The Official Agile ERG Thread

[Qucifer]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

I do agree with you somewhat, but let's say the guitar costs 500 dollar with bad pickups, and then I have to buy lundgren that costs 350 dollars and then I have to pay somebody to install them and that will be an additional 80 dollar, plus shipment that's on 78 dollars. Now the guitar costs; 1000 dollars.

Then I rather pay 650 dollar for a guitar with EMG's. But maybe that's just me.

Agreed. We should just stick to the $650/Pro model as-is. That's what I declared my interest in, on the other thread. If we change it, we might as well throw that thread away and start over again...

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

I do agree with you somewhat, but let's say the guitar costs 500 dollar with bad pickups, and then I have to buy lundgren that costs 350 dollars and then I have to pay somebody to install them and that will be an additional 80 dollar, plus shipment that's on 78 dollars. Now the guitar costs; 1000 dollars.

Then I rather pay 650 dollar for a guitar with EMG's. But maybe that's just me.

Thats your prerogative though, you could have the stock pickups re-wound or hit up the duncan custom shop and come out ahead, especially if you can install them yourself, which isn't hard. Just break out your soldering iron. Its an hour or two of work tops if you have to rewire the whole guitar (unlikely) and totally not worth spending 80$ on.

[The Echthros]

I do agree with you somewhat, but let's say the guitar costs 500 dollar with bad pickups, and then I have to buy lundgren that costs 350 dollars and then I have to pay somebody to install them and that will be an additional 80 dollar, plus shipment that's on 78 dollars. Now the guitar costs; 1000 dollars.

This is exactly the kind of thing I'm worried about. i know you cannot expect alot of a pickup from a guitar of 500 bucks...but I shouldn't have to buy the guitar knowing it has subpar pickups and knowing i will be spending in the hundreds to get a decent set of 8 string pickups...and sometimes that much for just a single pickup!

I understand that for most this is a guitar with great after market modification possibilities, the 650 model anyway. For the base model though I think we should just stick with the plug and play. That means INEXSPENSIVE but QUALITY products from the only man on the planet to be able to do it : KURT and AGILE

[darren]

I don't know many people who would put a $350 pickup in a $500 guitar.

In fact, i don't think i know anyone who would spend $350 on a single pickup, period!

Rondo is not out to compete with Ibanez, Schecter, Jackson, etc. They're in a totally different segment of the market, and they seem to be filling the niche quite nicely. I think some of us need to adjust our expectations accordingly.

[drjenkins]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

BUT I'm just assuming that the agile pickup sounds kinda bad, until somebody who have tried one of the 7-strings with the agile stockpickups can post it's just speculations. I think the schector stock pickups sounds good enough to use and their 7-string costs 450 dollars.

I've got one of the Septor 727's with the stock pickups still in it. I haven't really wanted to swap them out so far. My only complaint with them is that the neck is a little too hot for my tastes. And pickups, just like anything in your tone chain, are so subjective. But I can't see that people would automatically throw out the stock Agile pickups like most do with New 7's.

[Groff]

Originally Posted by darren

I don't know many people who would put a $350 pickup in a $500 guitar.

In fact, i don't think i know anyone who would spend $350 on a single pickup, period!

Rondo is not out to compete with Ibanez, Schecter, Jackson, etc. They're in a totally different segment of the market, and they seem to be filling the niche quite nicely. I think some of us need to adjust our expectations accordingly.

^^^

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

Thats your prerogative though, you could have the stock pickups re-wound or hit up the duncan custom shop and come out ahead, especially if you can install them yourself, which isn't hard. Just break out your soldering iron. Its an hour or two of work tops if you have to rewire the whole guitar (unlikely) and totally not worth spending 80$ on.

So then I have to buy the soldering iron and the unit that runs that, and that will cost too. Plus if I .... it up I will have to pay repair on both the pickup and a new installment. That doesn't sound like a guitar for everybody.
Whats the point in building a guitar that's only worth buying if you have a small guitar repair unit at home ?

Originally Posted by darren

I don't know many people who would put a $350 pickup in a $500 guitar.

In fact, i don't think i know anyone who would spend $350 on a single pickup, period!

Rondo is not out to compete with Ibanez, Schecter, Jackson, etc. They're in a totally different segment of the market, and they seem to be filling the niche quite nicely. I think some of us need to adjust our expectations accordingly.

There are a lot of people who have lundgrens on this site.

[TemjinStrife]

Keep the $650 neck-thru with EMG/Hipshot. We like it, have decided on it, and have expressed interest in buying it.

Plus, with such high-quality components out of the box, with any luck, the only things that might have to be replaced by people looking for a real pro axe are the tuners and possibly the nut... and frankly I myself wouldn't bother unless the tuners are real junk, which I highly, highly doubt.

BTW, guys: this is why custom shops hate guitarists. We can never decide on one set of specs.

EDIT: Desecrated, a soldering iron is $30 at Radio Shack. Look up some tutorials... and it's very hard to actually damage said pickup with a soldering iron because all you are dealing with is some long lead wires. Plus, your techs charge $80 for a pickup install? What a ripoff. The local store does it (assuming no coil-tap or other tiny wire soldering) for around $20-30.

Basically, practice with some blank wire... but a single pickup/single volume/jack setup is perhaps six solder joints at the most. And how is this any different from any other guitar where the stock pickups are not up to your expectations?

Originally Posted by TemjinStrife

Keep the $650 neck-thru with EMG/Hipshot. We like it, have decided on it, and have expressed interest in buying it.

Plus, with such high-quality components out of the box, with any luck, the only things that might have to be replaced by people looking for a real pro axe are the tuners and possibly the nut... and frankly I myself wouldn't bother unless the tuners are real junk, which I highly, highly doubt.

BTW, guys: this is why custom shops hate guitarists. We can never decide on one set of specs.

EDIT: Desecrated, a soldering iron is $30 at Radio Shack. Look up some tutorials... and it's very hard to actually damage said pickup with a soldering iron because all you are dealing with is some long lead wires. Plus, your techs charge $80 for a pickup install? What a ripoff. The local store does it (assuming no coil-tap or other tiny wire soldering) for around $20-30.

Basically, practice with some blank wire... but a single pickup/single volume/jack setup is perhaps six solder joints at the most. And how is this any different from any other guitar where the stock pickups are not up to your expectations?

The cheapest soldering iron I was able to find was 99 us dollars over here. Not everyone has the luxury of the american market

"And how is this any different from any other guitar where the stock pickups are not up to your expectations?"

Since their is a little bit more variety with non 8-string guitars you can almost always find a guitar that lives up to your expectations. But if the idea is to make an affordable 8-string, going with something that don't have to be moded might be a good idea.

But this is just my personal thoughts, I'm just voicing some concerns I have, I'm not really arguing or trying to prove a point, just thinking about the subject from different directions.

[Niels]

I think some are forgetting the point of this whole guitar.
And that´s an 8-string guitar for bottom prices...

And darren is right, Rondo isn't Ibanez guys, they're aiming for people who wouldn't want
to buy something for a thousand dollars without trying it.
I know... 'try it at a guitardealer...' well, most guitar dealers dont have 8-string guitars
in-stock...

Bolt-on, simple finish, standard nut and a cheap bass pup would suit me fine...

Originally Posted by Niels

I think some are forgetting the point of this whole guitar.
And that´s an 8-string guitar for bottom prices...

And darren is right, Rondo isn't Ibanez guys, they're aiming for people who wouldn't want
to buy something for a thousand dollars without trying it.
I know... 'try it at a guitardealer...' well, most guitar dealers dont have 8-string guitars
in-stock...

Bolt-on, simple finish, standard nut and a cheap bass pup would suit me fine...

Their is going to be guitar for a bottom price later on, right now we are discussing the pro model of the cheap line :lol

If we just wanted the cheapest possible guitar we could have done a plywood body with spraypaint, but since we choose a 5piece neck-through I'm assuming that we are going for a little better then just "the cheapest possible".

[bostjan]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

The cheapest soldering iron I was able to find was 99 us dollars over here. Not everyone has the luxury of the american market

"And how is this any different from any other guitar where the stock pickups are not up to your expectations?"

Since their is a little bit more variety with non 8-string guitars you can almost always find a guitar that lives up to your expectations. But if the idea is to make an affordable 8-string, going with something that don't have to be moded might be a good idea.

But this is just my personal thoughts, I'm just voicing some concerns I have, I'm not really arguing or trying to prove a point, just thinking about the subject from different directions.

$99 for the cheapest soldering iron?!@

I bought a pretty decent one for $25. My first soldering iron was $7.95

I wish there was an easier way to fit different sized pups in each guitar. That'd make things really easy.

Help! I'm being attacked!

[darren]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

There are a lot of people who have lundgrens on this site.

... and at retail (from Conklin) they cost $400 for a pair, not $350 each.

Originally Posted by darren

... and at retail (from Conklin) they cost $400 for a pair, not $350 each.

On the lundgren.se site they cost 195 euro each which is 308 us dollar.

I guess we where both wrong.

[dpm]

How about those pickups Halo was using? They're Korean made, I think. The issue with developing a passive pickup in adapted standard humbucker dimensionsis that someone somewhere has to come up with dies for injection molding the bobbins etc.

Originally Posted by dpm

How about those pickups Halo was using? They're Korean made, I think. The issue with developing a passive pickup in adapted standard humbucker dimensionsis that someone somewhere has to come up with dies for injection molding the bobbins etc.

Was it tesla they where called ?

[darren]

Just to be clear:

The specs on the neck-thru model are a done deal. That's what everyone agreed on (based on 2.5 years of input and discussion) and what everyone has expressed an interest in actually buying

Kurt talked to the factory and built his pricing based on that spec sheet, and he is now in the process of gathering parts and materials.

Anything further is all speculative at this point. The $499 model will likely happen only if Kurt can have an 8-string Agile bridge and passive pickup made that can make that model possible at that price.

[Groff]

Originally Posted by darren

Just to be clear:

The specs on the neck-thru model are a done deal. That's what everyone agreed on (based on 2.5 years of input and discussion) and what everyone has expressed an interest in actually buying

Kurt talked to the factory and built his pricing based on that spec sheet, and he is now in the process of gathering parts and materials.

Anything further is all speculative at this point. The $499 model will likely happen only if Kurt can have an 8-string Agile bridge and passive pickup made that can make that model possible at that price.

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by Desecrated

So then I have to buy the soldering iron and the unit that runs that, and that will cost too. Plus if I .... it up I will have to pay repair on both the pickup and a new installment. That doesn't sound like a guitar for everybody.

Borrow one from a friend or something. I jacked my dad's a few years ago, he never used it. I've installed several sets of pickups with it. its probably a 10-15$ iron anyway. Get one on ebay, or something?
Shit, its not that hard to install, either. If you wanted to be REALLY lazy, you could get by just but slicing out the current pickups with enough lead left on all the switches/etc, and just tie the pickups on and seal it off with electrical tape. Not the best choice, but shit, you cant really .... up a pickup installation. If worse comes to worse, de-solder everything and start over. Hell, if you cant figure it out, take it to a store. They'll probably charge less since you'd have done all the hard part of getting the pickups in .

Okay since we are on the topic of the 499 model, yes put passives in it. and bolt on.

[TemjinStrife]

Meh, I'd go either way on bolt-on or set-neck. Ash with maple bolt-neck is traditionally a very punchy, twangy combination (EVH, many Fenders) and I've played a custom-built bolt-neck one (granted, with EMGs) that had stupid amounts of definition and clarity (read: icepicky if used wrong...), so perhaps a set neck might be interesting.

[Drow Swordsman]

Well, I guess I'll live without the neck pup for $650.

I can't say I see myself using an 8 string for lots of cleans and solos anyway, and for recording I can always use my Interceptor Pro.

Once I sell my UV and this bad boy is up for preorders, I'm in.

[The Echthros]

I took initiative to open a second Agile 8 thread, this one pertaining to the base model suggested by Kurt recently. I didnt find it among the recent thread(kinda strange really) but a search for the title brought it up:

Rondo/Agile $499 "Base" Model 8 String

I hope this helps streamline the happenings on this thread and keeps it from being bogged down by wishful and fervent suggestions. I am ready for the original model as much as anybody see no sense in having endless banter about specs that have allready been finalized. It is time to wait and anticipate the fruits of labor by such gents as Darren and Kurt and everybody else who poured their input into this instrument. it's finally looking to be a reality!

it's time to start looking ahead, though, So that is the intent of said new thread.

[maliciousteve]

Sorry if this has been asked already guys. But when this all gets confirmed. How do we pay?

[Hoff]

I just received an e-mail from Kurt. I had asked him whether it will be possible to pay the 50% deposit with 'paypal' and he said yes. There might be other ways also but I don't know about that.

He completely ignored my other question about how many guitars are being built though (650$ model). So if anyone knows, please do tell.