During a visit to Virgil's studio in 2013, I was able to demo a guitar and get a tour of the manufacturing process. Virgil's passion and painstaking attention to every detail was very apparent. The workmanship simply does not compare to mass produced American manufactured guitar brands. It's worth mentioning Virgil's guitars were priced similar to many "Artist" series from well-known brands, yet for the "well-known brands" the owner has no input on theme, inlay, paint, hardware and wood selections for body, neck and fretboard.

A few months had passed, Virgil was building momentum and a following, it seemed like a good time to make a commitment and get a build underway. From an investment perspective I believe Virgil Guitars will inevitably increase in value. Considering quality, materials and workmanship I felt a Virgil Guitar was a good value as a player. However, my decision to purchase was not as an investment but as a workhorse guitar replacing my Les Paul.

Immediately after my deposit, the first step was wood shopping for the guitar body. Virgil directed me to some sources where I could view wood options along with a documented history of the tree location and date planted. Interestingly, my grafted walnut body was from a tree planted in the 1800's in Oregon. It was the impression of an eagle in the wood grain that inspired the Eagle theme. Imagine when you describe your guitar to friends and family actually knowing the origin and date of your body. I don't recall Fender, Gibson or PRS providing this information.

In my opinion, if you're buying a Virgil guitar you should take advantage of Virgil's mad skills for inlay design. Virgil and I referred to the process as the "Virgilization" of the guitar. On the 12th fret Virgil created an amazing etched eagle from abalone and eagle claws & diamonds for the remainder of fret markers. The inlay will only make your custom guitar even more unique. Virgil always provided suggestion and recommendations without being pushy. I trusted Virgil's experience and expertise to steer me clear of potential pitfalls or something I might overlook as an amateur.

The delivery of The Eagle guitar was first class. Including a very nice case, hardware for trussrod and tremolo adjustments, pickup specifications, hardware manuals along with the Certificate of Authenticity. My first impression after playing is the guitar feels like one solid piece of reverberating wood (good riddance neck bolts). The action was set very close with less than 1/16" variance. The pickups are very hot, much more than my Les Paul humbuckers. I've never used coil taps but can now really appreciate the ability to switch individual pickups from single to double coil and variations in tone.