Agile AL2000 Review

There's a whole subculture of people who refuse to buy Gibsons, and enjoy finding gem LP copies. Agile comes up a lot in conversation. Korea is getting better and better at making guitars because they've been doing it for a few decades now.

It's true you'll be a gambling guy or gal. In that for every good one there might be 9 or 10 bad ones you'd need to go through. Getting one in the mail and not playing it in person is the gamble.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping.

Hey Guys,
When I was a teenager in the 70’s, Rondo was considered the bargain basement of the guitar world. No one in their right mind would consider anything they had to offer as legit. It was Fender…Gibson or nothing. I subscribed to that theory when I bought my first guitar which was a ’64 Fender Mustang (I wish I still had that battle axe!) Times change and companies change as well.

My Agile AL2000 is not a Les Paul. It is a Les Paul style guitar. That being said, the one I received is one hell of a guitar for the money. It could easily be my number 1 guitar for  gigs.

Why?

It sounds great, looks great and plays awesome! As I stated above, I’m not a big fan of ceramic magnets in pickups. But I love the tone of this guitar. I have no plans of changing pickups in the near future. It simply KILLS!

I giged with it last night and I couldn’t believe the tone. It blew me away. I never expected anything like this from a $225.00 guitar. Never!

I don’t know if I was lucky or Rondo has raised the bar on their quality. All I know is the guitar I received from an online purchase is one of the best I’ve owned.

And lets be real, if Rondo can offer a guitar of this quality for under $250.00, how much is the man jacking up the prices for their  Epiphone LP’s and Gibson LP’s?

I have a Les Paul Deluxe and this guitar is totally comparable in quality and craftsmanship. It totally blows away my 93’ Night Hawk First Edition on so many levels.

When people make statements that you get one good one out of 9 or 10, I want to know their first hand experience and not their opinion. You know what they say about opinions. It is true. Everybody thinks they are an expert.

To be honest, I couldn’t give a rat’s **** how thick the maple cap is on my guitar. I only care that it sounds and plays great. My Agile AL2000 does. I couldn’t be happier.

If you think about it, every boutique guitar maker skirts the original specs of a Gibson Les Paul. They have to or face a years of legal battles. All that matters is that they turn out a good instrument.

Come on guys! The man is pushing crap at inflated prices! We are the end users and with the advent of CNC technology we should be demanding that prices come down, not go up! The savings to the manufacture is huge, but we don’t see it. Let your voice be heard!!!

I couldn’t give a tinker’s damn if you buy an Agile AL2000 or not. My point is that I am a very picky consumer and I think the one I got is KILLER! I lucked into this deal based on research. Do your homework and make the best decision that works for you and let the major players hear your voice. At the end of the day, you have to be okay with the decision you made.

But lets face it, how can you go wrong with a guitar for less than $250.00 including shipping?

I rest my case.
Lim

Here is my point.
The world is changing. Technology is becoming more affordable and it is hard for Fender and Gibson to compete.

I spent over 25 years in the film/TV biz and I will use an analogy that I hope will support my point.

When I first got into the business, CBS,NBC, and ABC cornered the market by a huge amount.
Fast forward to today and look at where they are. The best dramas are on networks like HBO, USA, TNT, and others.

The established 3 lost their way and are relegated to inexpensive reality shows and comedies. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are pretty entertaining, but they have lost huge market share because they had to go to go to a cheaper product due to their outdated way of doing business.
The overall end result is crap and their market share continues to erode. They just don’t get it at all.

At the same time, the upstart networks figured out ways to produce and present great content that rivals anything the big 3 could create.

We have an entire generation coming up that has very little loyalty to the big 3. Again, their market share continues to erode year after year and they seem at a loss as to what to do about the problem.

As technology becomes more affordable, we are going to see the quality gap decrease and we will no longer be dependent on the major manufacturers for the best product. Change is hard and no where is it more visible than in established companies.

Take a look at the current issue of Guitar Aficionado magazine and you will see boutique companies that didn’t exist 10 minutes ago. Almost all of them are creating guitars that far surpass the quality available at the local Guitar Center.
The sad news is that many of these companies will be gone by this time next year.

Why?

Because almost anyone can afford CNC technology today. Don’t be surprised if the teenager next door buys the gear, sets it up in his parents basement and starts cranking out a product that is superior in quality, playability and at a price that blows doors on anything Fender and Gibson could touch while he is still enrolled in Driver’s Ed at his high school. Yikes!

It is going to happen. History proves it.
Look at the print business for example. Most of you probably don’t remember a time when a typesetter had to place tiny steel letters on a form in order to get you a flyer or invitation. Where are the typesetters today?

The same thing happened with desktop video editing when Apple introduced Final Cut Pro. Anyone who could afford it instantly became a video/film producer. Sure the product was crap at first, but they figured it out pretty quick. When this happened my price for services dropped by a third and went down from there. My clients weren’t mom and pop shops, but the big 3 and the upstart networks. See, they do figure out some things in their favor.

It maybe hard for you to consider buying a guitar that doesn’t have Fender or Gibson on the headstock. I know it is for me, but I’ve been down this road with other industries and I will be damned if I will go down the lane again not having learned my lesson prior.

Please comment and let me know if you think I’m full of crap or have other ideas to share. This kind of discussion can only make our art and the instruments we play better.

Have a great weekend!!
Lim