Legator is quickly becoming one of the most prestigious guitar brands. They’re a new company — formed only in 2012. Based in Los Angeles, they’re located in one of the biggest centers of the music world.
They’re also becoming a trusted name in the guitar world and boast a major list of endorsed guitar players, such as Jonathan Donais (Anthrax) and Lucas Mann (Rings of Saturn).
Are you interested in buying a Legator guitar? Even though this brand has only been around for a few years, they have quite an extensive collection of guitars. If you’re not sure which guitar to choose, here are our favorite picks!
Ninja 200-SE 7 String
This is by far the best guitar for the price. At only $399, it’s one of the best seven strings at this price point. The guitar is made of a mahogany base, maple top, and rosewood 24-fret fretboard.
It features Legator’s extended range humbucker, which boasts a high gain tone. Overall, this is an ideal guitar to play metal. Available in colors trans-black, dark brown burst, and purple burst.
Pros
- Good-sized body, comfortable playing
- Satin finish neck makes it easy to play fast
- Nice, vibrant sound — perfect for metal players
- Affordable
Cons
- Pickups are thin-sounding
- You can likely find a better quality guitar from a competitor, though the competitors are usually more expensive
Ghost G7FOD
The Ghost G7FOD is 2020’s upgrade in their Ghost line. This guitar comes with an upgraded bridge. The guitar comes in a 6-string, multi-skill 7-string, and 8-string varieties. It’s equipped with Fishman Fluence Modern pickups, stainless steel frets, maple fingerboard, Legator Ghost exclusive locking nut and bridge, and mahogany body.
One of the best aspects of this guitar is the stable neck, making string changes extremely easy and playing will be more comfortable. It’s available in black ice, arctic purple, and arctic blue.
Pros
- Extremely light
- Comfortable neck which helps with playing fast
- Ideal for heavy metal guitarists
Cons
- Other players have mentioned there were QC and customer service complaints
Ninja 300 Pro 6-String
One of the best aspects of the Ninja 300 Pro is how it plays. The guitar has a satin finish that’s smooth.
Like the 7, the 300 Pro has a slim body. Makes it easy to hold and play the guitar. The neck is also a good design for metal guitar players and anyone who plays fast. It takes to drop tunings nicely, another reason why it’s ideal for metal guitar players.
Some of the other specs include an ebony fretboard with 24 nickel frets, Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups, Legator locking tuners, and Legator monorail single-saddle fixed bridge.
Pros
- Another great upgrade in the Ninja line
- Smooth neck
- The addition of Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups
Cons
- Guitar players still complain about Legator’s customer service
- Bad fret ends
- Some guitar players have mentioned their guitars arrived with tool marks
Legator Ghost Performance 7-String Headless
This headless guitar is perfect for thrash metal players for many reasons. It has a natural aggressive tone, perfect for the thrash metal genre. It has 24 fanned frets, yet the frets aren’t polished or leveled.
Overall, it feels great when playing. The guitar has a multiscale, satin neck. It makes holding and playing the neck more comfortable. Many players like the overall lightweight feeling of the guitar.
Pros
- Comfortable and easy to play
- Sounds excellent, especially if you’re playing aggressive styles
Cons
- The tone is a little muddy
- Frets aren’t polished or leveled
Ninja R Performance Multiscale 6-String
When Legator started receiving a ton of bad PR, they released a new set of guitars to make up for their image. The Ninja R Performance 6-String is an example of the guitars they released.
This is definitely one of their more ergonomic models. Players tend to like Legator’s lightweight bodies, but the Ninja R Performance is especially thin. This makes the guitar extremely comfortable to play. Overall, this is one of their guitars where they improved their guitar quality and has become a favorite for players.
Pros
- Thin body
- String tension is perfect
- Big improvement with quality
Cons
- Legator humbucker pickups are shrill sounding
- Guitar has a cheap feel
- Neck doesn’t feel good when playing
- Expensive — can buy a better guitar in that same price range
Ninja N8FOD 8-String
This is one of Legator’s more attractive guitars. If you get the Arctic Blue finish, the guitar is absolutely stunning. The guitar is made of California Buckeye wood, which is one of the rarest types of wood for guitars. However, this is one of the reasons why the N8FOD is one of Legator’s most expensive guitars in their catalog.
The guitar comes with Fishman Fluence Modern pickups with stainless steel frets and abalone fret markers. The white Fishman pickups on the Arctic Blue finish are exclusive to Legator. It’s the perfect guitar for death metal players because of its natural raw tone.
It’s an 8-string guitar, making it very versatile and perfect for players who want to experiment with different sounds and tones.
Pros
- By far one of their better guitars, especially since it’s newer
- Roasted neck
- Made of California Buckeye
- Stability
- Guitar stays in tune
- Fishman Fluence Modern pickups
Cons
- One of Legator’s more expensive guitars
Things to Know About Legator Guitars
As you can see, Legator has some fantastic guitar options. However, many players have complained about the same issues, such as quality and customer service. In addition, there are many competitors out there that players may also want to look at.
Good
First, let’s look at some of the benefits of playing Legator. As you can see in our review, the guitars overall sound good. While many models feature Legator’s humbucker pickups, other models come with Fishman Fluence Modern pickups, giving the guitars an amazing tone that’s ideal for metal guitar players. Legator guitars are also made with good wood, which also contributes to the sound.
Another benefit of Legator is the beauty of the guitars. Their guitars are striking and have stunning finishes. Many of the colors, such as Arctic Blue, are very unique are something that stands out about those guitars.
Overall, many players have reported that Legator guitars feel good when playing. Their guitars are generally lightweight and extremely comfortable to play. They’re thinner than many competitors, making them ideal in size for all players.
The neck is also smooth and comfortable, perfect for metal guitar players who are playing very fast.
Bad
Now, Legator guitars aren’t badly built. But they’re definitely not premium. For the price you’re paying, you can buy a guitar from Legator’s main competitors (we will go over this in the next section) and you’ll likely get a better quality guitar. Keep in mind, their newer guitars have a much better build quality than their older guitars.
This brings us to our next point. Unfortunately, players tend to roll the dice when they choose a Legator model. On one hand, you have a model such as the Nina N8FOD 8-String that’s practically impeccable. However, many players have complaints about other models, such as unpolished frets.
While most players state the issues are purely cosmetic and don’t affect the playability, no player wants to use a less-than-perfect guitar on stage. If you do have issues with the sound, most players say to replace Legator’s stock pickups. Fortunately, many Legator models are already pre-installed with Fishman Fluence pickups.
Usually, when players suffer these issues, all they have to do is contact customer service because they’re protected under a warranty. However, players have also complained about customer service.
Some common complaints include not receiving the correct guitar, extreme shipping delays, not receiving the guitar in general, and receiving the correct guitar but players dealing with various QC issues (ranging from cosmetic flaws to full-on issues in the electronics). Other players have reported the customer service treated them badly if they requested a refund for their guitar.
Other Guitar Brands to Choose
While Legator does make some good guitars, players should also take a look at some of Legator’s competitors. Some of the highest-rated companies include:
- Ibanez
- Strandberg
- Jackson
- Ormsby
Ibanez is definitely the guitar brand to choose if you like the feel of Legator guitars. Ibanez guitars are extremely comfortable to play. But their build quality surpasses that of Legator. Many Ibanez guitars are available at similar price ranges of Legator guitars, making them the best alternative to Legator.
Strandberg is another popular brand. They have a great sound and are very lightweight. Jackson is one of the most reliable guitar brands for a reason. Their guitars are extremely high-quality and they’re one of the go-to brands for metal and rock guitarists.
Finally, Ormsby is another guitar brand that produces high-quality guitars. They have an excellent reputation for not only making great guitars but also ones that are very attractive. So if you love the aesthetics of Legator guitars, you should also give Ormsby guitars a chance.
FAQs
Question: Where Are Legator Guitars Made?
Answer: The Legator Guitar company is based in California with build factories in their U.S., but they also have build factories in South Korea and Indonesia.
Question: What Bands Are Endorsed by Legator?
Answer: Many players in popular bands are endorsed by Legator guitars. Looking through their artist page, you’ll likely recognize members of Steve Wonder, Anthrax, Rings of Saturn, Broken Hope, Oceano, Slaughter to Prevail, The Faceless/Interloper, Beneath the Massacre, and September Mourning are all on their artist page.
Question: Who Invented the 7-String Guitar?
Answer: The first 7-string guitar debuted at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) in 1983. The guitar was built by luthier Kirk Sand. Guitarist Lenny Breau conceived the idea.
Question: What’s the Point of Playing a 7-String Guitar?
Answer: 7-string guitars increase the range of the notes you can play without changing the tuning. Overall, you have more choices for finger placements and chord shapes. This is ideal for heavier styles of music because you can easily play low-pitched notes.
Question: Should I Buy a 7-String Guitar?
Answer: 7-string guitars aren’t much different than 6-string guitars. The main difference is the low B string above the E string. They’re ideal for players who prefer playing in dropped tunings, such as dropped A or B.
Question: Does Legator Make the Best 7-String Guitars?
Answer: While Legator has some good 7-string guitars in their inventory, they’re not the only brand you should consider. Other recommendations include:
• Ibanez
• PRS
• Jackson
• ESP
• Schecter
Question: Who Plays 8-String Guitars?
Answer: Some of the most notable 8-string guitar players include Frederik Thordendal and Martin Hagstrom (Meshuggah), Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes (Animals as Leaders), and Rusty Cooley.
Question: Should I Buy an 8-String Guitar?
Answer: If you want to experiment with different chords and finger placements or if you want to play a larger range of notes, you’ll benefit from playing an 8-string guitar. However, the guitars don’t vary in playability compared to 6 or 7-string guitars.
Question: Are 8-String Guitars Hard to Play?
Answer: If you’re an experienced guitar player then no, they’re not hard to play. The reason to play an 8-string is if you want to achieve a certain sound, experiment more, play more notes, or play heavier music styles. Otherwise, you’ll likely benefit from playing a 6-string guitar.
Question: What Are the 3 Main Types of Guitars?
Answer: The 3 main types of guitars are the classical guitar, Hawaiian guitar, and steel-string acoustic guitar.
Question: What Is the Hardest Type of Guitar to Play?
Answer: Many players say classical is the hardest type of guitar to play. To play a classical guitar, you often have to be taught by a professional in music school.
The Best Legator Guitars: The Final Verdict
Legator is one of the newest guitar companies out there. This is beneficial because they have a lot of guitars that the modern player wants. They make both guitars and basses in a variety of styles and varieties.
However, many players think they have a lot to learn because they’re the new kids on the block. This list compiles their highest-rated guitars by real players, but you should also take a look at some of their biggest competitors such as Ibanez.
Still not sure how to find the best electric guitar? Read our advice.
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