New Guitar Day: Agile Interceptor 725, My First Seven String Guitar

So it finally happened.  For those who know me, know I started my musical life in 1988.  That's when I picked up and learned to play the cello.  In 1998, I bought my first guitar, and started playing it.  But now, in the year 2019, I bought my first seven string guitar.

I had been wanting one for a while.  I mean, I don't play Korn or anything that would require a seven string, but I had been wanting one just so I could scratch that musical itch.  One thing that kept me from purchasing a seven string was the cost and availability.  There's just not that many manufacturers that make seven strings.  So the decently made seven string guitars on the market are a bit pricy.

The other thing I kept running into was that a lot of them had Floyd Rose tremolos.  And honestly, I didn't want to deal with that if I didn't have to.  Also, a lot of seven string guitars tend to be really pointy and 80's looking.  I wanted to avoid that as well.  So it's good that I know what I want, but I've really painted myself in a corner with what I want.

I was searching on Facebook Marketplace when I saw a seller offering an Agile 725 Interceptor seven string guitar.  We agreed to meet at Guitar Center so I could test it out.  Long story short, I was more than happy with it and bought it from him.  Here's the photos:

The 725 model refers to a 25.5 inch scale length.  The 727 model refers to a 27.5 inch scale length.  I know a lot of players would prefer the longer scale length, but I found the shorter/standard length to be just fine.

There were a few nice upgrades on this guitar when I bought it.  First up, someone had installed the Seymour Duncan AHB-3 Blackouts active pickup set.  The fret numbers are actually aftermarket stickers attached to the fretboard.

I personally love the blue/green color.  It's not a standard death metal color.  Remember when I talked about painting myself into a tiny little corner with what I wanted?  Well, this color is the perfect color for me.

I also changed the knobs to a green abalone set that I had sitting in my drawer for a few years.

They are a perfect match for this guitar.  Although technically, the chrome should be black to match the black hardware, but I'm not sweating it.

The guitar did need a set-up, but overall it was about 95% the way there.  The truss rod had never been set.  I only had to turn it a very small amount for it to be perfect.  I also moved the pickups closer to the strings.  It's very important to do that with active pickups.  Here's how I did that with direct mount pickups.

As you can see, the pickups are not as close as they should be to the strings.

So I took some foam padding, cut it into shape, and put it underneath the pickups.

Now let's take a look.

Yeah, that's much better.

I was aiming to fret-dress the guitar, but all notes are nicely playable.  Even with the strings being really close to the frets.  Heck, I haven't even changed the strings yet.  I have to say I love the sound.  Once I played it for the first time I just felt something come over me.  I immediately had to play angry music.  It feels like a new musical door opened for me.  I'm going to have to see what's through that door.

For those who are interested in Agile Guitars they can be ordered directly from the manufacturer.  Here's the link:

https://www.rondomusic.com/