Agile AL3000 Prestige

Amazing guitar for the money. The flametop finish is beautiful, i've played guitars that cost thousands more than the AL-3000 that are cherry sunburst and this guitar looks just as good as those ones. As always the Grover tuners are great, not only do they do the job but they do it well. Strings were really low when i got it making it extremely easy to play takes no effort at all. However, the 6th string did buzz quite a bit out of the box but a small minor adjustment changed that. The EMG pickups are just amazing. This is actually my first guitar with emg's and i wasn't really sure what to expect but i couldn't be happier with them. These babies are phenominal. The 81/85 config. produces a great sound like no other. You definitaly don't have to worry about being too quiet on stage. Great guitar for the price, the only reason it got a 9 is because of the small adjustments that i had to make.

I mostly play rock and metal, the odd country song every now and then. Like i said before, the pickups are great. They suit all styles of music that i play. The only thing i dont really like is that on the rhythm setting the pickups can get a little noisy and a little bit too hot. The maple top gives a first class sound and makes everything sound so rich. Great sustain with this guitar as well.

Amazing action, couldn't ask for better for only $500. Pickups were a little unlevel out of the box but that was fixed with a turn of a screw. As i said before the finish is beautiful. I couldnt find any flaws with it, i'm not sure if i was lucky to get no finish flaws for $500 or if Agile is really on the ball with their quality. Strings were really low, i could probably fall asleep playing this guitar thats how easy it is to play it.

This guitar seems like the real deal. I've had it for a couple months now and have not had any problems at all. In my opinon the Grover tuners and EMG pickups will last a really long time, thats one of the reasons they have such a respected name. Bridge looks stable as well as the neck and body. When i first got the guitar i checked out the wiring expecting a complete mess but it was the opposite. Haven't had a problem with the wiring i.e. the jack. All in all a very reliable guitar in my eyes.

Haven't had to deal with the company. If your looking to buy one or just check it out go to www.rondomusic.net

Overall, after the couple of months that i have owned this guitar i have been extremely happy with it. It's durable, sounds great and looks great. I'm actually looking to buy another one on the same lines as the Al-3000MAP CSB EMG in the near future. Love how easy it is to play and how mean it sounds. Like i said before i have played Gibson Les Pauls that cost about 4 times as much as this one and i can say with confidence that, other than the name on the headstock, this is pretty much a Gibson that cost a mear $1500 less. Definately recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a Les Paul style guitar that sounds and plays just as good as the big name companies. I really can see Agile becoming a company that will be as sought after and well known as the likes of Fender and Gibson in the future, especially if their guitars remain so affordable.

GoldTop, P-90 pickups. Les Paul body style with tune-o-matic bridge. Glover tuners, 24 fret with solid mahogany body and ebony fingerboard.

It sounds as good as my 57 black beauty and my 94 and 2002 lp standards

Set=up, action intonation perfect.

I am a seasoned professional; this is as good as any Gibson out there.
Solid as a rock!

I own several gibson les paul standards, strats and a 78 Ibanez artist; this is quickly becoming my favorite guitar to play.

Black Les Paul-style solid mahogany body with Tune-O-Matic type bridge. Grover 18:1 Rotomatic tuners. Standard scale, slim profile mahogany neck with jumbo frets, ebony fretboard, and genuine abalone inlays. Bone nut installed with included graphite nut. Also includes a hex wrench for truss rod adjustment. New, made in Korea. 24 frets. Solid top. Standard Les Paul control arrangement with one three way pickup switch, two volume and two tone knobs. Two covered Alnico humbucker pickups.

Just try finding a guitar with an ebony fretboard for less than $2K. All of them together on a guitar in this price range is frankly astonishing. I can't believe they could build this guitar for the price I paid, let alone make a profit selling them.

I'm still in the middle of finding my sound. I like modern rock, classic rock, metal, and some blues. Fortunately, like any good Les Paul, this guitar is suitable for any style of music. I'm a poor boy, so I run mine into a PODxt for all my effect and amp needs, but I'm starting to feel like it's an injustice to run this axe in to it. It's too good.

Sound? It sounds like a Les Paul. No complaints.

Fit and finish is excellent. Beautiful glossy black finish that's really slick on the neck. The photos on the site do not do justice to the finish or to the gorgeous abalone inlays on the neck. The ebony fretboard looks great too, and goes really well with the black finish.

The bridge came from the factory set too low, so I raised it up until the frets stopped buzzing. The third fret is slightly high, but even with the bridge raised up so it doesn't buzz the action is still quite low. (I don't have any feeler gauges) With a fret levelling, the action could be set stupidly low without buzzing. The frets are all filed and polished perfectly. I'm taking one point off just because the frets were not properly levelled, otherwise the guitar is a 10.

It's a mahogany bodied Les Paul, so it's a tank. I'd trust this guitar to live through the apocalypse. Finish is nice and thick. All the hardware is solid (the tuners are Grover, I don't know who made the other parts). Strap buttons are extra large and certainly secure, but I plan to put strap locks on. Again, it's a mahogany bodied Les Paul, so it weighs about 10 lbs. $20 for a set of strap locks is a lot cheaper than a new axe, no matter how good a deal it is.

I've had no need to contact the company, but their return policy is excellent (30 days no questions).

Be warned, however, I've heard a number of stories of people being impolite to the owner, and then getting ignored. It pays to be nice.

I've been playing about two years, and my only other electric is a POS strat copy. I wish I'd bought one of these two years ago. I would definitely buy it again if lost. I love everything about this guitar, but the best feature is the playability. It's really easy to play. When I was shopping I checked out Epiphone and Gibson Les Pauls. For less money, it's definitely better than any Epiphone. I haven't been able to find anything about the Gibson Les Paul Standard that I like better than this guitar, and this one has an ebony fretboard and abalone inlays. I wish it had a better looking headstock, but it's already better than the Epiphone headstock IMO.

The bottom line is that this guitar is a killer deal, and if you pass on it just because it doesn't say Gibson on the peghead, you are seriously missing out. Other people have said this guitar is great "for the money", but I'm not going to use that qualifier. This is a great guitar at any price, and my rating does not reflect cost.

22 fret Les Paul style guitar. 24 3/4" scale with jumbo frets. It has grover tuners and an ebony fretboard (which plays very well). It also comes with a bone nut installed along with a graphite nut which could be used to replace if desired. Being a Les Paul copy, it has the three way selector switch and a volume and tone control for each of the humbucker pick-ups.

This guitar sounds awesome. Rich and full sound, sounds good clean AND distorted. It wasn't very expensive, so I figured I would change out the pups when it arrived, but when I plugged it in...no way, the factory pups stay in.

The guitar wasn't really set up at all, it came strung but that was it. There was some fret buzz but I raised the action a little and that took care of most of it (I don't like the action real low anyways as I tend to pick fairly heavy). The neck was straight though. The frets are nicely sanded (no sharp edges at all). A very playable guitar which gets even better when set up properly. The neck is a little thick and the neck join is also thick, so playing those last few frets may be tough for someone with small hands. Probably not a good guitar for all the high note shredders out there, but for the rest of us...perfect.
The finish is amazing....beautiful looking guitar!!

Very solid guitar, will easily handle gigging. This guitar is a fair bit heavier than the ten pounds it is advertised at, so eat your wheaties before attempting a long show with it (sustain is great because of this though).

I've had no problems at all with this guitar. The folks at Rondo Music were very helpful. When I ordered a case for it, they actually recommended a cheaper case than the one I was inquiring about.

I've been playing for 22 years but because I'm a lefty, I haven't played many different types of guitars, so I can't really compare it to anything else. If something were to happen to this guitar, I would definitely be ordering another. It really is that good !!
I was looking into buying a Les Paul but decided to try this first as a cheap alternative to see if I liked the style...This guitar sounds and plays so good that I will not be wasting hard earned cash on a Les Paul.

Mine is a Heritage Sunburst (no longer available I think). Korean made. Flame maple top, well matched with very good flame. Mahogany body, LP style, ebony board, grovers, bridge/tailpiece unknown but look like LP. Seem decent. Neck is thick enough for me (I like thick necks). Bought used with aftermarket GFS P-90s, speed knobs, upgraded pots and switch, etc.
I have no idea what the difference is between a 3000 and a 3000 Prestige (this is a Prestige, but nowhere can I fine what that actually means). The back is supposed to be two piece, but for the life of me I can't find the seam (and I'm a cabinetmaker). Could it be one piece??? Not tons of features but it has what it's supposed to have.

This guitar came with upgraded p/ups and electronics from the P.O. It has GFS P-90s and through my Mesa Boogie DC-5 it sounds really, really good and not too noisy (it's quieter than my American Strat in the 1-3-5 positions). It's my first P-90 guitar so I can't compare it to other P-90s, but for a fat clear ringing, singing and growling single coil sound, I can't imagine how it could be better. I love it!!! Unfortunately I can't speak to the original electric sound, but I can tell that acoustically the guitar rings very well, and that's a big piece of the electric sound. Great sustain. It's currently my favorite player, and I've got some other much 'nicer' (more expensive) guitars.

The body is really very, very good. The wood is gorgeous, neck joint perfect, binding perfect, finish is perfect except for a very tiny (-1/4") spot where a bit of stain may have bled from the mahogany onto the binding, so instead of cream it's a little bit pinkish, and I had to really search to find that. The ebony board is beautiful and appears to actually be ebony! The abalone inlays are beautiful and well set. Now about the neck/frets...
This is the second Agile I've bought, and the ONLY guitar I've ever purchased in my life sight unseen (unplayed), from eBay. The guitar was basically as described, but phrases like "plays great-no fret buzz!" can apparently mean different things to different people. When the guitar arrived the neck was wildly out of whack; someone had adjusted the truss rod backwards so that it was pushing the neck forward! This was apparently done to deal with some neck/fret issues: a moderate 'bump' on the fretboard where the neck joins the body (my other Agile also has a tiny bit of this but not enough to effect it's playability; it's something to watch out for with inexpensive set neck guitars I think) combined with several poorly set frets between the 15th and 22th. To 'fix' these problems the neck had been given so much relief that you could have shot arrows with it, so technically there was "no fret buzz", but yikes! After pounding in the loose frets and adjusting the truss rod back to normal the neck straightened out fine and I was able to get the action to a decent height, but it will need the frets glued a fret mill to get the action where it could be. I paid less than $300 for the guitar and it's a pretty good player now. For a couple hundred bucks more I can have a truly awesome LP that will compare to anything out there so I'll probably do it. I'm still thrilled with this guitar and really love it, but I would hesitate before buying another Agile sight unseen again, especially since both of the ones I have had similar neck set / fretboard / fret issues. The ironic thing is the the AL 2500's neck is almost perfect amd the finish work on the frets is far superior to the "hand filed" frets on the 3000; in fact the 2500's edges are smoother than any other guitar I own including one that's been professionally milled and dressed by a very good luthier. Go figure.

This thing is a tank -very well built and over 10 lbs, so as long as it doesn't fall on its head it should be fine. The strap buttons were indeed HUGE but I still had a strap slip off of it anyway so it has straplocs now.

I emailed Kurt at Rondo with a question and he got right back to me in detail. Seems good to me.

30 plus years playing. Had/have Airline somethingorother (old), DanElectro (old) Gibson ES 125 (really old), Guild Starfire (old), Post-war Epiphone Zephyr w/New York p/up (really old, looks great, sounds good, plays lousy), 70's Takamine F-363S, '74 Telecaster, '79 Yamaha SA 2000, the 2 Agiles, 2004 American HSS Strat, 2004 Epiphone Emperor Regent. I might have asked more detailed fret/neck questions, but if I'd known about the guitars issues I might not have bought it. I'm glad I didn't because it's totally fixable and a great guitar. I wish it weighed less. I think it compares well to real LPs; definately very well against other copies. For the price it's a great deal, but I'd try one first if you're considering getting one. If it was lost or stolen I'd definately get another; they're cheap!

$369 for guitar, total of $445 with case and shipping. Additional $130 for professional fret dressing (I'll get to that in a moment). 2006 Les Paul copy in black. Below is rondomusic.net's description of the guitar, and the only part that I question is the handfiled frets bit:

"Neck Taper (thickness) at the first fret is 17mm and 21mm at the 12th fret. (vs: 21.5 mm at the 1st fret and 23.5mm at the 12th fret for the standard AL-3000 model)
The slim taper neck is preferred by some players
High quality Book-Matched Flame Canadian Maple Top (100% real wood top-not a photo top!)
Solid mahogany (not a multi-ply!) arch top body
Triple bound body, and headstock. Single binding on neck.
Improved Nickel plate hardware, including Nickel die-cast Grover tuners with 18-1 turning ratio for ultra fine tuning (Model 102-18N)
Two Type V Alnico humbucker pickups for warm, tradional sound
The AL-3000 now comes with improved wiring (single conductor braided 18 gauge American wire for pickups), improved pots (now higher voltage with brass shafts for reduced noise) and an improved pickup selector switch
Two volume and two tone controls, plus a three way pickup selector switch
One piece Mahogany set neck with 13.7" (350mm) radius neck for fast play and adjustable truss rod
Ebony fretboard with 22 Jumbo frets and real Abalone Trapezodial inlays
The AL-3000 features GHS strings installed at the factory and a professionally cut bone nut
A pre-cut graphite nut is also included in the bag with the trus rod adjuster for those who prefer graphite
Individually hand filed frets for professional feel and playability
Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 21st fret: 2 3/16"
Neck Taper (thickness) at the first fret: 17mm; at the 12th Fret: 21mm
Overall length: 40"; Scale length: 24.7"
Body thickness: 2" at edge; Width at the widest point: 13"
Actual Weight is only 10 lbs (folks, they're not kidding)"

I play metal, but am trying not to. This guitar is going into a Peavey 120w XXX tube Combo, in addition to a Zoom G2 processor and some other boxes that you don't care about because you want to read about the guitar.

I have very little experience with PAF-style pickups, so I don't know if they could stand up to Duncan 59's (I guess that what they're modeled after), but they respond very well to high gain and still clean up nicely.

The sound is very big and full, and even the resonance when it is unplugged is quite loud. I like it.

The black finish is perfect, and I didn't notice and nicks or cracks. Out of fairness, I will give the action and setup 2 ratings.

Out of the Box: 5 - lots of buzzing, many uneven frets that were sharp at the edges. Not playable.
After Professional fret dressing by Kenny at www.audiolight.com : 9 (nothing wrong, but a 10 rating should only be given to totally perfect instruments)

Life Story: I had a long period of time when I could not play guitar. When I began researching to buy a new guitar, I was looking in the direction of les paul style guitars, as I have an Epiphone LP Studio that has grown on me over the years. Initially, I thought that buying the Agile would serve a dual purpose: A new guitar on par with an Epiphone for less money (I was very unimpressed with the other Epiphones that I played), and an instrument that I could learn to repair and set up to my liking.

I would have purchased a cheaper model like an AL2000, but I do not play well with thick necks, and this is the only one that has the slim taper neck. The fact that it's really beautiful and has nickel hardware and an Ebn'y fretboard doesn't hurt.

The reason that I chose to take it to a professional to get it repaired is that when I finally got it in my hands, I thought that it would be something great if it was set up properly. And it is. I'll just learn to set up and intonate on my beater Epiphone or totally shithouse NJ Warlock.

Here is where I have a problem: I assumed that any Agile would be unplayable directly out of the box. If it turned out to be alright, then I got lucky. I didn't get lucky. This would be less of a problem for me if they didn't advertise (and probably charge more for) a guitar that has 'Individually hand filed frets for professional feel and playability'.

Kenny from www.audiolight.com informed me that before he could properly dress the very uneven frets, he had to glue several of them first, as they were very loose. Someone else might have sent the guitar right back to Rondo, but I want to see this mail-order guitar thing through to the end. Call me an idiot if you like, but the end result is a very beautiful guitar that is comparable to (but has a total cost that is still less than) an Epi LP Custom ($450+130=$580, and it's more comfortable than the Epi's that I played).

Here's something else that Kenny from AL&M told me: The fret wire is kinda crappy, and if I were to take the guitar on the road and play it consistently, I would wear down the fret wire fairly quickly. I don't play out, so if that is the case, it might be something I'll have to deal with a few years down the road. Hopefully a few.

Finish is perfect, the Ebony fingerboard is very smooth; not on par with what you'd find on a Gibson LP Custom, but not the tinted rosewood that certain guitar manufacturers have been putting on certain cheap models to compliment none-more-black finishes (ask me about my BC Rich NJ Warlock, go on, ask me).

No idea. I have not talked to or emailed anyone from Rondo. I know Rondo has what is said to be a very fair 30 day return policy, but that is almost definetly void by now.

No, I am not an amazing player. This is my hobby, and it brings me joy. I really like this guitar, and do not regret my Internet Shopping Experience. I'm also glad that the guitar was available in a solid color, as the transparent finishes I saw on Rondo's site were not impressing me. If Kurt from Rondo reads this, try to get some new solid colors for the slims! Red with Nickel hardware, Dark Blue with Gold hardware or Good ol' White, I'd have preferred that over Another Black Guitar. I haven't had it long, and have already recieved a few compliments on the look, and the pictures on the site don't do it justice.

Now that it's properly set up, I would absolutely set it against any of the Epis that I played. If I had the proper equipment and experience to do a professional setup on my own, this guitar would be a steal. As it stands, I still think I got a good deal. I post as p4vl on the HCF.

I recently purchased this directly from RondoMusic.net. If you're reading this, you already know that Agile owners regularly compare their axes to Gibson and Epi LPs, and this is a well-earned comparison. My wife had taken my suggestion (amazing, ain't it!) and ORIGINALLY ordered the Cherry Sunburst but I ended up with the Heritage SB. It's a 2-piece mahogany body with a flame maple top, Type V AlNiCo pups, 18:1 Grover tuners, beautiful Abalone inlays... it's a dream for the eyes...

BUT TAKE A LOOK AT THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION FOR THE WHOLE STORY...

I play/like mostly 60's/70's rock, R&B and Blues. This axe nicely compliments these styles. I've run this baby through a VOX AC30, Fender Blues Jr. and my buddy's Blackface & Crate Palomino. Once I got it setup, the AlNiCo give a great bluesy OD tone. Throw in a little drive and this axe will wail. I didn't find it to be noisy per se but it was almost too easy to overdrive.

The down side is that it is not easy to get a warm, clean tone without a lot of effort or a pickup swapout. I'm not a pro or even a serious amateur. I play because it's usually cheaper than a shrink (hence the Agile over the Gibson!) I can't see using this axe in a jazz setting but it's great for most rock/blues.

And it does indeed resonate quite nicely. Very nice sustain, expecially after I swapped out the D'adarrio 10's with some EB 12's


BUT TAKE A LOOK AT THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT SECTION FOR THE WHOLE STORY...

Well, here's where it starts to get intersting...

The FIRST order was for a Cherry Sunburst model. It showed up with a crack in the neck near the nut. I was pretty upset, seeing it was a birthday present but got it returned. The SECOND axe was the wrong model (3000M) and had a four dings down to the bare wood near the jack. The THIRD axe (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment) was at least not broken...

The finish was perfect. No runs, drips, smudges or cracks. It was evenly applied and buffed to a clear shine everywhere. The triple binding was even in all spots and is quite attractive. The abalone nexk inlays are very handsome and add a real classy touch.

The fit was excellent; no parts seemed jammed in or out of place. It has required a lot of setup work on my part b/c I don't want to turn it over to a tech for the weekend. The action was too low and there was a lot of fret buzz closer to the nut. Again, expected but frustrating. I'll probably break down and have a tech tune it up real nice and all.

It weighs a ton and is built like a tank. All of the h/w seems pretty sturdy and should last. Again, the finish seems quite durable and should last. The only odd thing is that the strap buttons are HUGE. I switched them out with some Schaller locking pegs and it's worked a lot better.

OK, here is the shocker. I researched Agile and Rondo quite a bit and chose them in part because of how well they scored here.


Then there is my story...


OK, so my wife buys me an AL-3000P for my birthday (gotta love a woman like that). The first one shows up with a crack in the neck. I was pretty bummed but hey, Sh*t happens. Kurt responded quickly and I decided to send it back on my dime to help expedite the replacement. So I swallow a $30 DHL bill to get it there quickly.

The replacement was a different model (3000M) that lists for $80 less! WTF, right? To make it worse, it had four dings that went down to the wood near the output jack. Now I'm really pissed. Kurt is still responding but doesn't appreciate my use of "profanity" for responding with "WTF!". To keep it short, these guitars are taken out of a cardboard box (that's how they're shipped from Korea) and sent to you WITH NO INSPECTION WHATSOEVER! If some idiot had simply looked it over, it would have saved me over a month of waiting for the right model that wasn't damaged. Then he tells me that the model I ordered was out of stock and they're moving so I won't be able to get it for another month...

At least this guy responds to e-mail. He finally agreed to cross-ship the new model so that it would get to me before they move. Alas, the third time was a charm. If I lived anywhere east of the Mississippi, I'd have driven there but from SF to NJ just ain't happening.

6 weeks later and I still have not gotten my original shipping refund. This is a joke operation and all I can advise is

CAVAET EMPTOR (you get what you pay for)

I love this guitar but will NEVER buy even a pack of strings from these ass-clowns again.

2005 (a guess) purchased used on e-bay 2006. I'll try not to repeat all the other info...This guitar offers you all the bells and whistles that attracts you to the LP. The maple cap is beautiful. The mahogany body is thick and solid. It is every ounce of the stated 10 lbs. The colored Abalone inlays really set off the neck and set it apart from the Gibsons that use white inlays. One big issue. The local shop showed me that neither the "bone" nor the "Graphite" nuts were bone or graphite. It make you wonder about the electronics as well.

I play a little of everything from Chuck Berry to Beatles to Metallica and Maroon 5, however, mostly 60's and 70's classic rock. This guitar uses the Type V Alnico pickups. They are hot. Distortion is easy but it took some toying with the bridge pickup height and the guitar volume to find a clean sound. My son's Valkyrie has the standard Alnico humbuckers and produced a cleaner tone right out of the box. The sound is a little muddy if you switch to the neck pickup. If you are a jazz player, you will be looking to change out the pickups.

I don't know if the prior owner played with the action but it came to me way too high. The local shop needed to dress the frets (issues near the 12th) to bring it down to a nice feel. I already discussed the pickup adjustment need for my tone. The guitar's wood finish is a piece of art. The maple is beautiful. The depth of the finish reminds me of a custom painted hot rod. The binding is nice and the inlays were well done. This is a beautiful guitar at any price.

The guitar feels like a tank. The nickle finished hardware should hold up. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't hold up.

Didn't use it. Don't know.

I've played guitar for 33 years, but electric for only the last year. I'd like a Gibson LP but couldn't justify the $2K for my hobby playing with friends. I looked long and hard at the Epiphones but for the Al-3000 features, I was still looking at $700. This is my 2nd electric and the 5th in the house. It is beautiful. It now plays very nicely. Using my Flextone II and this guitar, I have tons of options and can find the needed sound for any style of music. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would again look at it and the Epiphone. My friends with real Gibsons have played it and all agree it is a very nice guitar. You would not be dissapointed in your purchase.

Well specs have been mentioned earlier.
Bought in Feb of 2006.

10=tons of features.... well best of features.

just excellent features, no plus no minuses.

Owned pretty much every style at one point.
Settled on what I call "Gibson style" guitars.... ok, i'm french from Quebec!... heheh
So i like, tailstopatleast10gaugehumbucker axes.

This guitar is a 10. Sound wise. Beautifully balanced.

Needed some intonation. No more.
Was shipped fedex from NJ to Montreal.....

IMO... built better than anything i've held and played LP like....
Just like a tank, and weights like it...! But then again... you do need the wood no do you..!

Would cry if dropped...
Still... asgoodas Gibson

Sent 1 email, got answer within an hour.....

Anywhere you look.... you cannot find better then this.

This guitar was paid 515$ Canadian and worth EVERY DAWN BEAVER!

Purchased new in March '06. Les Paul copy through and through; with the exception of the headstock and the ever-so-slightly different shape of the horn on the cutaway, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and the real thing. 2-piece mahogany body. Abalone inlays, ebony fretboard, flame maple top (top is about 3/8 - 1/2 inch thick, but can't tell if the flame pattern is a veneer or goes all the way through), 5-ply binding, Grovers, nickel hardware. Stunning Heritage Sunburst finish. Alnico humbuckers. Hand-filed frets. Comes with a bone nut; a graphite nut is also included. The 3000 series Prestige models have upgraded wiring, better pots, switches, etc. Be advised that the neck on this is the 1950's LP profile; it's really round and thick. Small hands need not apply.

Unplugged, it rings with that bell-like tone you'd expect from a LP. Can't tell the difference unplugged from the Gibson LP. Sounds okay. Plugged in, the stock pickups are warm and quiet; certainly a lot better than the ceramic pickups on the AL2000 and AL2500 models. They don't have a ton of punch or definition, but really don't sound that bad. The neck pickup is a tad muddy, but not at all unusable. The sustain on this guitar is fantastic. I play through a Carvin all-tube 1/2 stack and a number of different modeling amps. Gets that LP "violin-like" tone easily. Throwing in a set of Duncan 59's or Dimarzio Virtual PAF's would bring it equal to or better than any Gibson I've owned or heard.

Generally fantastic. The finish is superb. There are a few wonky spots here and there where the finish is a bit light (where the side of the neck rises above the body between the neck joint and the end of the fretboard), and there's a tiny (I mean TINY) black spot under the finish next to one of the tone knobs. Flame top is really nice; AAA all the way. Very glossy finish. For this kind of money, you couldn't ask for better finish. Action is incredible. One of the lowest actions I've ever seen on a guitar, period, with no buzzing anywhere on the fretboard. Fretwork is impeccable; highly polished with no marks, rough edges or anything. I owned a USA LP Studio a few years back that chewed my hand to shreds. The abalone inlays are beautiful; well-fitted and smooth.

This guitar is a tank. Strap buttons are bigger than those on Gibson LP's. This guitar should last a lifetime.

Rondo is generally very good. Past dealings with them have proven reliable, accommodating, and very courteous. Ordered the guitar on a Wednesday and got it that Friday.

I've been playing for 23 years and have about 17 really nice guitars. Have owned just about everything in the book at one time or another. I was getting ready to purchase a Carvin CT6M, based on having played a few and my previous experience owning Carvins. I bought this Agile on an impulse. Since I'd been quite impressed with the overall construction of the lower-level AL models (which I'd given to novice friends as gifts), I figured I'd see what the upscale model had to offer. I'm so impressed with this Agile that I've decided to defer the purchase of the Carvin. I have a set of Duncan 59's to put in it, and when finished I'll have a truly outstanding instrument at about 1/3 the cost of the Carvin and 1/5 the cost of a Gibson LP Custom.

Keep in mind that this is a Korean-made guitar, and that there's always the risk of varying quality from guitar to guitar. Not that this isn't the case with product from US big-gun manufacturers these days as well... All I know is that I sure got a good one; it ranks among the best in my collection. Truly an incredible bargain.

I make this review after three months of owning these Agile guitars, I own three, 2 Al 3000 Prestige and a Strat copy. Their fetures can be found on Rondo website or right here, so I don't bother repeat again what you already knew. I'll try to be as fair as posible. All in all, the AL3000 Prestige is well built except something... and I play it everyday and do some modifications so I could see everything from inside out.

The AL3000 Prestige with stock pups gives some pleasurable sounds through tube amp, I use Mesa 100w / 2x12 Celestion closed-cab and new D'Addario strings 10-46. Clean is thick and scripsy, not Fender-ish but typical humbucker clean sound. Distortion is as good and dark as you can expect from Les Paul style body, but a bit brighter than real Gi***n Les Paul though. Straigh from stock pups with no mods in the electronics, the AL3000s will fit most of hard rock or 80's rock IMHO, but for modern metal you may need to change to hotter pups like EMGs and use stompboxs to scoop some mid out. No noise from stock electronics and pickups, they did a clean job under the cavity cover, I checked carefully. But after-all, I made an upgrade on everything to see if the AL3000 could be better with original Gibson parts. I put 490R-498T in, Gotoh bridge and stoptail, all original electronics Gibson volume/tone 500K pots and wires, Switchcraft 3-way pups selector and output, Sperzel locking tuners etc... everything best I could find, and the AL3000 now sounds and responds to my playing much better, and gives a better look( all gold hardwares ). The upgrade costs me much more than the guitar itself. But it's a different story, and my score review only based on ALL STOCK pups/hardware/electronics etc... And yes, the AL 3000 sounds good with every stock parts !

Here is the most important part to me that I have to think again and again before typing down any of my own opinions, based on what I've seen, touched and experienced myself. I own two of these guitars and modified everything inside-out so here is what I have to say. First off, the finish is not reliable as you though. I re-drilled some tiny holes to fit the new metal pups rings with my Dremel, and didn't matter how carefully I was, the top finish around the new holes came off very quickly and easily, the finish's thin and "dry" , cripsy as a potato chip. Now the inside, taking off both pups and I could see sloppy pups cavities, the wood is not as smooth as on Japanese or American-made guitars obviously. The same thing was on control, switch cavities. They did a good job outside, but the inside didn't.

The electronics. Volume/tone pots are Alpha 500k but there are some Alpha companies which make guitar vol/tone pots, one from US, one from Taiwan and one from Korea. These pots might be from Alpha Korea as all Agiles are made in Korea. The Grover tuner also, Koreans now make Grover tuners, I can say so because of the differences between the US-made Grovers and the one on my Agiles, not big deal anyway.

The bridge/stoptail work fine, with " B2 " letter under the bridge, nothing else, don't know who made these. My advice, don't even think upgrading, changing any of Agile Al3000 parts including plastic cavities covers, pickguard, pups rings etc... with original Gibson parts, they will not fit unless you will have to modify it heavily. I tried every original brand-new Gibson parts and none of them fit except the 490R-498T pups.

The Neck/frettboard. It's ebony, but both of my Al-3000 ebony fretboards are now fading out in color, some white spots appear on the ebony fretboards make they look ugly, Anyone else here got the same problem ? Four out of six of my guitars have ebony fretboards, and on the high-end ones, my JEM 7VWH and Gibson LP Custom do not have this problem at all, they keep the ebony black color over the past years...

And here is the fact, I purchased 3 Agile guitars, 2 Al3000 and a strat copy, 2 of them have many flaws out of the boxes, the last one has some acceptable flaws. What flaws you ask ? binding, top finishing, back cavities, neck inlays etc... all have some flaws here and there. Were other Agiles Reviewers here luckily got the good one, or was I so bad-luck getting some lemons ? But I know one thing, Rondo has never opened and checked these guitars before shipping out to you, as 2 of my Agiles have lot of serious/minor flaws which could see easily if you stay close enough. Why didn't you return them for the new ones you ask ? I already modified these guitars so they will not qualify for returning, but my question is why Rondo did not open and check these guitar carefully before shipping out ? to avoid hassles for buyers like me after days of waiting for delivery and spending unnecessary shipping cost to ship them back and forth. And some non-US buyers have to pay Custom,duty fees etc... Rondo's policy will not cover these after 30 days.

Owning 3 months's till not enough time to rate about these Agile's reliability, but based-on the hardwares/finish/checking inside-out the wood and crasftmanship, I will not say these Agiles are as durable as Japanese or American-made guitars. These Agiles will be best for Pros's guitars back-up only or may be main guitar for your first/additional guitar. I don't blame Agiles quality for the fact that they are sold with reasonable prices, and simply put, you get what you pay for, absolutely not a " phenomenon " on the guitar market these days.

Customer suport from Rondo is not bad, and your emails get responded quickly from Kurt or someone from Rondo's staffs, the return policy is fair. But again, Rondo will not open and check the guitars before shipping to your doors, so you will have a chance to get some lemons like me, and if you live outside US, are you willing to wait and re-pack the box, plus paying additiopnal shipping costs and custom/duty fees if you just find out you get a lemon after 30 days ? This could happen to anyone due to poor quality control from the factory who makes Agiles and from Rondo itself. None is perfect you will say ? Even Gibson,Fender or any brand-name nowadays still have some sort of quality problems, I understand, but the bad/good products ratio from Agiles are more than you though, I got 3, and 2 of them have many visible/serious flaws, and the last one has some minors, so ...

Been playing guitar in the 80's era, on and off till now, but never quit, music is my life. I do not own a lot of gears as some other lucky guys here, right now only 6 guitars, among them there are some nice guitars like Ibanez JEM 7WVH, Gibson LP custom and an American strat, all bought brand-new longtime ago, Mesa head/cab tube amp, a bunch of stomp boxes. My review is only based-on what I feel, compare to guitars I own, not on what I have tried an hour or two at music stores. I have tried alot but they will not count, I don't think you can know well an instrument in couple hours, even a week. That's why I could only write a review for these AL-3000 Prestige after owning, playing them everyday and checking them from inside-out for 3 months. Some Reviewers give away their commends after a day or a week owning or without modifying the guitars may not the same like me. And this review is very personal from me, please keep this in mind.

I will not buy these Agiles again unless I lived next to Rondo store and could check the guitars myself before purchasing any, but this is almost impossible. Buying new brand guitars online might be a risk if you only read reviews but have no chance to touch it yourself. I ended up with purchasing some guitars directly from Japan ( go on eBay ), the Edwards/Orville/ Greco/Burny ... and with the price around $650.00 with everything perfect with Seymour Duncan pups, Gotoh bridge, tuners, Japanese high quality electronics, I would like to recommend those made-in-Japan guitars to guys who cannot afford high-end Gibby or Fender customshop etc... To know more about these Japan-made guitars, just looking for their reviews right here on HC, and you will find a thing or two.

Probably made in 2005. Korean, standard les paul features with the exception of an ebony fretboard instead of a rosewood fretboard, a 1/16" maple top instead of a 3/4" maple cap, and triple-ply binding around the body instead of single-ply.

NOTE: the first thing I did was replace the pickups in this guitar with an SD JB in the bridge and an SD Jazz in the neck. I had to play a show asap and those were the pickups I was used to so I didn't get a chance to try out the stock pickups. Having said that, I'll rate this review based on comparing the sound of this guitar with an Epi LP that I had with the same pickups. Playing through a bunch of Boss pedals straight into a '76 Marshall non-master vloume 50watt JMP. First thing I noticed was that the tone compared with the Epi was much thicker and darker. I would contribute this to the fact that this guitar weighs a TON. It is very heavy, a lot heavier than the Epi. It weighs as much as a Gibson LP. With more weight there's a lot more sustain as well. Very nice job by the Koreans. Other than that, there's not much else I can say about the sound. It is deeper, thicker, and heavier...all aspects that I like. The only thing I wish it has is the full 3/4" maple cap so that it can have a little bit more bite on the top end.

Straight neck, no fretbuzz. Action was okay...I really can't recall, but I didn't think it was too bad out of the box. Overall, it played very well, even more so after I switched the pickups and set up the action the way I like it. Feels really solid...nothing like the Epi that I had. The Epi felt very cheap to me. I don't know how else to explain it. This guitar just feels really good. One thing I should mention though is that the neck is bigger. There's more to grab onto, so if you have small hands you might mot like it. I have good-sized hands and even I get tired when playing it for about half an hour or so. Now there's also something about the finish of the guitar that I should mention. It appears that this guitar is a factory second. More on that later, but from what I can see, the binding is not as well done as the epi that I had. It's a triple binding, but there is a thin layer of the finish that got through all the way around the guitar. Not very pleasing. You can't actually see it unless you're looking at it from a foot away, but still...I expected much better. There are also a couple of spots on the binding where the guitar makers didn't clean very well before applying the finish because there are dust particles in the binding. Not pleasing at all. The finish is also flawed. There are at least two areas that I have seen so far where the finish was applied too thick forming an uneven coat and producing droplets of the finish. Not by the slightest bit pleasing at all. It gets a lower rating than what I would have liked to give it because of all the aesthetic flaws. It plays beautifully though.

I don't see how a guitar like this can be unreliable.

Now for some more lower ratings. If you're gonna take one section of this review seriously than let it be this section because I've got a lot to say. In a nutshell, customer support SUCKS!!!!! I knew that something like this would happen when you buy an instrument online, but this guitar seemed too good to be true and the only place that sells them in the US is Rondo Music in New Jersey. I bought it off of eBay for a price that seemed too good to be true. It took 3 (three) tries before I got a guitar that was decent enough to keep. Before I get into that, first off right after i bought the guitar on eBay, I saw them put another one up there in a different color that I liked more. So I emailed the guy, Kurt, and politely asked if you could change my order to the one in root beer color. He blatantly denied me citing that the order had already been processed. Now I had done my research on these guitar before I bought it, but emailing Kurt was always a pain because I emailed him many times asking about certain aspects on the guitar which I find are pretty important things to know before purchasing something online, but it seemed like he only replied with one-word answers...like he was too busy to deal with customers that don't come into the store. The only thing I could think about when I read his reply was how hard is it to walk to the front counter of the store and make a change in a customer's order? I mean the guitar wasn't even shipped yet! Fine, no big deal. At this point I thought well I'm still getting a killer guitar so let's not get a buzzkill from this incident. So then a week and a half later the guitar comes in and I loved it. It played solid and I immediately thought that it was worth the risk...then I saw some hairline fracture in the finish near the toggle switch. I took it to a local music shop and asked the luthier there to look at it he straight up told me to send it back because the fractures were caused by the improper installation of the toggle switch. What happened was that when the manufacturers put in the toggle switch it caught on some of the finish and lifted it up. This guitar was obviously a factory second. So I thought, no big deal I'll just send it back a get a new one in a couple of weeks. Well a couple weeks go by and they send me another one and guess what...this time there were two very big and noticeable dings on the lower bout of the guitar. What the ^%$#! This was the second guitar by the way and I had waited nearly a month already since the day I made the purchase. I was so pissed that I sent it back the day I got it and immediately email Kurt and asked for a refund. I also asked him straight-forwardly if his music store was sending out factory seconds or not. He replied by saying that they only send out brand new instruments...well that didn't even really answer the question. Factory seconds can be brand new...they are only called factory seconds becuase of some type of manufacturing flaw, NOT user flaws. Kurt conveniently blamed the damage on Fed Ex, stating that he thought Fed Ex was "a little rough around my area." What a load of crap. He offered to give it one more try before refunding all my money back (minus shipping though) if it doesn't work out. Looks like he didn't want to lose my business. In any case I contemplated whether or not I wanted to try this one more time and decided that should they send me a good one, it'll be worth the time and money that I've spent. Well third time's a charm...sort of. Again, I would like to remind you about the finish flaws on the guitar that I mentioned earlier. You know, the luthier at the the local music shop had been wondering how I was able to get a guitar like this at the price I got it for eversince the first guitar that I brought into the store. He told me that he suspected that these guitars are so cheap because they were sending out factory seconds. Well, based on what I have experience and what I have seen I totally agree with him. All three guitars, not one, not two but all three that have been sent to me have had some sort of manufaturing flaw on them, making them factory seconds. If you choose to buy one of these, beware! I would suggest trying one out in the store if you can...otherwise you'll just have to take your chances like I did. Kurt, you really suck. Pretty simple, you suck. You were not helpful in assisting me at all and you sounded way too arrogant in those emails to have the job that you have. It's kinda funny that you only got a professional attitude as soon as I told you that I wanted a refund. There is nothing more valuable in this consumer world than honesty, and you did not have it.

I've been playing for nearly a decade now and I also teach guitar. I can say with confidence that I know what makes a guitar good or bad. PLayability-wise, this guitar is very solid, it played very nicely, and is very consistent as far as playability goes (every one of the guitars that were sent out to me played VERY WELL). The only thing that sucks is that I only got factory seconds. If you live in the New Jersey area and can stop by Rondo Music to hand-select your guitar, then this is a value you do not want to miss. This guitar plays better than every Gibson Lp that I've touched (Gibson needs to learn how to make a better neck on their guitars...they always warp). The only drawback is that this guitar is not hand-made like a Gibson and there are aesthetic flaws all over the place (you'd have to look very closely for those though). Customer support is dismal...I've never dealt with such disappointing people in my life when it comes to customer support. But all in all, it is an amazing guitar for the money...even with those finish flaws. I'm not quite sure I'd buy it again due to the customer support, but it is a very solid guitar playability-wise.

I'd never thought that I'd post a review about a Korean made guitar but here it is. It's an Les Paul copy and it's also an archtop. Solid mahogany 2-piece center-joined body and 1-piece neck with ebony fretboard and jumbo frets. Since's mine's black it did not come with a maple top. 2 alnico type 5s humbucks, abalone fret markers, triple bindings on body and head and single on neck. 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs, and a 3-way switch. Grover tuners, tune-o-matic bridge, and a stop tailpiece all in nickel. It's a gorgeous guitar!

It sounds great! I played them throught my kustom quad100dfx and there's no noise. The pups are quiet when quiet and loud when loud. Later I replaced the bridge pup with GFS hot nashville pup and replaced the tone caps with .033s so I can have a little more treble. Now that I got a zoom 606 multi-fx pedal I'm getting tons of tones out of that guitar. I played clean, hard rock, and heavy metal on it and it does what I want. There are better pups out there that I've yet to get but this sounded good as it is now.

For a Korean made guitar there was a lot of attention paid to details. It sure looks well made and it did. Since the action's a little high for me I decided to cut the nut on the bottom and I found a flaw where the slot was cut poorly. I got my dremel and squared the slot. After trimming the nut I got a perfect fit. Now the action's great and it played so much better that I feel like I'm holding a gibson. I haven't found anything else wrong with it. By the way, the paint job's unreal.

This guitar's so solid I think I can depend on it but I'm not a gigger. The hardware's better than cheap and when I put the tone caps in I saw brass-shafted high voltage pots, clothed wires, quality switch, and good solder jobs. It's got oversized strap buttons that it's better to unscrew them and put the strap on the other way and then screw it 'em back in.

I think I got a year warranty for this guitar. I've emailed Kurt a few times when I got questions about this guitar (I wanted to know about the pups and the bridge) and he responded very promptly. In or out of warranty, I don't think he'll ignore you. He even helped me with the shipping problem as I overpaid and he offered a refund but I prefered a credit toward future purchases.

I've played since the 60s and it was mostly strats of all kinds. I wanted to try a les paul guitar and I did a lot of researches and found a lot of good reviews for agile guitars. Then I researched rondo music and bought the best features of the guitars for the best price without paying more. I ended up with this guitar and I'm not sorry one bit. In fact I'm planning to buy an Agile sg and an Agile strat and I'll have a collection to be proud of.

This guitar has two piece solid mahogany body,one piece mahogany neck with ebony board,real abalone inlays. Mine is a Black with triple bound body and head stock, and it is left handed.

Sounds just as you would expect from a Les Paul.Compared it to several of my friend's Gibson les pauls.Neck pick up is meaty,slighty dark yet very resonant. Smooth lead tones from the bridge pickup.Most of my playing buddies were very impressed with the tone. This guitar is very responsive to your playing,can be very expressive.

Had to file second fret down a little to eliminate buzz. Other than that, action could be brought right down to a super low action.The detail work on the neck is high quality.The real abalone fret markers contrasts well with dark ebony finger board. The black finish has a mirror like shine to it.It is a beautiful guitar.

from the looks of it,it should last as good as any quality guitars. Strap buttons on this guitar is huge! It took me a while to put my strap in this guitar. It really is a good thing,since this guitar is very heavy.

Rondo will be fair with you as long as you follow their rules. They are pretty easy to deal with and returns and refunds are easily accomplished(again, you need to stick with thier program!) I did originally purchase the AL 2000,which was returned, refunded.

As I was going over the specs on this guitar, I realized that this instrument very much like the Gibson 1957 les paul custom reissue,which goes for around $3500,and that is a right handed version.I am not even sure you can get it lefty, and even if you could,it would most certainly be more expensive. This guitar with virtually same features,could be had for about 1/10th of the cost!!
I have been playing for well over three decades now,and owned just as many guitars but this guitar just might be ONE OF THE BEST left handed guitars that I have played. If anybody who knows anything about guitars and after playing it says, " It is a cheap knock-off guitar". then most likely, the only problem they have is were it is made.

The AL- 3000 Prestige is available in a Cherry Sunburst flame or Gold Top.I decided on the Gold Top because I had been playing a Gibson LP Sunburst since 1974 when I purchased it new. Thought it was time for a change. Here are some specs for the Gold Top I plagiarized from Rondo Music's website: Solid mahogany (not a multi-ply!) arch top body. Gold Top Finsih is solid Mahogany; it does not have the Maple top. Triple bound body, and headstock. Single binding on neck.
Improved Nickel plate hardware, including Nickel die-cast Grover tuners with 18-1 turning ratio for ultra fine tuning (Model 102-18N)
Two cream covered soap bar style Type V Alnico P90 pickups
P-90 pickups offer superior output and outstanding treble response
The AL-3000 now comes with improved wiring (single conductor braided 18 gauge American wire for pickups), improved pots (now higher voltage with brass shafts for reduced noise) and an improved pickup selector switch.
Two volume and two tone controls, plus a three way pickup selector switch.
One piece Mahogany set neck with 13.7" (350mm) radius neck for fast play and adjustable truss rod.
Ebony fretboard with 22 Jumbo frets and real Abalone Trapezodial inlays.
The AL-3000 features GHS strings installed at the factory and a professionally cut bone nut.
A pre-cut graphite nut is also included in the bag with the trus rod adjuster for those who prefer graphite
Individually hand filed frets for professional feel and playability
Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 21st fret: 2 3/16"
Neck taper/thickness at the 1st fret: 21.5 mm; at the 12th fret: 23.5mm.

Although I've played around with Jazz, Acoustic, Country and Classical at one time or another, I'm a Blues and Rock guy mainly. The 3000 Prestige is perfectly suited for Blues and Rock. The alnico pickups are very quiet and apparently well shielded compared to my LP Deluxe. The neck pickup sings, ie.,Brian May style straight through my 1975 Marshall Combo (w/master volume). In the bridge position, power chords sound full and well balanced, with each string being heard. Cleaned up, I can get some really sweet Jazz sounds through my Fender Chorus,Blues Jr., Oliver, and Sunn amps. The bridge pickup produces clear, sustaining notes for lead work which can bring tears to ones eyes. Additionally, and in my opinion, probably the best feature of these versitile pickups is the sound doesn't get lost in the mix. Leads always cut through, even if you have an overzealous drummer. No more wishing the guitar's volume controls went up to 12. When you back down on the volume controls,the pickups clean up nicely for ear pleasing rhythm tones.

Right out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the beauty and depth of the flawless Gold Top finish. The metal flakes in the finish were gorgeous and appeared larger that those of my Agile AL-2500 Gold Top. Under sunlight I carefully inspected the entire guitar for imperfections. The triple binding on the body exhibited no imperfections and really interacted with the finish to make it an expensive looking work of art. The hardware appeared excellent, and the tuners were properly mounted, tight and straight. The hand filed frets contained no burrs or file marks. The real abalone fret markers appeared to fit perfectly in the ebony neck, as did the nut, with no spaces or hack marks whatsoever.The neck joint was cut to perfection, and was every bit as tight and clean looking as my L.P. Deluxe's. The see through finish on the back revealed a beautiful, straight Mahogany grain, with one minor imperfection in the grain about 1/8" in length. No big deal. I didn't mess with the pickup height, as it sounded so good out of the box. The only thing needing immediate attention was the input jack, which hadn't been tightened properly. The action was good as received, and string heights appeared consistant down the length of the neck. I lowered the bridge slightly downward and managed to improve the action. I decided to play it for awhile before making any other adjustments to allow it to adapt to climate differences. Intonation was off slightly on the low E string.

I believe this guitar will hold up very well over time. Components and workmanship appear to be of very high quality. Longevity of a guitar's life is somewhat dependent on how well you care for it. Since acids in perspiration are a major enemy of guitar finishes and hardware, cleaning and polishing are important.
I wouldn't ever play out without a back up guitar, or amp for that matter. Anything can happen. The stock strap buttons are oversize and beefy, but I prefer strap locks. My strap slipped off several years ago, and I watched in shock as my mint'61 LP Jr.fell to the floor. Twenty years later and I still have nightmres about it. Even to this day I keep one hand on the guitar at all times.

As far as I know, Agile guitars are sold exclusively at Rondo Music in N.J. A little more than a year ago I bought an Agile AL-2500. One day I noticed a crack in the back of the neck at the 1st fret.I E-mailed Kurt at Rondo who responded within minutes. He told me to send it back, as the year warranty was still in effect. Apparently the scarf joint had let go. Since my model was no longer available, Kurt offered me a new guitar of equal value. We wrote back and forth, and I ended up sending a check, upgrading to the AL-3500 Prestige. No regrets. Kurt was fast, professional and fair. Never have I experienced such quality customer service. I plan on buying a Tele copy from him soon. Unfortunately the catagory ranking only goes to 10. Kurt deserves better.....

I have been playing for 39 Years. I own 25 to 30 guitars. My oldest is a '61 LP Jr. I bought from my college roomie for $80.00. I also have Strats, Cortleys, a couple Gibsons, Ibanez, Yamaha, other old Japanese guitars from the 60's and 70's and several acoustics. I have all but 2 of the amps I have collected over the years.
When I look at the quality of my AL-3000, I can't believe the Korean's can produce a guitar of that quality for that price. Hats off to them! I also have a couple other Korean made guitars, but the Agile is superior in quality. It hangs well, looks great, plays beautifully, sounds fantastic, and is cheap. I would most definitely replace it if stolen. This is my number 1 player. The neck shape feels very much like my Les Paul. For some, the guitar may get a little heavy after 3 or 4 hours, but to me it's worth it.

2005 model korean manufacture, off ebay from Rondo Music, just like everyone's. I won't expound here, everyone has covered this well in other reviews. You know the drill. LP style, 22 frets, Alnico pups, Tune-O-Matic, Real Grovers. Mine is a Honey Sunburst, beautifully flamed, with what appear to be real mother of pearl fretmarkers. Went with the regular humbuckers after considering P-90's, more on this later. Rating based on hardware quality, body appearance.

I play mostly bluesy stuff and classic rock with several other geezers. Main amp is a Fender Super 60 piggyback, and sometimes swithch off to a non-tube Marshall MGD-80. I practice at home on a Marshall 15 watt ministack and a Vox 15 watt ministack. Love the Fender but damn it's heavy. The standard humbuckers are quiet and seem a bit bright, even switched from the guitar. When really pushed on leads, they cut right through any heavy bottom from others on stage. Pots are much more responsive than on some other inexpensive guitar I own. Rating based on functionality.

Man was I excited when I opened the CNB case I purchased with this guitar. What a beauty! It fit the case like a glove, I really believe this case was designed around it. Flame top is matched, and the hardware is properly placed, and the wood working around the parts invisible. Triple binding really sets off the flamy top, and the back appears solid as a rock. I have owned many guitars and the attention to detail is incredible on a sub $400 instrument. Cripes I have seen much crappy work on $1500 guitars. (Gibson anyone?) I have as of yet found no fit or finish flaws. I hesitate to give anything a 10 out of !0 grade but here goes.

I have only just received this so I can't comment on it's real world durability. The finish is a very thick lacquer as on most oriental imports, but I think it will be able to take normal use without problems. Huge buttons, but will probably switch out for straplocks. I NEVER gig without a backup.

I can only judge from other comments, but checkout was easy. The only complaint I had was shipping which was NOT a fault of the dealer's. My order was shipped the day after I placed it, but UPS took 6 DAYS! from NJ to TEX.

So far I could not be more pleased with this purchase. Re: the pickups I mentioned earlier, I am so satisfied, I intend to order another Agile 3000, this one a Goldtop with a pair of P-90's. I love it this much and the price? GEEZ! You can get a half dozen or more of these for what that American behemoth charges for one! I couldn't order another one (or two) if something happened to this one. My guitars include:

Fender Stratocaster (Blonde MIJ)
Fender Stratocaster (USA/Floyd Rose)
Fender Jaguar Ltd Edition (Blonde MIJ-1984)
Epiphone Korina Explorer
Jay Turser Strat
Jay Turser LP
DeArmond SG
Route 101 Solimar
Martin D-35 (1974)
Zager Dreadnought
Blueridge BR-180 (D-45 Copy, great value, beautiful sound/looks)
Ovation 12 String (Blonde, top leafed soundholes)

2004 Korean made, 22 jumbo frets, slim-taper neck, mahogany body, flamed maple top, grover tuners, ebony fretboard, real abalone inlays, type V alnico humbucker pickups. You can read the rest on their web site.

The sound is very Les Paul-ish, but I plan to swap the pickups for a JB/Alnico II pro combo. The stock bridge pickup is nice and crunchy. The neck pickup is smooth and contrasts well with the bridge. Both pickups are almost dead silent, but feedback nicely with the volume cranked on my Marshall. You can get everything from blues to hard rock with these pickups and if you throw in a distortion pedal, you could get some good metal tones too.

Action was great out of the box, pickups were adjusted properly, the top was bookmatched properly, frets are smooth as butta...

Negatives: One of the frets separated slightly from the neck binding, so I have to be careful bending the high e string or else it may get stuck under the fret.
There is one dark spot under the finish that looks like a small speck of sawdust.
There is also a spot where the finish dips unnaturally, but the radius of the dip is only a few millimeters.
The red paint blead onto the body binding in one area and there are other imperfections in the binding near the headstock.

I've owned my Agile a little over a year now and up till last week I had no problems. However, my neck pickup has started to die on me. I'm sure it's just a soldering problem, but like I said previously, I want to replace the pups, so this gives me a good excuse! One other problem is that my pots have always cracked and popped. I'll probably give them the ol' heave-ho as well when I replace the pickups. Other than the formentioned problems, this is a rock solid guitar.

I've heard that their customer support is excellent, but I have yet to deal with them.

I've been playing for five years or so and i've owned a yahama Strat copy, an ESP flying V, and an epiphone SG. This guitar is by far the best of the bunch. I play anything from classic rock n roll to hard rock through my Marshall JCM 600. If it was lost or stolen I would buy one or two of these bad boys.
As many imperfections as this guitar has, they weren't major enough to make me sent it back to Rondo. I wanted to nit-pick to show that this guitar is nowhere near perfect, but i've yet to come across a "perfect" guitar. All I know is that I got a hell of a lot better guitar than an epiphone Les Paul standard and for about $200 less. That $200 I saved can go into upgrading the pups, and it'll still be cheaper than the epiphone!

My Prestige, Korean made in 2004, is cut in the quintiscential mold of the Gibson Les Paul. Construction of maple over mahogany yields a very similar weight, switch/pot layout and function are again Paulish, with a finish that is flawlessly executed. The maple top shows a very near perfect bookmatch. This axe came with a case built like a damn tank. It would take several years of gigging before this case needed any duct tape. A 10 would be Nirvana and though this ain't it, it comes damn close. Perhaps a ToneLoc setup and factory installed strap locks would edge it closer, hmmm?

My style of music runs the range from heavy rock to country, my influences being from Pink Floyd to Prairie Oyster, LeRoux, Kansas and others. Currently I use a Tube Works 100 watt box run into a Peavey slope front 2/12 box loaded with Scorpions. I run my guitars through a Boss GX-7 and also a Pod XT so just about any sound I want is available. For recording, I use the Pod XT straight into the DAW.

The guitar has a full, meaty sound and is equally at home in both distorted and clean modes. Buttery smooth when run through the various Marshall presets I have. It "sings" literally. Every "keeper" guitar I've ever played has exhibited a personality and this one is no exception.

The tonal range is awesome, able to lend color to whatever mood you want to express. Stinging highs, bluesy lows and guts galore. The electronics are so quiet, you will wonder if your amp is on. All pots are silent - zero scratches - ditto the selector switch.

I can't vouch for the factory setup, as a local ace had already set the axe up by the time I first saw it. I understand he did lower the action but that's about it. I did remove the covers on the back and was very pleased; routings are complete and the cavitys are painted and the covers are foiled. No buzzes, fades or dead frets at all. It plays as good as it looks.

Gigging teaches you that problems with a guitar are not a question of "if" but a question of "when". You have to have a backup guitar. That being said, I would not hesitate to gig with this guitar and would probably trust it without a backup if I had to. I have replaced the strap buttons for StrapLoks. I do NOT want to drop this guitar. I can't say enough about the finish. It's evident that quality control is a major fetish with these guys.

Rondo shipped this guitar to my little brother by mistake (he ordered the thick top model). Kurt said no problem and shipped the right one to him immediately and refunded the shipping on the first one. My brother came by and showed me the guitar and I never gave it back to him. Once I played it, I had to have it. I don't know what kind of warranty comes with it, but it doesn't matter really, I don't think I'll need it.

I've been playing for almost 40 years and have played just about every kind of guitar made. I own a G&L Asat that I've gigged with severely, have owned Strats and others, but never a Les Paul. I always thought the cost too much money. Turns out I was right. Don't get me wrong, Gibson makes a fine guitar, they're just a little too proud of them. The Agile was a no brainer, and I will be buying more Agiles. Why buy a "name" when for the same money I can have four or five Agiles. Better get them now, these guys are gonna wise up and the prices WILL go up! Give this one a 10 because it is a "fantastic value". I'm already working on obtaining a "Kool

Decent features, made in Korea. it has a really nice lookin solid maple top. i think its a little less than 1/4 of an inch but that doesnt detract fromt he visual quality at all. Tuners are nice, they're 18:1 ratio Goto tuners that hold tune very well. the bone not that comes with it was pretty high out of the factory, so i sanded it down a bit to compensate for the high action (which is another thing).

the bridge and saddle seem a little cheap. it almost feels like plstic when you're adjusting it. its not that big of a deal but for a real quality feel, i'd get rid of em.

The neck is pretty fat. for smaller hands i could see this being a problem but if you're used to a fat neck, it plays really smooth.

its an electric guitar! what other features does it need!

This is where the flaws of the guitar really get whisked away. it sounds gorgeous. it has a nice throaty roar, perfect for rock and roll. the sound is really rich and round and sounds really good clean. with a lot of distortoion this thing really shines. yes, the reviews are true! it sounds as good as an Epihone LP, if not a little better.

i dont know if it sounds better than a Gibson LP, ive never had the chance to play one, which makes me sad inside, but for the price, it sounds magnificent.

this is where ive had a few problems:

the electronics suck. yeah, the humbuckers sound like complete mud. you cannot get any definition with them. the tone pots dont do much either, they have a very narrow tone adjustment and its muddy at that. i added a cheap 5$ HB i had laying around into the neck position, wow,i cannot believe the difference it made! sounded so much better. i can only imagine what it would be like with some Tony Iommi's or some PRS #7's.

the action is way too high. i cannot get to lower either! its stuck at almost 5/32 of an inch off the fretboard. i dont like to dig in to get my notes to play. and even then, the guitar frets out at the upper registers. if you play past 14, its dead. it sucks, and for thel ife of me i cannot get it to play smoothly even with the action as high as it is.

the neck plays really well though. it can play fast pretty easily but when you get past 12th fret or so, the playability drops quite a bit. my Ep LP was quite a bit easier to play on the upper registers.

the frets are kind of molded in a funny fashion: they are flat on top and not very well rounded. i like a smooth fret edge so i can add a lot of vibrato.

i dont know if a good pro setup will help this bad boy or not; ive tried and i have a basic knowledge on how to get a guitar setup properly. so points definently go down for the Agile here.

the abalone inlays are pretty ugly, id ont like them at all. and they had some bubbles in them too, so on closer inspection, they pretty much looked like ass.

its a prety well build guitar. seems very solid. kinda heavy but i would definently play w/o a back up. it sounds gorgeous (with new HB's of course)!

the guy at the online store seemed really nice. when i asked him about gettin the slim profile, he said return it and he'd get me one... think i probably should have followed up on that one...

Besides some pretty major flaws, which are easy to fix, this guitar plays really well. if you can get past the flaws, and fix it up a little bit, i would imagine it could play like a 1200$ guitar.

if anyone knows how to get a really nice action outta this guy, lemme know.

Not to long ago my good friend discovered Agile guitars. He was
so impressed that he bought 12 of them. Then he did one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, he bought me a AL-3000 Prestige. Being a guitar player for some forty years he knew that I would love this guitar. He was, as he often is, right.
I've played everything over the years, as I do to all of my guitars, I set up my 3000 the way that I like it. I removed the bone nut, (Agile also included a graphite nut with a trus rod adjuster), it was glued to the head stock and ebony fretboard but it knocked
free with one tap, I sanded 1/16" off the bottom of the nut, as well as softened all the new sharp edges, and lowered the bridge, it now plays, sounds and feels as good as any guitar that I have ever played. The access covers on the back, (which is solid mahogany w/ a mahogany set net), are lined w/ foil, the 3 way switch, tone & volume cavities are routed out cleanly and painted. The wiring looks well shielded. The pots, knobs, 3 way
switch, locking tun-o-matic tailpiece & bridge, and Grover tuners all feel great. The ebony fretboard looks like it was buffed with a
cotton wheel, it feels better than the fretboard on my D-28. A few of The Abalone trapezodial inlays are not all perfectly centered between the fret wires, this is a small complaint, and not noticable without very close inspection. The Alnico Wilkinson pickups have a good clear sound, and if you run your guitar thru a modeling pre-amp, as I do, you are able to get almost any sound out of them. I love my 3000, it is amazingly close to a $2,000. to $3,000. instrument. The fit & finish, and materials are
of very high quality. The Honetburst flame maple top's rich amber color is beautiful. If you are worried about Agile being a Korean import, don't, for this price $369., it does'nt matter were it's made when it's made this good. S.G.W.

I run my 3000 thru a VAMP PRO pre-amp, into a Fender Princeston chorus amp. their's every sound in the world in there.
The 3000 is a fairly quiet guitar. and very flexable.

Set up was OK, but I lowered my action.
The pick-ups were adjusted fine from the factory.
Bookmatching looks great, all routing looks great.

This guitar looks like it will hold up all well as my 5 years on the road Gibson SG did. Strap buttons are solid, I can depend on it.
I would use it on a gig without a backup.

30 day warranty as far as I know.

I've been playing for forty-five years.
if I lost this guitar, I would by another right away.
I think I like their original headstock design better than their current one.