# Custom Agile 8-string, woo!



## Fred (Oct 18, 2008)

Just got my quote from Kurt for a custom Agile 8 and I think I'm going to have to pull the GAS trigger on this one.

Specs:

Body wood - ash
Body finish - natural (transparent)
Body shape - probably Interceptor, but have asked about the Intrepid shape too
Body binding - single cream
Pickguard - none
Scale length - 30"
Neck wood - 5-piece maple/walnut
Neck binding - single cream
Neck type - bolt-on
Frets - 27
Fretboard wood - ebony
Inlays - none
Radius - 16"
Width at nut - 2.25"
Headstock shape - 2009 Intrepid
Headstock wood - same as body
Headstock binding - single cream

Pups - bridge/neck, either 808s or the Agile passives, not 100&#37; yet
Hardware - black (two volumes, graphite nut, hipshot bridge)

Fucking stoked for this. Shipping is Feb/March next year, just need to work out the body shape and pups for sure then the bank account's taking a hit!

EDIT: Pics!






















DOES IT NEED BINDING?


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## yevetz (Oct 18, 2008)




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## Kronpox (Oct 18, 2008)

yevetz pretty much summed it up

I'd get the Agile passives over the 808s, unless you really like EMGs. the Agile passives not only sound good out of the box but it's a lot easier to get aftermarket pickups that will fit that route as opposed to the 808s.


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## Apophis (Oct 18, 2008)

congrats


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## possumkiller (Oct 18, 2008)

i was about to throw down for an intrepid (and i still may since id like to have an 8 when i get home next march) and i still have the money sitting in my paypal waiting. but once i made that ironbird 8 mockup i got pretty horny for one of those since im a pointy guitar kinda guy. its a hard decision lol. the ironbird is gonna be about 2k more than the intrepid plus a wait of 12-14 months instead of being ready in march. grr... i may just have to do both so i can have an 8 while i wait for my pointy 8 lol.


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## GazPots (Oct 18, 2008)

Well look who it is.



Fred sir. 


How goes it and good specs.


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## Mattmc74 (Oct 18, 2008)

Looks like its going to be pretty badass! Congrats!


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## eegor (Oct 18, 2008)

That's pretty close to the one I wanted, minus the cream binding. It sounds pretty fucking awesome tbh. I wasn't sure if anyone here was going to go for 27 frets, but I'm glad someone did!


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## Harry (Oct 18, 2008)

Killer specs man


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## 74n4LL0 (Oct 19, 2008)

So...body is ash...why not a 8 string Tele/Texan shape?
that would be sooooo sick


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## TimSE (Oct 19, 2008)

that will be good
id go for the interceptor shape myself
a guy got a red one on here and it was awesome


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## MF_Kitten (Oct 19, 2008)

i have had to reprioritize my plans. i&#180;ve decided that i CAN&#180;T get a new guitar until i have a new bass in my hands. the only thing i&#180;m allowed to get is parts for my RG 

edit: forgot to tell the context of why i was saying this...

i discovered the agile custom ordering form... and i saw that 8 string 30" and paypal were all possible... my brain shat itself, to put it mildly, but i&#180;ll have to postpone that whole thing until i have what i actually need


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## Fred (Oct 19, 2008)

Cheers dudes! I've emailed Kurt again (I'm sure he's sick of me already, haha) to see if I can pay the deposit for a guitar with the exact specs I posted but Interceptor body shape and passive pups. Apparently the custom shop's shutting up for a bit, but I don't know if that means I'll have to wait till it reopens before I can go ahead with this. Fucking hope not!


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## lefty robb (Oct 19, 2008)

I got my quote back from him, but he wouldn't do a 7 string hipshot, so I e-mailed him back why they can do them on the 8 string and not a 7 string, and I heard nothing back. My money will go to a JP7 now.


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## Kronpox (Oct 20, 2008)

lefty robb said:


> I got my quote back from him, but he wouldn't do a 7 string hipshot, so I e-mailed him back why they can do them on the 8 string and not a 7 string, and I heard nothing back. My money will go to a JP7 now.



I'll assume that this is because Kurt would have ordered 50-100 Hipshot 8-string bridges for the Intrepids, making it cost-effective, and ordering one 7-string Hipshot just isn't worth the trouble.


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## lefty robb (Oct 20, 2008)

Kronpox said:


> I'll assume that this is because Kurt would have ordered 50-100 Hipshot 8-string bridges for the Intrepids, making it cost-effective, and ordering one 7-string Hipshot just isn't worth the trouble.




 Except I would buy one and send it to him, its as simple as that, or willing to pay him for it, these are "custom" orders, not production ones, it would be silly if he has to follow those rules on them.


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## Kronpox (Oct 20, 2008)

Agile aren't a custom shop, they're a production factory offering to make changes to models at customer request. They can't make you anything you want.

I sent Kurt the Lundgrens that went in my custom Intrepids, and afterward I was talking to him about a custom Hornet and sending him a BKP to install and he seemed to definitely not want to do that again. A lot of hassle with sending the pickup out to Korea and making sure the Koreans put it in the right guitar. Could be the same issue with why he doesn't want to accept a Hipshot 7 from you. That, and, if his machines aren't set up to rout for a Hipshot 7, then that adds to the time and cost and potential for screwups, which puts him right in the negative on that sale.

Yeah, it's annoying and seems unfair, but I see where he's coming from on it.


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## lefty robb (Oct 20, 2008)

Kronpox said:


> Agile aren't a custom shop, they're a production factory offering to make changes to models at customer request. They can't make you anything you want.



except what I had asked for is so far away from anything they ever made, it just seems silly to do all that custom work but not be able to put a simple hipshot hardtail on the body. And I haven't offered to ship him anything yet, he just never replied back to me at all when I asked him what are the bridge options other than a TOM for it.


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## Kronpox (Oct 21, 2008)

I'll agree with you there, not responding to customers is a pretty bad strike on your customer service record (which is otherwise pretty good with Kurt). 

Oh well. Enjoy your JP7


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## Fred (Oct 31, 2008)

And today... 800ish dollars has left my account. , but ! Fucking yes.


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## eegor (Oct 31, 2008)

Nice!


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## bs_tritonus (Jan 30, 2009)

74n4LL0 said:


> So...body is ash...why not a 8 string Tele/Texan shape?
> that would be sooooo sick



Sorry for bumping this old thread!

I am "GASing" as hell for tele 8 string right now! 

A quick mockup I made just now







Any colorsuggestions?


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## eegor (Jan 30, 2009)

I have mixed feelings about that headstock. It looks like it shouldn't be there but it also kind of fits.


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## bs_tritonus (Jan 30, 2009)

I know what you mean! I tried with tele headstock, but 8 in line is way too much for me! I just threw on the intrepid headstock, and king of liked it. Haven't asked for a quote yet. Not sure if I need two 8 strings!


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## darren (Jan 30, 2009)

That actually looks pretty cool!


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## bs_tritonus (Jan 30, 2009)

haha. Thanks! It's your two designs combined as you might see. All credit to you! I am just a guy who got GAS from both your ideas and wanted the best "of two worlds"!


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## remorse is for the dead (Jan 31, 2009)

I got a quote as well, but I'm not going the custom route, it was TOO expensive. I'll just wait until they get back in stock.


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## eegor (Jan 31, 2009)

If you were to get either another color or an ebony fretboard it'd be really cool. I don't like that color white when combined with maple.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jan 31, 2009)

Not a fan of the maple board.


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## Fred (Jan 31, 2009)

Haha, that's pretty cool indeed. I'd ditch the maple board too, but otherwise it's not a bad-looking thing.

And hey, I mentally bump this thread on a daily basis. Only about a month left!


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## bs_tritonus (Jan 31, 2009)

Hi Fred! Sorry for stealing your thread! I just got a kick out of one of the comments. 

I put the maple board on there for three reasons.
1. Sound
2. Price
3. My Roter is gonna have a wenge board, and I would like them to contrast. Plus, I like the looks of maple (sorry guys!)

One thing I haven't decided on yet is the color. I made some quick mockups to illustrate what is possible, but please come with suggestions yourself. All kinds of sunbursts and stuff is available (I think), but I wuld like to keep the price tag as low as possible (I really cannot afford a new guitar now!). The only color I am sure I do not want is solid black! Too metal for me.

I colored the headstock black and the knob black.

Red





Light grey





Green





Dark grey





Blue





White





Tell me what you think. What color would you choose if you were gonna buy a cheap 8 string for home and abuse?


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## twiztedchild (Jan 31, 2009)

bs_tritonus said:


> Hi Fred! Sorry for stealing your thread! I just got a kick out of one of the comments.
> 
> I put the maple board on there for three reasons.
> 1. Sound
> ...



I like the two grays, but you making me want to try and get a Ghost 8 string later on if Rondo keeps the cs open


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## nuclearvoodoo (Feb 1, 2009)

sounds nice.. don't get EMG's though (unless you like them).. i have an RG2228 and an Agile Intrepid Standard and I prefer the sound of the Agile (heaps more djenty).. great stock pickups.


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## 7deadlysins666 (Feb 1, 2009)

God, now im GASsing for a Tele 8


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## bs_tritonus (Feb 1, 2009)

Haha. Cool! I am not sure if I am gonna afford one at all. I just got "kicked out" by my girlfriend (she is very nice. didn't kick me out, the relationship unfortunately just didn't work.

So now I have to move, and as you all may know, moving isn't free! I do still hope to afford one though. 

I can afford the quote price with no problems, but is it true that it is valid for 30 days? Even if the custom shop closes in two weeks?


Edit..
"Dear Bj&#248;rn Strand,

This email confirms that you have paid Rondo Music ([email protected]) $10.00 USD using PayPal."

Now.... We play the waiting game....


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## bs_tritonus (Feb 3, 2009)

Bad news! Got the quote back. I was hoping for about 6-700$, but was quoted 1150. That is unfortunately a bit too much for me nowadays. i could remove 150$ by using any of their own colors. He also wrote: "Doing an 1 string with TC body shape added $250". I presume this means 250$ per string.

Too bad. I was pretty excited about this!


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## Kronpox (Feb 3, 2009)

I just got a quote too that was higher than I thought it would be, compared to Agile's usual prices a number like that makes you go 'wha?' but when you compare it to any of your other options for a tele 8 string it sounds a lot sweeter


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## bs_tritonus (Feb 3, 2009)

well, not really. I could get a tele body from warmoth, the pickup from rondo (or lundgren) and build the neck myself. I don't know, but the usual tele from rondo is usually under 300$, pickup around 100 and the intrepid standard neck cannot be expensive. I understand that it will have to be custom made, but at that price, I would rather pay a few hundred more and get roter to build one.


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## Kronpox (Feb 4, 2009)

Depends on if you look at it as a Tele with an 8-string neck or an 8-string with a Tele body. Considering every spec is the same as the Intrepid except the body shape, I think it's fair to put it in the same ballpark as other custom 8s, regardless of how much their low-end 6-string Tele-shaped guitar costs 

Grab an Intrepid standard, hack off the wings of the body, make new tele wings and glue them on, bam done


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## DrewsifStalin (Feb 6, 2009)

Kronpox said:


> Grab an Intrepid standard, hack off the wings of the body, make new tele wings and glue them on, bam done


Fuck tone


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## darren (Feb 6, 2009)

An Intrepid Standard has a bolt-on neck, so just take the neck off, get a cheap Tele, widen the neck pocket, and you're done.


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## bs_tritonus (Feb 7, 2009)

yep. Thought about it. It may happen, I am not sure!


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## Chritar (Feb 7, 2009)

what if that tele 8 string idea had a fender-esque headstock with 6 inline and then 2 on the other side of the headstock


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## bs_tritonus (Feb 7, 2009)

I thought about that, but I did the intrepid headstock because I thought it would be easier and cheaper for Agile to make. 
I agree with you that the overall design would be cooler with a modified fender headstock!


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## Shazzy (Feb 12, 2009)

Hi Fred. How much was the quote for the custom Agile 8? Im considering one for myself.


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## Fred (Feb 12, 2009)

I think it was about 1600 USD in total - just over 1000 GBP. This month could not be going by any more slowly!


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## phaeded0ut (Feb 12, 2009)

Man, I definitely empathize with on you the waiting bit. Hopefully, they'll be able to get you a tracking number when Rondo ships it out.


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## Fred (Feb 16, 2009)

AH AH AH AH AH! PICTURES! AHHH!






















They left off the body binding in the factory - I'm going to ask Kurt if there'll be any price difference if I take it as is... Still undecided. I don't want to wait any longer and it also looks pretty fucking hot at the moment without. SO FUCKING STOKED.


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## gunshow86de (Feb 16, 2009)

^
^
That looks nice, congrats.

I'm guessing you went with the Agile Pickups?


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## Fred (Feb 16, 2009)

I did indeed... Very glad, too.

I'm pretty close to flying over and collecting it in person from Kurt right now... If this gets damaged in transit, goblins will be shat.


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## eegor (Feb 16, 2009)

I think it's video time.

Also, that headstock looks pretty awesome with the Interceptor body. And the 30" scale combined with the 27 frets makes that neck look loooooooong.


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## Scarpie (Feb 16, 2009)

wow that looks very very nice. congrats man!!


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## gunshow86de (Feb 16, 2009)

Fred said:


> I did indeed... Very glad, too.
> 
> I'm pretty close to flying over and collecting it in person from Kurt right now... If this gets damaged in transit, goblins will be shat.



So Kurt told you he has received the shipment?


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## ShawnFjellstad (Feb 16, 2009)

oh my god. that's one of the cleanest, most understated looks eight strings i've ever seen.
congrats dude, its looks like a beast.


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## Fred (Feb 16, 2009)

Thanks dudes! Yeah, I'm not big on particularly flashy guitars. Not saying I'd never get one, of course... I just have a major soft spot for natural finishes, haha.



gunshow86de said:


> So Kurt told you he has received the shipment?



I'm assuming that to be the case, considering he asked if I wanted him to send it back to the factory.

To be honest, I'm not actually too bothered. I expected that'd be the thing they'd forget (if anything) and was beginning to get used to the mental image of it without binding. I'll see what Kurt says and then make my mind up, though.


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## GazPots (Feb 16, 2009)

Fred, that is glorious. 


And its got an Agile headstock that looks great (i usually hate them). Bummer about the binding though. 


Still that thing looks ace. Congrats.


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## Neil (Feb 16, 2009)

Other than the mismatched colouring in the back wood it looks awesome!


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## somn (Feb 16, 2009)

Now that's cool wow I love it man congrats. I really like the headstock.


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## mhs (Feb 16, 2009)

CAN I HAVE THAT??

wow, congrats. really neat looking. have fun


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## Raoul Duke (Feb 16, 2009)

Fred said:


> AH AH AH AH AH! PICTURES! AHHH!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That my friend is probably the nicest 8 string I have ever seen.

If only Agile guitars were available down under  ha ha


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## Adriatic (Feb 16, 2009)

Raoul Duke said:


> If only Agile guitars were available down under  ha ha


 
they are! just email rondo when the custom orders are being taken... 

beautiful guitar.

the interceptor looks grand as an 8. 

wish i ordered a custom now..


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## gunshow86de (Feb 16, 2009)

Once again this is an awesome guitar. There is really only one thing I would change; widen the body about 1" on each side. The Interceptor is a fairly narrow (looking down on to the top of the guitar) body to begin with, combining that with the 30" scale neck makes the neck look even longer.


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## darren (Feb 16, 2009)

WOW!

The new headstock looks great (if i do say so myself  ), and it looks really good on the Interceptor body, too.


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## Justin Bailey (Feb 16, 2009)

very awesome, I must say, that is what I always wanted the agile 8 to look like, just gorgeous, man!


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## Fred (Feb 17, 2009)

Glad you guys like it!

I got an email back from Kurt and now I am utterly stuck, so opinions would be _huuuuugely_ appreciated...

Essentially, there is no price difference in getting it sent back for the binding to be added or taking it as it is at the moment. Having seen it now I'm petrified that it might not look as good with cream body binding, which I think unlikely but still. I am wholly shite at visualising that which is yet to exist, so... *should I have it sent back for binding or not*?


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 17, 2009)

NO

binding would ruin it!

had it been a coloured guitar, like black or green or red, i&#180;d say go binding

but binding on a natural finished guitar is just not right. keep that baby like it is!

and goddammit i hate that these cost so little, it&#180;s threatening my poor bank account! (must...resist...will...buy...relevant...things...)


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## plyta (Feb 17, 2009)

IMHO it's hot as it is and it would be too much hassle I think. And who needs binding anyways 

EDIT: I see binding was supposed to be made in the first place. Get a refund


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## wannabguitarist (Feb 17, 2009)

Get some money off and keep it the way it is. It'll look better and your wallet will be happier that they screwed up


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## Fred (Feb 17, 2009)

Point being... There's no difference in price!

I'm erring towards keeping it as is, though.


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## Shredcow (Feb 17, 2009)

Here's a picture of my USACG with ivoroid (?) binding. The body is finished in tung oil so its pretty much a natural finish.








Full album here: Many Days pictures by Shredcows - Photobucket

Completed guitar






I think the binding idea is okay actually.


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## GazPots (Feb 17, 2009)

That looks amazing with the binding. ^^^^


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## B36arin (Feb 17, 2009)

The binding looks really amazing on those pics, but it looks as if the guitars have very sexy tops that aren't the same colour as the sides or back, which makes a huge difference imo. Personally I don't know if I'd be able to wait an extra month or how long it will take to get the binding.


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## Fred (Feb 17, 2009)

Screw it, I'm taking it without the binding. If I really, really want then I can get it added on later, but I think it's pretty hot without.

As a complete aside, I understand Kurt probably deals with a shitload of time-wasters, but I'm still vaguely struggling to see quite where his reputation as having the greatest customer service in the world comes from... Every single one of his replies to my emails, both before and after placing the deposit, has been pretty blunt and almost hostile. That's the wrong word, but I'm always made to feel as though I'm doing him an injustice when I get a response. Weird. Oh well, at least he does actually reply to his emails pretty promptly - beats the 3 months it took Doug from Blackmachine to get back to me!


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 17, 2009)

binding would be hot if the guitar had a sexy top, yeah, but it&#180;s entirely made from the same wood, so the binding wouldn&#180;t be accentuating any differences or anything, like there&#180;s no difference between above and below the binding, which makes it pointless in the case of natural finishes.

and remember doug is a busy-as-hellfire man!


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## TemjinStrife (Feb 17, 2009)

Fred said:


> Screw it, I'm taking it without the binding. If I really, really want then I can get it added on later, but I think it's pretty hot without.
> 
> As a complete aside, I understand Kurt probably deals with a shitload of time-wasters, but I'm still vaguely struggling to see quite where his reputation as having the greatest customer service in the world comes from... Every single one of his replies to my emails, both before and after placing the deposit, has been pretty blunt and almost hostile. That's the wrong word, but I'm always made to feel as though I'm doing him an injustice when I get a response. Weird. Oh well, at least he does actually reply to his emails pretty promptly - beats the 3 months it took Doug from Blackmachine to get back to me!



That's about what I'd have done too... looks great without the binding to me.

Near as I can tell, Kurt is just not much of a "email communicator" guy. His customer service reputation comes from a willingness to work with people on custom orders and such.


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## MF_Kitten (Feb 17, 2009)

yeah, he´s very good with making things right for the customer and stuff like that. his reputation isn´t from HOW he does it, it´s from the fact that he even does it 



TemjinStrife said:


> That's about what I'd have done too... looks great without the binding to me.
> 
> Near as I can tell, Kurt is just not much of a "email communicator" guy. His customer service reputation comes from a willingness to work with people on custom orders and such.


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## Fred (Feb 17, 2009)

Fair enough, in that respect he's certainly doing a great job! I'm probably being a little unfair, I'm sure he has to deal with a whole load of ungrateful/ignorant people - working in retail myself I can empathise there, haha. To be fair he also knocked $35 off for the lack of binding, despite the fact that I'd said I was happy to pay the full whack. So I'm definitely being unfair. Ignore me, haha. 

Also just found out I owe about £200 less than I thought - fucking jackpot!


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## GazPots (Feb 17, 2009)

The thing that irks me is i totally want to order an agile custom but don't want the lottery of "what item will be missing" from the order.


Sure people say it can be taken off the total price but the little things like that annoy me. However this one actually looks really tasty without the binding it has to be said.  



What made you decide on ash anyways Fred?


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## Scarpie (Feb 17, 2009)

ash has been said to be a very musical tone wood for 8 string guitars.


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## squidlips (Jul 16, 2009)

honestly.

this is the sexiest guitar i have ever seen in my life.

i joined this forum just so i could let you know that this guitar is THE! sex. no doubt about it.

what sorta amp you running it through man? any chance of some clips or vids?


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## Fred (Jul 16, 2009)

Hahaha, thanks very much dude. There's a NGD thread with my pictures in it here: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ex...54-ngd-custom-agile-interceptor-8-string.html

I have no amp apart from a Roland Cube 60, unfortunately, so I'm just running it through my POD at the moment. I think the only two clips I have which use the 8th string are "Ambient Groove" and "Byker Groove" here:

SoundClick artist: Blood And Leather - Most non-heinous thrash-based partying.

"Ambient Groove" is probably the better of the two, Byker was just a bit of fun. I'll do a vid as and when I can write/think of something to play! Haven't been playing much metal recently, but I'll try and get down to it. Anyway, thanks very much dude!


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## MannyMoonjava (Jan 26, 2012)

I've got a Agile Interceptor Pro, love it. IT STAYS IN TUNE!! DD

Would the rg2228 be a disappointment?
How often do you people tune it?


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## Rick (Jan 26, 2012)

MannyMoonjava said:


> I've got a Agile Interceptor Pro, love it. IT STAYS IN TUNE!! DD
> 
> Would the rg2228 be a disappointment?
> How often do you people tune it?



You bumped this thread for that which has absolutely nothing to do with this thread?


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