Agile Ghost III

Made in 2008 in Korea. It's a copy of a Gibson explorer. Body is made of solid mahogany with a flat top. Neck is made of maple with a rosewood fretboard, has 24 frets, pearloid block inlays, and the scale length is 24 3/4". The bridge is a tune-o-matic style with a stop tailpiece. The nut is graphite (I'm pretty sure it is, no specs are given on that on the site) and it has black Grover tuners. Has 2 AL-Hot humbuckers, each with their own volume control, a master tone control, and a 3 way switch. The entire guitar is finished in black and the hardware is all black as well.

Just came with the allen wrench for truss rod adjustments, but that's all you need.

It sounds pretty good for what I need it for. I mainly do the 80's metal (Maiden, Priest, old Metallica, etc.) and classic rock (AC/DC, Van Halen, ZZ Top, etc.). The stock bridge pickup had a good gain response. Stayed fairly clear and didn't mud up the bottom end. Had a nice treble cut too. It sounded a bit like a 498T. But for me, it didn't have quite the power I was after. And when I used gain enough for more metal songs, it tended to burn the notes together when sustaining a chord. It started good, but ended being just a bit mushy. Clean, it was ok. Not so great, not a lot of life really, but it would get the job done. After I decided to replace it, I got a GFS Power Rails (got a review in for it) in there. Now it is not only great for metal, but I can do whatever I want without sacraficing any tone.

The neck pickup reminded me of my '59, but isn't quite as sweet or smooth as that. But it actually sounds pretty good. Nice distorted, though don't load the overdrive too much on it. It'll get pretty compressed if you do that. So as long as you don't go crazy with that, it sounds good. Clean it's pretty nice. Can sparkle a bit if your treble is up a bit and just has a ear pleasing sound, not harsh or too bright.

Before I replaced the bridge pup, it still had a good variety of sounds available. Now with the new brige pickup, those sounds are just a bit better. So stock, good with gain (complex chords not so much), isn't compressed to hell, and isn't harsh. With new pickup, complex chords come through better and there's more power in the sound.

I'll rate this based off stock components though

Definately needed a setup. Truss needed loosened a little since I like my necks straight. I adjusted the neck with the fretboard and adjusted the pole pieces so I'd get an even response, but you have to do that with any guitar. Bridge I replaced after a while, so of course I had to work with it. Action was good enough for me and it was fairly in tune when I got it. The fretwork is really good on this guitar, nicely crowned and polished. Even the fretboard was taken care of, wasn't dry at all.

Now, there were some flaws, but nothing that bothers me too much. For one, the switch isn't working right. The bridge alone and neck alone positions work well, but it won't do both. It just clicks onto the bridge by itself, so that part of the switch is shot. No big deal because I hardly ever use that position and it gives me an excuse to buy an all black switch to match the rest of the guitar. Plus is a simple soldering job to fix, so no biggie to me. Secondly, the nut is cut a bit off. The bottom 3 strings are too high. So it would buzz sort of bad up the neck a bit. But it's just a filing job, so again, nothing I really am pissed about.

Other than those two things, nothing else was wrong.

Definately will withstand gigging. I'd have no issues taking it out. Grovers are nice and smooth and keep it in tune, the bridge is well made (made by Sung IL in Korea, same as I have on my Washburn X-50), finish is solid, and the pots are all smooth and work perfectly. Nothing has given me any indication of failure or of not holding up.

Strap buttons seem cool but I'm going with some Schaller strap locks. I'm fitting them on my other 2 guitars as well. No need to risk a dive onto the stage. I'd depend on this with no question. I've always got my other two guitars with me, so there's a backup available if needed. Though the only thing I'd see going wrong would maybe the the switch giving out and only the bridge pup working. But that's what I use most of the time anyway.

Never had to deal with them. Always hear good stuff. And I'm not aware of any sort of warranty other than the return within 30 days if you don't like it policy they have.

I don't remember how long I've been playing guitar. Long enough to be decent. The only thing I would have wanted to know would be, where can I find a case for this beast? Gibson explorer cases aren't made to fit lefty guitars (unless you find one that was made for a lefty in the first place) and SKB and Gator harshell explorer cases are that way too. So your options are sort of limited for a case, I'm pretty sure one of the Coffin cases will do the job and Gator has an extreme fit gigbag for these, V's, ML's, Z's, and the odd shaped like.

If it was stolen, you bet I'd get another one. Feels just as nice as my X-50. Although, it weighs a ton. They say 9lbs. on the site, but I swear it feels more like a Les Paul in terms of weight. And those are around the 12lb. mark or so. I looked at an ESP KH something (lower end model that's $500), a ML '79, and a Strat in addition to this. The ESP was pretty much like my Peavey, the ML was a bit high for me, and my X-50 has coil tapping, so I can do single coil type sounds if I want. Basically, it was a good price, had the shorter scale lengh, and was made of mahogany which is my wood of choice.

Has everything I wanted. No need for a complicated locking trem or anything. Maybe some locking tuners, but it seems to hold tune fine now anyway. I really was happy with the build quality of this guitar and the price I paid. It really was worth it to me to buy.

White finish. Looks like a modern version of the Metallica James Hetfield old school white explorer. Flat top Solid Mahogany Body with a cutting edge design.
Set in Maple neck with adjustable truss rod and black binding
Rosewood fretboard with 24 jumbo frets and block Pearloid inlays
Two wax potted AL-HOT high output ceramic humbucker pickups offer superior performance
Two volume and one tone control plus a three way pickup selector switch
Black stop bar bridge
Die cast Black Grover tuners with ultra-fine 18-1 turn ratio
Width of the neck at the nut: 1 3/4"; at the 22st fret: 2 3/16"
Thickness of neck at the first fret approx 11/16"
Overall length 40"; Scale length: 24.3/4"
Width at the widest point: 13", body thickness at the edge: 1 5/8"
Actual Weight is approx 9 lbs

Stock humbuckers sound very good. Not noisy at all. Full, rich tone due to solid mahogany body. High output metal style. Not too far of a stretch from the Duncan JB/Jazz tone. This is a simply amazing guitar for the money. I believe these are made in the same Korean factory that make ESP/LTDS. The quality of this guitar rivals any mid/high price ESP LTD. ($600-$1,200) range. I have not one complaint for this guitar.

I have the white finish model. Set neck. Out of the box, the guitar was set up to near perfection. They use real D'Addario strings at time of factory set up, so you know they put more than your aveage amount of love into these guitars...unlike most cheaply made Chinese guitars. I only had to make my usual minor adjustments. I'm still in shock because I thought about not buying this guitar. I looked at it on ebay for 6 months before I finally pulled the trigger. Don't let the "Agile" name fool you. This is not a cheap chinese clunker! This is a state of the art metal monster. Believe it. Finish, hardware etc. is all top notch.

This thing is built like a tank. More Like a battleship, actually. It will still be here after World War III. This Agile Ghost III and cockroaches shall inherit the earth...

Bought off ebay from seller "kurtzentmaier." It's the only place you can get them. Kurt is the best. He always ships lighting fast. You can trust him. He'll answer any questions you may have.

I've been playing 18 years. I have guitars that are literally worth 10 times what i paid for this Agile Ghost 3. This guitar holds it's own against any of my high priced axes. This guitar is proof that you need not pay full price for a brand name to get awesome quality. What's the old saying? There's no status in overpaying. This guitar can go head to head with any ESP any day. No joke. You'll believe it once you play this guitar. If you're unsure about the Agile name, trust me, take a small leap of faith. You won't regret it. Get a unique guitar that every other asshole doesn't have and save a few bucks. What could be better.

*Finish (Satin, transparent, quilted top, flamed top, etc...)
------> Transparent gloss finish showing off a beautiful, caramel mahogany body

* Body style (strat, tele, dreadnought, cutaway, thinline, etc...)
------> A modified Explorer-style guitar; the changes are primarily in the angle and style of cuts. The general shape is definitely there, and definitely in the Gibson direction (rather than the sharp-angled ESP style explorer)

* Bridge style (Tune-O-Matic, Floyd Rose, Wilkinson, Tele-style, String-thru body, stop tailpiece, etc...)
------> Tune-O-Matic style. It is manufactured in Korea, like the rest of the guitar, and is very well made - correctly spec'd so as to avoid the buzz associated with cheaper Tune-O-Matic style bridges, and powder-coated for a resilient finish. Great sustain, even though it's a stop-tail instead of a string-through. String changes are easy as can be, especially once you install some locking tuners.

* Tuners (Locking? Non-locking? brand of tuners - Sperzel, Gotoh, Grover, Schaller, etc...)
------> Comes with Grover 18:1 die-cast black tuners. They do a fantastic job of keeping the instrument in tune. I will be replacing them with locking tuners in a few weeks, at which point these tuners will be installed in a backup guitar - no point getting rid of great tuners just because I'm getting a better set.

* Neck/Scale (Fat, Thin, Jumbo Frets, Rosewood, Maple, etc...)
------> Gibson string spacing and scale length (24.5" scale) on this relatively flat-backed, maple neck with a very pretty rosewood fretboard and comfortable jumbo frets. The fretboard has laser-cut Pearloid block inlays which look great and don't alter the playability one way or another. The neck is made out of three pieces of maple, one for the bulk of the neck, one for the headstock, and one for the curve of the neck joint. This is pretty much industry standard for less expensive guitars to save on wood for special cuts, and if done well causes no problems and is effectively indistinguishable from a one-piece neck. It is done quite well in this case, with absolutely no indication of its tripartite nature to all but the most discerning eye. I speculate that this is one of the reasons the natural finish is less expensive than the opaque Black and White finishes, which have identical features and construction but cost a third again the price.

* Any included accessories? (Case, gig bag, strap, cable, tools, humidifier, etc...)
------> Adjustment ools are included, though not necessary. Though a strap and case are not included, the option is made at the time of purchase to buy the matching case with a locked in, discounted shipping rate of only $25 instead of the actual rate for both which would run something like $55. They'll ship it to you in the case if you choose to do so. It slipped my mind at the time of purchase, and as a result I will have to pay an additional shipping amount to get it to me now. Don't let that happen to you - it's a beautiful instrument and you -will- want a case, so go ahead and get it shipped in the case.

* What year was it made? Where was is made? (Japan, Mexico, USA, etc...)
------> Made in 2007 in Korea.

* How many frets?
------> 24 jumbo frets, and might I add very well-done fretwork. Polished, crowned, and level. Comfy to play.

* Solid-Top? Laminated top?
------> Solid body (well, sort of - it's made in three pieces for the same reason as the neck, but they do a really good job of matching not only the grain of the wood but also the tonality of the wood - use your finger to thunk the wood of the three sections, if you can pick them out, and you'll be pleasantly surprised to hear very nearly the same note.

I'm running out of space, so here's a brief sum - Two volume, one master tone control; 3-way pickup selector (Neck, Mix, Bridge) for the two humbuckers. AL-HOT pickups stock (Agile's house high-gain humbuckers), passive electronics. Mahogany Body, Maple neck.

Rating?

# How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
------> I picked this guitar out because I wanted a completely different guitar from my primary guitar, a Fender Stratocaster that I've heavily modified. The Stratocaster has Lace Blue in the neck, Lace Red in the middle, and a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. in the bridge. It is my versatility instrument, and my workhorse - it doesn't let me down no matter what I want to do. It is also sort of a jack of all trades in that way, edging towards higher gain but not at all limited to such a style thanks to its pickup configuration and construction. As I have matured as a guitarist I have come to realize that I need an instrument that is as versatile as necessary to play the many things I enjoy, but that I also need a few instruments that are engineered more specifically towards specific styles. Thanks to the recent low-cost revolution in electric guitars and components (headed, to my view, by companies like Schecter in the mainstream, and more saliently by companies like Rondomusic.com and Guitarfetish.com in the "underground"), it is now possible to realize my dream of having a primary guitar made for versatility and several secondary guitars designed for a specific type of music, without breaking the bank. This guitar is part one of that plan, and has been chosen for its characteristically darker sound (thanks to its construction), its extended range (thanks to its 24 frets), and its stability (thanks to its stop-tail bridge). I will use this guitar to play primarily progressive metal in the style of artists such as Devin Townsend, Pain of Salvation, and Ayreon.

# What amps and effects are you using it with?
------> I have a variety of gear. Primarily, though, I use a Zoom G9.2tt tube-utilizing effects processor, a Zoom TM-2 "Tri-Metal" high gain pedal, and two amps, a Peavey Special 212 II and a Randall RG100G3.

# Is it noisy? On what settings?
------> Nope. Quiet as can be.

# Rich/Full sound? Bright sound?
------> I swapped the pickups out for two pickups from www.guitarfetish.com, the Crunchy Rails in the bridge and Dream 180 in the neck. I have posted full reviews of each under the GFS listing, so please check them out if you're interested. The sound I get is just awesome, especially considering that including straplocks my total investment in this guitar is under $350. Revolutionary. The bridge gets amazingly punchy, crisp, thick, well-defined lead tones, while the neck is well-suited to anything from laid-back jazzy melodies to smoother, heavy riffing. The blended middle position, using the volume controls to adjust how much of each pickup is present in the mix, gives this guitar far more tonal versatility than I actually intended it to have. The gist of the matter is that the dichotomy of warm vs. bright does not apply, though the tonal character of the wood is certainly dark and warm. The pickups play well off of that tonal foundation.

Because this guitar is the successful culmination of my plan, I find it hard to dislike anything about it. If it had turned out worse I would certainly rate it as such, but it didn't.

I am not going to rate this on how the guitar sounded stock, because the rating here really comes into its own in the pickups section - frankly, the AL-HOT stock pickups were more of a 6/10 in this category. Not exactly screaming for a replacement, but hardly perfect either. I will rate the tonal qualities of the guitar itself, though - it gets a distinct 10/10, because it detracts nothing from the sound and gives a great base from which to spring.

* How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? (How was the action?)
------> Not bad. Your average factory setup, maybe a bit better than average, certainly no worse. The action was uniform and comfortably low without introducing any fret buzz; I will be lowering it further myself, but it is certainly comfortable to play as it is.

* How well were the pickups adjusted?
------> There was an effort made to adjust them, but it appeared to be more by appearance than anything else. Doesn't matter, though, since I yanked them out the day after I got the guitar.

* Properly bookmatched top? Properly routed bridge?
------> Here is where the quality really shines through. Everything fits together like a glove. The neck joint is perfectly set, and the taper between the body and the neck is so smooth that if you close your eyes you could convince yourself the guitar is made out of one piece of wood.

* Did the guitar contain any flaws? (misaligned bracing, poorly filed fretwire, finish flaws, poor quality wood, rusted or oxidized hardware, loose tuning pegs, poorly cut nut, poorly fit saddle, noisy pickup selector, loose controls, etc...)
------> The guitar has no visible flaws. There is a spot roughly the diameter of a period on a page, at 10 point font (in other words, very small) that is visually undetectable as being different from the rest of the finish, but you can feel a small bump as though a minute grain of sand were present on the surface of the wood when it was finished. This is right by the upper conrol cavity on the back of the instrument, and it is only by touch that it can be distinguished at all - it is visually flawless. That is the only "problem" with the guitar at all.

In fact, I'd like to make a note about the quality of the workmanship, here. When I swapped out the pickups, I expected to open the control cavities and see a city of cut corners. However, not only were the cavities flawlessly routed (extremely smooth walls, no chipping from dull tools or careless cuts), but they have a flat, even layer of protective black shielding paint. The control cavity covers are coated on the inside with shielding adhesive foil. The electronics are high-quality, full-sized, correct taper potentiometers and a high-quality switch. The jack is indistinguishable from the Switchcraft jack in my Stratocaster. The wires were carefully cordoned off and bound neatly with cable ties, and in general everything was extremely well done. I was blown away because this absolutely exceeded my expectations - my Fender Strat was a mess from the factory by comparison, with buffing compound remnants in the control cavity, uneven finish there, and actually messy cuts from dull tools used for the "unseen" routing.

# Will this guitar withstand live playing?
------> It certainly seems like it will. Sturdy construction all around. Only time will tell, though, and let's face it - any guitar is only as safe as the antics of its owner.

# Does the hardware seem like it will last?
------> Yes, it is all well-made and very sturdy.

# Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing?
------> The finish is not nitrocellulose, so I doubt it will hold up as well as some more expensive guitars (after all, gotta cut costs somewhere and they're sure not doing it in the rest of the instrument). That said, it is a good compromise - thin enough to avoid hurting the tone of the instrument, but thick enough to withstand playing and weathering.

# Are the strap buttons solid?
------> Yeah, but I replaced them with strap locks. No point risking it.

# Can you depend on it?
------> Once again, time will tell. I hope so. If not, it won't be the instrument's fault.

# Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
------> Never. It's just a bad idea. I don't think anyone would do that if they have half a brain. Even if you're playing a guitar made out of carbon fiber with Indestructo brand strings, you just never know what might happen.

# If you've dealt with the company, how helpful/friendly were they?
------> I don't know about "friendly," but they're extremely helpful. Their customer service is legendary. In the past, I have been the recipient of items from the same store that suffered damage in shipping, or had manufacturing flaws that were not caught before shipment. Each time, shipping was paid by them, both ways, to replace the instrument in question.

Would you prefer a doctor who was incredibly competent and in whose hands you could trust your life, or a kind and benevolent doctor whose only skill is his bedside manner? Frankly, I'll take the professional who knows his stuff, and similarly I appreciate the fact of Rondomusic's outstanding customer service even if the help can be a bit gruff.

I think I've said quite enough over the course of this review to answer all the questions here. I would like to add that if you want to get the full picture of my views on this guitar, you need to go to the Pickups section of the Harmony Central user reviews and look at my reviews of the GFS Dream 180 neck pickup and Crunchy Rails bridge pickup. Then you'll get the full picture of my views of this setup.

If I were going to ask for any feature to be added, the only real issue is that I would like two tone controls instead of a master tone. I like rolling back the tone on the neck pickup and leaving the bridge brighter sometimes. Other than that, I am somewhat of a feature minimalist, and I would not make use of things some might like (for instance, I would never use a coil tap in this guitar - I've got my Strat for that).

The bottom line in interpreting this review is this. You don't have the same expectations from a $199 guitar as you do from a $4000 Gibson Custom Shop guitar that is crafted to your exacting specifications. The features that merit a 10/10 on this instrument differ from those that give a $4000 guitar its 10/10. Even taking that into consideration, if I ordered a $4000 custome shop guitar and it came to me in the condition of this $199 guitar, I would be pleased with my purchase. To me, that is the most significant measure of this review's 10/10. I am not hopelessly fawning over an average instrument, but rather genuinely impressed by a genuinely impressive guitar. I am sure that not everyone will have the same experience with Rondomusic's Agile guitars. However, among them are such fine instruments as this, and for the money (and given the return policy, which is very generous), you can afford to explore.