Agile AL2500

Standard LP Features. Notes: Specs as listed on rondomusic.net list this guitar as having a "Solid 2 PC Mahogany" body, "1/16" A Grade Maple" top. The actual guitar has what appears to be a 4-piece body and no maple top.

Out of the box I was not impressed with the guitar and was going to return it for a refund. On a whim I decided to record a couple of tracks with this guitar. I am recording tracks for my band's new CD and my rig is all set up and ready to go. So I plug the guitar into my rig and hit record and WOW! This guitar sounds great! I was pleasantly and very unexpectedly suprised by what heard - and this is with the stock pickups and nothing changed except for a new set of strings. The tracks are keepers. I am going to post some clips for those who are interested. Email me at fsilano AT frankencat DOT com and I will send you the url. Afterwards I replaced the stock pickups with a Seymour Duncan 59 neck and Peraly Gates bridge and it now has that nice fat signature LP sound. Very impressed here. An outstanding Gibson LP being a 10 and a basic good sounding LP being a 9 I will give this a 9 here.

Routing is a little rough and finish has flaws and is sloppily applied in spots. It looks ok overall but IMHO they could have spent 5 more minutes and made it that much better but once the clear is on you are stuck with it - oh well, for the money I can live with it. The guitar is VERY playable and the fret job is actually pretty decent. It plays clean all the way up and down the neck with no buzzes or wierdness of any kind. Actually better in that respect than my USA Fender Strat. The fretboard is very flat and that probably contributes to it. Finish flaws and rough routing aside, it plays great and the actual color of the guitar is pretty nice, basically the same as the old classic Gibson finish. Electronics are fine, they used Alpha pots and the wiring is decent. I have seen worse on Gibsons. I am going to give a 7 here.

The jury is still out on this but hey, it's gonna get gigged as a backup to my other axes so we will find out soon enough. It has been great in the studio over the last coupole of days and I am very happy in that respect.

Kurt has been great to deal with. I was originally going to return the guitar and he said "no problem" and gave me some time to decide which I thought was cool. After my recording session I decided to keep it and throw some better pickups in it. It's a keeper now. I will definitely do business with Kurt and Rondo again.

Cons:
Finish flaws, multi-piece body, sloppy routing, wierd rosewood fingerboard (actually not that bad but it looked very strange at first, it came back to life after cleaning and applying some lemon oil to it).

Pros:
Sounds great, plays great, looks decent, decent electronics and pickups, costs $224 shipped! Really came up a couple of notches after a good setup and pickup replacement.

Bottom line:
Even though I was initially put off by the fit and finish, after a proper setup and after playing it for a couple of days I have to say that this is a great value and recommend that if you are thinking of trying one of these out, it is hard to lose - even with the cons. Just know that you are not getting a USA Gibson for $199 like so many other reviews on the internet would have you believe. What you are getting though is a good sounding, good playing LP copy that will serve the purpose for those of us looking for a good giggable alternative to a high-priced USA GIbson. P.S. I have a feeling the up-line models are much better and possibly rival much more expensive guitars. I am thinking of getting a Prestige just go see about that for myself. I also ordered a double cut P-90 AD_2500 based on this experience which should tell you something. Anyway, as with everything else in life, YMMV. Good luck and God bless. :)

2005 Model - black w/gold hardware. Really looked like a great guitar, but see my notes below.

Sounded good for the 1 day I had it. Nice warm sweet sustain, however the guitar arrived with a cracked neck! To my ears, sounded a bit bright for a Les Paul copy.

Properly intonated, well set up. In terms of finish, very nice except for a minor stain on the white binding of the neck, barely noticeable, and not much of a distraction. The Rosewood on the fretboard looks cheap, you can see bubbles along the grain. Don't know much about the quality of the mahogany body and maple neck, but it was a heavy guitar and felt good. I didn't care too much for the absolutely flat fingerboard. It would have been so much better with a slightly rounded fingerboard in my opinion. Maybe a bit more expensive to make. Would have gotten a great score but it came with a cracked neck. So I can only give it a 1.

Again, I can only give it a 1 because of the cracked neck.

This was absolutely horrendous!!! First off, no telephone number on the website to begin with so it was all done via email. I'm gonna include my email communications with Kurt below for you all to have an idea of how this company dealt with me. The guitar arrived on Saturday, March 26 and I eagerly took it out of the box in anticipation. Much to my disappointment, the neck was cracked! Oh well, I know Les Paul necks can have a tendency to crack right where the headboard meets the neck - and this was a perfectly oval crack suggesting to me that it was shoddy manufacturing that caused the headstock to come unglued from the neck rather than a UPS mishandling. I immediately sent an email (see my emails below) to Rondo on that same Saturday, and Kurt was prompt to respond. That was good, at least it started out okay. I followed his instructions and on the Next Business Day, Monday, I shipped the guitar back for a replacement along with a copy of the electronic form he asked me to fill out on the rondo website for a REPLACEMENT. NOTE: I specifically ordered a "REPLACE MY ITEM" on the form (I've included a copy of the form as it was sent to my email address from Rondo). I say this because the last response I got from Kurt was that I had ordered a REFUND! I did like the sound of the guitar and thought it would complement my collection. I thought maybe I'd gotten a lemon and the replacement would be fine. I really needed a Les Paul humbucker type sound (I have a Fender American Strat & a Tele). I've been playing guitar over 25 years and have played Les Pauls before. On Thursday, Mar 31, I shot Kurt an email with my UPS tracking number for the return asking if he could go ahead and ship the replacement since I'd like to get it as soon as possible. Once again Kurt replied promptly saying: "Shipping is closed the rest of the week for our inventory" and that he'd ship the exchange when they actually receive the return. Okay, I didn't mind too much. I waited and waited but got no reply from Rondo about a replacement being shipped or anything. So I shot another email on APRIL 7TH! to Kurt asking if they had shipped my replacement yet and to please provide me with a tracking number. To my disappointment I got a reply on Friday April 8th saying: "No it was refunded in full as per your instructions on the return form." Here's my return form: Note specifically where it says: "YOU WOULD LIKE RONDO MUSIC TO: REPLACE MY ITEM!":

Please fill out exactly as it appears on your original order.<p><p>

Item Was Purchased Via::Other
eBay Item Number or Web Page Order Number: 4147
Description of Item Won: Agile AL-2500 Black
Price Paid: 229.95
Shipping Paid: 28.08
Total Paid: 258.03
First Name: Xxxxx
Last Name: xxxx
Phone: xxx-xxx-xxx
Your e-mail: xxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
Street Address (No PO Boxes) : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
City: Los Angeles
State: CA
Zip Code: 90026
To Return Item, you would like: :I Will Ship Item Back (Enclose your shipping receipt ? You will be reimbursed for your shipping charges (if item was received damaged, defective or in error). Shipping reimbursement will not exceed original shipping charges to you.
Reason for Return: :Item Received Damaged or Defective Upon Receiving Your Return, You Would Like Rondo Music to: :Replace My Item (can only replace same item no upgrades or changes). If you would like to change your item, simply choose "Refund My Account" and then you can place a new order seperatly. Your replacement will be sent out once we receive your return.
Please explain damage or reason for return/exchange. : Oval shaped crack where the neck and the headstock meet.

OUTRAGEOUS!!! I am so angry! I've also included my email chain with Kurt where throughout it is mentioned "REPLACE!!!" Here's the emails:


Hi
No it was refunded in full as per your instructions on the return form.

Kurt

> Have you guys shipped this ite

I first got introduced to Rondo music from a friend who had nothing but high praise for this company. He'd purchased an SX Tele from them earlier. He'd also previously lived in NJ and visited Rondo. I did a lot of research, including user feedback here at harmony central and decided to try the Agile 2500. I'd decided that if it was pretty good, I'd also go for a Agile3000. I liked the fact that the users here had nothing but praise for the Customer Service! I'm very keen on that, in a previous job I supervised a customer service center for Peoplesoft! What a disppointment! I still give the Agile guitar a 3 because for the 1 day I had it, it did sound pretty nice. But I would not purchase from Rondo again. Any other distributors of Agile in the states?

Nice Grover tuners . Fretboard is fast as hell! Mahogany body with flame maple top=GREAT sustain.

Pickups are quiet, but I expected that for a $199 guitar. tonal range from dark/muddy to sparklingly bright. thick, creamy sound...like buttah!!!

Finish had a few defects on the headpiece and the binding aound the body was rough in places.

i would gig with it, but not without a backup axe. nice, solid hardware .

never dealt with them

My biggest disappointment with this guitar was the fact that the finish was much lighter than was shown in the picture on the Rondo web site. There were also some cosmetic flaws that were bad enough that i would not have bought this guitar , if i saw it at a store. It's no Gibby, but for $199, you really can't beat it.

2005 model in black w/gold hardware. Standard Les Paul features as described in the other reviews. I also bought the Stagg hardshell case with the guitar. Very nice case by the way. Well worth the price.

For straight ahead rock & roll. This guitar sounded richer smoother and creamier than the 4 Gibson Les Pauls I've owned. (2 standards & 2 studios). This guitar is supposed to have the cheaper ceramic pickups which are supposed to be hotter and brighter than the alnico equipped models. I didn't notice either characteristic. They just sounded absolutely perfect to me. I was totally stunned. With just a little manipulation of the volume and tone pots, I got every sound I ever wanted out of a Les Paul. I'm not changing anything on this guitar. To me this guitar is a HUGE 10!

Really good paint job with no flaws. The coating was not layered on so thick as to rob resonance from the guitar. Very well done. The binding had one really minor cosmetic flaw. And the nut was a cut a little bit sloppy, but I'm being really really picky here. The action was superb, with nice smooth frets. The only thing I did was raise the treble side of the bridge about 1/64", and thats only cause I thought the action was just a tad too low. However fret buzz was not an issue anywhere. Everything worked smoothly including the Grover tuners- nice touch.

No opinion as I haven't had the guitar long enough. It feels plenty solid. I think if you take good care of it you shouldn't have any problems. I would be real careful not to drop it though. It has a very fast thin neck with the tilt back headstock that adds sustain, but if the guitar lands on the back of the neck, I think it would be all over. Thank goodness the strap buttons are 1st class. So if you're a clutz, don't buy this guitar. If you take good care of your gear it'll take good care of you.

Good service. Shipped fast, well packed and good communication.

Been playing about 42 years and I'm VERY impressed with this guitar. I also have the 12 string model, that I obviously play clean. Bottom line is this- Neither one's for sale 'Nuf said.

Great Korean made guitar. Quality black paint job better than Epiphone Les Paul's, (I happen to like the black paint on this Agile better than a Gibson standard in black). Nice chrome parts and reliable GROVER tuners are a plus+. Rythym pickup sounds smooth and creamy and treble pickup works great for distortion with no feedback at high volumes like some Epiphones I have tried out. The strap buttons are oversized which is great for making sure that it will never fall when used with any strap. Overall very impressed with the attention to details on this guitar.

The body weighs so much and it pumps out some really beautiful tones even when not plugged in to an amp. Overall acoustics of this guitar are pristine. Sustain is awesome the more the volume is cranked. Both pickups provide great tones which are suited well to this type of guitar. I love that the sound is comparable to that off the more expensive Gibson Les Paul's. When used to record, I bet no one would know the difference between the two.

Binding on the body is not pure white, but is of a more vintage cream color. It is fit perfectly around the edges of the body and would seem to be done by experienced hands. The paint is very glossy and looks great under stage lights. The set up for the guitar I received was OK, some tweaking was done to get it up to my standards but it reached them and went beyond that point. This is a great guitar to customize if you don't already like the near perfectness of this guitar.

I've had for less than a month already but I know when a guitar is built like a tank. This guitar is one of them. It probably will never fall from a strap unless the strap itself breaks. If it fell, I know it would probably leave a big hole in the floor from the massive weight of it. I absolutely know this guitar would last.

Kurt was a good person to deal with, fast shipment too.

2004 LP style, lefty, made in Korea, 22 fret, mahogany body with flamed maple top finished in trans. amber. Typical LP controls. 2 chrome covered ceramic humbuckers that ohm out at about 8.5k ohms (bridge) and 7.5k (neck). Maple neck with rosewood FB and Abalone inlays. Grover 18:1 tuners. 24 3/4" scale. Got a CNB case as a gift from a friend with the guitar. (Great case!)

I like classic rock and blues. I play thourhg a homebrewed Bogen PA amp. Look for the "Boggy Intimidator" reviews under the "Bogen" listing in the amps review section here. Didn't care for the stock pickups. I'm not a fan of ceramic pickups anyways. Already had a pair of Kent Armstrong HPAO-VI to go in it (reviewed those too). Guitar sounded fine with the stock pickups though. Not too shabby for ceramics. They are single conductor with a braided shield. All the wiring in the guitar is shielded. Guitar does the tyipcal LP tones very well. 3-way switch feels and works fine. Guitar has 500k Alpha pots which seem to work OK. I will change the tone pots out for reverse audio tapers at some point so they work properly, but that's just a lefty thing. Regular audio taper tone pots never work right when wired lefty. Every lefty guitar I've owned was like this. No biggie.

Had to intonate, to include flipping the saddle for the "D" string around, but no big deal. I adjusted the action down pretty low, and no buzzes. Guitar plays very well. Bookmatched flame is pretty good. I've seen better, but on much more expensive guitars. I am plased with the way this top looks, and can't believe the guitar was only $199.

Nice big strap buttons. It was hard to get my strap on them. I don't think there's a need for strap locks with these oversized buttons. This thing is built like a tank. Plastic nut, but well cut and not an issue. Nice finish that looks very durable. There is a slight flaw in the stain, I think, up on the body by the neck. It looks like a tiny bit of stain dripped on the top. It's hard to see and I'm not worried about it. Kurt would reasily exchange it, I'm sure, but I bought this thing to play, and it plays very well. I have no intention of sending it back. Completely happy. That was the ONLY flaw I could find on this guitar.

I wrote back and forth with Kurt numerous times over the last year or so. He is always polite and prompt with his responses. I own 2 guitars I bought from him now, and would buy anyother without hesitation.

This is an easy ten. Is it a historic LP? No. It is a fantastic value though. Pickups are so subjective that many folks change them no matter what they buy. Even with the stock pickups, this guitar sounds pretty good. If this was lost, I'd get another.