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Post by wolf on May 31, 2005 10:50:03 GMT -5
Basically, I am intrested in a guitar with P-90 pickups. (Incidentally, I previously started a thread about P-90 pickups: guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=pup&action=display&thread=1117163867). Anyway, the Agile AL 3000 www.rondomusic.net/electricguitar-ss6.htmlhas 2 Alnico V pickups and seems reasonably priced. As you probably know, the Paul Reed Smith SE is somewhat similar (though a little more expensive.) And just to complicate matters a little more, there is another Agile Guitar, the AL-2500: www.rondomusic.net/electricguitar-ss4.htmlthat has 3 P-90's but they are ceramic. I would like a triple P-90 because it offers a lot of tonal possibilities. (I have a pretty good wiring sytem for Strats whereby, you can get Neck & Middle or Middle & Bridge in series or parallel and have then humbucking. A triple P-90 could be wired in the same way). So of the 3 choices, what do you folks think? |
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Post by GuyaGuy on Jun 1, 2005 2:01:54 GMT -5
well, i think you know my opinion. (i swear i'm not an agile rep!)
but i just want to mention this:
if you're certain that you want 3 pu's, i'd go with a model that has 3 already. unlike HBs, P-90's have no pickup ring to hide the routing you'd have to do for a middle pu. (assuming you're taking aesthetics into consideration.)
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Post by Trey on Jun 11, 2005 10:38:21 GMT -5
Wolf, I just got a used Agile Goldtop w/ P-90s yesterday(the 2500 I believe) I'd have to say it's as well build as my Epi which cost more, I can't really find and major QC faults with it and it sounds great(aftermarket pups in it though)
The shielding in it's pretty good too, conductive paint in the cavities and foil on the cavitiy covers. The pots, jack and switch that came with it aren't the greatest though and were upgraded to CTS and Switchcraft parts. The inlays are well cut and the bridge and tailpiece look to be of good quality, the only grip I can find with it is the fact that the binding could have been done better. But all in all, that's pretty darn good for a $200 guitar, better than my $500 Epi by far...
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Post by wolf on Jun 11, 2005 14:01:21 GMT -5
TreyThat's good to hear - especially since I ordered the AL-2500 (triple P-90 model) yesterday. I might replace the pickups anf if I do, it seems Kent Armstrong is a great choice. They are reasonably priced - and they have Alnico V magnets. (hmm I just visited a website that previously said they were $36 & $38 each. NOW it says $46 & $48) www.pickupcentral.com/kentarmstrong2.html
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Post by GuyaGuy on Jun 13, 2005 15:34:54 GMT -5
there are references on the rondo site to SAMICK, so i'm assuming both EPIs and AGILES are made at that factory. EPI seems to be all over the place in quality. but i'd say that AGILES meet the better quality EPIs in sound and workamanship at 1/2 the price or less.
anyhow, wolf, let us hear what you think about yr AL2500!
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Post by wolf on Jun 14, 2005 21:05:38 GMT -5
The Agile AL-2500 triple P-90 arrived today. (Wow they ship things fast !!!!!!!!!!!)
This thing is as solid as a rock. I haven't had enough time to test it, but it does sound and play quite well. These are really well-made guitars.
So do you think after-market pickups would make a huge sound difference? As I've said, I'd like to try the cheap way by just getting P-90 sized Alnico V magnets.
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Post by RandomHero on Jun 14, 2005 21:11:18 GMT -5
Let your ears be your guide. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Your wallet will be happy for it. =)
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Post by wolf on Jun 14, 2005 22:29:31 GMT -5
RandomHero
Good point. I suppose I should follow the advice I give to a lot of people on Guitarnuts - "Instead of changing the pickups, why not try rewiring instead?" Needless to say, I have always had the intent of rewiring this guitar so maybe that should be enough. (Ceramic magnets have higher output than Alnico, so to me that is a plus. Of course others will say that only Alnico can give you that true classic tone, that can never be duplicated by ceramic, etc)
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Post by GuyaGuy on Jun 15, 2005 0:17:29 GMT -5
wolf,
well, i'm glad to hear my recommendation didn't let you down. AGILE, JAY TURSER, and EASTWOOD have gotta be the best deals in town for solid good-sounding guitars.
RE: ceramic vs. alnico--ceramics don't neccessarily have higher output. a ceramic 7K has the same output as an alnico 7K. but ceramic is used for higher output PUs as its easier/cheaper to make high-output models with ceramic. but also they tend to be treble-heavy. in a high-output PU, extra treble acceptable and even needed to avoid outright muddiness.
i'm assuming the AGILE's PUs are "vintage-voiced." with ceramic PUs that are "vintage-voiced," the trebleliness ends up being somewhat detrimental, adding a bit of ping vs alnico's midrange.
(btw, are you sure the PUs are ceramic? i just assumed they are cuz it doesn't mention alnico in the copy.)
having said all of that, the main thing is that it sounds good to you. i've seen plenty of guys playing cheaper fenders w/ ceramic PUs and the ceramic tone never bothered me. which is to say, i never stormed out of a concert because i couldn't stand listening to ceramic PUs for one more second! it's just one of those things that gear geeks like to obsess about!
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Post by Runewalker on Jun 16, 2005 11:39:50 GMT -5
Wolf:
I'd like to see one of your 3 pup wiring configs in a Jag or SG with 3 P90's.
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dinis64
Apprentice Shielder
Posts: 37
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Post by dinis64 on Jun 16, 2005 22:00:00 GMT -5
I had an Agile Les Paul copy with P90's ( with the Gibson looking headstock, I contacted Agile and got a reply saying that there never was a law suit, but they were persauded by Gibson to change the headstock.) AnywaY, I thought the p90's in the Les Paul copy were way to trebly.
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Post by mike on Jun 20, 2005 16:27:14 GMT -5
You may want to check out Tradition Guitars, just another option in that price range. I have one of the Les Paul copies. Photos and links are on my homepage, check it out.
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Post by Trey on Jul 9, 2005 8:23:37 GMT -5
Hows the Agile treatin ya Wolf?
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Post by wolf on Jul 9, 2005 20:59:56 GMT -5
Trey
Thanks for asking about the Agile guitar. I am still in the process of rewiring it. The major problem has been that the P-90's are 2 wire pickups. (The ground and "minus" connection are wired together. Why the $$%^&%*^**&** )**&&^^&^%$^% &*&&^%%$ **()*)(()( %%##@%YY*&(&^ *&^%$&(( (&**^%^% *^&^^%%% do guitar manufacturers do that ? Not that I'm upset abut it. ;D)
Anyway, I have removed the shielded cable from each of the P90's and am replacing it with 2 conductor shielded cable. I finally finished it a few nights ago and all that remains are wiring in the 5 switches as shown on page 2 of my guitar wiring website.
I'll certainly let you folks know when it is all completed.
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Post by mike on Jul 15, 2005 20:08:06 GMT -5
Wolf, how's your guitar coming along? You posted that link and now I'm gassing for an Agile. My wife is going to find out, I just know it.
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Post by wolf on Jul 15, 2005 21:42:25 GMT -5
Well, I have completed the wiring. As far as the Agile Guitar itself? It is fantastic. Solid, well-made, good sustain. I'd say the guitar nut needs to be filed for a slightly better action. Still, this thing is NO cheapie. Very good buy for the money.
As for the actual sound? I'm taking a while to evaluate that. The P-90 sound is definitely the link between a typical single coil and a humbucker. For example, using the bridge pickup alone does NOT have that sharp glass-shattering bite of a strat bridge pickup. (I think the song "Season Of The Witch" is the best example of that Strat bridge coil sound).
Maybe some GuitarNuts members could help me evaluate the sound better. When I use distortiion, I always set it full-tilt. Perhaps this is causing me to miss out on a whole bunch of sounds in all of my guitars. Why do I like full distortion? The sustain is incredible. Maybe it is time I started setting things differently?
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Post by Trey on Jul 15, 2005 22:42:18 GMT -5
What kind of amp do you have Wolf? If it's a tube amp, the best way to get great sustain and tone is to turn down the gain but crank the amp.
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Post by wolf on Jul 17, 2005 0:11:09 GMT -5
trey
I have a Fender Deluxe tube amp.
Part of the reason for my wanting to rewire guitars is to get powerful sustain and crunch with the amp volume set between zero and 1. If nothing else, it's probably why I still have my hearing after all these years.
Isn't there something called a hotplate which absorbs a huge amount of wattage and allows you to set an amp almost all the way up yet the volume remains relatively quiet? Maybe that's something I could look into.
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Post by Trey on Jul 17, 2005 7:03:27 GMT -5
You have a Tweed Deluxe, or just a regular Fender Deluxe? Those old Tweed amps are the embodiement of great tone, at least to me they are...
Yes, the Hot Plate(and other attenuators) work pretty well. But the amp will still be realativly loud, even with something like the Hot Plate, you could have to amp on say 9 but it would only sound like it was at 2 or 3 volume wise.
I just sold my Hot Plate, because I sold the amp I used it with, but I think it is/was a great tool. The descripitons you find on the interenet can be a bit misleading though, most people say that attenuators are great for quieting down a 100 tube amp to bedroom pratice levels, but that's just not true. Eventually, with large amounts of attenuation, your going to start to lose alot of tone, simply because the speakers aren't getting enough wattage to properly do thier job. I think attenuators are best suited for situations where you would normally have the amp set realativly loud, but not loud enough to get it's true tone, ie a small club or empty house with understanding neigbhors.
If I ever get another tube amp that's more than 20 watts, I'll definatly be getting another Hot Plate w/ it. When used properly they work very very well, tube amps tend to come alive once you run them 50% or more, and attenuators allow you to do that at a sane volume level.
Another option, which I'm probably going to take, is to buy a lower wattage tube amp(<15 watts) which would allow you to get tube staturation at lower noise levels. But even 5 watts can be WAY too loud sometimes...
I think the one, major, down side to attenuators is the price. You can find some realy great sounding 5-15watt tube amps for cheaper than most of the attenuators avalible. For instance, the new Epiphone Valve Junior is $119 and sound fricking incredible, I just sold my Hot Plate for close to twice that price USED!
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Post by RandomHero on Jan 11, 2006 20:06:14 GMT -5
I think you're missing quite a bit with the distortion always on full tilt. I personally experiment with every distortion I've got; then the guitar's tone as well! I can make a 7-string with 20k DiMarzios through a Boss Mt-2 sound almost like classic or bluesy distortion, between guitar volume and pedal EQing.
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Post by Trey on Jan 13, 2006 9:50:27 GMT -5
I never have the distortion on full tilt. I run it so that with the guitar volume on 10 I can get a distorted chord that still has clarity, and then I manipulate the guitars volume to get the amount of distiotion I want at the particular momment. So most of then I'm say atn 5 on the guitar's volume, just slightly dirty, when I need a little more dirty I roll up the volume, and when I'm ready to take a solo I roll it up to ten.
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