Agile AL-3000 Rootbeer Electric Guitar Slim Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have been playing guitar for 40 years now and I have lost track of how many guitars I have owned over the years. And on top of owning a lot of guitars, I have played them all; from Alembic customs to PRS's to ZZ Ryders.Needless to say I have some experience with electric guitars.Over the years my personal preference has settled on Carvin guitars. I like the neck profile of a bolt on guitar and the clean sound of a strat vs a hummbucker (but I digress...).

Recently, my youngest son has taken an interest in the guitar.At the tender age of 13, he already has 3, including one that he and I built together.His instruments have all been bolt on necks so now he wanted a Les Paul style guitar.

I spent a lot of time looking at guitars. I wrote off Gibson quickly (way over priced), I considered Epiphone (Gibson's low cost sibling) but the quality was spotty.I liked the Carvin offering but I was curious if I could find a quality guitar for under $1,000.I read all the reviews on Harmony Central for Agile and I was impressed with how well they were rated and the price was fantastic.$300 for a mahogany solid body???? Wow!It was worth a shot, I could always return it if I did not like it.

I ordered it a few weeks before Christmas so I could have time to react if it was not to my liking and still have time for a good gift for my boy.When it arrived and I opened it up I was totally blown away with the quality - AMAZING!This guitar is killer - it is everything you would expect from a Gibson Les Paul and it is 1/10th the cost.It is rock solid and heavy (just like the Gibson). It has a fully chambered, mahogany body and the fit & finish are top notch. Great hardware, beautifully finished neck with perfectly set frets.

So how does it sound?It is not quite as "hot" sounding as the newer Gibson's, it sounds more like the LP's from the 70's & 80's.This is just because of the way the pick-ups are wound.Growing up on the Allman Brothers and Led Zeppilin I actually preferr the Agile over the newer Gibson's but this is just a matter of choice and trust me, the differences are very subtle.

So how does it play?It was in tune right out of the box. This is always a good sign.A bad guitar will could go out of tune quickly either because of cheap hardware or a poorly made neck.The action was a tad high but not too bad for being fresh from the factory. I tweaked the truss rod and fiddled with the bridge a bit and got it lightning fast with no buzzing frets - NICE.I then checked the intonation and it was set up perfectly; no need to play with that at all.

So come Christmas morning, junior was thrilled and he has been playing it ever since.I like it so much that as soon as I pay off my Christmas bills I am going to order another Agile - this one will be for me!

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Product Description:
Solid mahogany (not a multi-ply!) arch top body. High quality Book-Matched Flame Canadian Maple Top (100% real wood top-not a photo top!). Triple bound body, and headstock. Single binding on neck. Improved Nickel plate hardware, including Nickel die-cast Grover tuners with 18-1 turning ratio for ultra fine tuning (Model 102-18N). Two Type V Alnico humbucker pickups for warm, tradional sound. The AL-3000 now comes with improved wiring (single conductor braided 18 gauge American wire for pickups), improved pots (now higher voltage with brass shafts for reduced noise) and an improved pickup selector switch. Two volume and two tone controls, plus a three way pickup selector switch. One piece Mahogany set neck with 13.7" (350mm) radius neck for fast play and adjustable truss rod. Ebony fretboard with 22 Jumbo frets and real Abalone Trapezodial inlays. The AL-3000 features GHS strings installed at the factory and a professionally cut bone nut. A pre-cut graphite nut is also included in the bag with the trus rod adjuster for those who prefer graphite. Individually hand filed frets for professional feel and playability. Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 21st fret: 2 3/16". Slim profile Neck Taper (thickness) at the first fret is 17mm and 21mm at the 12th fret. (vs: 21.5 mm at the 1st fret and 23.5mm at the 12th fret for the standard AL-3000 model) Overall length: 40"; Scale length: 24.7". Body thickness: 2" at edge; Width at the widest point: 13". Bridge pole spacing is 3", and the Tail piece pole spacing is 3 1/4". Oversized, shipping weight is 30 lbs. Actual Weight is only 10 lbs.

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