Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Denim n Leather on February 19, 2009, 05:08:40 PM
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UPS delivered my new Agile AL-2500 today!
Both the guitar and gig bag came in their own box (which is good for future shipping). Fit and finish is what I've come to expect from Agile -- frets are dressed, finish is surprisingly good. The fingerboard has an off white binding and satin finish. The neck feels a bit wider and flatter than my AL-2800. The body is mahogany with a "bleached" mahogany cap. The neck is maple/maple.
Next step is new pickups/wiring!
(http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq33/Phantom_Isle/Size8Box.jpg)
(http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq33/Phantom_Isle/Size8Front.jpg)
The gig bag looks like a Jansport back pack, lol -- I actually prefer it to the horrible Road Runner bags you see everywhere, which fall apart within a month.
(http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq33/Phantom_Isle/Size8Bag.jpg)
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i like it, very 70's! :)
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That looks like a nice one Ben. An unusual looking LP but it looks lovely! :D
So what pups have you earmarked for it?
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I likey !!!!!!
Wish we had something like Agile over here.
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I'm thinking of Emeralds; gotta talk to Tim first.
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Very nice! I have an old Electra with a very similar theme except with a blond flame maple top(veneer). I actually like your Agile more!
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Les Paul w/ maple neck = MIRACLE MAN!! :lol:
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That looks great Ben.
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That looks quite retro. Perhaps not the sort of thing I'd go for myself, but I like it! How does it sound with the stock pickups?
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nice, that's very unique. :)
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That looks quite retro. Perhaps not the sort of thing I'd go for myself, but I like it! How does it sound with the stock pickups?
It sounds meh, to be honest. The stock pups are flat and lifeless. The BKs and wiring mods will transform it into a proper tone monster.
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Oooooo!
Arcam CD player?
CD73?
Good man! (Well, I like mine lots anyway)
Oh, the guitars quite nice too!
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I really like the "bleached" top. Not so sure about the maple board, but it makes me think of '70s glam rock for some reason - sort of Mick Ronson meets Dave Hill!
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I really like the bleached top as well. I really love the look of Billy Duffy's (Cult) plaintop LP custom so naturally I'd think a dark board would set off the body better.
Really good buy Ben.
Shame we don't have a company like Agile in the UK :(
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i cr@p on it ...
:lol:
my scalloped fingerboard > your agile, old man
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The gig bag looks like a Jansport back pack, lol
I can only hope it's a straight edge style one which you can use to carry sandwiches around in </clutch>
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yo. im straightedge. i never walk around with a backpack though.
i had emeralds in my les paul. liked them A LOT! although i was told they are a rare choice or something. i recently (this morning) swapped em out for rebel yells.
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thats another very ben guitar, i respect your taste, but theres no way i'd pick that off the shelf - meant in the nicest possible way of course... i know you dislike Vs ;)
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Oooooo!
Arcam CD player?
CD73?
Good man! (Well, I like mine lots anyway)
Oh, the guitars quite nice too!
Hehe, actually it's a CD92, the one with the dCS Ring DAC. :)
Good eye, btw.
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Oooooo!
Arcam CD player?
CD73?
Good man! (Well, I like mine lots anyway)
Oh, the guitars quite nice too!
& Creek amp/AE speakers, Keeping it British :)
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yo. im straightedge.
I never knew straightedge existed in the UK! I thought it was just an American thing...
Anyway, the agile looks nice, personally i'd take off the scratch plate as here i don't think it suits. Bet she plays nice though...
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yo. im straightedge.
I never knew straightedge existed in the UK! I thought it was just an American thing...
Anyway, the agile looks nice, personally i'd take off the scratch plate as here i don't think it suits. Bet she plays nice though...
straightedge is global. i can break down european straightedge for you. but it would depress me and make me want to start drinking.
id never heard of Agile before now. was just looking at a few. looks good!
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Oooooo!
Arcam CD player?
CD73?
Good man! (Well, I like mine lots anyway)
Oh, the guitars quite nice too!
& Creek amp/AE speakers, Keeping it British :)
Another one with good eyes!! :)
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actually bleached mahogany top growing on me...
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the bleached mahogany looks a lot like ash or even pine
those black markers look really cool against the maple - although it would be fun to put smaller pearl rectangles in them for a John Birch look
anyway, i like the slightly reworked les paul shape
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Oooooo!
Arcam CD player?
CD73?
Good man! (Well, I like mine lots anyway)
Oh, the guitars quite nice too!
Hehe, actually it's a CD92, the one with the dCS Ring DAC. :)
Good eye, btw.
Lovely! Havent heard that one, but if its a bigger brother of the 73, I can only imagine its stunning (since the only problem with my 73 is it sounds too good for my NADC352 and B&W DM602s - I have to play it through my Adams to hear the full glory of its goodness!)
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Not to take this too far afield, MDV ... but which ADAMs do you have? I heard they are great for mixing. I'm torn between Focal CSMs and the ADAMs. How do you rate them?
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A7s and sub 8
Very, very good. Lighting fast, transparent, unhyped, unforgiving. Its in the ribbon tweeter, methinks. Great soundstage (so long as its in the mix, obviously). Acoustics, snares, cymbals of all sorts sound like they're in the room.
If you go for the A7s, which have a modest bass response (they can get down to about 40Hz, room dependant), then they benefit a hell of a lot from the sub. Just takes the load off the little woofers (6.5 inch) adn improves the whole low, low mid and mid. I dont know about the bigger ones, maybe they can handle the lows with greater authority. (That said, the A7s handle low end better than the considerably bigger DM602s)
I havent heard the CSMs, but I recommend the adams wholeheartedly. There are plenty of reviews of the A7s around, and lots of personal testimonys (since they became very popular due to their value for money) - check em out! (I cant find a bad word about em, and have nothing but good to say myself)
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Actually it is an ash top on a mahogany body, I remember having checked it out on rondos site when it first came around and they had it listed as one then. Mow it just says mahogany body but that is definitely an ash top. I kind of like how it looks with the maple because of the top.
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sweet score. I've been gassing for one of those for a little while.
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I have thought about getting one of those. I think I may get one for my next guitar. Since I am going on 6 superstrats I think an LP style would be nice for a change. I love the maple board. That with battle worn black Cold Sweats I think would be perfect. cr@p it's only like $279. I may order one next week.
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Well I couldn't fight it any longer. Couldn't even wait for full impressions from D n' L. I pulled the trigger.
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http://www.rondomusic.com/al-2500albino.html
i changed my mind. i would totally play that guitar live with pride. its so traditional, but inyaface at the same time. its a leather fingerless gloves guitar definitely - i have GAS!
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http://www.rondomusic.com/al-2500albino.html
i changed my mind. i would totally play that guitar live with pride. its so traditional, but inyaface at the same time. its a leather fingerless gloves guitar definitely - i have GAS!
Heh, what made you change yer mind?
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http://www.rondomusic.com/al-2500albino.html
i changed my mind. i would totally play that guitar live with pride. its so traditional, but inyaface at the same time. its a leather fingerless gloves guitar definitely - i have GAS!
Heh, what made you change yer mind?
i was looking if they did a p90 version or a deluxe on their website. seeing the other pictures of the albino on there changed my mind.
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Alright D n' L you've had it all weekend. Thoughts? :) What BKP's you going with? Tim recommended me a CS neck, MM bridge. Although I think I will go with Holy Divers in the one since I already have a MM on the way for my Caparison. I heard some HD clips today from a LP Custom that sounded downright awesome.
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K, yer right ... my thoughts:
Acoustically, the guitar is very neutral in terms of tone. I think it may be a smidge more playable than the Blue Meanie, actually; however, that might have something to do with the maple. (I have a thing for maple and ebony fingerboards)
Amplified, the guitar revealed a scooped midrange. I think that the MM/CS will suit it quite well. I'm not so sure on the Holy Diver; it may make the guitar a tad too dark. Definitely too dark for my tastes.
I ordered a set of Black Dogs for mine, as I need a vintage spec pickup that will push the mids a bit.
The stock pickups are bloody awful ... they sound ... C H E A P!!!
I will be playing the guitar at rehearsal tomorrow night, so we'll see how it handles gig volume and the Bruno amp.
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Agile certainly have a good range of guitars. I like the look of yours a lot. So stock pickups sounded cheap, I bet! That Richwood I bought a few years back, the pickups barely worked :lol:
How does the neck and frets feel?
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i wonder how it would sound with rebel yells... (selfishly thinking of myself here(! :)))
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Thanks for the review. I decided to go with a Miracle Man set for mine. I am going to go Holy Diver in my Caparison instead. So far Rondo's service has been great. I ordered it Saturday afternoon and got an e-mail at 7:56am Monday morning that it was ready be shipped. Received the UPS e-mail this afternoon. Should have it Thursday. That is quick. Any time I have ordered from one of the big retailers here in the US they took forever to ship and messed everything up.
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Also as for pickups in one of these what do you guys think? I was originally going to go with battle worn black covers as two of my guitars will have them and it has become sort of like my signature thing :) But now I am starting to thing just regular black open coils would look best in this guitar. What are you going with D n' L? Oh and sorry to jack your thread :)
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Noooo worries! :)
I would go with open coil.
I'm going with a zebra in the bridge and nickel in the neck.
I played the guitar at rehearsal tonight. If the amp didn't have a Bright channel, I woulda been screwed. I may put a video clip up here, if the performance isn't too bad.
Can't wait to BK this guitar!!
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Noooo worries! :)
I would go with open coil.
I'm going with a zebra in the bridge and nickel in the neck.
Alright this is where it gets weird. Earlier in the thread I mentioned I had an Electra with a similar theme. Well guess what the pickup config is...
(http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2676/omegafullqx4.jpg) (http://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=omegafullqx4.jpg)
Yep! You have great taste Ben!
Signed,
Ben(really :lol:)
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I really like the matte grey (or is it nickel and reflection from the sofa making it grey?) hardware/clear scratch plate on that guitar!
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This video is a bit rough, but you can at least hear the guitar in its pre-BK state.
This is largely improvised and the first time we've played this bit together, so please forgive any bum notes! PDT_08
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LMSQHFTJ
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i love that riff at the start! you got the funk Ben! :)
it sounds fine on the rhythm, but it seems like hard work on the leads. lacking in body. actually, for that funky riff in the beginning it works very well, but the later parts it again sounds a bit thin. looks great though! you say it plays well, so once you upgrade the electrics it should sound great. i want one now too!
about Lazy_McDoesnothing's guitar, what way is that wired? there seem to be two toggles below the pots, and is that a varitone where the toggle usually is?
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I really like the matte grey (or is it nickel and reflection from the sofa making it grey?) hardware/clear scratch plate on that guitar!
:good:
The guitar was made in 1976 so it's actually extremely aged brass plated nickel or something like that. I have a few more pics I can post if you'd like.
about Lazy_McDoesnothing's guitar, what way is that wired? there seem to be two toggles below the pots, and is that a varitone where the toggle usually is?
Here's a diagram for the 5 way:
(http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/tonespec.jpg)
The two switches are high and low pass filters.
Electra is known for their MPC line which includes on-board cavity mounted effects. Mine is from the first year of the company's existence so it doesn't have MPC capability and is more traditional.
More info here:
http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/anat.php
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More pics would be great, if you have the time.
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That top looks ace... can't believe it's Mahogany!
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More pics would be great, if you have the time.
No problem! I'll post thumbnails so I don't clutter up the thread:
(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9117/x230bodygm0.th.jpg) (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=x230bodygm0.jpg)(http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3391/x230frontheadstocklg1.th.jpg) (http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=x230frontheadstocklg1.jpg)(http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9562/omegabodyiy1.th.jpg) (http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=omegabodyiy1.jpg)
(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2123/x230tw9.th.jpg) (http://img9.imageshack.us/my.php?image=x230tw9.jpg)(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9471/omegabackql9.th.jpg) (http://img9.imageshack.us/my.php?image=omegabackql9.jpg)(http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7601/fboard.th.jpg) (http://img3.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fboard.jpg)
Electra was a budget company with decent quality being made in Japan. This guitar has some sort of plywood top with a flamed maple veneer(probaby photo flame). I briefly thought about BKP's for it but I wanted to keep it original in case I sell it. It's in need of a refret so I'm still not sure if I want to get that done or just sell it to somebody that's willing to do it.
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That top looks ace... can't believe it's Mahogany!
It's not. It's ash. Kurt from Rondo confimed this for me today.