# Ibanez Vs. Agile



## Tasteh (Jan 8, 2013)

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but if I am used to my Ibanez prestige neck and fretboard...how unhappy would I be with an Agile neck in termsof playability, I have heard very mixed reviews of their build quality.


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## LolloBlaskhyrt (Jan 8, 2013)

I have a Septor! The truss rod broke off so I can't play fast as I want. My brother has an RG7420 and the neck is simply perfect!


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## sear (Jan 8, 2013)

A good Agile should be comparable to a low-midrange ($500-800) Ibanez. A bad Agile should be little better than a piece of plywood with strings attached.


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## MetalBuddah (Jan 8, 2013)

Honestly, it all depends on the Agile you get as they can be hit or miss with quality. if you like your Ibanez, stay with Ibanez and go get yourself one of the awesome new 7s they have coming out this year


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## Tasteh (Jan 8, 2013)

LolloBlaskhyrt said:


> I have a Septor! The truss rod broke off so I can't play fast as I want. My brother has an RG7420 and the neck is simply perfect!



The truss rod broke off????
What the heck does... wot


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## mcd (Jan 8, 2013)

I've had 2 agiles now just as back ups....I've loved both of them, they're not the worlds greatest by a long shot but solid guitars. The necks are a bit on the thick side (im mainly an esp guy) but very uniform and I adjusted quickly to them. Find a used one try it out, if you don't like it sell it get one of the 1trillion ibanez on this forum.


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## Tasteh (Jan 9, 2013)

This is not what I was hoping to hear lol


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## teamSKDM (Jan 9, 2013)

I went from ibby to agile, and went back to ibby, and eventually ebmm. But in ibby vs agile, get an Ibanez rg7620 or 1527 before you get an agile, if you already like Ibanez. Agile necks are the same shaPe and thickness the whole neck, unlike slot of guitars that thicken as you go up. This causes the first frets to feel thick, but the higher ones to be fairly comfortable. But anyways, my 7620 I got was way better, and a 1527 would be better than that.


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## Splinterhead (Jan 9, 2013)

I have an Agile Pendulum Pro and an Ibanez RG7620. Both bought new. I think I may have lucked out with the Agile because I feel the quality of the Pendulum is very comparable with my '97 7620.

I have heard bad things about quality control concerning the Agiles. What's good about them is that its easy to get a hold of Kurt if there's an issue and you can just send it back no worries. You also have the "semi" customization option as well.


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## Bretton (Jan 9, 2013)

my buddy just went from an RGA8 to an Interceptor 828 EMG, says the Agile is the best guitar he's ever played


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## Rick (Jan 10, 2013)

I played Ibanez for 8 years and have been playing Agiles for 3+ years. The Agile necks are a bit thicker but I adapted very quickly. Doesn't hurt that I have long fingers as well.


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## WaffleTheEpic (Jan 10, 2013)

For Agiles, you receive what you pay for it. A 600$ Agile will stand up to any 600$ Schecter or Ibanez out there. 

I'm more into the 8 string market, so I spend more time picking up 8 strings when I walk into music stores, but my 800$ Intrepid is much better than the Ibanez RGA8 and RG8 that I played. That's not to say there are RG8s and RGA8s that are better, just the ones I played were not as nice. The RG8 I played had that gap between the neck and the heel, which I guess must be common, and the RGA8 felt nice, but I just couldn't stand the pickups.

Also played an RG7 of some sort (didn't care for it enough to actually learn the full name) and an RGA7; the RGA7 was terribly set up, but the RG7 seemed fine. Still, I prefer my Intrepid. *shrug* I'm not a fan of the fact that most Ibanez stock pickups are TERRIBLE and almost always require replacement! The Cepheus pickups that come stock in Agiles aren't BKPs obviously but they're not so bad that they sound bad no matter what you do with them 

Obviously if you drop 400$ on an Interceptor, you're getting a 400$ Interceptor. I've heard some things about QC, but when my Intrepid arrived, it was perfectly intonated, set up, strung, and ready to play right out of the box. The only flaw I can find on it is some bubbling in the finish on the headstock. However, as stated before by others, if your guitar comes in and there's something wrong with it, you can send it back either for a trade or a full refund (minus shipping?). Kurt is a stellar guy.

Two things though, first, any Agiles that have a "flamed maple top" or anything of the like have paper-thin veneers. Still wood, but it's... paper thin. Nothing to affect your tone at all.
Secondly, depending on your budget, yes Agile has the semi-custom route. But honestly, I wouldn't suggest that unless you knew you'd like it. I don't know if Kurt would accept a custom back, or if he'd take it back and resell it as a B-stock. I'm not sure at all. But the semi-custom route does seem great, especially for the price. If it got any better you'd be hitting Carvin territory. 

tl;dr Agile > Ibby.


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## sear (Jan 11, 2013)

Bretton said:


> my buddy just went from an RGA8 to an Interceptor 828 EMG, says the Agile is the best guitar he's ever played


Considering the RGA8 is pretty much a beginner's guitar, has cheap build quality/poor QC, horrendously muddy pickups and ugly plasticy finish, that's not surprising.


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## LolloBlaskhyrt (Jan 13, 2013)

Tasteh said:


> The truss rod broke off????
> What the heck does... wot



Was broken when I received it. I'm still pissed off after a fucking year. Need an RG...


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## Blastoise (Jan 13, 2013)

Neither.

Get a Jackson.


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## jonajon91 (Jan 17, 2013)

Blastoise said:


> Neither.
> 
> Get a Jackson.



Hang on ... WHAT?


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## tedtan (Jan 17, 2013)

^ Check his status, man - he was banned for trolling.


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## baptizedinblood (Jan 17, 2013)

Well when referring to Ibanez, you either refer to an Ibanez Prestige...or everything else that isn't a prestige/premium, because honestly, an Ibanez Prestige is like a totally different guitar compared to anything lower-end from them.

I'd take an Ibanez Prestige over any agile any day of the week, but with lower end Ibanez models, it boils down to preference. Stock pups absolutely blow in both Agiles and lower Ibanez. QC is very hit-and-miss with the Agiles. Ibanez has a completely different neck. The list goes on and on...your best bet is to try both out and form your own opinion.


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## jonajon91 (Jan 17, 2013)

baptizedinblood said:


> Stock pups absolutely blow in both Agiles and lower Ibanez.



I have heard great things about the ceophus pickups in the agiles. A great clean sound, but lacking on the distortion a little.


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## baptizedinblood (Jan 17, 2013)

jonajon91 said:


> I have heard great things about the ceophus pickups in the agiles. A great clean sound, but lacking on the distortion a little.



Most stock pickups sound relatively decent while clean, but when you add gain, it gets nasty. I've used the cepheus pickups, they are _decent_ at most. Better than Ibanez stock pups? Yeah, but barely. I'd still swap them out day 1 though.

OP: If you have an Ibanez Prestige, you're better off just keeping that unless you buy one of the high end agile models and do a pup swap, and even then I'd still recommend keeping the Ibanez unless you really need a new guitar.


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## Tasteh (Jan 22, 2013)

baptizedinblood said:


> Most stock pickups sound relatively decent while clean, but when you add gain, it gets nasty. I've used the cepheus pickups, they are _decent_ at most. Better than Ibanez stock pups? Yeah, but barely. I'd still swap them out day 1 though.
> 
> OP: If you have an Ibanez Prestige, you're better off just keeping that unless you buy one of the high end agile models and do a pup swap, and even then I'd still recommend keeping the Ibanez unless you really need a new guitar.



I now plan on selling the prestige to put towards an Acacia Custom
Thanks for the input everyone ^_^


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## nothingleft09 (Jan 22, 2013)

Congrats! Good choice.


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