Getting an Agile guitar...

[Nappa]

in which i will try and broaden my horizon into the world of music.
I need some advice
It will be a http://www.rondomusic.net/al2000csb.html

($199) Agile AL-2000 CSB Flame features:
Real Flame Maple top and single cutaway solid Mahogany arch top body

High quality wax potted ceramic humbucker pickups for improved sound

Full body and neck binding

Set-in Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard and trapezodial inlays

22 Jumbo 2.7mm frets and a 13.7" (350mm) radius neck for fast play

Grover Die Cast tuners

Two volume & two tone controls and a 3-way pickup selector switch help you find your sound

Stop-Bar tailpiece transfers string vibration to the body of the guitar and produces superior sustain
Cherry Sunburst Flame finish

Made in Korea

Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 22st fret: 2 3/16"

Neck Taper is 21.5 mm at the 1st fret and 23.5 mm at the 12th fret

Thickness of neck at the first fret approx 11/16"
Overall length, including the strap button: 40"; Scale length: 24.7"
Bridge pole spacing is 3", and the Tail piece pole spacing is 3 1/4"
Width at the widest point: 13"
Body thickness 2" at edge
Actual Weight is only 10 lbs

I don't want to spend any more on a guitar untill i upgrade my bass.

What kind of pick-ups should i get? I plan to switch them out if the stock ones are not very good. I'm looking for a versatile pick-up mainly for rhythm guitar.

To have "distortion" sounding pick-ups would one have to have a preamp? If not then could i put in a a distortion pick-up in the neck position and a clean blusey sounding one in the bridge? (please no boutique pick-ups)

What kind of accessories should i get? I need a practice amp for under $100 (with shipping). I have a strap and 2 different sets of guitar strings i will try out when i get it. Should i upgrade the electronics also? Are they expensive? I myself cannot do anything with electronics with ruining something so will have that done if needed when i have a the tech at this Mom and Pop shop put the pick-ups in (if needed).

[Rugaar]

Agile guitars, like SX basses, make great platforms for upgrading. But then again, they're perfectly fine in stock form. Unless you're looking for something completely different than the stock HB's (such as P90s or Retrotrons) spend some time getting to know them before you decide to swap them. If you're convinced you need replacements, check out GFS pickups from GuitarFetish. Great pickups for dirt cheap cost. Great customer service, too. I've got some Mean 90's in an Ibanez hollowbody and they rock.

For a cheap practice amp, you'll have a hard time finding anything that beats a Roland MicroCube. Highly recommended even though it's $25 above your price limit.

[Don W]

Originally Posted by Rugaar

Agile guitars, like SX basses, make great platforms for upgrading. But then again, they're perfectly fine in stock form.

Agreed.

I've got that same Les Paul but with P-90s instead of humbuckers and I love it. Great sound and feel, and it's one of the more well built guitars I've ever owned.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Rugaar

Agile guitars, like SX basses, make great platforms for upgrading. But then again, they're perfectly fine in stock form. Unless you're looking for something completely different than the stock HB's (such as P90s or Retrotrons) spend some time getting to know them before you decide to swap them. If you're convinced you need replacements, check out GFS pickups from GuitarFetish. Great pickups for dirt cheap cost. Great customer service, too. I've got some Mean 90's in an Ibanez hollowbody and they rock.

For a cheap practice amp, you'll have a hard time finding anything that beats a Roland MicroCube. Highly recommended even though it's $25 above your price limit.

I haven't a clue about the guitar part, but I whole-heartedly agree about the MicroCube. It sounds great, has a built-in "tuning fork", and for me, those batteries last FOREVER. I've even gigged it a couple times mic'ed.

[Nappa]

It runs on batteries?

[Rugaar]

Originally Posted by Nappa

It runs on batteries?

Yep. Plug it in when you're at home or it runs on batteries if you want to take it with you. Very cool feature.

The Vox DA5 is similar but just slightly larger. Personally I prefer the simplicity of the MicroCube but both get very good reviews.

Crate is also coming out with a similar amp that looks interesting. It includes a USB out for direct input to your computer.

[Nappa]

Does the MicroCube come with a charger?

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Nappa

Does the MicroCube come with a charger?

No, but it does include an AC adaptor.

[TrooperFarva]

Back when Rondo was closing up shop in Jersey, I stopped in. They had a 50% off sale. So I got this



and an SX PJ for less than $200. I sold the PJ the next day, because I fell in love with the Squier Vintage Modified P Bass, but I still have the Agile. It's a great guitar. Both my guitarist and my father own custom shop Gibsons, and they swear that it's a great guitar, not just for the price. In fact, when I got mine, my guitarist bought 2, an AL-2500 and an AL-3100. They're still in his regular rotation, along with his Gibsons.

[Johnny Crab]

Check here if you want real guidance:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products.shtml

http://www.seymourduncan.com/SDToneWizard/index.shtml

Tone charts:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/compareTones/matrix.asp

Their Q&A tab has a TON of info and they will help you personally if you know what sort of "sound" you want out of the pickups. Their custom shop is also available. Good folks.

PS: I've got four Rondo products here........

[blipndub]

Originally Posted by Rugaar

If you're convinced you need replacements, check out GFS pickups from GuitarFetish. Great pickups for dirt cheap cost. Great customer service, too. I've got some Mean 90's in an Ibanez hollowbody and they rock.

Have you bought other parts from that retailer? They've got crazy prices on parts and electronics.

[Stock R]

Originally Posted by blipndub

Have you bought other parts from that retailer? They've got crazy prices on parts and electronics.

I bought my tuners, pickguard, and pickups from there. Great experience.

[Nappa]

Originally Posted by Stock R

I bought my tuners, pickguard, and pickups from there. Great experience.

How long have you had those pick-ups and what kind?

[j-bass-kreep]

Get a Microcube I loved that thing, wish they made one for bass.

[MaskedJackal]

Good thread!

I am considering getting this Agile: http://www.rondomusic.net/product813.html

Beautiful finish. I'd buy it to mess around with, write on, and do some shoegaze exploration via that trem.

[Nappa]

I've always wanted a guitar from the time i heard Led Zeppelin and i've always wanted a bass from the time i listened to Black Sabbath and Cream.

[Nappa]

he are some of the reviews for that roland (taken from Harmony Central)

Product: Roland MicroCube Combo
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 04/10/2007 at 11:32am by k camekim
Email: camekin87<at>moostercoll dot edu

Features : 10
Made in 1492, which makes it an immediate classic. Wow. Pushes 120 watts through a 5" speaker. Wow. Made for extensive touring. Lots of effects that can be accessed with the included Brashaw switching system.

Sound Quality : 10
This is my main touring rig. I usually have the volume on 2-3 when I play stadiums and even then it is deafeningly loud. I once turned it all the way up and hit a power chord. The sound dissolved the home I was living in. Smoke and ash was all that remained, drifting through the summer air. I'd say it is much louder than a 747 on takeoff or even the Space Shuttle. I plan on standing under the Shuttle the next time it launches. I'll be jamming with the cube to see which is louder when they light that thing up. I'll submit another review after that. This amp sounds like a Dumble, a Victoria, A VHT, a Fender Deluxe/Super/Twin/ Marshall stack, etc...but 100 times as loud. It's very heavy to move around ...probably over 1000 tons, easy.

Reliability : No Opinion
Just for fun I placed it in a 1 million ton press and tried to crush it. It broke the press into two parts...not a scratch on her. Then I took it to Fort Campbell and had an Abrahams M 2 blast away with the main gun. After 100 rounds, she only had a small scratch on the corner. Finally I threw it into an iron smelter at 3000 degrees. Nothing. So I think it's reliable.

Customer Support : 10
I'm a personal friend of Ignacio Roland and his father, Cornelius. They invite me for sake (Japanese rice wine) all the time and send their Yamaha jet to pick me up in Antarctica, where I live. I complained once that the amp was not made of solid gold. They sent me 100 million dollars and promised to send 100 million dollars every day until i die. That's okay customer service in my opinion.

Overall Rating : 10
I've been playing since 6000 BC. I invented electricity and everything else except the internet, which Al Gore invented. If this were lost or stolen, I would simply destroy the entire universe and ask Almighty God to start over, please.
______________________________________________
Another one.___________________________________

Product: Roland MicroCube Combo
Price Paid: USD 130
Submitted 07/06/2007 at 11:04pm by bummer

Features : 6
2007. Modeling amp.

Sound Quality : 1
Heres where it stinketh. For three months it sounded great (for a teeny amp) then one day it went into 'crap' mode, never to return. Its buzzy and just sounds horrible. Clean channels arent too bad, but the distorted ones are really bad. They were good but now bad....so I sent it in for repair.

It came back with this reply from Roland

"Ran several tests. Works Fine. Meets all factory specs. Check your settings. Use the clean settings."

Check my settings?!? All two of them? Meets specs? Well I dont know how they measured these as I filled two of the screw heads with wax to see if they would actually take it apart to test it. They didnt, wax still there.

Use the clean settings??! This to me sounds like they admit that the OD channels sound like crap.

Anyway, frustrating. It was good now its bad...and roland wont help. At least it was cheap. But I wont buy from them again..

It was a 10 and now its a ZERO

Reliability : 3
It was good, and then one day went bad. Ive read the other reviews and it seems others have this same problem. I'll admit that all the good reviews on here are honest as that was how I felt about it too for 3 months anyway....

Customer Support : 2
Under warranty sent it in they sent it back, unopened and unfixed.

Lame!

Overall Rating : 2
Playing about 7 years.
Fender Hot Rod DLX. Peavey Bandit 112. Strats

I hate that it was great and now it sux and Roland left me stuck with it.

[CamMcIntyre]

I've got one of the Agile AL2000 guitars. I bought one that was B Stock [had a sizable chip/crack on the back]. I dig it. I had a guitar playing buddy come by and check it out. He said it plays better than most epiphones he's played [teaches guitar & works at a guitar store]. Good weight, good playability, etc. He was impressed-so that make me feel good.

[Foamy]

GC in Roseville, CA has a MicroCube for $85 used - looks in like-new condition. If you know someone in the area, it could save some dollars.

[Nappa]

No thanks, my friend woh works that this music store in town offered me used on in which the speaker was blown for $30, then he showed me the replacement speakers that were pretty cheap. He said he could get the speaker put in for free if i paid cash. Apparently some idiot of a child used a extra long hair pin and stabbed the speaker a few times "for the the fun of it" they said after their parents foudn them doing that.