I’ve played a Legator at a guitar center, and oh lord, it was my favorite experience on an 8 string. I loved how light and small the overall guitar was, and all the features it had. Only gripe I had with it was the finish, it was the white and blue N8FOD, but I love the new Jupiter finish
Are you in Atlanta? I literally did this EXACT same thing with a white and blue 8 string legator like 2 or 3 weeks ago at a GC. It was the first time I truly understood why people buy expensive guitars. Literally the best feeling extended range guitar I've ever played on!
@@alesanapoodle7529 I was in NYC at the time lol. Like you said, I really see why people buy these things, they’re just too hard to put down once you pick it up
@@dewit1055 brother, did it happen to be at Union Square? If so, that same guitar is still there, just saw it last week lol. Being sold with a huge discount (800 $), chips all over the body. Totally agree with it being ultra light and comfortable, but man, that finish... I'd grab it on the spot despite it being all banged up, if not for that disgusting color scheme.
The door broke off on my 9v compartment in the first couple months of owning my Ninja. I contacted Legator to order a replacement, they said they were out of stock and they never responded after that. I recently found what battery compartment they use and ordered it. Perfect match replacement. They use the Kaish brand 9v compartments sold on Amazon for $9. No wonder the plastic door hinge broke. They use the cheapest option available.
It gladdens the heart of this 60-year-old metalhead to know the future of guitar-related TH-cam videos is safe in the hands of guys like this. I subscribed after KDH pointed us in your direction and appreciate your down-to-earth honest and informative content. And boy, your playing is awesome, and dare I say seems to be improving over time. You deserve many more subscribers and I'm happy to advertise your channel to my like-minded friends. Keep the faith young man 🤘😎🤘
Always wanted to do my part in keeping the instrument and the guitar TH-cam scene alive! Thanks for watching, I promise not to disappoint in the future 😎
In general the guitar world is doing quite well. I think we've finally exited the 2000's guitar lul and entered a new golden age. And it's not just rock or metal, I've noticed it in the country and bluegrass scene too. These young cats are really talented
I have owned a boat load of Legators. The only time I had any issues with QC it was in 2017/2018 when they switched to Indonesia away from Korea to make their guitars. It seems like MAJORITY of the QC issues come from that time.
Yeah, we picked up a b-stock around then and it had some weird cosmetic stuff, small bit of finish bleed and the like, but even then, I still play it now. It’s a decent guitar 🤷🏻♀️
I found a used 7 string Legator at Sam Ash a couple years ago and bought it. Once I got it set up it was perfect. I swapped out the FR 1000 for an Original Floyd Rose and tossed in some SD Sentient/Nazgul pickups and the thing just rips. Plays like a dream. Neck is so smooth.
Absolutely. A cyborg henchman with massive robotic legs whose special move is rapid-fire stomping to break through the ceiling of the heroes' base or create earthquakes. His action figure would have spring loaded stomping action operated with a lever jutting out of his back.
I had never heard of the brand name, but I’ve seen Berried Alive play with these guitars and I always thought they looked and sounded awesome, at least in his hands
Speaking from personal experience, I had the option between two guitars at the SAME PRICE POINT. I had the choice between a Legator Ghost 8 and an LTD JR608. The build quality of the LTD was VASTLY superior to that of the Legator at the same price point. I know people say this a lot, but it feels cheaper than it. It felt like I was playing a $400-500 guitar despite the $1000 price tag. I of course chose the LTD over the Legator.
Been playing a 7 string multiscale from them for the past year, by far one of the best guitars I’ve played for the 700-800$ price range. Haven’t encountered any quality control issues with it
I can relate to your comment. I have this Legator Ninja model and I've never had any problems at all in any feature or anything else. I use it all the time and always stays in tune.
It seems like Legator really improved after Berried Alive and Rings of Saturn boosted their popularity. I really like that because, in the end, having more quality brands to choose from benefits the consumer. I remember the quality being horrid for the price when they first came out, but were able to keep sales due to how pretty they looked. Maybe some day I'll get one for myself
I actually do like the body shape of the white one. It's super funky imo. But I'm a bassist so maybe that has an effect on my taste in Instruments, lol
I bought a Legator Ninja model from Reverb about 2 years ago.. aside from loading some Seymour Duncan's in it..It plays great!! The neck is nice and thin and has super low action, built to shred and I love it!!
Somewhere around the middle of playing on the high end Legator as you start doing the baroque sounding classical, everything changed: facial expression, body posture, getting in the zone, it was awesome bro, you were legit having fun and that's what its all about. I wish you could afford to keep it. Ya know bro that's what I'm missing right now. I've got some decent high end stuff but its generic, I miss some of my other equipment that was actually cheaper but sounded and played as well and made me smile and compulsively write new compositions. I sold to friends and "upgraded" to the must haves and l have been anti-inspired and I wanna try these new axes and builders. Thanks for the review, I subbed and look forward to more. Peace
Hey 6 just an update. I've been playing 31 years. And that whole time I have been repairing my own instruments, so things like level and crowns, or refrets, refinishes, all these things aren't really that big a deal. But they are kinda a big deal to do, very time consuming, hard on the neck. And I sat with my GP for a week or so going, "This thing needs a level and crown, and the nut isn't cut deep enough, the locking nut already needs new hardware, the pickups are trash, the neck is uncomfortable near the headstock, etc." and then i picked up my Charvel San Dimas pro mod, and despite costing a couple hundred less than the legator, what a guitar. It has none of those problems, and isn't suffering from the same issues. it's made in mexico ... so I said to myself ... screw this. I may be a great guitar tech, but for the price this guitar is ... I shouldn't have to do crap. So I took the friggin thing back yesterday. Even the guys at GC agreed that it was a terrible instrument. So much so that even they are sending it back. Their tech is going to have to do too much work to it to make it sellable.
@@neoconnor4395 It simply had too many problems for like an $1100 guitar. and just because something is headless doesn't mean it's made well or worth the price. A mexican made charvel is a better buy any day than this model of Legator
@@sixstringtv1 Probably because many players don't see Marshall as a modern metal amp brand in contrast to Mesa Boogie and Orange, despite all of them having similar offerings. The JCM800/900 can do great high gain tones, especially when paired with a drive pedal.
What 7 string do you recommend to me? Seriously I have a budget below 1500€ and the thing is Im not sure what to get, I like more natural looking stuff, that doesn't look to spiky and ridiculous but also a 7 string with modern features suited for metal, Im kinda unsure about trems cause Im not used to them and like to first experiment with tunings, my local store doesn't have 7 strings at all so yeah
I actually really dig the shape of that white one. Never played a Legator, I just remember a couple years ago when they were putting out full on scam level quality. I'm not sure how they ever stayed in business after that, but I am really glad to hear that they have upped their game.
The Floyd Rose 1000 is a very reliable bridge. I have them installed on 3 guitars and there have been no issues in years. After Evertune it's the best device for keeping my guitars in tune. My LTD Arrow hasn't needed tuning in weeks - It's that good! I'm a working guitarist so my gear takes a lot of battering, but the FR 1000 has coped with everything I have thrown at it on all 3 guitars (Jackson SL3R soloist, LTD Arrow and BC Rich Mockingbird). Your channel is the only place I have seen them criticized outside of people who hate Floyd Rose in general. Are you sure you haven't used a guitar with a poor set up, or some other fault?
@@ericfritts5994 It doesn't seem to make much odds. People say USA made guitars are stronger builds - That may have been true a while ago but it's hard to tell the difference now. The quality nowadays vs the 80s and 90s is massive - We are spoiled for choice! The worst you can expect is when the guitar needs a setup, or there are small flaws in the paintjob. In the 80s there were some dreadful guitars without truss-rods and action so high you could do a tightrope walk on the strings. Nothing was online so people couldn't review it with a wide audience. They got away with murder back then!
@@ericfritts5994 people hate on Floyd 1000s because they don't know its the Korean Original. Without the word Original in the name, people automatically assume its bad even though Floyd Rose themselves have said its identical to the Original, made using the same materials and machinery, just made in a different country.
I think it's more of a price point thing. If you're spending that much money on a guitar, loaded to the gills with fancy shit, why doesn't it have the German original floyd rose? Kind of gets under my skin too
Just an FYI, higher value pots have more resistance to turning and more range in them. The blue guitar probably has a 1MΩ pot which is harder to turn but gives a huge increase in headroom. Quick turning pots like on your other guitars are usually 250kΩ. Lower value pots leech the high end out of your tone, and headless, fanned fret guitars are almost exclusively played by guitarists who want a bright sound that cuts through the mix, so it almost certainly has a 1MΩ pot. Lower value pots are used in vintage wiring setups. They spin easy but they don't have the headroom of the higher value pot. Even wide open the high end is diminished. Roll it back just a touch and there's even more high frequency gone to ground. That's not desirable in the type of music one tends to play on headless, fanned fret guitars - progressive metal and fusion. Professionals tend to use volume pedals to roll their volume off anyway. You can always add a volume pedal to your signal chain. You can't add back in lost highs. Doesn't work like that. 😕 Also, as someone who has owned and played many guitars in the 30 years I've been playing, a stiff switch is a high quality switch. Loose switches are low quality. Period.
I'm sure this is partially the reason why the pots felt so slow, absolutely... But cheap garbage pots are also just crunchy and slow in general, and that was what I was feeling there. Granted, not every guitar can have Yngwie Malmsteen speed pots in it price-wise, but these really were just cheap and not worth the money
their QC is shit; ordered a GF8OD when they released and it came riddled with issues. the guy in customer service was super rude through the whole thing too. Legator sucks and ill never look at them again.
The charles caswell shape I actually kinda dig, though weirdly it looks much better in this video than their own promo images. If anything it's the 7 strings and scale length (and accompanying giant headstock) that makes it seem extra disproportionate, otherwise the shape is a pretty strong contender in the "blobby slightly offset strat" market. It doesn't make me vaguely seasick like the Cort G series for example, it's like it's pushed past uncanny valley into simply ridiculous territory
So Ive been looking for a mid-price range guitar for modern djent/progressive metal and have been eyeing the Ninja 6 thats $1700. After watching this video Im questioning buying it. Everytime I find a guitar Id like to get in this price range every video always puts doubt due to QC issues, etc. Would that Ninja 6 be a safe option or would it likely have the sort of issues you found with the cheaper headless in this video?
where was this video when i bought my first 8 string? (no hard feelings :D ) I went for the Legator NF8P Flamingo and i bought a used one, so sending it back is no option. Even after having a professional set it up i still have dead spots on the neck. i will try to sell it and buy something more decent for a bit more money. thank you for making this video!
@@sixstringtv1 someone had to make the sacrifice haha. at least i paid 650 Euros for it so it didnt hurt that much. hoping to resell it soon so i can upgrade. also i think i want to become more proficient on 6 strings before extending my range again
Some of my 2 cents, some small notes to the video, some about Legator; I've been following Legator since they started a long while back in 2012, and have had many interactions with their employees and owner, Kennon Yi. 1. It is, in fact, pronounced Lih-GEY-tor; it means one who leaves behind a legacy. 2. They are definitely oddly aesthetically not great most of the time. Some are pretty, a lot are ugly. 3. Most of my issues lie in the company and their employees. The products themselves can be okay - even a broken clock is right twice a day - but the people behind the brand are, by and large, not good people. Kennon Yi has sent my friends threats of violence for posting negative reviews of their experience and has made anti-Semitic remarks to another friend in conversation at NAMM. Legator has, on several occasions, blamed customers for damage that has been apparent out of the box, including chipped wood, chipped plastic on pickups, and flat out quality control issues - like your slanted pickup. The employees themselves have been miserable to converse with, and would sometimes even be hostile towards people of other companies at NAMM. 4. More of a critique, I wish your sound comparison between the 2 guitars used the same riffs cut closer together (Riff 1 Guitar A Riff 1 Guitar B, Riff 2 Guitar A Riff 2 Guitar B, so on). Sick playing, though, and goodness, that headless sounds... almost hollow. 5. In my personal experience, the artist signature lines seem to actually be of consistently higher quality in many aspects than the non-signatures. Unfortunately for Legator, they are down to 2 signature artists (both of him are wildly controversial in the guitar scene, funny enough) 6. That air bag test is brilliant, and I'm genuinely shocked these passed lol. 7. The Floyd Rose 1000 is the same spec and materials as the OFR made in Germany - it's just mass made in Korea and sold as an OEM, so I don't really know why you dislike it. It just saves costs and keeps guitar costs down.
I tried the 8 string version of that headless legator and couldn’t believe believe how uncomfortable the neck was. I thought since it had the same multi scale length of my Strandberg it would be okay, boy was I wrong
I bought my Legator N8FOD (8 string, fanned frets, fishman fluence pickups/coil tap, locking tuners, nice finish) 3 years ago and love it. Maybe I was fortunate with the QC, because I bought it from a boutique guitar shop with high standards/ retail QC, and the only problem I have had is the battery door broke off, leaving my 9v visible on the backside. I can't seem to figure out what the part number is, and Legator told me they currently don't have spares in stock. Mine does not have the Floyd Rose, but I have a Dean Dime Razorback, so I've got my Floyd covered. Personally I LOVE the woodgrain on that fretboard (8:00), but mine is plain roasted maple. I agree whole-heartedly about the "hive" humbuckers. I got the Fishman model because the Hives suck. Mine isn't headless, and again has locking tuners, so my tuning stability is pretty decent. The weight of my Legator 8 string is lighter than any electric guitar I have out of the 6 that are not acoustics.
I recently got my first Legator, I was actually aware of some of the hate and that Louis Torres situation. I'd traded a Ibanez Prestige for it, which some people would consider a bit crazy. But I was pleasantly surprised to find the Legator model I went for is the best feeling 7 string I've ever played. I got an Opus OT7T which isn't such a common Legator model, even the specs are different to their usual stuff:Telecaster-esque shape, Gotoh vintage trem, Guitarmory pickups (which I looked up and are apparently quite fancy boutique pickups, but the company owner seems to also have had some bad rep funnily enough!). Anyways, I actually found the neck on the OT7T to be incredibly comfortable. It's described as ultra-slim and as I like slim necks it's great. My first 27" 7 string, I was wondering if I'd find that trickier but with the guitar feeling so comfortable I don't mind. The neck looks very similar to the one on that Charles Caswell model (roasted maple neck & fingerboard) so I'd imagine it's the same if not very similar. There aren't many production 7 strings with recessed vintage-style trems hence my choice of the OT7T. The Ibanez AZ24047 I traded for it also had the Gotoh trem but was 25.5" scale and had HSS. I do miss the sound of the single coils a bit but may get a Vola in the future as they do similar specs but with slimmer necks than the AZ. The Legator OT7T plays better to my preferences than the AZ Prestige in a number of ways. That doesn't mean the AZ isn't a high quality guitar, just comes down to personal preferences and the Legator just ended up being better for mine. Although I'd say the intonation & tuning stability is better on the Legator thanks to the 27" scale, at least with the out of the box setup. I don't even feel like I need to get a setup on the Opus until it needs some new strings. I was sufficiently impressed with it I've actually taken a chance on another Legator. They did some Strat-style HSS models in a similar vein to the Opus Tele style, but only for a limited period. I'd been planning on getting a 6 string with HSS and a vintage trem recently anyway so thought...why not take a chance on Legator's OS6 as it has the specs I want, and should feel similar to the Tele model I've been impressed with. Only a single French retailer has one left though, and I'm in the UK (from what I can see the OS models were never sold in the UK, only the OT models). Fingers crossed it's all good though as returning something to another country would be a hassle. Doubt I'll be getting more Legators in the future though as they seem to be focussed on the ultra-modern metal specs now. I liked the vibe of the OT & OS models as ihey mixed some more classic elements with the modern specs like ultra-slim necks, flat radius and stainless frets. A shame they were discontinued. I guess they think anything with Fishmans and pale moon ebony now sells better or something. As for the morality of supporting a company that has an...interesting...reputation. My own personal experience has been good so far. I emailed them to ask if the OS6 had the same neck profile as the OT7T and whether they knew of any UK dealers that may have any stock so I don't have to order from France. They replied within an hour, confirmed the neck question and said no we don't know of any UK stock for that discontinued model but we hope you're able to get it. And all-in-all, if you buy one of their Korean made models aren't you really just buying a WMI product?!
I love how the only negative you had to say about the CC signature is the body shape because I personally DO like the shape. It's officially going to be my next purchase
Maybe I have bad taste, but I think that Spectre model looks sick af. However, those pointy corners wouldn't last long even if you only play it at home. If they even survive shipping, that is. Btw; the SD Nazgul/Sentient set is not active. The 9V battery is for the LED killswitch.
Honestly my NX8 is probably the best guitar I have ever played. I opened the box it was in TUNE, I could see my reflections in the damn frets, and the neck and construction is like playing a neck through Ibanez. The luminlays, smoothness of all the mechanical parts its just 🤌 its honestly so good I just stare at it at points because I truthfully don’t feel good enough to play it. The case it came in was very nice as well, I love the neck rest in the softshell case just a nice taste, and delivery wasn’t a pain in the cock like ESP. I’ve played Ibanez, GOC’s, Fenders, Gretches, LTD’sc and Jackson and I felt like this with all the features and care made it worth every penny. My only complaint, for ALL high end models go with stainless steels, its the only way to compete with brands like Benton.
I have a legator ghost 7 string. I love it. had it for about a year now and it's great EDIT: should mention, I specifically went for the mid-range model during a sale when I ordered it. Got that for about the price of the low end model, and I'm glad I made that call.
"You can't tell me this shape looks good" My guy, I own a Gibson Corvus, I've seen worse. That Legator looks like a Warwick bass body with a 7-string neck, so it has something going for it.
I have one Legator N7P Red Bocote for 3 or 4 years and I love that guitar because of very thin and comfortable neck. Stay in tune, looks very good, sounds like an electric guitar and frets are well finished :) Only one (two) things I changed was pickups with 4 wires because of split-coil mod. Maybe my Legator is ok because I bought it in stationary store.
Hey man I've found your channel a couple weeks ago and I've almost watched all of your videos, you seem very down to earth and you aren't afraid to speak your mind and debate with people in the comments, I really appreciate your channel, keep at it! 👍
I’ve owned 6 different legator models - mostly mid range 7 string models and one high end model, but most of the guitars are pretty good, and are definitely good lookin (except for caswells model) I’ve never played the headless models but I do enjoy their guitars- this was a great video dude and I love your FFAA shirt your playing is sick too!
I've always been a classic guitar guy (Mainly fender), so I've never really looked into their guitars, still, you seem to be able to make even the most boring topics interesting :)
Bought a Legator last year. The seller emailed me days later saying they tried to setup the guitar but it was impossible. The guitar was literally unplayable and there was no way to get the strings off the fretboard. Worst issue I've ever experienced when buying a new guitar. This was out of the box
Dude that blue one costs the same as my charvel DK22 wtf. The difference in quality is quite staggering. Also I totally agree with you. The strat shape is perfect and I wanted something that looks like a strat but stays stable and has better upper fret access.
When I first heard of legator I was told they had a low quality standard. Actually I never liked those guitars for a couple of years until they started developing new models inciuding headless guitars. So, two years ago I had the opportunity to try a headless 7 string from them and I was blown away. And finally one year later I was able to afford one and bought the Ghost Anniversary G7A and after a good adjustment I fall in love with it. It’s a pretty amazing and high quality guitar, it’s the most comfortable guitar I own, I don’t want to sell it ever, it’s just amazing.
I found a used one that looked sweet for a grand at GC and was pumped. Had a Floyd rose, and when I tried to set it up for a certain tuning, needed to adjust the springs in the back and the screws were so badly stripped that I couldn’t adjust. Not sure if that was factory fuck up or previous owner but needless to say I returned it lmao
I've have a few le-gators. One of them is an amazing guitar, but it's from the custom shop. I once ordered a legator and when they sent me the wrong guitar, they tried to blame me for giving the the wrong order number (I did not)
I wonder how is the QC on Legator guitars these days. I owned 3 of them back in 2017-2018 and had to return 2 8-string models because the necks were very unstable wherein I had to adjust the truss rods daily for months. The Ghost had terrible fretwork and a misaligned bridge saddle. I really love their design and playability but I hope their QC has improved.
I'm actually looking at a couple of their products haha. Their Wraith bass and N7FX guitar. Glad my own personal assumptions mirrored your overall review. Excited to test out that headless bass!!
One can purchase potentiometers with slow or fast action, slow turning potentiometers usually are used for tone pots so they don't turn easily. That blue guitar likely has an alpha potentiometer made for tone position and is why it's slow to turn, I personally have been changing to slow action CTS for my volume's, I don't like fast action for studio. Volume swelling is easier with fast action pots, but I don't use that much.
Have you ever considered Guitar Center's lease option? It'll cost you a percentage of the guitar up front, you have 90 days to pay the thing off without the lease double, and you aren't obligated to keep it past the current payment. So you could keep a guitar 2 weeks and then just give it back no issues.
@@sixstringtv1 Fair enough, I was just pointing it out because a lot of institutions will block "Chronic Returners". Walmart tags your ID every time you do a return now for this purpose. One of the bank employees at my last store used to return his sweater after every ugly sweater day. After he did that about 6 times they cut him off. I wouldn't want you to be in this situation anywhere you vend with. I sell guitars and have cut off one or two of my chronic returners.
I have an $800 7 string ninja that came with some issues like the high e slot cut way to much to the point of sustain issues and bridge pickup sounding really weak but got it used for a great price and it honestly plays an feels so amazing that I don't even mind having to fix it up honestly idk about the newest models but I'd go for older models with the 5 piece necks/ebony fretboards with head stock and locking tuners over one piece maple an headless ones.
I have a headless Legator GHFB6. I purchased it because it's neck was super smooth and the guitar was very lightweight. Seriously, it's the most comfortable guitar I have ever played. It sounds amazing, plays amazing and it's my first, fanned fretboard. Before this Legator, the best guitar I had ever played was a Les Paul that I couldn't ever afford. Crazy that my $500 Legator even compares to a high dollar Les Paul!
I remember when they first started up, I was even featured often on their page. The QC issues and massive PR blunder in 15-18 caused them to get Halo amount of hate. I felt like the entry level guitars weren't bad. Definitely needed work but playable. Hopefully QC has changed!
I want to get the guitar the cc7 but concerned about the pick-ups I hear mixed reviews about the pickups. I have had bad experiences with passive pickups I always get feedback. Did you get any feedback at all with the cc7 ? And are the picks heavy or just heavy enough for mid tones
I've been watching videos on Legator guitars and i finally decided to buy one to test them out for myself. I bought the N8FX and i haven't had any major QC issues with it so far (outside of a crooked volume knob that doesn't sit flat on the pot). So far, it has been a great guitar, the only strange area to me is how narrow the string slots are in the nut (the strings sit fairly high above the nut compared to every other guitar I've had). I don't know if their QC has actually improved or if i just got lucky, but my experience with them has been great so far, it's much better out of the box than the Schecter Rob Scallon 8 string model I previously played which was sent to me with bad volume and tone pots that i had to get replaced. Maybe the major issues with Legator mostly exist within their cheaper models🤷♂️.
I had a Solar V2.6C for a while. Amazing guitar, I only sold it because the V shape in general bothers me. Always intended to get another one but never did
Thanks for the review and your thoughts. Based on your clips that you left in, I actually prefer the tone of the headless… but I’m more of a rock player than metal so I understand your point.
I see how (if it was a good and useable guitar to begin with) the G6 would be good for a more crunchy rock application, but sadly that clearly isn't the type of audience they made it for 😂
Well done son. Definitely needed some real info. on Legator. I'm glad to hear your honest and knowledgeable reviews. With QC issues abounding no matter the company it's hard to know who to take your chances with?!
I love this channel. But there is one thing i really dislike. I dont like how long he plays when hes trying to show off a guitar. He plays for way too long. Thats all tho. Still love his channel
I blame Eddie Van Halen for the tilted neck pickup thing. The only reason he bolted a humbucker to his Frankenstein is probably because the cavity wasn't deep enough, and he was too lazy to route it. Hence he made the excuse that "direct mount" pickups somehow contributed to better tone. They don't. Pickups pick up string vibration. Not the wood. If his idea was legitimate, we'd all be screwing SM58s directly to speakers. The pickups in the Legator are tilting because in order to adjust their height, you need to stick foam underneath. Sometimes, that foam doesn't sit right, gets overcompressed or vibrations/humidity from shipping cause them to move around. You don't get this problem with pickup rings because the pickup raises and lowers via a spring.
Hey, have you ever tried a sunn mustang? It was a budget strat made by fender in India in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Bought one today at a thrift store and it’s great
So I am doing research on headless guitars, and based on your vid checked these guys out. So it seems like they may have taken your video into account, and revamped the ghost. I got one of their new models in the "Iris Fade" finish. And, still very disappointing. The lighter purple parts of the iris fade are very splotchy, even on the front of the guitar. You could see it on stage hard i bet. Not only that, but they seem to have recovered the hive hums, but have not improved them. they still sound very comped. Not the worst pickups I have heard, but not really special. One thing I am not sure if you mentioned in the vid is that it's very hard, especially fi you have even a little bit of a gut, to actually et your hands on the correct tuning machine, out of the box I broke a string right away because I just couldn't find the right tuner. I pretty much have to sit this guitar in my lap and look right down at it to tune it. Not convenient on stage, I can't even see the tuners. This may also be a preference thing, but Nooooooone like 0 of their multiscale guitars have trems. Understand that is because they want to do 25.5-27 and they just wouldn't have that kinda offset with a trem, but come on, give us an option. I also am not sure I am in love with this slanted pickup thing on multiscales, I feel like strandberg does that a lot better. My pick runs into these things like crazy, and honestly I feel like this is one of those guitars that could just do with a single pickup. the neck and everything is alright, although yeah, your finger winding up over the nut on first fret stuff is odd, they left their headstock to chuncky, they should have trimmed down the hard edges on that. I'll be returning this through the lease program in a couple of weeks, and leasing a strandberg instead. A final note, I have never had to adjust a truss rod more than on this thing. I mean crank crank crank. the neck still isn't quite as flat as I like it, but now the rod is tight and I am worried about moving it much more.
@@sixstringtv1 were you in standard or in drop tuning? I have my eyes on a baritone 7 string ibanez and scared to pull the trigger cose i don't know how hard it would be to solo and be in standard tuning
Bought a fanned fret 8 string Legator off of reverb that was on sale for an insane deal. After it arrived I quickly understand why the price was dropped. The frets from the 12th fret and higher were not pressed in enough into the fretboard causing them to be higher than the lower frets making the guitar unplayable. It basically had a reverse compound radius. Luckily, I have a fret press and a lot of patience so I fixed the issue myself and even crowned and leveled them. Now it plays great for the $580 I paid for it. Sad that I had to do so much work to get it to a playable state. I wouldn't buy from Legator again, at least not a cheaper model.
Frets can pop up through transit from one climate to another. Changes in temperature and humidity can wreak havoc on all kinds of things in a guitar. Not necessarily Legator's fault, just something that happens. You can glue the hell out of them but that leaves a lot of work during the next refret. Wood is an natural material and each piece acts uniquely.
I have only seen one Legator in person, it was a strat looking 6 string. I didn’t pick it up because of the price- the shop owner knew I could never afford it. I have been curious about these guitars ever since.
i personally really like the "more chocolate" look. also, i think the sound demos were too much "here's guitar A for 2 minutes and here's B for 2 minutes with completely different riffs" so i could barely get a feel for the differences
... but on the other hand, if you were on stage gigging with these guitars in a band, only equally skillful and particular shredders would notice the differences detail and sound-wise between the budget blue and upline white models. Honestly you are a skilled and talented enough player that you can make almost any half-decent guitar sound pretty damned good. Not making excuses for Legator by any stretch, just saying that serious players demand a lot and rightfully so. In this case, give me $3K and I'd buy the cheaper model and a nice new amp then spend a couple hours fixing the few issues with the guitar, because I can. But admittedly I'm a cheapster. Ha! Great episode man, I always look forward to seeing what's new on your channel and regularly refer back to older episodes. Rock on.
@@sixstringtv1 Oh yeah. And I really do appreciate you taking time to react and respond personally, usually in near-real-time or as soon as you can. I respect your talent and opinions and you've shown me a number of times that you take me and your other viewers seriously even when we might disagree or indeed even be wrong. Similar as with Colin on The Guitaristas, I feel like we have a real human back-and-forth happening from far parts of planet. Sometimes I'm just throwing out the unspoken idea to get everyone thinking and talking.
I think that’s the biggest issue with legator. The quality drop off from their low end guitars to their high end guitars. The new ghosts and ninjas are great. Those low end GTs are pretty bad. Do GOC next if you haven’t. I have a satya and it’s probably the best guitar I’ve ever owned
I have a legator g7fod as my main guitar and it plays really well. The only flaw ive noticed is a bit of fret buzz that doesnt come through on the amp. Its worth noting that the finishes are not as saturated or tacky looking in person. Too bad it seems the cheeper models have qc issues.
I’ve played a Legator at a guitar center, and oh lord, it was my favorite experience on an 8 string. I loved how light and small the overall guitar was, and all the features it had. Only gripe I had with it was the finish, it was the white and blue N8FOD, but I love the new Jupiter finish
Are you in Atlanta? I literally did this EXACT same thing with a white and blue 8 string legator like 2 or 3 weeks ago at a GC.
It was the first time I truly understood why people buy expensive guitars. Literally the best feeling extended range guitar I've ever played on!
@@alesanapoodle7529 I was in NYC at the time lol. Like you said, I really see why people buy these things, they’re just too hard to put down once you pick it up
@@alesanapoodle7529 I've played the one in ATL. Same experience. First time playing an 8 and loved it
@@alesanapoodle7529they are actually better priced than most extended range guitars as well!
@@dewit1055 brother, did it happen to be at Union Square? If so, that same guitar is still there, just saw it last week lol. Being sold with a huge discount (800 $), chips all over the body. Totally agree with it being ultra light and comfortable, but man, that finish... I'd grab it on the spot despite it being all banged up, if not for that disgusting color scheme.
The door broke off on my 9v compartment in the first couple months of owning my Ninja. I contacted Legator to order a replacement, they said they were out of stock and they never responded after that. I recently found what battery compartment they use and ordered it. Perfect match replacement. They use the Kaish brand 9v compartments sold on Amazon for $9. No wonder the plastic door hinge broke. They use the cheapest option available.
It gladdens the heart of this 60-year-old metalhead to know the future of guitar-related TH-cam videos is safe in the hands of guys like this. I subscribed after KDH pointed us in your direction and appreciate your down-to-earth honest and informative content. And boy, your playing is awesome, and dare I say seems to be improving over time. You deserve many more subscribers and I'm happy to advertise your channel to my like-minded friends. Keep the faith young man 🤘😎🤘
Always wanted to do my part in keeping the instrument and the guitar TH-cam scene alive! Thanks for watching, I promise not to disappoint in the future 😎
@@sixstringtv1 Same Here! KDH pointed me here! Love your stuff. Also: Yngwie's "I'll see the light.." is played with pull-offs. *hides*
In general the guitar world is doing quite well. I think we've finally exited the 2000's guitar lul and entered a new golden age. And it's not just rock or metal, I've noticed it in the country and bluegrass scene too. These young cats are really talented
I misread that as "60 year old meth-head".
I have owned a boat load of Legators. The only time I had any issues with QC it was in 2017/2018 when they switched to Indonesia away from Korea to make their guitars. It seems like MAJORITY of the QC issues come from that time.
Yeah, we picked up a b-stock around then and it had some weird cosmetic stuff, small bit of finish bleed and the like, but even then, I still play it now. It’s a decent guitar 🤷🏻♀️
@@lmaowat6358thats what b stock means u imbecile😅
About to buy a ninja 8 for $1400 hope it's not a piece of shit like Ormsby...
I found a used 7 string Legator at Sam Ash a couple years ago and bought it. Once I got it set up it was perfect. I swapped out the FR 1000 for an Original Floyd Rose and tossed in some SD Sentient/Nazgul pickups and the thing just rips. Plays like a dream. Neck is so smooth.
Man. You have a very unique channel here. You're doing your own thing. I like that. It's entertaining and informative. Thank you man.
Regardless of how you pronounce it, that's a bad name. It sounds like the name of a villain from a children's cartoon show.
Absolutely. A cyborg henchman with massive robotic legs whose special move is rapid-fire stomping to break through the ceiling of the heroes' base or create earthquakes. His action figure would have spring loaded stomping action operated with a lever jutting out of his back.
Which is why it's awesome you kidding me. Any villainous name would sound fckn rad.
Nothing is more terrible than Mayonaise guitars.
To me it feels like a badass aligator alegator lmao
@@Alex19IIbro fr🤣
I had never heard of the brand name, but I’ve seen Berried Alive play with these guitars and I always thought they looked and sounded awesome, at least in his hands
Ngl that man can make anything sound good, but they're also full custom models.
@@pota7opotato573 and ALOT of post sound editing lmao
Well that guy edits the hell out of his clips
You quickly became one of my favorite channels please keep up the good work. Quality videos, interesting topics, and good jokes.
I will! Thanks 😎
I actually dig the shape of the white guitar because it reminds me of skervesen, perhaps without that reference point in my mind it wouldn't be.
Same, and the headless is just a regular headless, not uglier than any other headless
Speaking from personal experience, I had the option between two guitars at the SAME PRICE POINT. I had the choice between a Legator Ghost 8 and an LTD JR608. The build quality of the LTD was VASTLY superior to that of the Legator at the same price point. I know people say this a lot, but it feels cheaper than it. It felt like I was playing a $400-500 guitar despite the $1000 price tag. I of course chose the LTD over the Legator.
I don't like LTD personally, but even I wod choose that one after that disaster of a headless guitar
JR608 huh, I see you're a man of culture,too.
Bruh that ltd is like 2k not 1k
Been playing a 7 string multiscale from them for the past year, by far one of the best guitars I’ve played for the 700-800$ price range. Haven’t encountered any quality control issues with it
I can relate to your comment. I have this Legator Ninja model and I've never had any problems at all in any feature or anything else. I use it all the time and always stays in tune.
It seems like Legator really improved after Berried Alive and Rings of Saturn boosted their popularity. I really like that because, in the end, having more quality brands to choose from benefits the consumer. I remember the quality being horrid for the price when they first came out, but were able to keep sales due to how pretty they looked. Maybe some day I'll get one for myself
I don't recommend it unless youre going high end, but if you have a chance to try a few first then go for it
@@sixstringtv1 Oh hey thanks for the response! I just discovered this video yesterday and I've been binging your videos since then
Great video! Not even interested in buying an electric guitar and was highly entertained! Format, content, process, info, etc we’re all on point
Glad you liked it! 😎😎
I actually do like the body shape of the white one. It's super funky imo. But I'm a bassist so maybe that has an effect on my taste in Instruments, lol
I bought a Legator Ninja model from Reverb about 2 years ago.. aside from loading some Seymour Duncan's in it..It plays great!! The neck is nice and thin and has super low action, built to shred and I love it!!
Somewhere around the middle of playing on the high end Legator as you start doing the baroque sounding classical, everything changed: facial expression, body posture, getting in the zone, it was awesome bro, you were legit having fun and that's what its all about. I wish you could afford to keep it. Ya know bro that's what I'm missing right now. I've got some decent high end stuff but its generic, I miss some of my other equipment that was actually cheaper but sounded and played as well and made me smile and compulsively write new compositions. I sold to friends and "upgraded" to the must haves and l have been anti-inspired and I wanna try these new axes and builders. Thanks for the review, I subbed and look forward to more. Peace
Hey 6 just an update. I've been playing 31 years. And that whole time I have been repairing my own instruments, so things like level and crowns, or refrets, refinishes, all these things aren't really that big a deal. But they are kinda a big deal to do, very time consuming, hard on the neck. And I sat with my GP for a week or so going, "This thing needs a level and crown, and the nut isn't cut deep enough, the locking nut already needs new hardware, the pickups are trash, the neck is uncomfortable near the headstock, etc." and then i picked up my Charvel San Dimas pro mod, and despite costing a couple hundred less than the legator, what a guitar. It has none of those problems, and isn't suffering from the same issues. it's made in mexico ... so I said to myself ... screw this. I may be a great guitar tech, but for the price this guitar is ... I shouldn't have to do crap. So I took the friggin thing back yesterday. Even the guys at GC agreed that it was a terrible instrument. So much so that even they are sending it back. Their tech is going to have to do too much work to it to make it sellable.
Dude like WHAT are you talking about? How is this to do with Legator?
@@neoconnor4395 It simply had too many problems for like an $1100 guitar. and just because something is headless doesn't mean it's made well or worth the price. A mexican made charvel is a better buy any day than this model of Legator
Marshall and 7 string is such an underrated combination :)
Facts. I don't know why more people don't do that
True.
@@sixstringtv1 Probably because many players don't see Marshall as a modern metal amp brand in contrast to Mesa Boogie and Orange, despite all of them having similar offerings. The JCM800/900 can do great high gain tones, especially when paired with a drive pedal.
What 7 string do you recommend to me? Seriously I have a budget below 1500€ and the thing is Im not sure what to get, I like more natural looking stuff, that doesn't look to spiky and ridiculous but also a 7 string with modern features suited for metal, Im kinda unsure about trems cause Im not used to them and like to first experiment with tunings, my local store doesn't have 7 strings at all so yeah
SAWTOOTH AMERICANA HERITAGE!
Jericho Fusion Walnut
I actually really dig the shape of that white one. Never played a Legator, I just remember a couple years ago when they were putting out full on scam level quality. I'm not sure how they ever stayed in business after that, but I am really glad to hear that they have upped their game.
I just ordered a Ninja 7 string, super excited to play it. It replaced my Schecter Reaper 7 due to it having active pickups and locking tuners.
The Floyd Rose 1000 is a very reliable bridge. I have them installed on 3 guitars and there have been no issues in years. After Evertune it's the best device for keeping my guitars in tune. My LTD Arrow hasn't needed tuning in weeks - It's that good! I'm a working guitarist so my gear takes a lot of battering, but the FR 1000 has coped with everything I have thrown at it on all 3 guitars (Jackson SL3R soloist, LTD Arrow and BC Rich Mockingbird). Your channel is the only place I have seen them criticized outside of people who hate Floyd Rose in general. Are you sure you haven't used a guitar with a poor set up, or some other fault?
Agreed, I wonder why some people hate on it. Maybe it's just a country of origin bias.
@@ericfritts5994 It doesn't seem to make much odds. People say USA made guitars are stronger builds - That may have been true a while ago but it's hard to tell the difference now. The quality nowadays vs the 80s and 90s is massive - We are spoiled for choice! The worst you can expect is when the guitar needs a setup, or there are small flaws in the paintjob. In the 80s there were some dreadful guitars without truss-rods and action so high you could do a tightrope walk on the strings. Nothing was online so people couldn't review it with a wide audience. They got away with murder back then!
@@hrgiger Yeah when I play my Mexican, Korean, Indonesian guitars compared to a USA I don't get how they justify the pricetags on the USAs now adays
@@ericfritts5994 people hate on Floyd 1000s because they don't know its the Korean Original. Without the word Original in the name, people automatically assume its bad even though Floyd Rose themselves have said its identical to the Original, made using the same materials and machinery, just made in a different country.
I think it's more of a price point thing. If you're spending that much money on a guitar, loaded to the gills with fancy shit, why doesn't it have the German original floyd rose? Kind of gets under my skin too
I have had my CC-7 since the release, hands down the best guitar I have ever played! Beats Keisel and Strandberg, but that's just my opinion🤷♂️
You playing enemy inside made me wanna buy a 7 string, man that sounds great
Always wanted a 7 string to play that riff properly
Just an FYI, higher value pots have more resistance to turning and more range in them. The blue guitar probably has a 1MΩ pot which is harder to turn but gives a huge increase in headroom. Quick turning pots like on your other guitars are usually 250kΩ. Lower value pots leech the high end out of your tone, and headless, fanned fret guitars are almost exclusively played by guitarists who want a bright sound that cuts through the mix, so it almost certainly has a 1MΩ pot. Lower value pots are used in vintage wiring setups. They spin easy but they don't have the headroom of the higher value pot. Even wide open the high end is diminished. Roll it back just a touch and there's even more high frequency gone to ground. That's not desirable in the type of music one tends to play on headless, fanned fret guitars - progressive metal and fusion. Professionals tend to use volume pedals to roll their volume off anyway. You can always add a volume pedal to your signal chain. You can't add back in lost highs. Doesn't work like that. 😕
Also, as someone who has owned and played many guitars in the 30 years I've been playing, a stiff switch is a high quality switch. Loose switches are low quality. Period.
I'm sure this is partially the reason why the pots felt so slow, absolutely... But cheap garbage pots are also just crunchy and slow in general, and that was what I was feeling there. Granted, not every guitar can have Yngwie Malmsteen speed pots in it price-wise, but these really were just cheap and not worth the money
The Nazgul isn't active, you can just get it in active mount.
I've been made aware, I assumed it was active because of the battery but that's literally just for the LED
their QC is shit; ordered a GF8OD when they released and it came riddled with issues. the guy in customer service was super rude through the whole thing too. Legator sucks and ill never look at them again.
The charles caswell shape I actually kinda dig, though weirdly it looks much better in this video than their own promo images. If anything it's the 7 strings and scale length (and accompanying giant headstock) that makes it seem extra disproportionate, otherwise the shape is a pretty strong contender in the "blobby slightly offset strat" market. It doesn't make me vaguely seasick like the Cort G series for example, it's like it's pushed past uncanny valley into simply ridiculous territory
I've played one $300 Legator once and it played extremely well.
yall gotta listen to Berried Alive if you haven't. Charles Caswell's band.
Sick guitar solos
Had me subbed within the first 15 seconds. Love your personality!
Thanks! 😎😎
So Ive been looking for a mid-price range guitar for modern djent/progressive metal and have been eyeing the Ninja 6 thats $1700. After watching this video Im questioning buying it. Everytime I find a guitar Id like to get in this price range every video always puts doubt due to QC issues, etc. Would that Ninja 6 be a safe option or would it likely have the sort of issues you found with the cheaper headless in this video?
where was this video when i bought my first 8 string? (no hard feelings :D ) I went for the Legator NF8P Flamingo and i bought a used one, so sending it back is no option. Even after having a professional set it up i still have dead spots on the neck. i will try to sell it and buy something more decent for a bit more money. thank you for making this video!
Oh god, way too many people in the comments saying they had these kinds of issues. Glad I could help, albeit a bit late!
@@sixstringtv1 someone had to make the sacrifice haha. at least i paid 650 Euros for it so it didnt hurt that much. hoping to resell it soon so i can upgrade. also i think i want to become more proficient on 6 strings before extending my range again
Some of my 2 cents, some small notes to the video, some about Legator; I've been following Legator since they started a long while back in 2012, and have had many interactions with their employees and owner, Kennon Yi.
1. It is, in fact, pronounced Lih-GEY-tor; it means one who leaves behind a legacy.
2. They are definitely oddly aesthetically not great most of the time. Some are pretty, a lot are ugly.
3. Most of my issues lie in the company and their employees. The products themselves can be okay - even a broken clock is right twice a day - but the people behind the brand are, by and large, not good people. Kennon Yi has sent my friends threats of violence for posting negative reviews of their experience and has made anti-Semitic remarks to another friend in conversation at NAMM. Legator has, on several occasions, blamed customers for damage that has been apparent out of the box, including chipped wood, chipped plastic on pickups, and flat out quality control issues - like your slanted pickup. The employees themselves have been miserable to converse with, and would sometimes even be hostile towards people of other companies at NAMM.
4. More of a critique, I wish your sound comparison between the 2 guitars used the same riffs cut closer together (Riff 1 Guitar A Riff 1 Guitar B, Riff 2 Guitar A Riff 2 Guitar B, so on). Sick playing, though, and goodness, that headless sounds... almost hollow.
5. In my personal experience, the artist signature lines seem to actually be of consistently higher quality in many aspects than the non-signatures. Unfortunately for Legator, they are down to 2 signature artists (both of him are wildly controversial in the guitar scene, funny enough)
6. That air bag test is brilliant, and I'm genuinely shocked these passed lol.
7. The Floyd Rose 1000 is the same spec and materials as the OFR made in Germany - it's just mass made in Korea and sold as an OEM, so I don't really know why you dislike it. It just saves costs and keeps guitar costs down.
I tried the 8 string version of that headless legator and couldn’t believe believe how uncomfortable the neck was. I thought since it had the same multi scale length of my Strandberg it would be okay, boy was I wrong
I bought my Legator N8FOD (8 string, fanned frets, fishman fluence pickups/coil tap, locking tuners, nice finish) 3 years ago and love it. Maybe I was fortunate with the QC, because I bought it from a boutique guitar shop with high standards/ retail QC, and the only problem I have had is the battery door broke off, leaving my 9v visible on the backside. I can't seem to figure out what the part number is, and Legator told me they currently don't have spares in stock. Mine does not have the Floyd Rose, but I have a Dean Dime Razorback, so I've got my Floyd covered. Personally I LOVE the woodgrain on that fretboard (8:00), but mine is plain roasted maple. I agree whole-heartedly about the "hive" humbuckers. I got the Fishman model because the Hives suck. Mine isn't headless, and again has locking tuners, so my tuning stability is pretty decent. The weight of my Legator 8 string is lighter than any electric guitar I have out of the 6 that are not acoustics.
I recently got my first Legator, I was actually aware of some of the hate and that Louis Torres situation. I'd traded a Ibanez Prestige for it, which some people would consider a bit crazy. But I was pleasantly surprised to find the Legator model I went for is the best feeling 7 string I've ever played.
I got an Opus OT7T which isn't such a common Legator model, even the specs are different to their usual stuff:Telecaster-esque shape, Gotoh vintage trem, Guitarmory pickups (which I looked up and are apparently quite fancy boutique pickups, but the company owner seems to also have had some bad rep funnily enough!).
Anyways, I actually found the neck on the OT7T to be incredibly comfortable. It's described as ultra-slim and as I like slim necks it's great. My first 27" 7 string, I was wondering if I'd find that trickier but with the guitar feeling so comfortable I don't mind. The neck looks very similar to the one on that Charles Caswell model (roasted maple neck & fingerboard) so I'd imagine it's the same if not very similar. There aren't many production 7 strings with recessed vintage-style trems hence my choice of the OT7T. The Ibanez AZ24047 I traded for it also had the Gotoh trem but was 25.5" scale and had HSS. I do miss the sound of the single coils a bit but may get a Vola in the future as they do similar specs but with slimmer necks than the AZ.
The Legator OT7T plays better to my preferences than the AZ Prestige in a number of ways. That doesn't mean the AZ isn't a high quality guitar, just comes down to personal preferences and the Legator just ended up being better for mine. Although I'd say the intonation & tuning stability is better on the Legator thanks to the 27" scale, at least with the out of the box setup. I don't even feel like I need to get a setup on the Opus until it needs some new strings.
I was sufficiently impressed with it I've actually taken a chance on another Legator. They did some Strat-style HSS models in a similar vein to the Opus Tele style, but only for a limited period. I'd been planning on getting a 6 string with HSS and a vintage trem recently anyway so thought...why not take a chance on Legator's OS6 as it has the specs I want, and should feel similar to the Tele model I've been impressed with. Only a single French retailer has one left though, and I'm in the UK (from what I can see the OS models were never sold in the UK, only the OT models). Fingers crossed it's all good though as returning something to another country would be a hassle.
Doubt I'll be getting more Legators in the future though as they seem to be focussed on the ultra-modern metal specs now. I liked the vibe of the OT & OS models as ihey mixed some more classic elements with the modern specs like ultra-slim necks, flat radius and stainless frets. A shame they were discontinued. I guess they think anything with Fishmans and pale moon ebony now sells better or something.
As for the morality of supporting a company that has an...interesting...reputation. My own personal experience has been good so far. I emailed them to ask if the OS6 had the same neck profile as the OT7T and whether they knew of any UK dealers that may have any stock so I don't have to order from France. They replied within an hour, confirmed the neck question and said no we don't know of any UK stock for that discontinued model but we hope you're able to get it. And all-in-all, if you buy one of their Korean made models aren't you really just buying a WMI product?!
I love how the only negative you had to say about the CC signature is the body shape because I personally DO like the shape. It's officially going to be my next purchase
Maybe I have bad taste, but I think that Spectre model looks sick af. However, those pointy corners wouldn't last long even if you only play it at home. If they even survive shipping, that is.
Btw; the SD Nazgul/Sentient set is not active. The 9V battery is for the LED killswitch.
Their design is amazing. To bad the only shop to check them out is hours away in Germany, the legator n6fp purple fade looks so sick.
Honestly my NX8 is probably the best guitar I have ever played. I opened the box it was in TUNE, I could see my reflections in the damn frets, and the neck and construction is like playing a neck through Ibanez. The luminlays, smoothness of all the mechanical parts its just 🤌 its honestly so good I just stare at it at points because I truthfully don’t feel good enough to play it. The case it came in was very nice as well, I love the neck rest in the softshell case just a nice taste, and delivery wasn’t a pain in the cock like ESP. I’ve played Ibanez, GOC’s, Fenders, Gretches, LTD’sc and Jackson and I felt like this with all the features and care made it worth every penny. My only complaint, for ALL high end models go with stainless steels, its the only way to compete with brands like Benton.
I have a legator ghost 7 string. I love it. had it for about a year now and it's great
EDIT: should mention, I specifically went for the mid-range model during a sale when I ordered it. Got that for about the price of the low end model, and I'm glad I made that call.
Subbed at the visual segment, when you basically covered my entire intended comment. Ugly, bumpy, pointy shapes.
Thanks for the sub 😎
Hey! Thank you for putting up almost 3000 in wait on guitar returns to supply US with content. :)
"You can't tell me this shape looks good"
My guy, I own a Gibson Corvus, I've seen worse. That Legator looks like a Warwick bass body with a 7-string neck, so it has something going for it.
Gibson Corvus goes full circle. So ugly that it's actually kinda cool again
@@sixstringtv1 based Corvus enjoyer 🤝
I have one Legator N7P Red Bocote for 3 or 4 years and I love that guitar because of very thin and comfortable neck. Stay in tune, looks very good, sounds like an electric guitar and frets are well finished :) Only one (two) things I changed was pickups with 4 wires because of split-coil mod. Maybe my Legator is ok because I bought it in stationary store.
Hey man I've found your channel a couple weeks ago and I've almost watched all of your videos, you seem very down to earth and you aren't afraid to speak your mind and debate with people in the comments, I really appreciate your channel, keep at it! 👍
Thanks man! 😎😎
how cool.. my guitar is in your video :D NAIS! (the 8 sting ghost, i have that exact one from thomann)
I’ve owned 6 different legator models - mostly mid range 7 string models and one high end model, but most of the guitars are pretty good, and are definitely good lookin (except for caswells model) I’ve never played the headless models but I do enjoy their guitars- this was a great video dude and I love your FFAA shirt your playing is sick too!
I've always been a classic guitar guy (Mainly fender), so I've never really looked into their guitars, still, you seem to be able to make even the most boring topics interesting :)
I mean... me too. I'm a vintage Strat guy, but that 7 string impressed me. And I'm glad you liked the video! 😁😎
Bought a Legator last year. The seller emailed me days later saying they tried to setup the guitar but it was impossible. The guitar was literally unplayable and there was no way to get the strings off the fretboard. Worst issue I've ever experienced when buying a new guitar. This was out of the box
Last year?! That's awfully recent💀💀
Nice review! Hope you get more subs and success here on youtube!
Closing in on 10K now 😎😎
Dude that blue one costs the same as my charvel DK22 wtf. The difference in quality is quite staggering. Also I totally agree with you. The strat shape is perfect and I wanted something that looks like a strat but stays stable and has better upper fret access.
When I first heard of legator I was told they had a low quality standard. Actually I never liked those guitars for a couple of years until they started developing new models inciuding headless guitars.
So, two years ago I had the opportunity to try a headless 7 string from them and I was blown away. And finally one year later I was able to afford one and bought the Ghost Anniversary G7A and after a good adjustment I fall in love with it.
It’s a pretty amazing and high quality guitar, it’s the most comfortable guitar I own, I don’t want to sell it ever, it’s just amazing.
is the headless guitar grounded or not? thanks!
Can’t tell if I don’t like my strandberg 8 or if these scale lengths are way longer than anything I’m used to
I found a used one that looked sweet for a grand at GC and was pumped. Had a Floyd rose, and when I tried to set it up for a certain tuning, needed to adjust the springs in the back and the screws were so badly stripped that I couldn’t adjust. Not sure if that was factory fuck up or previous owner but needless to say I returned it lmao
I've have a few le-gators. One of them is an amazing guitar, but it's from the custom shop.
I once ordered a legator and when they sent me the wrong guitar, they tried to blame me for giving the the wrong order number (I did not)
10:04 that's a fire riff. What song is it from?
Demon Driver by Yngwie
@@sixstringtv1 tnx, excellent review
I wonder how is the QC on Legator guitars these days. I owned 3 of them back in 2017-2018 and had to return 2 8-string models because the necks were very unstable wherein I had to adjust the truss rods daily for months. The Ghost had terrible fretwork and a misaligned bridge saddle. I really love their design and playability but I hope their QC has improved.
I'm actually looking at a couple of their products haha. Their Wraith bass and N7FX guitar. Glad my own personal assumptions mirrored your overall review. Excited to test out that headless bass!!
Not to be that guy but the Nazgul and Sentient set is passive, the battery is for the LED in the killswitch :)
I've caught on, woopsie. Not all that relevant though, still sounded good
One can purchase potentiometers with slow or fast action, slow turning potentiometers usually are used for tone pots so they don't turn easily. That blue guitar likely has an alpha potentiometer made for tone position and is why it's slow to turn, I personally have been changing to slow action CTS for my volume's, I don't like fast action for studio. Volume swelling is easier with fast action pots, but I don't use that much.
Have you ever considered Guitar Center's lease option? It'll cost you a percentage of the guitar up front, you have 90 days to pay the thing off without the lease double, and you aren't obligated to keep it past the current payment. So you could keep a guitar 2 weeks and then just give it back no issues.
I live in Germany, and I don't want Guitar Center's garbage
@@sixstringtv1 Fair enough, I was just pointing it out because a lot of institutions will block "Chronic Returners". Walmart tags your ID every time you do a return now for this purpose. One of the bank employees at my last store used to return his sweater after every ugly sweater day. After he did that about 6 times they cut him off. I wouldn't want you to be in this situation anywhere you vend with. I sell guitars and have cut off one or two of my chronic returners.
I have an $800 7 string ninja that came with some issues like the high e slot cut way to much to the point of sustain issues and bridge pickup sounding really weak but got it used for a great price and it honestly plays an feels so amazing that I don't even mind having to fix it up honestly idk about the newest models but I'd go for older models with the 5 piece necks/ebony fretboards with head stock and locking tuners over one piece maple an headless ones.
I’ve own a Legator Ninja 6 string since 2015 and I love it. It’s my favorite 6 string lead guitar.
I have a headless Legator GHFB6. I purchased it because it's neck was super smooth and the guitar was very lightweight. Seriously, it's the most comfortable guitar I have ever played. It sounds amazing, plays amazing and it's my first, fanned fretboard. Before this Legator, the best guitar I had ever played was a Les Paul that I couldn't ever afford. Crazy that my $500 Legator even compares to a high dollar Les Paul!
Lol I love that Fuzz universe riff there at 10:30
Thanks I was trying to figure out the song
I remember when they first started up, I was even featured often on their page. The QC issues and massive PR blunder in 15-18 caused them to get Halo amount of hate.
I felt like the entry level guitars weren't bad. Definitely needed work but playable. Hopefully QC has changed!
The pickups in the Charles Caswell signature aren’t active, the 9V battery pack is for the LED in the kill switch
Yeah I noticed that a while after making this video hahah. Oops
@@sixstringtv1 no worries lol
I want to get the guitar the cc7 but concerned about the pick-ups I hear mixed reviews about the pickups. I have had bad experiences with passive pickups I always get feedback. Did you get any feedback at all with the cc7 ? And are the picks heavy or just heavy enough for mid tones
No feedback, it's great. Turn the gain down or buy a noisegate if you get feedback, it isn't the pickup's fault
I plan on getting a headed 8 string version of the cheaper headless you've had there, how good do you think it's gonna be as a mod platform?
Sadly you can't mod the cheap feel of that guitar away. It's not worth it, I'd go for a different one
I've been watching videos on Legator guitars and i finally decided to buy one to test them out for myself. I bought the N8FX and i haven't had any major QC issues with it so far (outside of a crooked volume knob that doesn't sit flat on the pot). So far, it has been a great guitar, the only strange area to me is how narrow the string slots are in the nut (the strings sit fairly high above the nut compared to every other guitar I've had). I don't know if their QC has actually improved or if i just got lucky, but my experience with them has been great so far, it's much better out of the box than the Schecter Rob Scallon 8 string model I previously played which was sent to me with bad volume and tone pots that i had to get replaced. Maybe the major issues with Legator mostly exist within their cheaper models🤷♂️.
Thank you this is really helpful. I was considering one.
Great video. Also, really dope cover of Enemy Inside
I wonder how you play F natural chord with that headless, seems like the neck is thicker in that area
Great video mate. Love the ending with the snap string lol. Been there many a time. Have you ever tried Solar guitars before. I own 3 I like them.
I had a Solar V2.6C for a while. Amazing guitar, I only sold it because the V shape in general bothers me. Always intended to get another one but never did
Thanks for the review and your thoughts. Based on your clips that you left in, I actually prefer the tone of the headless… but I’m more of a rock player than metal so I understand your point.
I see how (if it was a good and useable guitar to begin with) the G6 would be good for a more crunchy rock application, but sadly that clearly isn't the type of audience they made it for 😂
This video was very entertaining to watch, subbed
Thanks for the sub 😎
Well done son. Definitely needed some real info. on Legator. I'm glad to hear your honest and knowledgeable reviews. With QC issues abounding no matter the company it's hard to know who to take your chances with?!
I love this channel. But there is one thing i really dislike. I dont like how long he plays when hes trying to show off a guitar. He plays for way too long. Thats all tho. Still love his channel
There's always the option to fast forward.
@@sixstringtv1 yeah thats what i end up doing anyway. Always good playing though
I couldn’t remember what the headless sounded like because of the fan blowing your hair in the wind like Fabio. 10:28 Epic.
I blame Eddie Van Halen for the tilted neck pickup thing. The only reason he bolted a humbucker to his Frankenstein is probably because the cavity wasn't deep enough, and he was too lazy to route it. Hence he made the excuse that "direct mount" pickups somehow contributed to better tone. They don't.
Pickups pick up string vibration. Not the wood. If his idea was legitimate, we'd all be screwing SM58s directly to speakers.
The pickups in the Legator are tilting because in order to adjust their height, you need to stick foam underneath. Sometimes, that foam doesn't sit right, gets overcompressed or vibrations/humidity from shipping cause them to move around.
You don't get this problem with pickup rings because the pickup raises and lowers via a spring.
Hey, have you ever tried a sunn mustang? It was a budget strat made by fender in India in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Bought one today at a thrift store and it’s great
Never heard of these. How much was it? Do you like it?
Do you know where the lower end Legators are made and the manufacturer?
No and no.
I love your fop impression
So I am doing research on headless guitars, and based on your vid checked these guys out. So it seems like they may have taken your video into account, and revamped the ghost. I got one of their new models in the "Iris Fade" finish. And, still very disappointing. The lighter purple parts of the iris fade are very splotchy, even on the front of the guitar. You could see it on stage hard i bet. Not only that, but they seem to have recovered the hive hums, but have not improved them. they still sound very comped. Not the worst pickups I have heard, but not really special. One thing I am not sure if you mentioned in the vid is that it's very hard, especially fi you have even a little bit of a gut, to actually et your hands on the correct tuning machine, out of the box I broke a string right away because I just couldn't find the right tuner. I pretty much have to sit this guitar in my lap and look right down at it to tune it. Not convenient on stage, I can't even see the tuners. This may also be a preference thing, but Nooooooone like 0 of their multiscale guitars have trems. Understand that is because they want to do 25.5-27 and they just wouldn't have that kinda offset with a trem, but come on, give us an option. I also am not sure I am in love with this slanted pickup thing on multiscales, I feel like strandberg does that a lot better. My pick runs into these things like crazy, and honestly I feel like this is one of those guitars that could just do with a single pickup. the neck and everything is alright, although yeah, your finger winding up over the nut on first fret stuff is odd, they left their headstock to chuncky, they should have trimmed down the hard edges on that. I'll be returning this through the lease program in a couple of weeks, and leasing a strandberg instead. A final note, I have never had to adjust a truss rod more than on this thing. I mean crank crank crank. the neck still isn't quite as flat as I like it, but now the rod is tight and I am worried about moving it much more.
You've had a very similar experience to mine. And I wonder if they've actually seen my video and maybe taken some notes 🤔
How was it to play on 27 inch scale lenght?
Fun actually
@@sixstringtv1 were you in standard or in drop tuning? I have my eyes on a baritone 7 string ibanez and scared to pull the trigger cose i don't know how hard it would be to solo and be in standard tuning
I was in Eb
@@sixstringtv1 great! Thank you! And keep them vids coming, i love them!
I like the Charles Caswell Signature's shape...
Bought a fanned fret 8 string Legator off of reverb that was on sale for an insane deal. After it arrived I quickly understand why the price was dropped. The frets from the 12th fret and higher were not pressed in enough into the fretboard causing them to be higher than the lower frets making the guitar unplayable. It basically had a reverse compound radius. Luckily, I have a fret press and a lot of patience so I fixed the issue myself and even crowned and leveled them. Now it plays great for the $580 I paid for it. Sad that I had to do so much work to get it to a playable state. I wouldn't buy from Legator again, at least not a cheaper model.
their old fanned frets sucked ass...they redid their production line around 2019 i think and theyre so much nicer
Frets can pop up through transit from one climate to another. Changes in temperature and humidity can wreak havoc on all kinds of things in a guitar. Not necessarily Legator's fault, just something that happens. You can glue the hell out of them but that leaves a lot of work during the next refret. Wood is an natural material and each piece acts uniquely.
@@willrichtor Very aware of that but the almost lack of glue altogether in said frets is no excuse no matter the price range.
I have only seen one Legator in person, it was a strat looking 6 string. I didn’t pick it up because of the price- the shop owner knew I could never afford it. I have been curious about these guitars ever since.
i personally really like the "more chocolate" look. also, i think the sound demos were too much "here's guitar A for 2 minutes and here's B for 2 minutes with completely different riffs" so i could barely get a feel for the differences
... but on the other hand, if you were on stage gigging with these guitars in a band, only equally skillful and particular shredders would notice the differences detail and sound-wise between the budget blue and upline white models. Honestly you are a skilled and talented enough player that you can make almost any half-decent guitar sound pretty damned good. Not making excuses for Legator by any stretch, just saying that serious players demand a lot and rightfully so. In this case, give me $3K and I'd buy the cheaper model and a nice new amp then spend a couple hours fixing the few issues with the guitar, because I can. But admittedly I'm a cheapster. Ha! Great episode man, I always look forward to seeing what's new on your channel and regularly refer back to older episodes. Rock on.
Fair enough, the gear isn't as important as the player.
Also it's nice to know that my videos are binge watchable 😎
@@sixstringtv1 Oh yeah. And I really do appreciate you taking time to react and respond personally, usually in near-real-time or as soon as you can. I respect your talent and opinions and you've shown me a number of times that you take me and your other viewers seriously even when we might disagree or indeed even be wrong. Similar as with Colin on The Guitaristas, I feel like we have a real human back-and-forth happening from far parts of planet. Sometimes I'm just throwing out the unspoken idea to get everyone thinking and talking.
They are amazing guitars. They are one of the main guitar brands in my dads guitar store. Also you are saying the name right.
I have the same opinion about Legator as Kiesel and other "boutique and bespoke" companies: what's their excuse?
It's funny when people try to offload them at like 90% of new value. Imo any plain spec Kiesel should not go above $1200 used.
Legator multiscale N7FX What size string does it come with from the factory?
I think that’s the biggest issue with legator. The quality drop off from their low end guitars to their high end guitars. The new ghosts and ninjas are great. Those low end GTs are pretty bad.
Do GOC next if you haven’t. I have a satya and it’s probably the best guitar I’ve ever owned
I stand this, GOC is amazing
@Ophidian Aspect they are absolutely amazing. I own two now
@@christophermcclelland1556 I own the Purple PME E class Materia. Looking to get the Vajra if they make it with a burl top. #gocgang
I have a legator g7fod as my main guitar and it plays really well. The only flaw ive noticed is a bit of fret buzz that doesnt come through on the amp. Its worth noting that the finishes are not as saturated or tacky looking in person. Too bad it seems the cheeper models have qc issues.
What’s that riff at 11:18? It’s stuck in my head
I'll see the light tonight by Yngwie Malmsteen