# Anyone tried the Legator Ninja 200-SE 7-String?



## ThayerWert (Feb 16, 2014)

Name says it all. Been looking at some cheaper 7 strings because I don't have a lot of money. A lot of good bands are starting to use Legators and I was wondering if anyone had tried this guitar and could give me an opinion


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## Krymson86 (Feb 16, 2014)

Legator is one of the newer companies out there and people seem to be reasonably pleased with their quality for the price. 

That said, if you're looking at that 500-600$ price range I would suggest maybe taking a look for something on the used market, not because the Legator is bad, but because you can get some absolutely ripping guitars in that range on the used market and in great condition. 

If you're dead set on the Legator, it should be a solid guitar. But on GC's Used listings right now there are Ibanez RGA7s, Dean RC7x, Schechters, LTD AW-7,Sterling Petrucci etc. that are around that price range that you might want to look into as well.


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## lukeshallperish (Feb 16, 2014)

I agree, for that price range, a good used 7 would probably be better. christ. yea, theres an ltd aw7 on GC used for $450 (which is especially good because there are some for sale on here for like $700+).


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## ThayerWert (Feb 16, 2014)

I'll definitely look at some used guitars, its just I really don't like most of the cheaper companies. I don't like LTD or Schecter or Dean. I was looking at the Sterling Petrucci too, but I don't like the trem bridge.


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## albertc (Feb 16, 2014)

I have a hard time believing that the Legator will be a better playing guitar than something like a LTD 1000 or a Schecter Blackjack SLS


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## Krymson86 (Feb 16, 2014)

A used ltd 1007 would run you just over 550 and absolutely play the nuts and bolts off the legator. I guess i just don't get saying you don't like the cheaper companies when you're looking at a company whose m.o. is cheap guitars that are pretty ok. 

There are plenty of used hardtail (if you don't want a trem) guitars on gc used that are under 600 and will be way better than the legator.


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## ThayerWert (Feb 16, 2014)

I guess saying cheaper companies wasn't the right way to put it, but in the end it still stands that I don't like LTD or Schecter which seem to be the more popular brands for 7 strings.


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## Volsung (Feb 16, 2014)

One of my local shops carries Legators and they had a '200-SE 7'. They also had a '300-Pro 8' & '300-Pro 9'. I played all of them & was hooked up to a 'Boss eBand JS-10' the whole time. The '200s' are Chinese & the '300s' are Korean. 

A lot of text coming up. I like to get in depth and can be a little long-winded, so be forewarned. 

*As far as the good aspects of the 7 goes*: 

-The body was very comfortable. Think Ibanez S except a little thicker without sacrificing comfort. The finish was gloss black and it was fine. 

-The mahogany neck felt amazing. Their satin finish necks are pretty cool and make for a fast playing experience. It was one piece if memory serves me right. 

-The volume and tone pots were pretty solid. A bit on the small side, but they had a really good grip. 

-Tuners were fine for Gotoh knock offs.

-The fret tops were well done and I didn't hear any dead spots. The medium-jumbo frets they use are right up my alley, but others may disagree.

-Lower strings sounded pretty good through the amp but the higher ones didn't have much life to them. A proper set-up would've really helped to rectify that, but this one wasn't really touched yet unfortunately. 

-Acoustically it had a really nice vibrant sound. I would imagine a part of this was brought on by the fact that I was in a well isolated booth. 

*Now the not so good*:

-The nut had a nasty glue mark on the bass side and it wasn't flush with the wood. Plus the overall cut wasn't the greatest, but it was made of decent material.

-Although I didn't mind the pickups for distortion, they were a bit too thin when it came to cleans. This came as a bit of a shock given the guitar was all mahogany. I'm a moron when it comes to pickups, but even I could see the benefit of a pup swap in this guitar. 

-The fret ends were a little rugged but not enough to cut me open. Now the fret ends were the neck meets the body needed more work, but they still didn't cut me. 

-The bridge and tuners were okay, but I'd say the bridge on the '200-SE' was the same as my 'Schecter Gryphon 7', which cost $350 (a $200 difference). The gear ratio (going from my ear) on the tuners could have been better.

-The gloss finish at the heel was really noticeable and made me wish it had more satin to it. To put it into perspective, the 300-Pro 8 & 9 heels were awesome as the whole body was a satin finish.

Overall the 200-SE 7 was pretty neat considering its flaws. It's perfectly understandable if others might be turned off by the imperfections, but I've seen a lot worse on guitars that cost more. Plus, one has to take into consideration that a lot guitars out of the box are not that hot. For the $549 their asking its neat, but it is a gamble since the company is so new.


If anyone wishes, I can also talk about the 8 & 9 strings I played. Those were pretty damn nice and left a better impression (their price on the other hand...). Just be prepared for another long-winded post .


*TL;DR*-The 7 was pretty cool but it might be a wiser decision to look into the bigger name brands or the used market like everyone has mentioned. Legator are still babies and only time will tell if their a stable brand or not.


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## ThayerWert (Feb 16, 2014)

Volsung said:


> One of my local shops carries Legators and they had a '200-SE 7'. They also had a '300-Pro 8' & '300-Pro 9'. I played all of them & was hooked up to a 'Boss eBand JS-10' the whole time. The '200s' are Chinese & the '300s' are Korean.
> 
> A lot of text coming up. I like to get in depth and can be a little long-winded, so be forewarned.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the in detail response! I've been looking into Legator a lot lately because my favorite band plays them. Really I just want a cheaper 7 String that I'll enjoy playing until I have the money for a Carvin


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## User Name (Feb 16, 2014)

lukeshallperish said:


> there are some for sale on here for like $700+).



 

yeah, people are seeming to think that their aw-7's hold their value like they are new


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## MoshJosh (Feb 17, 2014)

For the most part I like my legator helio pro 300. Solid axe but needs a pickup upgrade. Pretty sure the 200, 300, and 350s are all made in different factories though so mine may not be a reflection of the other series'


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## Volsung (Feb 17, 2014)

ThayerWert said:


> Thanks for the in detail response! I've been looking into Legator a lot lately because my favorite band plays them. Really I just want a cheaper 7 String that I'll enjoy playing until I have the money for a Carvin



My pleasure.

A pup swap (like what Josh said) & a set up on one of these and you have yourself a nice guitar. The only _problem_ is that given the initial hardware these come with & their price point, there are other 7s that are just as nice and not as harsh on one's wallet. There's always Ibanez, Jackson, or Rondo Music's Agile & Douglas brands....Or the used market (do you hear a broken record? ).

Regardless, the Legator can still be considered a good purchase. It all depends on what you think is a good bang for the buck.

Plus, whenever you reach your Carvin goal, my guess is that you'll never want to touch anything else ever again. So go for what ya want.


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## DevinShidaker (Feb 17, 2014)

The other guitarist in my band has a Legator endorsement and while I usually don't badmouth other companies, I have to say they are garbage. The quality control is almost non existent. The first 8 string he got from them was so bad that I actually had to route new holes in the bridges baseplate so that you could change strings. The electronics that come on these guitars is also a joke, clearly done as cheaply as possible. On top of serious problems with them, of the three guitars he's had sent to him, all of them had major cosmetic flaws. Tooling marks all over the fretboard, uneven paint, finish bubbles, and "gritty" spots. The nuts look like they were cut by a blind person. Honestly the stuff is on par with the really low end Rondo stuff, like the Grendel. A lot of bands are playing their stuff because they are willing to give anything to people in bands, and band managers push that company to their bands a lot because they throw a lot of money to small bands as tour support (money that pays for promotion, advertisement, etc). Just because a lot of people are playing something doesn't mean that it's good, keep that in mind.


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## simonXsludge (Feb 17, 2014)

^^Listen to this man.


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## Andromalia (Feb 17, 2014)

Sorry if I sound suspicious, but that's the 30th or such legator advertising thread started by an account with 10 posts. You might be genuine but I'm not a trustful guy. These posts smack of brand placement.


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## Volsung (Feb 17, 2014)

DevinShidaker said:


> ...The quality control is almost non existent. The first 8 string he got from them was so bad that I actually had to route new holes in the bridges baseplate so that you could change strings. The electronics that come on these guitars is also a joke, clearly done as cheaply as possible. On top of serious problems with them, of the three guitars he's had sent to him, all of them had major cosmetic flaws. Tooling marks all over the fretboard, uneven paint, finish bubbles, and "gritty" spots. The nuts look like they were cut by a blind person. Honestly the stuff is on par with the really low end Rondo stuff, like the Grendel. A lot of bands are playing their stuff because they are willing to give anything to people in bands, and band managers push that company to their bands a lot because they throw a lot of money to small bands as tour support (money that pays for promotion, advertisement, etc). Just because a lot of people are playing something doesn't mean that it's good, keep that in mind.



That's a shame, but not too much of a shock considering the company's fast "rise". The nut on the 200-SE I played really needed some work/a replacement. 

I'm still impressed by the 9 that they had. It was just plain cool, but not cool enough for $1200. 

As far as the 8 goes, I only had three problems. 
1. The initial string gauge was not well balanced and had too much pull on the neck. 
2. The neck itself was too clunky & a bit sticky. Made me pine for my 'cheapy' Ibanez.
3. $1100 price tag...no thank you. 

Overall they felt nice and solid. 

The 'artist endorsement' situation you bring up is spot on. I only hope that when the happy hour fades (which I would assume is an unfortunate inevitability) they manage to 'stay afloat' as I think they have some potential.


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## Obsidian Soul (Feb 17, 2014)

Used Carvin for $600 at Guitar Center:Used Music Instruments and Gear at Guitar Center


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