Agile guitars, anyone?

I strongly recommend 27". It might feel a little stretchy at first, but you'll be glad you got it in the long run. For the higher frets (~12+) you won't even notice a difference. Dealing with extended range guitars where the low strings are unusable because they can't hold the tension properly is maddening. It can render a guitar useless (why play a 7 if you can't use the 7th string?).
 
Brock said:
I strongly recommend 27". It might feel a little stretchy at first, but you'll be glad you got it in the long run. For the higher frets (~12+) you won't even notice a difference. Dealing with extended range guitars where the low strings are unusable because they can't hold the tension properly is maddening. It can render a guitar useless (why play a 7 if you can't use the 7th string?).
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If he was talking about an 8 string guitar I'd agree, but 7 string guitars have never been unplayable at standard scale. Of course, personal taste for tension is going to play a factor in how playable any one individual feels it is.
 
To the OP; have you considered looking for a used Jeff Lumis Schecter? About the same price range and if I was looking for another 7 string it'd be on a very short list.
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It's something I actually thought of but I'm looking for a fixed bridge and not floyed and the other version of the Lumis is with Tune O matic style bridge (like LP) which I can't play, can't get used to where should I rest my palm.
 
Couple of years ago I had an Ibanez RG1527 Prestige 7 String with 25.5" scale and it was really comfortable.
What will I benefit from going to 27"? I do plan using the guitar for different tuning including lower than B.
 
it depends... :D

Roadrunner said:
Couple of years ago I had an Ibanez RG1527 Prestige 7 String with 25.5" scale and it was really comfortable.
What will I benefit from going to 27"? I do plan using the guitar for different tuning including lower than B.
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If you don't mind playing some heavier gauge strings you could stay at 25,5" for standard tuning. I personally went with 26,5" for my 7-String build, cause i am playing in D on a 6 string. I played an agile for about 2 weeks and i loved this guitar. It had 27" and it was a little uncomfortable coming from a 25,5" (9Years), but i got used to it.
Keep in mind that a higher scale means more stiff strings and makes bending more difficult. On the other way the B-string would be tighter, you get rid of flabby notes, get a brighter tone and it increases the clarity.BUT...you also can tweak the string stiffness with the gauge.
There are some really heavy downtuners out there and they still play at 25,5", so its a matter of your preferences ;) My suggestion is to play some 27" and get a feel for it and switch between some scales, to see what fits to you the most.

TLDR: Higher scales---> Higher string tension =
  • (+)brighter tone and more clarity
  • (-)Playability?(Depends on you handsize and preferred string gauge)
 
I have two Agiles (granted the highest end ones) and love them. One is Septor Elite 730 with EMGs. I personally love the larger scale length. In addition to the difference tonally it makes play on the higher frets a lot easier if you've got large fingers (since all the frets are spaced out more). You can save a lot if you go the B-stock route sometimes. Mine was like $200 off list cause it was a B stock and I could barely notice the issue.
 
Just went to pull the trigger on a nice 7 but it look like it's out of stock for the next couple of months….:cry
Have to wait, don’t want to compromise.
 
Wait? Ha! Who am I kidding….
This baby is on her way to me…



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I had a LP Double Cut knockoff from Agile. I bought one of the lower ones (I think it was $325 with case to my door) There were VERY minor issues with it that were cosmetic, but it played great. I ended up dropping a couple of Super Distortions in them and it was my main gigging guitar for quite a while.

If I ever want a 'oh what the hell' guitar (like you want the 7 string) I heartily endorse.
 
Practically all my clips that i post are done with agile 7 or 8 strings. I they could ask more, but i've had few issues with the frets and neck. Nothing horror stories, just basic stuff.
 
I played a few customs when I visited the states. I ended up buying an RG7321 that I modified and redyed as it played and sound a lot better. That was a $400 guitar vs $1000+. Lucky I guess?
 
The eagle has landed….
Just arrived an hour ago.
Overall first impression – I'm very happy with the guitar, worth every $ spent, love the 27" scale.
The stock strings are disaster! First thing I've done after playing for few minutes was to throw them to the garbage and install a fresh Ernie Ball 9 – 52, the sound has opened and there is more clarity now, no flabbiness / muddy sound.
Action was way too low, too much buzzing from the frets so I fix that as well.
Sound? Well I don’t think it was planned to play to much cleans, the clean sound is ok, I've heard better but the distortion is crazy! This baby is designed for massive heavy sound.
I'm very happy with the purchase.
Only thing that pissed me is that Rondo has forced me to buy a hard case as well (65$ for the case + 75$ more or less for shipping! + 18% local VAT– I'm located in Israel), they told me that they are afraid it might get hurt or something so it have to be shipped inside the hard case and I can either buy the case or they cancel the purchase.
I've shipped many guitars all around the world in the last couple of years and many where just packed inside a box with no hard case included just packed with soft packing materials, never had a problem, all arrived well.
I really don’t need or use the hard case and it was a waste of money to buy it but as mentioned, Rondo didn’t want to sell without that – shame!

 
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