OH N(O)GD...

[Blood Tempest]

Back in November, I placed an order for a custom Agile Septor Elite 8 string. It showed up a month early, to my surprise. But, it didn't turn out so good...first, the pics.

There's supposed to be body binding...

There's supposed to be headstock binding too

Neck binding turned out nice.

Sigh. She plays REALLY nicely and sounded great for the quick plug in time I had yesterday. But I'm missing binding on the body and headstock. I opted for an added option of neck binding, which made it on there, but not the other two. Here were my specs:

Finish: Black Flame
Scale: 25.5"
Fretboard: Ebony
Inlays: No Inlays
Pickups: Cepheus Passive
Bridge: Cepheus Fixed Bridge
Body & Headstock Binding: Pearloid
Hardware Color: Black
Dexterity: Right Handed
Additional Option: Pearloid Binding for Neck

Sent an email to Kurt last night. Got a response early AM today saying he's out of the office. He told me that once he's back, he will email me about what they can do for me. Man, I was so stoked to get this thing. Big time bummer.

 

[asher]

Looks nice though!

I'm sure Kurt will sort you out.

 

[MannyMoonjava]

HNGD! I think its dope The binding is insane though, I imagine your "let down" ..

Edit: Just curious why you chose a 25" scale? I usually play 28" and I notice difference between 27"

 

[Konfyouzd]

That binding looks REALLY nice. It sucks they didn't put it on the other parts that were supposed to have it.

 

[Rev2010]

Damn, sucks to hear. If I were you I'd get it redone correctly rather than take a discount or something because you'll likely never be 100% satisfied. It'll always bug you a bit in the back of your mind. Btw, are the pickup routes usually that wide? Seems to be a fair amount of gap, looks a bit unsightly IMO.


Rev.

 

[Blood Tempest]

Looks nice though!

I'm sure Kurt will sort you out.

I'm positive he will help make it right. One way or another. I've always heard great things about his customer service. My purchases in the past never had issues, so this is a first for me. It really does look great, it just doesn't have all of my specs :-/

HNGD! I think its dope The binding is insane though, I imagine your "let down" ..

Edit: Just curious why you chose a 25" scale? I usually play 28" and I notice difference between 27"

It does look sick. I will say. But I imagine it being ever better with the binding all over. I chose 25.5" because it's most comfortable to me. When I plugged her into my amp yesterday, all the notes were clear as a bell. It was perfect.

That binding looks REALLY nice. It sucks they didn't put it on the other parts that were supposed to have it.

I agree. They really did a superb job on the neck. Just need it on the whole thing

Damn, sucks to hear. If I were you I'd get it redone correctly rather than take a discount or something because you'll likely never be 100% satisfied. It'll always bug you a bit in the back of your mind. Btw, are the pickup routes usually that wide? Seems to be a fair amount of gap, looks a bit unsightly IMO.

I agree with you. I've been thinking about that since I opened it. I thought "maybe I should settle," but I know it will eat at me over time. Didn't really notice the pickup routes looking off in person. I see what you are getting at about the pic. Perhaps its the angle of the pics or something? Not something that bugs me either way.

 

[Hollowway]

Yeah, +1 to getting a new one. Binding is one of those things that if you want it nothing else will do. There's a lot of stuff I'd take the discount for, but binding on the whole thing would definitely be the day's meow.

 

[Blood Tempest]

Agreed, Hollowway. Pearloid binding is a favorite of mine. IMO, it will make this guitar look 100 times better.

 

[Randy]

Btw, are the pickup routes usually that wide? Seems to be a fair amount of gap, looks a bit unsightly IMO.

Not seeing it. They look just about the right size to clear the baseplate.

 

[Rev2010]

Not seeing it. They look just about the right size to clear the baseplate.

Hmm, seems you're right. Guess I'm just not used to looking at direct mounted passives as I've pretty much always owned pickup ringed passive guitars and EMG direct mounts appear to typically have a tighter routed pocket.


Rev.

 

[Blood Tempest]

For the record, I actually enjoyed what I experienced from the passive Cepheus pickups. Bought this with intentions of throwing an 8 string Black Winter in there, but it made me second guess that.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Agile routes are actually a smidge small. Not a lot but I had to finesse a set of Dimarzio DA8S in...

 

[Razzle]

I orderd a custom LP and it took three tries, but they got it right, and it was worth the effort & wait.

For me, it would be: get what you WANT. (it's FUN to wait for it)

 

[Blood Tempest]

I orderd a custom LP and it took three tries, but they got it right, and it was worth the effort & wait.

For me, it would be: get what you WANT. (it's FUN to wait for it)

You have a very valid point. How long was the wait through all 3 builds? Did they expedite your order since it was wrong on the first try??

 

[shawnperolis]

This makes me sad. Hopefully Kurt can make it right though.

 

[Batsinthebelltower]

I think this is a great guitar dude - similar to the one i got in my ngd thread - though id say kurt will look after you and get it sorted , dont stress youll get that binding either way ! and if you do choose to keep the guitar its still completely rockin !

 

[Orandje]

It looks awesome even without the binding!
The guitar looks like a childversion of an 8 string with that scale lenght
(see the last photo - the one from the back)

 

[Blood Tempest]

This makes me sad. Hopefully Kurt can make it right though.

I'm 100% certain he will. I will be a happy customer at the end of the day. I know it.

I think this is a great guitar dude - similar to the one i got in my ngd thread - though id say kurt will look after you and get it sorted , dont stress youll get that binding either way ! and if you do choose to keep the guitar its still completely rockin !

I do as well. I saw your post. Yours looks excellent! Gonna do some debating and spend some quality time with her this weekend. If I end up bonding with it, I may keep it. Who knows? I still think I'm gonna want that binding over everything though.

It looks awesome even without the binding!
The guitar looks like a childversion of an 8 string with that scale lenght
(see the last photo - the one from the back)

Agreed. She looks very nice even without those options. I like my short scales, man. What can I say? It's comfortable and works for me. Plus, I'm a short guy. It just works!

 

[jwade]

I dig the standard scale 8 setup. Looks crazy manageable!

 

[Blood Tempest]

I dig the standard scale 8 setup. Looks crazy manageable!

Precisely why I like it. EVERYTHING feels more accessible to me. String spacing is perfect, scale length doesn't cause hand cramping on the first through fourth frets when chording (yes, I had a 27" 7 string in the past and we didn't get along). It just flat out works for me. The F# comes through crystal clear as well. As I've said before, I think the scale length argument is grossly exaggerated in regards to clarity and tone. There are many ways to rectify those issues for people that have them. Scale length is just one of many. I prefer thicker strings to a longer scale, personally. I also don't require a massive amount of tension when I play either. More of a mid-low tension kinda guy. Makes playing easier to me.