Agile AL-4000 Nat Quilt Duncan

The Korean-made Agile AL-4000 Nat Quilt Duncan is a Les Paul-styled arch top featuring a 3/4" flamed maple cap over mahogany body. Less expensive models, such as the AL-3000MAP or AL-3000M, have a maple cap covered with a 1/16" maple flame veneer. The body and head have cream binding and four black pin stripes. The neck has single cream binding. Nat Quilt designates an unstained ???quilted??? wood grain finish, which has an elegant blonde appearance. Of note is the matching headstock on this model. Other guitars in the same series have black headstocks. Gibson Les Pauls have black headstocks. This guitar stands apart with a headstock of the same natural quilt pattern as the body. It???s an aesthetic detail not found on many guitars, but it is one that imparts an appreciable sense of quality and attention to detail.

The AL-4000 Nat Quilt Duncan features Grover die cast tuners with with an 18-1 turning ratio. The Tune-O-Matic-styled bridge features robust Gotoh parts that offer a fuller range of intonation than do copies of the old ABR-1. The installed nut is bone, and a pre-cut graphite nut is included for those who prefer it. It may be coincidental, but the bone nut on this guitar was cut better than the bone nuts on two other AL-3000 guitars I own.

The neck is 22-fret and 24 3/4" scale. The ebony fret board isn't particularly black, but more of a dark brown. Block abalone inlays decorate the fret board, compared to the cheap plastic used in most guitars. The width of the nut is 1 5/8".

The pickups are Seymour Duncans: SH-2N (Jazz) in the neck position and SH-1B (59) in the bridge position. Less expensive Agiles use generic Korean ceramic or Alnico pickups. The electronics are generic. Although advertised as having brass shafts, the potentiometers actually have aluminum shafts. This was the case with other Agiles I???ve bought, as well. Potentiometers with brass shafts cost more than twice those with aluminum shafts.

Pickups are the heart and soul of any guitar. An Agile with quality Seymour Duncan pickups is a completely different guitar than one with generic pickups. The Duncan pickups are far more responsive to picking style; harmonics don???t have to be forced from this guitar. The sound of the SH-1B (59) is pure vintage rock, head and shoulders above the stock pickups on my other Agiles. The SH-2N (Jazz) is a bit more progressive-sounding, with a dark growl in overdrive. Until now, I did not know what an Agile sounded like with good pickups. Soon, I will be replacing the pickups in my other Agiles with stock Gibson pickups. I will likely replace the electronics with CTS potentiometers and brand-name capacitors. Even with the generic electronics, the guitar puts out a commanding tone on par with anything else out there.

This guitar was set up at the factory better than my other Agiles. I haven???t adjusted the truss rod, because the neck is fairly close to straight???I despise excess relief and that spongy feeling it imparts to the middle of the fret board. The guitar was detuned for shipping when I received it, as it should be. When buying an off the shelf guitar, it is expected that one must set it up to suit one???s individual playing style. I did not buy a $3,000 boutique guitar with complementary professional set up, and I do not count it against Rondo that I have to set my own intonation or adjust the pickups. Simply, if I can set it up to play well, it???s a good guitar.

The instant I first held this guitar, I knew it was a professional-grade instrument. It is considerably heavier than my other Agile AL models and much more ???solid??? feeling. The finish on the neck is smooth and thin, making the guitar easy to play. My AL-3000 models do not feel or play like this AL-4000.

The finish isn???t perfect, but then the guitar didn???t cost me thousands of dollars. There are a couple flaws here and there, but you have to be on the hunt for these things to find them. I???m a right picky bastard, but there???s nothing so wrong with the finish that I feel the need to return the guitar or ask for a discount. Had I paid thousands, I would take issue with even the slightest flaw.

Everything else on the guitar is spot-on. With the exceptions already noted, this guitar is altogether perfect.

The Agile AL-4000 Nat Quilt Duncan is as reliable and road-worthy as anything on the market. All major components are name-brand and built to last. The real question is whether or not you would want to take something this pretty on the road or in a club.

My guitar arrived with the plastic knob broken off the selector switch (it happens a lot). Kurt said he???d send a replacement. Based on everything I???ve read online, Kurt is fairly keen on support after the sale. He???s quick about answering emails. Apparently, he even arranges custom guitar orders.

Strangely, although the guitar was ordered with a case and shipped inside that case, it was still in the padded plastic bag it shipped from Korea in. I don???t know why Rondo didn???t remove the bag before putting the guitar in its case, as they had with my other orders.

I???ve been playing over twenty years and I own a lot of guitars. I???m skeptical and suspicious by nature. I???ve openly questioned the price point on the AL-4000, because it is considerably higher than the AL-3000M. But I will say now that the AL-4000 is a hell of a lot more guitar than the AL-3000M, and it is more than just the pickups. Perhaps the two models use different woods???I don???t know. The balance or weight distribution of the AL-4000 is entirely different than that of the other AL models. It feels better, more solid. The first time I picked it up and played it, I understood why it costs more. The natural quilt is so classy, so beautiful. Then there???s the matching headstock???I love it, and that???s why I chose this particular guitar over the other options. I think Rondo should put the matching headstock on all AL-4000 models.

So, yes, it???s worth $700 (with the matching headstock). It???s a great guitar, one you don???t have to upgrade to play on stage. The normal Korean Epiphones aren???t in the same league, although they cost nearly as much. Where quality is concerned, I think the AL-4000 is more in league with the Gibson Les Paul, but for a nitro-cellulose finish. Hey, even Gibson is putting cheap electronics in their guitars these days! For $20-30, I can switch the electronics to something more respectable and kick the hell out of any other single-cut on the market. So what if my axe wasn???t hand-sanded by hourly wage slaves?

As far as I can see, the Achilles heel of the better Agile guitars remains the bone nuts installed at the factory. They???re not being cut as precisely as they should be. Some slots are cut too deeply. This has required me to add more relief to the neck than I want on my last two guitars. In fact, those nuts need to be replaced. I think they got it right on this particular guitar, however.

The Agile AL-4000 Nat Quilt Duncan is an awesome guitar and a big step up from the AL-3000 model. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting a high-end single-cut without the inflated prices seen in the market today.