Agile and Essex Guitars?

[markD]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

sorry dude, no photo flame. maybe a veneer like jackson uses, but not photo flame over fiber board. i'll post another picture later of the top at the horn where the maple cap comes below the binding. the inlays may not be real abalone, but paper under plastic? more likely ablam, or another synthetic shell material. the inlays are rather small and ablam/synthetic sheets aren't that expensive...

now i won't argue the wood grade...but the weight is right.

and what's wrong with having cheap guitars every now and then, especially if they are actually decent? is the agile as nice as my PC-1? no, of course not (but for the $$$ I paid for the PC-1 the top could be a bit thicker and more figured)...but you know what, the agile stays in tune, looks just as beautiful, doesn't feedback at stage volume (100% stock, too), and actually gets used for a (yes only 1 [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]) song during our set.

try it, you may like it...if not, hype it up as being EXACTLY like a Les Paul and sell it for what you paid.

[Accept2]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Those Korean and Chinesse guitars use Nato, which can for some reason be legally called mahoghany in their propeganda, but in comparison to real mahoghany that Gibson uses..........Its more or less closer to Asian mystery wood..........

[Chuckracer]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Thank you, Accept2.

MD, I KNEW I was going to get taken out of context. Read this carefully, cause this pisses off...

There is NOTHING WRONG with an Agile guitar. I'm sure it is a cool guitar in it's own right.

My response was aimed at Newc, cause there is ALWAYS someone to come along in these threads and claim their Agile is every bit the guitar a Gibson Les Paul is. Yeah, and this is Harmony Central.

I'm sure I can be schooled on the construction of these guitars, but I CANNOT be schooled on the difference between a top line guitar, and a good budget guitar.

I'll say it again: I am NOT tearing down your Agile. I am illustrating the DIFFERENCE between a $400 guitar and a $1400 guitar. If someone cannot honestly tell the difference, then more power, and savings, to them!

[markD]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

okay, i kinda figured that...cool.

[Chameleonfong]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

[ QUOTE ]
I am illustrating the DIFFERENCE between a $400 guitar and a $1400 guitar. If someone cannot honestly tell the difference, then more power, and savings, to them!

[/ QUOTE ]

What about GMW and Jackson Custom Shop?!
Both make custom guitars, comparison workmanship, but a big difference in price tags.

Fong

[GodWentPUNK]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

I have one of their lefty white explorers and it's a pretty decent guitar and I got it for under $200 bucks new. These older ones are now actually selling for about $300 now on ebay.

joe...

[Chuckracer]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I am illustrating the DIFFERENCE between a $400 guitar and a $1400 guitar. If someone cannot honestly tell the difference, then more power, and savings, to them!

[/ QUOTE ]

What about GMW and Jackson Custom Shop?!
Both make custom guitars, comparison workmanship, but a big difference in price tags.

Fong

[/ QUOTE ]

As usual. Fong, ya lost me there... [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

MD, sorry I came down rather hard there. I'm not the most eloquent dude on a keyboard, and what I mean and what I type often don't really mesh. So it's my fault if the point is missed.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Chuck I love you man. It's entirely possible that these Agiles and stuff use a thin flame maple veneer on top of a laminate maple top(maybe) like Epiphones do.

[Newc]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

It is entirely possible the Agiles use the same grade of mahogany that my 1993 LP has. Gibson buys the same wood everyone else can from the same lumber mills that everyone else can. The higher cost comes mostly from the Gibson name brand. We've all seen the recent posts about newer Gibsons having construction quality issues - from poor frets to bad binding.

It's also possible that Gibson has been using Indian Cedro (mahogany relative) for years. I know they've been using Indian rosewood fretboard on production models for at least 15 years due to the Brazilian ban.

Maple caps are cheap, especially for a solid color guitar where it doesn't have to have a lot of flame.

No, the Agile is not a $3500 Les Paul Custom, it's not a $2500 Les Paul Standard. It uses the same wood and construction method (set-in neck).

And as I understand it, Mother Of Pearl is cheaper in areas where sea life is abundant, such as Asia. It's overpriced here in America due to the limited market-use; you just don't see pearl handled household items like brooms, mops, and furniture trim, so the markets that use it can set the price at whatever they want. As well, sea life is more abundant at the coastlines, and we have far more inland area than coastline. Add to that the relatively low-quality environment around our coastlines, and America has less useable shellfish such as clams and oysters, which produce mother of pearl.
Asian waters have always been well-known for their pearls, and even now Japan has pretty much perfected farm-raised shellfish to produce more pearls, and as a result, more mother of pearl.

Besides that, mother of pearl fretboard inlay does not affect the tone of a guitar, so whether the Agiles are made with a 1/4" thick chunk of MOP or a micron-thin colored foil under acrylic is of no consequence.

Believe it or not, there are some companies who understand that if you price something at $1000 you won't sell as many as if you priced it at $100, while still maintaining a relatively high level of product quality. While Gibson has the momentum of its own heritage to keep it going, I guarantee they would be in a tight pickle if they were a recent company with those prices competing against other companies who did it just as good and sold it for much less.

Newc

[lerxstcat]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I am illustrating the DIFFERENCE between a $400 guitar and a $1400 guitar. If someone cannot honestly tell the difference, then more power, and savings, to them!

[/ QUOTE ]What about GMW and Jackson Custom Shop?!Both make custom guitars, comparison workmanship, but a big difference in price tags.Fong

[/ QUOTE ]As usual. Fong, ya lost me there... [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]While I don't think Fong is completely equating Agiles to Gibsons, I do think he's saying the name value of Gibsonaccounts for more of that $1,000 price difference than the differences in wood and construction, just as Jackson's name brings a higher price than GMW. Unlike the Jackson/GMW comparison, which involves similar labor and material costs, Agiles' costs here also reflect laborrates that we'd probably consider slave labor compared to what Gibson factory workers make. I haven't played the Agiles, but I find my Korean-made Hamer ST-1 to be VERY Gibson-like in its qualities, though it's technically a PRS copy. It does have some finish flaws, but then I bought it as a factory second and it's functionally great. No PRS, but at 5% of the cost of a PRS it's a much better bargain. Looks good, plays great, sounds pretty good even with the cheap Duncan Designed pickups, a classic Gibson-type sound. Chuck, you know there are many people who would want a $400 guitar, since that's all they can afford. Things are tough all over, not just for you and me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Newc]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Of course, time will tell if the construction of an Agile holds up as well as a Gibson. If the neck decides to pop out of the pocket, then obviously that part of the construction wasn't as good as Gibson [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Newc

[Accept2]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Alot of Nato can really dry up over time. On some of those guitars, the thick gloss finish may be the only thing keeping the guitar together.................

[Carbuff]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

" but I find my Korean-made Hamer ST-1 to be VERY Gibson-like in its qualities, though it's technically a PRS copy. It does have some finish flaws, but then I bought it as a factory second and it's functionally great. No PRS, but at 5% of the cost of a PRS it's a much better bargain. Looks good, plays great, sounds pretty good even with the cheap Duncan Designed pickups, a classic Gibson-type sound."

Wow, I thought I was the only guy on earth with an ST-1. Definately a kickass guitar. I had a prs santana se too but I sold it because I liked the hamer better. I never did get around to swapping out the d-designed pups. They sound ok. Is yours that red-orange burst color too?

George

[slayer]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Hamer Korean guitars are very good for the money. The first ones had Hamer on the headstock with Slammer Series written under it, then they just dropped the Slamer Series logo under it and just had Hamer on there. The USA`s have Hamer with U.S.A written next to it. I have 3 USA Hamers, great guitars. Jack.

[lerxstcat]

Re: Agile and Essex Guitars?

Yeah, mine's the red-orange burst with the silky oak top. Paid $140 for it because of the finish blems, which you can't see in the front because of the figured top. You see 'em on Ebay for stupid cheap! They are nice guitars alright!