. The neck is very thin, which i much prefer over the "gibson style" neck. it makes it a lot easier to play what you want, and it really gives you a feel of the guitar.
The floyd rose, is a floyd rose. It stays in tune as well as it can, it does exactly what its made for. I set the FR in january for the last time, and haven't had to re-tune this guitar again, through dive bombs or whatever else you would throw at it. Only bad thing with the floyd (and all floyds) is that its a truly daunting task to change the strings, and because of that, i haven't even replaced the strings the guitar came with. I will do it soon, because they are starting to get rough, and i dont want them to damage my frets. At a time, I was used to the Ibanez ZX tremolo, like on the S series guitars. That thing was a breeze, honestly. Easiest thing ever to tune, or change strings. Floyds are different, though.
Something that sort of caught me off-guard with it, however: under the tuning knobs and pickup selector, its hollow. If i play my guitar unplugged, it resonates in that hole (mildly). You dont really notice it when you are playing, though. I don't really think that's a good or bad thing, i just wasnt expecting it. And, while im on topic with tone knobs, they are exceptionally hard to turn. Its not to the point where i can't, its just that I'm used to the knobs on my ESP 8 string, where i can flick it with my pinky just before i start playing, and with this guitar, i physically have to grab it and turn it.
These pictures are crappy because i took them with a video camera.
Pictures -
(send a comment if you want to see something i didnt picture)
Something I came to notice, however, is that the V shape is inconvenient. I mean, you can play it sitting down, but you have to work at keeping it perched on your leg right, and when you are standing up playing it, to a small degree it's off balanced. However the off balance part is partially my fault; the guitar came with one strap knob in place and the other to screw on where you wanted, and i most likely put the other one in the wrong place. but, that aside, I've learned that V guitars are more for show and less for practice. Another thing is that the case for the guitar (which was expected to delive in february) came, and the guitar is about an inch longer than the guitar. I notified the guys at Rondo about that, and they had me measure the length of the guitar, so I assume they are working on something, but they haven't gotten back to me. Whatever.
Overall, I do like this guitar. it has given me some difficulty with the guys at Rondo, but it was worth it. This is an amazing guitar to play and an amazing one to look at. I like that its white, which gives it a sense of class, and the black outlining contributes to that as well. Just looking at the guitar, you know that it can play. Would I buy another agile? Definitely. They are cheaply priced (non-customs, that is) and they play like guitars 3 or 4 times more expensive. They are very much worth it. I won't be getting another guitar for a while, seeing that I need a car, and only work in the summer, but once i get money, I will be buying an Agile again.
one can dream....I fuckin LOVE the finish.
