# NGD! Custom Agile Interceptor 8-string...



## Fred (Mar 2, 2009)

Just got back from a week in Amsterdam, where I came across such wonders as these...











Came home to find a satisfyingly large parcel in my room:






...and it's from Rondo Music!






*Face of extremely pleasant surprise*:






Now to find a suitable tool...






And get opening.






Unnecessary suspense-building shots:









































Headstock is delicious:






Very happy with the neck profile:






1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!






Awesome grain:






And now for some full-frontals:































Definite seal of approval:






Summary:

Very, very, very fucking happy! Neither the extra width of the fretboard (2.25" at nut) or the extended scale-length (30") feel as though they're going to take much getting used to at all, and the action is a dream. Haven't had a chance to plug it in yet, but acoustically it sounds very nice indeed. Going to have to start going to the gym if I want to carry it round much, though - it weighs an absolute ton!


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## cddragon (Mar 2, 2009)

Congrats! Nice guitar  would look better with neck-through IMHO ;D


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## BlindingLight7 (Mar 2, 2009)

what are the specs?


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## Stealthdjentstic (Mar 2, 2009)

sweet picstory. Is that body ash?


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## Fred (Mar 2, 2009)

Specs are...

Body wood - ash
Body finish - natural (transparent)
Body shape - Interceptor
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
Pups - Agile passives 8s
Hardware - black (two volumes, graphite nut, hipshot bridge)

...and I do love the look of neck-through guitars, but far prefer bolt-ons!


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## hmmm_de_hum (Mar 2, 2009)

Looks absolutely stunning man, congrats. How much did you shell out for in the end, if you dont mind me asking?


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## GazPots (Mar 2, 2009)

Holy fuck that is quite a nice guitar there freddo.



Also i was about to joke about how fucking long that neck was and then i realised it was not only a 30 inch scale length, but _*27 frets*_ aswell.


Christ, when do we get soundclips cause im dying to hear it.


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## AySay (Mar 2, 2009)

That looks so good! I can't believe Rondo can make such nice looking stuff for so cheap, but i guess the giant MADE IN CHINA on the box explains it, unless only the box was made in china...


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Mar 2, 2009)

you look like david lee roth


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## Stealthdjentstic (Mar 2, 2009)

hey cool my guess about the wood was right, that usually never happens


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## Galius (Mar 2, 2009)

Great looking guitar man!!


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## darren (Mar 2, 2009)

Sweet jeezus, that looks awesome. And you look like a young David Lee Roth in that last pic!


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## Fred (Mar 2, 2009)

Haha, can't say I've ever had the David Lee Roth comparison before but I'm totally happy with that.

Glad you like the guitar, for those who've asked the grand total was $1410 (USD).


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## Justin Bailey (Mar 2, 2009)

looks stunning, that is what an Agile 8 should look like, thats for sure!


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## noodleplugerine (Mar 2, 2009)

Looks really good man. Makes me want one.


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## renzoip (Mar 2, 2009)

I'm not a huge Agile fan but man, this guitar looks so awesome!! Congrats!!


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## Total Eclipse (Mar 2, 2009)

That thing is sexy as hell dude. Congrats.


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## Cameron (Mar 2, 2009)

the ebony looks so dark with the nat.


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## ledzep4eva (Mar 2, 2009)

Absolutely beautiful.

I too am a UK-er awaiting a 'Rondo' box in the post... X^D

30"?!?!?! How LOW are you going to tune that thing?!


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## eegor (Mar 2, 2009)

That is one sexy guitar. You made some right choices when spec'ing that out. Kurt must've had 8-strings in mind when the Interceptor body was designed. Everything works so well.


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## Mattmc74 (Mar 2, 2009)

Congrats man! Looks really sweet. I bet it plays awesome from the look on your face!


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## larry (Mar 2, 2009)

that's a right sexy beast you've scored.
more pics if you please??


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## possumkiller (Mar 2, 2009)

Thats a pretty badass thing you have there.


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## D-EJ915 (Mar 2, 2009)

wow that one looks amazing, congrats!


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## Hollowway (Mar 2, 2009)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> you look like david lee roth


Totally! I was thinking I would be the only person that thought that when I saw the picstory. Granted, the Van Dalen photo had me primed, but there's definitely a resemblance. 
And don't knock it. You could look like Tom Petty instead!


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## cyril v (Mar 2, 2009)

very nice,.. that looks so much sleaker with the interceptor body. if they came like that standard (without need to throw extra moneys at it) i probably would've picked one up already. 

congrats.


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## plyta (Mar 3, 2009)

How much was for shipping?

How much did the Royal Customs nick you?


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## darren (Mar 3, 2009)

How well does it balance on the strap?


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## Kissa3 (Mar 3, 2009)

god/damn that looks niiiiiiiice ! Wow ! congrats ! 

very nice lookin' ash on top of the guitar, damn !


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## Apophis (Mar 3, 2009)

congrats


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## Thrashmanzac (Mar 3, 2009)

holy shit mate, that is beatutil!
i'd kill for that as a 7, or six!


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## daemon barbeque (Mar 3, 2009)

Very cool guitar ERG man! Congrat's!


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## Mattayus (Mar 3, 2009)

That's easily the nicest Agile I've seen, period. Not too hot on the specs but that's just preference. It's absolutely gorgeous. Ever since I started playing guitar i've always had a hard-on for natural finishes with matching headstocks... never had one though


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## Groff (Mar 3, 2009)

You have fine tastes, sir.


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## InCasinoOut (Mar 3, 2009)

My FAVORITE 8 string I've seen. Now post some youtube videos!

Congrats!


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## DrunkenMonkey (Mar 3, 2009)

Congrats Fred. The Interceptor 8 looks tops chap!


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## Rick (Mar 3, 2009)

Very nice!


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## Fred (Mar 3, 2009)

ledzep4eva said:


> 30"?!?!?! How LOW are you going to tune that thing?!



It's handling very nicely indeed in standard, but I'm thinking I might give it a go down a tone, which is what I've been using on the 7-string for a while. Otherwise I've tried drop-E out and it sounds sexy as fuck!



darren said:


> How well does it balance on the strap?



It's fairly top-heavy, no doubt about it. No serious neck-diving going on, but I can definitely feel a slight tug earthwards on the headstock end. Hardly surprising considering the nature of the thing, though, and not an unexpected or irritating problem!



Mattayus said:


> Ever since I started playing guitar i've always had a hard-on for natural finishes with matching headstocks... never had one though



Haha, yup, me too. First guitar I ever got (which will make an appearance in a sec) was a bright blue Yamaha Pacifica 012. The second I saw the natural finish 112 version I realised the error of my ways...



larry said:


> more pics if you please??



Well, if you say so... Was hoping to get some natural light pics today but, this being England in early spring it was dark when I left for work and dark when I got home from work, so no such luck!















































My cat approves.


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## caughtinamosh (Mar 3, 2009)

That is nothing short of stunning/gorgeous/delicious/<insert other positive adjective here>.

By FAR the nicest Agile I have EVER seen.

Simplicity = beauty


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## Chritar (Mar 3, 2009)

that is what agile 8s should look like, i would definately snag one up just like that, except im broke


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## SymmetricScars (Mar 3, 2009)

I agree that that is the nicest agile I have seen. My ideal would be that in a 7, 27" scale.

Nice score!


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## Drow Swordsman (Mar 3, 2009)

Now there are two Interceptor 8 owners! ahahah.


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## eegor (Mar 3, 2009)

And both are incredibly sexy.


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## larry (Mar 8, 2009)

thanks for the pics fred!!! 

but you knew this was comming...
how about a video clip!?!?!?
go ahead, call me selfish.
though, i think a few of us on here 
wouldn't mind seeing a clip. 
just a hunch.


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## Fred (Mar 10, 2009)

Haha, I'll get around to doing a clip when I've got the time/motivation. I seem to have suddenly developed chronic fatigue - been asleep for more than 24 hours out of the past 48! Weird...

Anyway, what I actually came here to say is *bollocks*. Huge, dangly, wrinkled bollocks. Never having imported a guitar before, when it came without any info about having to pay duty/taxes, I figured I'd gotten away with it, _despite_ those meddling kids. Just got an invoice for &#163;182.10 in the post. That's almost a fucking 5th of what I paid for the guitar including case and shipping. Not fucking cool!

I suppose the only good news is I think the guitar I've ended up with is worth it, and I just got paid so actually have the money in my account. Still, I was supposed to be booking some plane tickets to Russia today and am not going to be able to afford it now till I next get paid. Fuck you, import duties!


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## GazPots (Mar 10, 2009)

Well it breaks down as 

VAT = 15&#37;
Import duty on geetars = 4%


=19% total.



Shoulda pm'd me dude and i'd have given you a heads up on the taxes due from importing. 

Lesson learned though and it sucks but at least you won't make that mistake twice.



Gaz


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## Fred (Mar 10, 2009)

Sorry, should point out that I had actually done a little reading up about duties before I placed the order, so was aware it would be a lot if I had to pay them - my disappointment was that I naively thought the fact I hadn't received an invoice immediately meant I'd somehow missed out on them, haha.

Ah well, playing it now just to remind myself why it's worth an extra 180 quid!


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## GazPots (Mar 10, 2009)

Ahhhh.

I have heard of guys getting hit with letters from Royal Mail up to 4 weeks after item has been delivered.


That musta stung a bit if you think you've got away with it for 4 weeks and have spent the duty money. 



Gaz


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## proggm (Mar 10, 2009)

Fred said:


> Just got an invoice for £182.10 in the post. That's almost a fucking 5th of what I paid for the guitar including case and shipping. Not fucking cool



You think that's uncool? I'm going to have to pay *450 USD* to FedEx to release my Intrepid Pro . Yep, +50%.


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## Fred (Mar 10, 2009)

Whoa! Sorry to hear that man, is it seriously that much to import stuff from the US to Argentina? Gutted, .


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## geofreesun (Mar 10, 2009)

dude!!! this thing gave me ons mate!!!!! [email protected][email protected]!#[email protected]!#@!
2 questions:

how big is this guitar? can u put up a pic of this boy next to a 6 or 7?
how to order a custom agile? GAAAASSSSSS....


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## Fred (Mar 11, 2009)

Here's a picture of it next to my first ever 6-string from page 4:







There's a cat too, just for scale purposes.

When the custom shop's open there'll be a link on the front page of rondomusic.com

EDIT: Oh, forgot to say - I weighed it yesterday and it's 5kg, or about 11-12lbs.


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## geofreesun (Mar 11, 2009)

thx mate ~ it's like a python next to a rattle snake, next to a cat


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## TimothyLeary (Mar 11, 2009)

wow.. never see this topic until now... looks fuckin awsome man!!!


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## GazPots (Mar 11, 2009)

Fred said:


> Here's a picture of it next to my first ever 6-string from page 4:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




That doesn't actually look as huge as thought it would.


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## possumkiller (Mar 11, 2009)

wow the interceptor is kindof a small body for an 8. and omg it makes the neck on that yamaha look like a twig!


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## B36arin (Mar 11, 2009)

Really awesome guitar! How does the ash sound?


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## Rommel (Mar 11, 2009)

Hopefully Kurt will offer an Interceptor-8 in the future. That's a really nice custom you have there Fred.


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## LordCashew (Apr 14, 2009)

GazPots said:


> That doesn't actually look as huge as thought it would.


My thoughts exactly. Have you actually measured the scale length at 30"?


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## MF_Kitten (Apr 14, 2009)

it looks small because the body is small, and the whole scale of the guitar is moved back. it also looks hot as hell, and does not help my insane GAS


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## Santuzzo (Aug 20, 2009)

How does the 30"scale feel?
Did you try it with a regular F# tuning (lowest string to F#, thne B and thne like a 6 string)?


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## Fred (Aug 20, 2009)

I did when I first got it, but I normally play my 7 in Bb-Eb-etc, so it feels more natural to me having my 8 tuned to F. Having said that, it was definitely playable in standard!

As for how the scale length feels, it's definitely harder work than playing my 7321 - no doubt about that. My hands aren't massive, but nor are they tiny, and without warming up I can *just* stretch from 1-6 on the low F. Spread-out chord patterns are definitely a pain (in some sense literally!) down at the lowest end of the board, but I was expecting that and don't play enough of them for it to be an issue, haha.

Basically, I made the jump from my 25.5" RG to 30" without the slightest issue, despite never having played even a 27" before I ordered this!


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## ralphy1976 (Aug 20, 2009)

please tell me you are not one of those 2 "chaps" hugging the french fries cone...i am refraining myself from writting what i really think about those 2...

so, awesome guitar, i really dig it..could oyu post some videos as i am interested in one of those and i'd like to hear what they sound like first. thanks


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## Fred (Aug 20, 2009)

ralphy1976 said:


> please tell me you are not one of those 2 "chaps" hugging the french fries cone...i am refraining myself from writting what i really think about those 2...
> 
> so, awesome guitar, i really dig it..could oyu post some videos as i am interested in one of those and i'd like to hear what they sound like first. thanks



No, but they're my best mates as well as being the drummer and vocalist/guitarist/occasional bassist of my band, so if I were you I'd continue to keep your mouth shut, as I couldn't really give the slightest fuck what you might think.

And I already have posted a video, and you were in fact the first person to comment on the thread. In case you need your memory refreshing:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ge...ter-the-burial-agile-content.html#post1617999


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## ralphy1976 (Aug 20, 2009)

ah!ah!ah! sorry i am not a face type person so i didn't click but thanks for refreshing my memory.

having re watched your video i was expecting a different sound altogether..funny how ideas can be wrong. Now i know this is a 30", more things fall into places (still with regards to your video)

Awesome.

Oh, and i like your "take no shits attitude". Keep it like this !!!


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