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Cheap guitars have cheap truss rods, and that doesn't just go for Agile. They do tend to be shit on them though. I've had to re-fix the truss rod on three Agile's I've owned.
I didn't mind as much as I have the tools and experience and after the fix it won't happen again. If I didn't have that though, I'd be rather upset and send the sucker right back.
As others have said, that's not exactly the sign of something wrong, per se. It's more to do with the natural resonance point in the instrument. I've worked on $6k+ guitars with the same issue.
If you look around, tons of pros have to dampen the strings on their high end customs. It's annoying, but not too bad as the solutions to the issue are getting more elegant.
Once again, cheap guitars use cheap components. I've pretty much had to gut all my Agiles if I wanted to play at peak, which is super cheap and easy.
To be fair, there are various pictures on Rondo's site showing how the back of white guitars are nearly transparent.
In fact, you can see it right here on the guitar's original order page:
That's probably the department in which Agiles are most hit or miss. I've owned close to a dozen at this point, and about half just felt like dog shit out of the box. Granted, after some basic tech work things were a lot better.
Considering how you hate the finish, and it's not like the pictures didn't reflect it, I'm surprised you ordered the guitar in the first place. Rondo has plenty of other 827s up. I fully agree with you sending it back.
This isn't a Strat copy, this is an 8-strings, so I wouldn't exactly compare it to other $850 guitars. If you want a really good 8-string these days, consistently, you're going to have to pluck down at least $1k for a Carvin or used RG2228.
Considering that nearly all of that is aesthetic, I'd just suck it up and grab a Carvin DC800. The only thing you won't be able to get is a reverse headstock.
DC800
Right Handed
1 $999.00
-MA - Maple Neck/Alder Body (Standard) $0.00
-CG - Clear Gloss Finish (Standard) $0.00
W - Classic White $0.00
-GNB - Clear Gloss Finish Back Of Neck (Standard) $0.00
-8SH - 8-String Pointed Headstock 4+4 (Standard) $0.00
-PH - Headstock To Match Body Finish (Standard) $0.00
-EF - Ebony Fingerboard (Standard) $0.00
NIN - No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only $0.00
-FR - Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W (Standard) $0.00
-R20 - 20in Fretboard Radius (Standard) $0.00
-A80B - A80B Bridge Pickup (Standard, Black Only) $0.00
-A80N - A80N Neck Pickup (Standard, Black Only) $0.00
-400 - Black Pickups (Standard) $0.00
BC - Black Hardware $30.00
-1068 - Carvin 1068 Light Gauge .010 - .068 (Standard) $0.00
WL - White Logo $0.00
HC28 - Black Tolex Hardshell Guitar Case $69.00
Custom Shop Total: $1,098.00
Options Discount: $-30.00
Sub-Total $1,068.00
Throw in some EMGs or Blackouts and it's 99% what you're looking for, for not a whole lot more really.
To be fair, Agile doesn't make knock offs, they do make some copies, but nothing they make is meant to actually try and fool anyone into believing they're buying a Gibson or Fender.
