Joe’s New Guitar

Playing electric guitar left-handed makes for a limited choice among production models – especially on a limited budget. I wanted something like an SG, and that meant the Epiphone G-400 for my price range. The Agile AD-2300 (http://www.rondomusic.net/photos/electric/ad2300nat1aleft.jpg) has similar specs and quality

• set neck
• similar weight, neck, and electronic controls

and some differences

• it’s not red (the only color available for lefty G-400s)
• P-90s instead of humbuckers
• about $100 cheaper

These differences made the Agile AD-2300 more desirable than the Epi G-400 [which I’ve played in right-hand models].

The Agile arrived well-packed and in good condition. Some minor cavils: the tone pots don’t really work except for the last 5%, when they suddenly kill all the treble — no gradual treble reduction. Also both volume knobs act as master for both pickups, so you can’t set them at different volumes from each other. Since this eliminates any sensible reason for having two volume knobs, I’m calling it faulty wiring, but fixing it should be as easy as getting out the soldering iron & redoing the connections. Likewise the tone pots, if not replacing them with better ones.

What I like:

• the sound is good: P-90s deliver full, bright sound, and are wired so that using both together knocks out a great deal of the hum/noise that single-coils are prone to
• it’s much better-looking than the Web site photo, which looks like stained wood. The actual finish looks more like  blond wood with a shiny finish

Dislikes:

• It feels distinctly heavier than the Epiphone G-400
• Surprisingly neck-heavy. Natural hang position is below horizontal

The G-400 was also a bit neck-heavy — how could it not be, when the body is so light? — but was distinctly lighter than my Stratocaster.

For me, weight may prove to be the deal-breaker — I wanted something with less shoulder-fatigue than my Strat. I’ll bring this to band night on Friday & see how it goes.