Agile guitars/Rondo Music - Opinions?

[mikealpine]

Hi all,

Anyone have any experience with Agile guitars sold by Rondo Music? Supposedly, according to web searches, they are reviewed as far better than Epiphone in the Gibson Les Paul copy category. For the pricing, it seems like they are a great deal, if this is true. Hoping someone here owns one, played one or has experience with others that do. I'm considering adding a Les Paul-ish guitar to the stable, and I can get a top of the line model for $600 or less, so that's pretty impressive if they are built well and sound good.

Thanks,
Mike

[JoeCharter]

Impressive price value but at the end of the day, you still get what you pay for.

Great service, great prices. Honest products.

[mikealpine]

Joe, is that an endorsement of Agile/Rondo, or a suggestion to pony up a few more dollars and look to a seller that offers the three qualities you mentioned?

Thanks!!

Mike

[bwstl01]

I own an Agile 2500-12 single-cut (Les Paul Style) 12 string.

Korean made, quality level well above the price point, certainly better than my Ephiphone SG Elitist.

Obviously, no Americans were involved in the manufacture of this guitar, but for those of us without deep enough pockets to buy Gibson or PRS exclusively, it is a fine little axe.

Very playable, good enough quality, very nice sound, stays in tune.

Happy with mine.

[JoeCharter]

Joe, is that an endorsement of Agile/Rondo, or a suggestion to pony up a few more dollars and look to a seller that offers the three qualities you mentioned?

Thanks!!

Mike

For $600, I personally would not, but that's completely arbitrary. The products I've seen were good price value.

When it comes to entry level brands, I stick with their entry level stuff and I only buy it out of necessity. There's a lot to choose from at that price level. YMMV.

[mikealpine]

I'm waiting to hear back from them. I want to ask about their return policy.

[dwalton]

I tired out a few Rondo LP-style guitars a few months back (Agile AL-3000/3100 models). I thought they were pretty nice for the money, although a couple of them has some minor issues. I ended up returning them - I just wasn't convinced that I liked them enough to keep one.

In the end, I went with an Epiphone Bonamassa LP. The talk was that they were a clear cut above most Epiphone LPs, and I found that to be absolutely true. I've seen and played several new Gibson LPs that weren't as good (build quality or sound/tone) as my Epi Bonamassa.

[kscobie8]

I bought a Douglas 335 copy from Rondo Music a few years ago. For the price paid, it's a fantastic guitar. Nearly everything I've ever read about the Agile guitars suggests that they are a better value than Epiphone and other "brand name" imports.

I'm really happy with the service I received from Rondo as well.


Bel isi,
-kyle

[mikealpine]

Thanks guys. I'll look at the Epi Bonamassa, but am leaning toward the Agile 3200. Based on a/b videos, they sound so similar, and I like the features of the 3200, with a slim and contoured neck. One thing that I thought was a little odd, though, was in an e-mail exchange with Rondo, I mentioned that I would call to discuss differences between two of the models, and I was told they seldom pick up the phone. Maybe I'm a little old-fashioned, but it shouldn't seem like an inconvenience to speak with someone rather than go back and forth via e-mail. Is that silly of me?

[dwalton]

Start googling for Epiphone Bonamassa - tons of reviews. It's not your typical Epiphone.

My experience with Rondo was 100% emails.

[mikealpine]

Beware, venting diatribe to follow...

Wow...talk about frustrating!! On Friday I decided on an Agile AL-3200. Per their web site: "When paying via credit card, express shipments and orders over $100 must ship to the billing address. (Please use paypal or money order if you wish to ship to an alternate address)."

That's fair. My billing address is my home address and I didn't want the guitar to arrive and be left outside in the summer heat, if they would even leave it without a signature. So I used PayPal and asked them to ship to my office address.

Today I found out that wasn't good either because the guitar has to ship to the address listed on your PayPal account. I quickly went in and added the address, and wrote back to Rondo to make the change on the order.

Nope. They refunded the sale. I have to make the purchase again. Fine. I go to the site, add the guitar to my cart, and it won't stay in the cart. Apparently they have it listed on the site, but somewhere on the back end, the guitar is not available as it is on the front end. I sent an e-mail asking what I have to do in order to make this happen, and haven't gotten a response yet.

It must be nice to be the only retailer of a given item. On the Agile forum (who knew there were enough of these out there to have a forum?!) Rondo's customer support is praised up and down. I'm not feeling the love. I was prepared to tell everyone here about how great the guitar is and how wonderful the experience has been, but in truth I can't report either. The whole process seems impersonal and archaic.

Perhaps it is a sign? We'll see if they reach out tomorrow, but I'm really of the mindset that if you make it too difficult to buy, then I won't buy.

Am I being harsh?

[kscobie8]

Beware, venting diatribe to follow...

...

Am I being harsh?

No, I don't think so. I do believe, however, that Rondo is very much a 1-man operation. Seeing as it's only Monday, it's hard to say what the weekend looks like for Kurt (Rondo owner), I might give it another day or so and try again.

Funny you mention the forum. I'm a member over there (same handle), but only have a couple of posts. Because it's called the Agile Guitar Forum, it frequently gets shortened to the AGF. Every time I see that while lurking over there I have to resist the urge to make a stink. :)

But yeah, I'd give it at least another day and then send another email. Between the weekend and the holiday, it's really hard to say.


Bel isi,
-kyle

[mikealpine]

Thanks Kyle. I will see what today brings. I guess I'm just used to being able to pick up the phone, especially if there is a bump in the road. I think the guitar is going to be terrific, so let's see what happens.

Pretty funny that they shorten to AGF as well. I work in IT, and we joke that there are too many "TLA"s (three-letter acronyms). It's not trademarked, though, and from a user and typing perspective, it makes sense.

Anyway, thanks for the reality check. I'll post on how it goes.

All the best,
Mike

[JoeCharter]

Mike, it seems like you were a victim of circumstances.

I wouldn't sweat it.

[mikealpine]

Thanks Joe,

I heard back from Kurt this morning and I was able to place the order. Hopefully it will all go through smoothly and I will be able to deliver a review of the guitar here. If it is anything like the online reviews I've read, I'll be pretty happy.

I appreciate the input, guys!

Have a great day,
Mike

[dwalton]

I had a similar miscommunication thing with Rondo a few months back - but it all got sorted out pretty quickly, and I maintained the impression that Kurt makes things right.

[mikealpine]

bwistl01, sorry...I didn't mean to ignore you. Glad you like yours, and it helped me make the decision to go ahead. Hopefully I will like mine as well!! If not, there is a 14-day return policy, and that is more than enough time to make a clear decision.

DW, thanks for the feedback. He did respond early today, so I think he does make the effort. The whole no-phone thing is still a little strange, but if the product is good, then it won't matter in the end.

Thanks all,
Mike

[RogerC]

I had an Agile AL3000 that I sold earlier this year to fund another project. It was a fantastic guitar! It played better than any of the LPs that I've played previously, and sounded just as good. It reallly is an incredible guitar. If you are someone who stresses over tiny cosmetic imperfections, though, be warned. They will occassionally come in with a minor cosmetic flaw, but they've got the goods where it counts, and Kurt always makes things right. If you do happen to get one that has a defect, contact Kurt and he'll sometimes offer to just refund part of your money.

I wouldn't hesitate to own another one.

[mikealpine]

Thanks Roger. Mine will be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully I will have time to plug her in when I get home after work! I'll post up an NGD thread with pics as soon as I have a chance.

[mikealpine]

First impressions...holy cow, this guitar seriously looks and feels like it should cost so much more than it does. There are some tiny finishing imperfections that you have to look very closely to see, like where the fretboard meets the body, but they are so minor that they would be easily missed by most guitarists and were pointed out to me by a teacher who also sold guitars for a long time. He also pointed out that areas like where the tuning pegs were affixed were done much better than the average american made guitar. And if nothing else, they didn't cut any corners in the build; this thing is solid and HEAVY. The contour in the back makes it very comfortable to hold, and the neck-through design looks like it will keep the guitar very stable. The neck is a bit flattish for my taste; I prefer the slightly curved fretboards of Strats and Teles, but will easily get used to it. I took a lesson on it and was very comfortable only a short way in.

And the guitar sounds great! The volume nobs are very sensitive and I can see that this guitar would have the power to generate very serious volume. I haven't really had the chance to test it out, but will do so soon and will post pictures in an NGD thread, especially after I change out the white trim for blackout trim.

Even though I've only had it for less than a day, I can easily say I wouldn't hesitate to purchase an Agile. Price-to-value seems amazing.

Thanks,
Mike