Agile vs. Tokai

[jcm800x]

Looking for opinions on these inexpensive Les Pauls. I've read positive reviews on both here but the Tokai is a couple of hundred more than a 3000 Agile. Anyone tried both?

[slayer]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

Both made in Korea, but the Agile has an Ebony board, the Tokai rosewood, but the Agile body and headstock bother me bad, the older ones looked more like a LP with a better body and headstock. Jack.

[zeegler]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

If you NEED a brand new guitar, then from all I've heard, either the Tokai or the Agile are very nice options.

If you are willing to go used, and want a correct LP body shape, and open-book headstock, you can find one of the following on Ebay any given day. Greco, Burny, Yamaha (Studio Lord), Aria Pro II, older Tokai Love Rocks, etc. You might have to pay for shipping from Japan, but it's still WAY cheaper than buying a Gibby.

[zeegler]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

Here's an example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[jcm800x]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

Thanks for the help, I've owned maybe 15 LP's over the years but they have become too heavy to play out with. I've had a few neck injuries and I can only handle light weight guitars. I'm looking for an inexpensive LP I can play at home and maybe record with. I like the Agile 3000 in rootbeer for $319, toss in some Dimarzios and I think I would be happy. A similar Tokai is over $500 so thats really why I've been eyeballing the Agile. They also have a new silverburst w/black hardware and high output pups in black, looks cool. At least I won't go broke trying one of these out!

[MBreinin]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

The Agile is NOT light. It is a solid 9 pound guitar. I put some new pickups in my 2000 yesterday, a Custom/59 hybrid in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck and now it is even better.

Here is what I would do, unless you "need" the upgraded features, I would buy the Agile 2000. My friend has the 3000 and tonally, I actually thought mine was superior. Spend the extra cash on some pickups.

I think they are great LP style guitars. They play really well, they look good and they sound nice as well.

Mike

[jcm800x]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

How does the 2000 feel compared to the 3000 with the 'hand finished frets'?

[giles]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

I love my AL3000. If you really want an LP style but need something lighter, Agile makes a chambered AL2900. They pop up on ebay occasionally. Here is one for example.

[jcm800x]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

Cool, thanks. I ordered a Black al2000 w/gold for 159. It was less money from Rondo for shipping. I'll give a review in a few days!

[MBreinin]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

I didn't find any difference in the frets, to be honest. I have a little buzz, but that was after I flattened out the neck with a truss rod adjustment. It came in with a little bow, so I tightened it up. However, a little fret buzz I can live with in a $200 Les Paul that sounds as good as this.

Mike

[DonP]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

[ QUOTE ]
I've owned maybe 15 LP's over the years but they have become too heavy to play out with.

[/ QUOTE ]

TROPHYBOY,

What happened to the 15 LP's you had before? Did you sell them because of the weight? Seems like you are going right back with a heavy axe again. If you have big bucks from selling all of those Pauls, I'd recommend a Supreme, Cloud9 or an Elegant. Each of these are "hollowed out" LP's. Light weight, but pricey.

If you like a Gibson scale length on a very lightweight axe, I can't recommend 1990 Fusions highly enough. basswood bodies and 24 fret 24 3/4" scale necks.

No, they don't sound like my 10lb 1977 Custom, but your back will thank you for it.

[Chrisb]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

I knew one guy who had a similar issue with the weight, he had recently had back surgery so he sold his LP and with the cash bought some incredible Warmoth parts, had his luthier put it together. Price ended up being about the same overall. But he got a chambered Mahogany Body, a light weight mahogany neck, brazilian board, and a 5A quilt top. I believe he later payed to have the blank brazilian board inlayed with abalone trapezoids. But he said it played every bit as good as his LP, if not better because of the hollow chambers. And the best part, the whole guitar weighed in at about 6 1/2 to 7 lbs!

[jcm800x]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

I should have said more, I have owned well over a hundred guitars over the past 20 years. I would only have maybe 2 LP's in the family, I would trade them when I found a LP I wanted more. I sold my last LP last year and bought a couple more Jacksons. I'm looking for a cheap LP to play on the couch/record with, not to play in my band. I wish I was rich enough to keep them all!!!!!!!!! But then you have to work hard and stuff...........

[jcm800x]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

OK- Here is my Agile AL2000 review.

I ordered an al2000 in black w/ gold hardware, like my last LP custom. I ordered it Jan 29th, it was shipped on the 1st and arrived on the 2nd! Fed-x rules. I ordered it from the Rondo site and saved $10 on shipping over ebay. The guitar w/shipping was @$165. Rondo was great with emails and sent me a tracking number, kudos. It arrived double boxed with styrofoam over the switches and wrapped in a padded bag, very nice packaging. It also came with wrenches and a cheap guitar cable! The finish and the binding are excellent, high gloss black and sharp lines around the binding. It has neck and body binding(top only), no headstock binding. The first thing I noticed was the Grover tuners, nice and smooth. The tuners on my Journeyman are already shot! The pickguard and pickups had plastic on them, very nice. The gold hardware looks very good, right down to the washers and screws. Knobs are of the tophat variety in black and the strap pegs have felt under them, nice again. Over all appearance very good! I noticed the same stickers on the back of the headstock that my Epi Limited edition LP had as well as my Schecter stealth. I got an email from Rondo that stated the manufacturer makes these guitars for many companies, they do their headstock, logo, etc...These guitars are so cheap because Rondo is paying what Schecter, Epi, whatever is paying. Here is the catch- these companies do set ups on these. My guitar needed a real setup, many of you here are capable of this. If you are not, expect to pay for a good setup. Here is what I did-
The nut was obvious, the low E and A were WAY too high, D and G only a little and the B and E were fine. I cut the nut slots down and it looked fine. I noticed the D was buzzing out. I examined the bridge(because the nut was unset)and saw the D much lower than all the strings. I slotted down the E, A, and G to match the D, then raised the bridge, problem solved. The rosewood fretboard was the dryest I have ever seen! It completely drank the first application of lemon oil before I was done! It took about 3 well rubbed in coats to get it right, no big deal. The truss rod had an easy feel to it and only needed minor adjustment. The action on this can be set super low. Before I adjusted the bridge(the D and G were almost touching the strings and buzzing)I bent the high E across the board without it fretting out! Holy shit this neck is flat, I've never had a guitar that set up this low. The frets were regular jumbos and had a nice polish on them(I polished them anyway)and it felt good. The neck is slim like a 60's neck and the inlays are nice. I plugged it into my home amp(line 6 ax2 212) and fired it up. Pickups are not bad, very Gibson like. The bridge pickup was mid rangey with nice bass and just enough high end. The neck pickup is a little dark for me, to get my neck sound I played it in the middle position, not bad. The pots and switches are cheap but work fine, the 3 way has a nice click to it. Once setup this guitar is just as good as the other Korean LP's out there that cost quite a bit more, your paying for the name, setup(which can be horrible) and their high profit margins.
What can I say? I bought a nice looking, solid, heavy LP for $159!! I've spent more on a distortion pedal! Shit, I've spent more on beer! I am super impressed with the quaility of this git, I feel like I stole it. If your tech skills are good, get one!

[giles]

Re: Agile vs. Tokai

Great review. Glad you like the Agile. I do like the black/gold look. What do you think of the PUs in the 2000? I am really pleased w/ my 3000 PUs but am not sure if they are the same as those that came in your guitar.