7 String

While that's true, I'd take the Agile over an Ibanez a million times over for tone.
In fact if you stack it up - The amount that the Ibanez wins over the Agile for playability is nowhere near the amount the Agile wins over the Ibanez for tone, because the Agile is really comfortable to play. While it might not have the finesse and craftsmanship of an MIJ ibby, it's still a fantastic player and can easily be set up to play like a dream.
 
So Kurt responded and said he ships to Sweden almost daily, Shipping is 102$ (2-5 days delivery!)
Im ofcourse ordering it in a hardcase which unfortunately are sold out, so it could get sent by Monday it seems.
 
Holy shit, $105 is still a great price. That's awesome! Definitely go for the Agile. I agree that I do love Ibanez Wizard II necks (I have an s-series 6 string) but that's the only 'playability factor' that I would give to Ibanez over Agile. However, when I ordered my LTD MH400NT a while ago, I was afraid I wouldn't like it because the neck was thicker than the Wizard necks, but I got used to it very quickly. Same with my custom Carvin. You'll get used to whatever guitar you get once you start playing it. I would say if you were only used to playing Ibanez guitars and had stubby fat fingers, then stick with Ibanez for a 7 string. But if you've played different guitars with variable neck widths, you will love the Agile.

A friend of mine got one and let me play it, and I must say I absolutely love it. Once I get some extra cash saved up I plan on ordering me one as well. And 100% agree with Mattayus above... the tone absolutely dominates the RG 7's out of the box -- especially if you get an Agile stocked with 707's or Blackouts. :) If you go the route of an RG you will automatically have to plan on replacing pickups if you want a better tone.

Agile is just building a name for themselves and that's why they are offering such great deals. I would expect them to soon be in partnership and direct competition with some of the bigger names within the next few years or so. Right now they are building a good customer base by providing great quality guitars at a fraction of the cost of most major brands or custom shops. Heck, their prices have already increased over the past 2 years. So don't be surprised to see the prices slowly increase over the next few years as they gain more ground.
 
Neck thickness is, IMO, something that people tend to make a bigger deal of than it really is. I went from playing an old aluminum necked Kramer to a Schecter Hellraiser 7 string and the acclimation period took about a couple of hours.

Having played an Ibanez, an ESP, and a Schecter 7 string in a single sitting, I can't honestly say that one had a neck so noticeably thicker than the other that it so adversely affected playability to the point where it was uncomfortable.
 
http://www.thomann.de/gb/schecter_damien_elite_7_fr_mbk.htm
here's what the guitarist of my black metal band will buy
the price is really good and has EMG's also.
i've tried this guitar before it's really nice.
i have an ibanez RG1527 with seymour duncan pickups and i'm 100% satisfied

-1 on Indonesian manufacturing and quality control procedures.

New guitars just don't seem to be worth the money that's being charged for them, that Shecter Damien Elite being a prime example. The money spent on that, could just as easily be spent on a used guitar of superior quality.
 
Ibanez 7 strings are overpriced, imo. You're essentially buying the name, and not the quality of what they used to be.

God I am so tired of hearing this shit about Ibanez!

Ibanez quality control is 10000000 times better then most of the major manufacturers out there, Schecter and the Higher end LTD being the exception. I have seen mid level Jacksons with twisted necks, Gibbys with scratch pots and HORRIBLE setups. Fenders with cols soldier joints and everything else you can imagine.

Mid level Ibanez guitars are right on par with the mid level Schecters, and in most cases top the quality of a mid level LTD. People just talk shit about them cause they had a bout of bad designs and business choices in the mid to late 90s while the company was going through some major changes.

The quality of wood you get on an Ibanez MID level guitars is the same quality of wood you are going to get on a Prestige. Ibanez bodys are ALL pre-made at the factory for their bolt on models. Even the mighty JEM has the same Basswood body that the standard RG series does. The difference is the quality of the fret dressing, trem setups, electronics, and finish.

The RGD is probably one of the most solid mid level Ibanez guitars I have ever played. The slight extended scale make this an amazing guitar for those of us with short stubby fingers, and those of us who are fleet fingered on a 6 string and want to do some down tuning.

THe difference is also PRICE, the Ibanez mid level is cheaper then most of the mid level stuff on the market, and with a few small tweaks like pickups, and pots you have a top quality instrument.

Keep in mind I am discussing the MID LEVEL Ibanez stuff here not the low end Ibanez Gio or the Indonesia made stuff.
 
Agile is just building a name for themselves and that's why they are offering such great deals. I would expect them to soon be in partnership and direct competition with some of the bigger names within the next few years or so. Right now they are building a good customer base by providing great quality guitars at a fraction of the cost of most major brands or custom shops. Heck, their prices have already increased over the past 2 years. So don't be surprised to see the prices slowly increase over the next few years as they gain more ground.

Not true....

Agile has no plans to compete with the big guys, no plans to do endorsers, and no plans to change the mass produced CNC stuff they are doing. The reason their guitars are so cheap is you buys then factory direct, and they are mass produced for "re-branding". These are the words right from Kurt's mouth.

If you look at his "custom" stuff. You will see they aren't truly custom other then pickups / finish / electronics. This is because off their guitars are mass produced on CNC Machines, just like Ibanez.

There is also a rumor going around that the Agile factory is the same Korean factory where Schecter, Ibanez and LTD all have their stuff built.
 
I guy whom I take my guitars to to get worked on, and who own are very nice "high end" music store o his own, told me that he'd dropped a grand on a "nicer" new Ibby and was pretty underwhelmed. So much so, that he returned it. He also told me that this Ibby didn't play as well, or had he same level of quality control as his buddy's $700 Agile.

Also, this thread might be worth checking out. It's about a quality control issue on a newer Ibby,
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/extended-range-guitars/113988-yet-another-dead-rga8.html

This one too,
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/extended-range-guitars/134779-ibanez-rg2228-rga8-owners-beware.html

Not trying to bash Ibanez, but there does seem to be a lot of people complaining about quality control issues with them lately.
 
It's just a matter of bad luck for the most part to get a crappy playing Ibanez @ $1k and playability all depends on how you set-up the guitar IMO, unless the guy just couldn't get along with the neck profile and fret size.

The RGA8's issues are well known for sure... but as an Agile owner and I'm assuming you are as well, the possible QC issues are definitely nothing to overlook. You'll probably pull a couple hundred Agile threads with complaints if you check on ss.org.
 
It's just a matter of bad luck for the most part to get a crappy playing Ibanez @ $1k and playability all depends on how you set-up the guitar IMO, unless the guy just couldn't get along with the neck profile and fret size.

The RGA8's issues are well known for sure... but as an Agile owner and I'm assuming you are as well, the possible QC issues are definitely nothing to overlook. You'll probably pull a couple hundred Agile threads with complaints if you check on ss.org.

I mentioned the story about the guy who returned his Ibby because I know he has played and owned a LOT of higher end guitars, so when he tells me this about an Ibby, I know at least he knows what he's talking about.

I don't want to give the impression that I think Agile makes flawless guitars, they don't. My Intrepid 828, for instance, came w/ 2 frets sticking up a 2mm off the fret board. I should also mention that Kurt had UPS pick the guitar up from my house the next day, fixed the frets, and had it back to me in 72 hrs w/o asking for a dime for shipping.

So no, Agiles aren't perfect, but I do think that if you're in the market for a 7 or 8 string and you're looking to spend less than a $700, then they are pretty hard to beat price-wise for a new production guitar.

Also, my first real guitar was an Ibby V, and I loved that guitar! Shame Ibby won't make a production 8 string Iceman w/ a 28"+ scale though. Because if they did, I'd buy one this second and never go looking for another new electric after that.