Agile AL3100 Silverburst

[thebrokenhammer]

Hello everyone this is my first of what I hope to be many posts.

Made a big mistake..........I had a new friend introduce me to the line of Agile guitars on the 29th of July during a small jam held at my house. He brought over an Agile AL 3000 Rootbeer, played up on the stage for 3 hours or so,and I was sold. the looks, the feel, the sound, the quality, it was awesome. However, I spent 2 days gawking and reading and google'd everything I could on these guitars......thus..........on July 31, I ordered the AL 3100 Silverburst.

I reside in a small town in North Eastern Ontario and I now realize I made a big mistake of not ordering the guitar with a case. Since ordering the guitar I have heard some horror stories related to FedEx and some guitars that were shipped without cases.

It is now August 4 (Long Weekend) and I am anxiously awaiting my undamaged guitar. I will, nonetheless, take pics of the unwrapping and post in order for everyone to how unlucky or lucky I am.

thebrokenhammer.

[shoretyus]

How fitting .... thebrokenhammer .,,,,,, things will work out. Let's say Karma will prevail

Welcome

[greco]

Welcome to the forum.

I have a feeling that your friend with the Agile AL 3000 is a close friend of a friend of mine that lives in Waterloo. He is a member the this forum also and his username is Hamstrung

This would be one of those "it is a small world" situations if this is actually the case.:food-smiley-004:

I have heard that Rondo generally does an excellent job with thier packaging. Hopefully others that have bought guitars from them will comment...and relieve your fears.

Please update us on how things go with the shipping.

Enjoy the new axe !!

Cheers

Dave

[Hamstrung]

Hello everyone this is my first of what I hope to be many posts.

Made a big mistake..........I had a new friend introduce me to the line of Agile guitars on the 29th of July during a small jam held at my house. He brought over an Agile AL 3000 Rootbeer, played up on the stage for 3 hours or so,and I was sold. the looks, the feel, the sound, the quality, it was awesome. However, I spent 2 days gawking and reading and google'd everything I could on these guitars......thus..........on July 31, I ordered the AL 3100 Silverburst.

I reside in a small town in North Eastern Ontario and I now realize I made a big mistake of not ordering the guitar with a case. Since ordering the guitar I have heard some horror stories related to FedEx and some guitars that were shipped without cases.

It is now August 4 (Long Weekend) and I am anxiously awaiting my undamaged guitar. I will, nonetheless, take pics of the unwrapping and post in order for everyone to how unlucky or lucky I am.

thebrokenhammer.

Welcome aboard!
Sounds like Greco was right and you've met Mark. He's a good buddy of mine and the only one I know in Cobalt with a rootbeer Agile! I wouldn't worry about the condition of the guitar. Rondo double boxes their guitars and Kurt the guy who runs the place is a straight shooter. If there are any problems he'll set 'em straight. I'm getting my third guitar from them this week (second one in as many weeks!) The first two came in perfect shape and neither had cases. The next one is an acoustic so I'm a bit anxious but I'm sure it'll be good. Rondo sells many guitars they know how to pack 'em!

[thebrokenhammer]

Thank you the response and welcoming me to this forum. And yes Hamstrung you are correct in identifying the man with Agile AL 3000 Rootbeer. Go figure, you people know your guitars and who owns them. lol

And yes Greco, I am still patiently awaiting the arrival. Been 5 days now ( given the long weekend, and I'm sure even FedEx drivers drink beer on these occasions) and I will definitely have my digital charged and ready to take pics. If this one arrives in good shape I already have an order pending for a 12 string acoustic WITH CASE.

Thanks folks.

Darryl.

[Hamstrung]

BTW,
Mark's guitar is also a 3100. I've been mighty tempted to give one of them a go myself! I already have a couple of LP variants so other than pure GAS it's hard to justify another. Can't wait to hear your report on it.

[DocMarkA]

Hello everyone this is my first of what I hope to be many posts.

Made a big mistake..........I had a new friend introduce me to the line of Agile guitars on the 29th of July during a small jam held at my house. He brought over an Agile AL 3000 Rootbeer, played up on the stage for 3 hours or so,and I was sold. the looks, the feel, the sound, the quality, it was awesome. However, I spent 2 days gawking and reading and google'd everything I could on these guitars......thus..........on July 31, I ordered the AL 3100 Silverburst.

I reside in a small town in North Eastern Ontario and I now realize I made a big mistake of not ordering the guitar with a case. Since ordering the guitar I have heard some horror stories related to FedEx and some guitars that were shipped without cases.

It is now August 4 (Long Weekend) and I am anxiously awaiting my undamaged guitar. I will, nonetheless, take pics of the unwrapping and post in order for everyone to how unlucky or lucky I am.

thebrokenhammer.

Not to worry,Darryl... Rondo does a great job with their packaging. I've had five guitars from them, including a 12 string acoustic, and never had any damage!!!!

I'm glad you liked my baby... you should love your's too

Call me when you get it, and I'll pop by with a few more goodies from Rondo to temp you<G>.

Mark.

[thebrokenhammer]

I will definitely give you a call Mark. Should be arriving tomorrow. Don't bring over to many items from Rondo, as I only have a limited budget for my soon to be big guitar collection.

We'll see ya soon Mark.

Thanks.


Darryl.

[Hamstrung]

Well.... what's the verdict? I'm assuming you have it by now. (post pics too)

[thebrokenhammer]

Well I guess I could count myself as lucky. The guitar arrived today and as you can see it was well packed but not well enough to prevent the middle of the box from squishing down. As a result the toggle took on a bit of damage. Not cosmetically but it seems a bit loose. Other than that there are no major or minor flaws in the guitar itself. Apart from some dust and fingerprints it looks amazing. The pics on Rondo do not do the silver metal flake any justice. The Mother of Pearl inlays are sweet when light hits them and really sets off the guitar nice.

Here comes the sad part. I only have an old Peavey Express 112 to plug this beautiful thing into. Still has a great tone and amazing sustain. I've been eyeing up a Crate FlexWave 120 cab and amp or a Peavy Valveking 212. But for now I'm going to practice and put some wear and tear on this guitar.

When Mark comes over I will ask him to report on it as well. I definitely trust his opinion when it comes to critiquing guitars.

From the broken hammer,

Later folks.

Darryl.

OH OH!!!!! my skinny mouse and chubby fingers can't seem to find any link here to upload images from my desktop. Help!! I clicked on the upload images icon and all i can get out of that is an URL form. Hmmm.

[bagpipe]

OH OH!!!!! my skinny mouse and chubby fingers can't seem to find any link here to upload images from my desktop. Help!! I clicked on the upload images icon and all i can get out of that is an URL form. Hmmm.

You have to host the pictures on a different site, such as Photobucket, Flickr etc and then post links to them. If you search on here you should be able to find instructions - its pretty easy to do.

[thebrokenhammer]

Thanks bagpipe. You were right...........too easy. Some daze I just can't follow instructions.

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3316.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3317.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3318.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3319.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3320.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3321.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3323.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3324.jpg

I hope I did this right :wave:

[Robert1950]

That's okay - forget it....

[shiva]

Looks very nice. :)

2 questions. I take it you got it direct from Rondo? My concern was UPS, who is very well known for excessive shipping and fees. Was the shipping/custom reasonable, and if you don't mind, how much was it?

The second was I noticed a huge block of wood at the back where the neck joined the body. Could you do a couple side/back pictures of it please? It's a hag trademark to have a huge thing like that, but makes it tough to play the frets close to the body.

Your pictures actually reminded me of my Hagstrom quite a bit. Hope yours is not as heavy as mine, my friend finally played it yesterday, and it's about 2 pounds more than his gibson.

[Robert1950]

Man,... I wish Agile made a guitar that looked like this,...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2717843823_dd228b7977.jpg

[blink]

That is one sweet git fiddle!
Sorry to hear you had some toggle troubles. I thought Rondo was using a round piece of styrofoam around them now..I know I saw pics of somebody's guitar recently over on AGF that had something around the toggle switch. I've also hear people have gotten them single boxed when they are usually double boxed.

I ordered a CNB case as well when I ordered my Al-3100 and even being shipped in the case the plastic knob on the toggle switch was broken off (only the plastic though). I emailed Kurt about it and to say thanks for the great guitar and he promptly sent another knob out to me. He actually Fedex'd it to me...it came in a box the size of a toaster and was wrapped in about a foot and a half of bubble wrap. lol

Kurt is a stand up guy and aims to please, so If you have issues with the switch I'd bet he'd send one right out to you.

Congrats on that beauty!

[DocMarkA]

Well I guess I could count myself as lucky. The guitar arrived today and as you can see it was well packed but not well enough to prevent the middle of the box from squishing down. As a result the toggle took on a bit of damage. Not cosmetically but it seems a bit loose. Other than that there are no major or minor flaws in the guitar itself. Apart from some dust and fingerprints it looks amazing. The pics on Rondo do not do the silver metal flake any justice. The Mother of Pearl inlays are sweet when light hits them and really sets off the guitar nice.

Here comes the sad part. I only have an old Peavey Express 112 to plug this beautiful thing into. Still has a great tone and amazing sustain. I've been eyeing up a Crate FlexWave 120 cab and amp or a Peavy Valveking 212. But for now I'm going to practice and put some wear and tear on this guitar.

When Mark comes over I will ask him to report on it as well. I definitely trust his opinion when it comes to critiquing guitars.

From the broken hammer,

Later folks.

Darryl.

Glad it arrived... I just happen to have a replacement toggle switch from an Agile 3100(mine was a bit scratchy when I first got it, and Kurt shipped me one out, but it turned out to be a bit of dust<G>), so we can take care of that easily. If you're going to be home tomorrow, I'll stop by in the afternoon.
I'll bring mine and the tube amp as well, so we can compare<G>.

I'm hoping that 12 string I told you about makes it for tomorrow... if so, you'll get to see that sweetie as well(the Hohner I showed you online)

Let me know if Friday's a problem, and we can reschedule if necessary.

Keep those fingers moving!

Mark

[Budda]

amp section, make a budget!

just dont go plugging that thing into the Crate haha

i saw a gorgeous gibson silverburst in action last week, damn that was a fun show.

[thebrokenhammer]

Thanks for the comments fellow threaders.

Yes Mark this afternoon will be fine. can't wait to get that puppy plugged into a tuber.

In response to your two questions Shiva; Yes the shipping was a bit steep, it was $102 American dollars for shipping right to my door. took 7 days. Yeah, I know, a lot of nail biting.

Here are a couple of pics of that "huge block of wood" you asked for. Note: The pictures do not do it any justice in the Northern Ontario morning light. There looks like there is scuff marks and scratches but there is not. My camera's flash is playing tricks on me.

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3328.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3329.jpg

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee359/thebrokenhammer/HPIM3330.jpg

Oh yeah.....Buda.......I have already started saving for good quality amp. The Peavy ValveKing 212 tuber.......What's your opinion, I can pick one up for $500. Check it out.

http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=PVVALVEKING212&id=PVVALVEKING212&l=BIZRATE


Thanks again for the comments good people.

Check in again for Marks comments later on.

Darryl.

[Hamstrung]

Looks very nice. :)

2 questions. I take it you got it direct from Rondo? My concern was UPS, who is very well known for excessive shipping and fees. Was the shipping/custom reasonable, and if you don't mind, how much was it?


Rondo uses FedEx for Canadian shipments and the price of shipping covers all taxes duties and fees. The cost of shipping varies with the product and destination. Email Kurt for shipping or fill out the order form with your postal code and it'll calculate the shipping. The price on your quote at the time of ordering is final. I'm waiting on my third delivery in two weeks... should be here Tuesday!

[blink]

Shipping for mine with the case was $108 to SW Ontario (near London). It's nice that there are no surprises when the Fedex guy arrives.

[Hamstrung]

Shipping for mine with the case was $108 to SW Ontario (near London). It's nice that there are no surprises when the Fedex guy arrives.

Considering a case for a LP style guitar would cost you between $70 and $90 locally plus tax (a lot more for a "Gibson" case) it's not a bad deal. If you already have a case then shipping the guitar only is around $48 for regular shipping to your door or $60 for express 2-5 day(to SW Ont). Their packaging for un-cased guitars has been fine with the three guitars I've got so far.

[blink]

yeah, anything I buy from Rondo will always include a case if possible. I think geetars should always have a house anyway :D I've been eyeballing either an sx or an agile (when they come back into stock) tele style for my next Rondo purchase

[Diablo]

The second was I noticed a huge block of wood at the back where the neck joined the body. Could you do a couple side/back pictures of it please? It's a hag trademark to have a huge thing like that, but makes it tough to play the frets close to the body.



Looks like a standard set neck to me, nothing huge about it. All my Gibsons are built like that, as well as my early 80's double cut Ibanez. Not as nice as a true nech-thru, but doesnt bug me. I find most bolt-on joints to be much more obtrusive.
A nice compromise is a set neck guitar with 24 frets, so most of the frets are accessible before you get to the joint. Prob have to be 25.5 scale for that though.

[shiva]

Thanks. Couldn't see a clear shot of the back of the neck. My Gibson friend commented on the size of the Hag neck (has something to do with the H expander truss rod I guess) in comparison to his Gibson LP's, and I am interested in the agile, just wanted a more lead based guitar. The Hag is playable, just something to get use to I guess.

[Diablo]

So you guys swear by Agiles, huh? Never seen one in real life, but this one's caught my eye...reminds me of the Gibson Joe Perry Boneyard...I'd be replacing the EMG HZ;s anyways.
http://www.rondomusic.com/product1670.html

http://www.rondomusic.net/photos/electric/dauntlessemgte1.jpg

Can anyone tell if the neck dimensions would reflect Gibby's 50's, 60's etc tapers? Wondering how thin/chunky this one is...measurements dont mean anything to me.

[blink]

So you guys swear by Agiles, huh? Never seen one in real life, but this one's caught my eye...reminds me of the Gibson Joe Perry Boneyard...I'd be replacing the EMG HZ;s anyways.
http://www.rondomusic.com/product1670.html

http://www.rondomusic.net/photos/electric/dauntlessemgte1.jpg

Can anyone tell if the neck dimensions would reflect Gibby's 50's, 60's etc tapers? Wondering how thin/chunky this one is...measurements dont mean anything to me.

I've heard people describe the standard Agile Al neck as between the 50's and 60's Gibby's. I've never heard anyone complain about them though..all I've heard is praise about them. My Al has the slim profile neck and I'm totally in love with it.

[thechamp96@hotmail.c]

Nice guitar dude, and great choice on going with the 3000 series. I have an Al-3000CSB with a slim neck profile and love it to death.

I just made my second Rondo purchase today (an el cheapo SEG1 STD MWR b stock that came with a case - total including shipping to Vancouver was $150 - can't go wrong!) I'll post some pics when I get it.

The crappy thing is that I'll be traveling for the next 2 weeks so I won't get to play it for a while!

[gramatica]

I had to see thechamp96's (http://www.rondomusic.com/seg1stdmwr.html) axe!

So your shipping was ~$50? GTFOOH!

[thechamp96@hotmail.c]

I had to see thechamp96's (http://www.rondomusic.com/seg1bk.html) axe!

So your shipping was ~$50? GTFOOH!

This is the exact model I ordered (the STD version... I hope STD doesen't mean what I think it means...): http://http://www.rondomusic.com/seg1stdmwr.html (SX SEG1 STD MWR)

The one I ordered was a b stock which came with a hardshell case. The shipping price includes border fees and shipping, so it's really not that bad.