PeachyDragon
I saw some discussion on this.
Does anyone know how to get one imported? The guys at Agile cant even
give me an estimate for some reason.
AlanRatcliffe
Probably because they haven't shipped here before and are wary of giving an exact quote without getting a solid price. Add $250 - $300 for shipping (worst case - could be lower if the box is small enough to go USPS), multiply by $/R exchange rate, add on 14% VAT to that and add about another R100 clearance fees that you'll pay the courier.
Now look at the total and realise it's cheaper to buy a Cort, Vintage, Greg Bennett or other decent inexpensive guitar locally. Also explains why Agile haven't shipped here before...
chris77
Yup. I was really gassing for a LP type guitar and the Agiles looked like the best value for money option. Great specs and as pretty as they come. They have an al-3000 masterbuilt model that ships with a case via fed-ex, for about $600.00 + $150.00 shipping costs. The regular al-3000 costs $200 less, but because it ships international you by a case as well, for $60 extra. But now the shipping cost quoted has nearly doubled. So I mailed the owner-guy and asked if that was correct. They seem to quote for both the case and the guitar shipped seperately, when the one is supposed to be inside the other, like the masterbuilt. I received a very short reply, just a thank you, the price quoted is correct. So ja, wow. Not really inspiring service if taken into account the guitar will be bought unseen and there is no international return or service policy. So now I have been looking at these PRS Se singlecuts....Hmmm, nice.
[deleted]
Ha ha, I misread this the first time and saw "Importing agile guitarists".
[deleted]
Well, that is apparently what Lethe wants to do...
ET-Phone-Home
I've been reading and watching a few vids on these guitars and they seem amazing for the price. I am currently working with a few import agencies to see if I can get a few of these guitars into the country for a good price. As soon as I have more details I will let you guys know.
Corne
Please do man, would love to try out the Agile guitars.
arjunmenon
Shot ET..i like their 7 string (the interceptor, i think its called).
singemonkey
They do look, and sound, like great guitars for the money. Someone should be looking to get the agency here.
But if it's a Les Paul you're after, given the money you'd spend on importing, you'd be much better off getting a Made-in-Japan Tokai for the same price as the Agile plus shipping. That would be a higher quality Les Paul at a higher price than the Agile. But because you aren't paying for shipping, it'd even out.
PeachyDragon
I agree wit many of the comments. I see Agile stopped making the PRS copies I loved so much anyway...
For an LP... I bought an Epiphone Black Beauty and replaced the pickups with seymour duncans as well
as changing the setup. It's truely one of the best guitars I own.
I couldve bought an actual Gibson doublecut LP with 24 frets and a chambered body for R5000
at the time and I didnt.. IDIOT! I shouldve done it, but i wanted the LP shape and now that I have it I
really dont like the upper fret access... just gor a Hamer. Amazing similar shape with great upper acces...
still want the chambered body though! Epiphone make a chambered single cut LP but I dont see Epiphone or Gibson
in the country anymore.
singemonkey
That's because they ain't there. Gibson's insane corporate policies mean that guitar stores here (and even small stores in Europe and the USA) can't afford the agency any more - because Gibson forces them to hold non-viable amounts of stock.
Still, there are plenty of Les Pauls going around - many of them made before the current bout of quality issues. It's a better bet to buy an LP from the early '90s than a recent one - although you can still get great Gibsons if you get to play a few.
But you should check out some of the threads about the Tokais. All the regulars here know that I'm the biggest Tokai fan. Tokai've been making phenomenal replicas of the "holy grail" 50's Gibsons since the late '70s; long before Gibson started doing the same thing in their custom shop. Their premium models are on a par with the historic, custom shop Gibsons but cost less than Gibsons standard factory models. Tokai's standard models are roughly equivalent to Gibson's factory models (although I'd strongly say that the better quality control and the lack of "weight-relief" and "chambering" makes them a lot better) go for about the cost of a new Epiphone plus half that again - bang for buck that's seriously unreal.
Pick up a copy of Muse magazine in the music stores at the moment and see this forum's Alan Rattcliff give an objective appraisal of these guitars.
Anyway, it's great that you've found a good Epiphone and it's getting the sound and feel you want. Enjoy. Often, when the Les Paul bug bites you, you're infected for life. There's no known cure.
BMU
The Agile seven strings seem to be much-loved on the sevenstring.org forums, I'd be curious to try one out too. But not curious enough to import it myself.
