Agile HE30B

22 fret, short scale, binded fretboard, 4 string acoustic/electric bass. ARTEC active preamp system, gotoh style tuners. Spruce top, rosewood back/sides. Gloss finish. Full featured for what it is. If it had a built in tuner for the preamp that would have made it a 10.

This is a tough one. Unplugged, it is useless. You can't hear a damn thing. I thought this would be cool to take to the beach and play on, but you can't hear it at all. No joke... I mean, you can hear notes, but it's so quiet you can't really hear anything beyond that, overtones are simply not projected. The body is WAY too small and I am pretty dissapointed in it to the point that I asked Rondo if they could take it back, they said yes, but then I did the math and realized by the time I paid for shipping (both ways), it is just better to keep it. Plugged in it sounds great, which is another part of the reason I kept it. Of course, I have half a dozen other basses that I use for that... and if I want to plug in something acoustic, I have my upright bass for that. Sigh... I guess this makes a good bass for the bassist who already has everything? I should have bought something with a larger body. I would not consider this to be an acoustic bass.

This is not my first Agile and they do not dissapoint. Everything works well together and the whole is greater than the individual parts. Well finished, sharp looking, great in this regard. It does not get much better, and for this price, it simply doesn't.

Well made, you could gig this likely for years without any problems at all. The tuners are no name, but well built. Solid bridge. Preamp system is well designed. Truss rod is easy to get to.

Kurt is responsive and friendly enough.

Well built. Sounds great plugged in. Doesn't sound like anything when not plugged in. My Guild semi-hollow body bass sounds about as loud as this. Which makes it basically useless to me. If lost or stolen I would buy something else. Something which a huge body that could be heard - or just give up on the acoustic bass angle entirely. I have been playing most of my life, toured internationally, owned and played a lot of different basses. This would be a great instrument if it had any kind of volume unplugged. That is the only thing holding it back. The body is only three inches deep. That's less than my acoustic guitar. I think you'd need probably twice that to get anywhere with bass freqs.

I'll make this short and sweet. Not a whole lot of reviews and info out there for acoustic basses. Just an undiscovered world I guess. Anyway, I am a guy who likes to check things out before blindly buying something so I spent the necessary hours combing the net to see what's out there. I am a left-handed player so my options were limited to about 3 manufacturers-an entry level bass from Tanglewood, a Martin, and the Agile. Tanglewood is in Britain, Martin ran about $1100 with 3 unimpressive reviews. I found literally thousands of reviews on the ebay site supporting Rondo Music store which sells the Agile. I took a chance and ordered one
with the case-I am not dissapointed. They even shipped it in the case for me to reduce shipping costs. The guitar played great right out of the box. Action was set just right for me. It has 22 frets, spruce top (probably not solid) rosewood neck and a dark mahogony back. Nice glossy finish with a stripe across back and circle around the soundhole. It came with active electronics including 3band EQ, presence and separate vol. control (piezo). Battery is also accessible.

The sound? The tone can be suited to your tastes. That's what's great about an acoustic bass. Plenty of high end if you need it. Also you can experiment with different strings to get desired sound.
Intonation is much, much better than I expected for the price I paid. I used to tune pianos so I am pretty picky in this area. At first I was a little disappointed in the natural volume without amplication, but with a strong pick you can hold your own with the other six-strings. The pickups on the other hand provide ample volume and I wouldn't be scared to run it straight through the PA.

Already covered

Seems sturdy. Only test of time will tell

So far so good

If you are a lefthanded player, get this one. I am recommending Rondo music to my band and all my friends. I know I sound like a rep for them, butI want the word to get out. The guitars are made in Korea but most of the guitars on the market are made overseas. Might as well get the biggest bang for the buck. One thing I didn't mention earlier- I had to install a strap screw on the stock neck-only modification I had to due. Also case was better than expected.

Four string 22 fret acoustic-electric bass. Not sure where it was made but it's not from the US. It has a spruce top with rosewood back and sides the neck looks like mahogany. Nice gloss finish on the whole thing. The pickup is a saddle mounted pizeo w/ four band EQ (Bass, Mid, Treble and Presence.)

I've been in an acoustic band for a while and needed an acoustic bass as not to look like an idiot on stage with the only electric instrument, I played a couple of Ibanez models and was very disapointed in what you got for the price. So I jumped on this model form Rondo Music. This is my third bass from them, the first met an early demise after I... well, thats another story.

The sound of this bass is very impressive right out of the box although a little quiet unplugged it'll compete with an acoustic guitar. Plugged in the bass is even more impressive. The EQ is very versitile form a low rumble to a phone like sound and everything in between. I personally cut the mid ant treble and give the bass a boost. The sheer volume of the pickup blew me away, way louder than any electric I've ever played.

I run it thru twin Berhinger KX1200 keyboard amps, somtimes I use a Danelectro auto-wah for fun.

I ripped off the stock strings and put on a nice set of LaBella nylon-steel cores and it sounds pretty close to an upright only a little darker. The LaBella's reduce string noise too (almost no string noise at all.) All in all it's a unique sound that works really well for my acoustic band. In fact it's won my favor over my Kent Armstrong Split-Tube powered jazz bass.

Out of the box there was no buzzing, sharp frets, loose wiring, nothing. It was even almost in tune! When I replaced the strings I had some buzzing so I had it set up at a local music store and now it plays well. The action is a little high for my taste but not to the point that it's a problem.

The finish is almost picture perfect, just one spot where the neck binding meets the fret board there was a gap in the finish.

The only gripe I have is with the battery holder, it buzzes when I hit an open A and is a little annoying but I just shove a pick in it to make it secure.

This Bass will and has withstood live playing and it seems like it will last for a long time. the finish is pretty thick and the hardware looks to be of par quality. I haven't had any problems with the strap button and I only have had the neck adjusted once in 4 months. Playing a gig with no backup is just stupid and I wouldent do it with ANY bass.

Bottom line - The bass will withstand any gig with proper care.

I haven't had to deal with Rondo regarding this purchace but I have in the past and Kurt is the man! 'Nuff said.

I've been playing for about 4 years and this is the nicest bass I own. I've had a 70's Cort, a Dano p-bass, and 2 jazz basses. I would recommend this bass to anyone who doesent have at least $1000 to spend on an acoustic. As I said earlier, I was really disapointed in the Ibanez acoustics I tried at twice the price. I only have one piece of advice, Buy the case with it too they are hard to find.

Peace people,
T.C.