getting a custom shop guitar...(Legator Group Buy)

[WintermintP]

Hi guys!

I know this is Legator we're talking about, and yes, I do know that they've been getting a lot of hate from the guitars from the 2015-2018 days but since then they've been under new management and new builders and they seem to have turned their public image around since so hear me out before you throw any hate.

I had no clue until recently that Legator had a custom shop, and because we're going to be taking a lot of time getting the order through we got the privilege of getting the ball rolling a little early on a quote. Now, typically a custom shop only lets you order the one guitar and only the one of a kind, but Legator is a unique case.

The representative at Legator told me that I'm able to order duplicates of the same guitar in bulk and a minimum order of 15 will allow me to get a reduced price per guitar, and a minimum order of 30 might allow me an even higher discount, so I opted to let other buyers in on this deal so that they each get their duplicate of the guitar and I get mine. We have 6 or 7 serious buyers so far.

Typically the guitar would be a 9-string guitar but last I heard from the guy, we are able to open up room for more buyers by filling the rest of the minimum quota with what I call the "normie guitars" with the same specs. By the "normie guitars" I mean the usual 6/7/8-stringers. That means, even though this is normally going to be a 9-string guitar, and we are looking for buyers for the said 9-string guitar, there's also normie options and they also count toward the minimum quota.

Here are the specs we have settled on so far.

Legator's blue Cali Cobalt finish
Black Fishman Fluence 9 pickups (the usual Moderns for 6/7/8)
30-28.5 multiscale (28-26.5 for 8, 27-25.5 for 6 and 7)
Ebony fretboard
1pc Maple neck
Poplar or Mahogany body (more likely Poplar because I like having that treble)

Price is TBD.

So yea, I'm trying to not sound like I'm advertising as much as possible, because I'm not trying to advertise, but at the same time, we need more people willing to buy one of these guitars so that we can push the custom shop order forward. This is going to be a really slow process so we are probably looking to get the payment made mid-2021 and then the guitar building process from there will probably take 3 or so years. Anyone looking to take this?

P.S. I shouldn't be telling you this, but I have insider information that Legator has Fishman Fluence pickups available for 9-string guitars but they're available in black only.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Moved to the proper forum and adjusted the title.

 

[Yul Brynner]

Good luck getting 15 people here to A. agree on specs and 2. actually commit to buying a custom Legater.

 

[mastapimp]

Have you played a Legator guitar that's come out of their custom shop in the last year? How are you gonna change people's minds? By saying they have new management and a custom shop isn't enough...where's the reviews and first hand accounts? The 2 guys I know that have Legators sheepishly admit they're below average guitars.

Listing the price as "TBD" is kind of silly. You need to give people a ball park range to even consider. And if you're trying to get others on board to reduce the price, it better be a steep discount because a couple hundred dollars off might not be worth the fixed specs to most buyers.

What is the ETA once ordered?

Have you ever dealt with a custom shop?

Why are you drumming up their business? Seems like if this was a real endeavor, they'd have the sales guy posting on here and not a potential customer.

 

[SamSam]

Since this is a bulk order discount can we assume we are talking customized model as opposed to actual custom shop? I don't see the incentive to offer much of a discount unless these are modified factory builds.

 

[WintermintP]

Have you played a Legator guitar that's come out of their custom shop in the last year? How are you gonna change people's minds? By saying they have new management and a custom shop isn't enough...where's the reviews and first hand accounts? The 2 guys I know that have Legators sheepishly admit they're below average guitars.

Listing the price as "TBD" is kind of silly. You need to give people a ball park range to even consider. And if you're trying to get others on board to reduce the price, it better be a steep discount because a couple hundred dollars off might not be worth the fixed specs to most buyers.

What is the ETA once ordered?

Have you ever dealt with a custom shop?

Why are you drumming up their business? Seems like if this was a real endeavor, they'd have the sales guy posting on here and not a potential customer.

These guys seem to quite enjoy their Legators, and these are from the 2020/2021 lineup, albeit they each have their minor gripes.

ETA is probably two or three years.

Although this is my first time ordering a Custom Shop guitar, I did read a bunch of articles (and forum posts on here actually) and watched a bunch of videos on the ettiquette of Custom Shop so I know I shouldn't be hasty about this stuff, and the guy at Legator, I've been talking with him a lot and he seems like a nice guy.

The main reason why I wound up having to drum this up is the fact that my initial goal was to get a custom shop guitar for myself, but like I said, Legator is a unique case where they encourage buying in bulk to get discounts, but the only catch to that is that I only have room for one but I still could use the bulk discount, so I figured adding other people into the mix and we got like, 7 or 8 buyers already.

That said, we have new updates on this group buy. The ballpark is now a nice $1.5K USD for the usual 9-string guitars, and the normie guitars are $100 increments for every string removed. We also have a new number to aim for as far as the minimum order goes. Four of the suckers per string count, although the 9-string guitars aren't going to be a problem thanks to there being a large number of buyers already.

We got another update on the body wood. It defaulted to Ash mainly due to the treble it provides. @MaxOfMetal Are you able to edit the first post accordingly?

@SamSam According to the guy from Legator, it is an actual custom shop, I just didn't need to utilise the full extent of it because they already had a lot of what I already like, such as the blue finish and the Fishmans and the Ash body.

 

[Hollowway]

I disagree that Legator is a “unique case where they encourage buying in bulk to get a discount.” Every custom shop will do that. They’re often called “runs,” and they don’t usually end well. The issue is getting a lot of people together to do it. And actually getting the guitar in the end. I’ll tell you flat out that I would not be interested in this, because:
1) I don’t know specifically who is building these, and I’ve never seen or heard one of these custom shop guitars before.
2) There is nothing particularly unique about these specs that I want to take on this risk.
3) Large numbers of people doing a buy from a luthier (aka a “run”, and more specifically, a “Black Friday run”) don’t have a great track record of ending well.
4) 2-3 years is a LOT of time for things to go sideways with the guy working at Legator, Legator itself, or any other number of things.

Take it from someone that’s been burned more than once - make sure you are ready to lose you money, or get a guitar you don’t like. My general advice to custom guitar seekers is: can you really not get what you want in an existing production guitar?

 

[Randy]

My general advice to custom guitar seekers is: can you really not get what you want in an existing production guitar?

Agreed. Also tons of options for semi-custom like Kiesel or Balaguer.

 

[Yul Brynner]

I disagree that Legator is a “unique case where they encourage buying in bulk to get a discount.” Every custom shop will do that. They’re often called “runs,” and they don’t usually end well. The issue is getting a lot of people together to do it. And actually getting the guitar in the end. I’ll tell you flat out that I would not be interested in this, because:
1) I don’t know specifically who is building these, and I’ve never seen or heard one of these custom shop guitars before.
2) There is nothing particularly unique about these specs that I want to take on this risk.
3) Large numbers of people doing a buy from a luthier (aka a “run”, and more specifically, a “Black Friday run”) don’t have a great track record of ending well.
4) 2-3 years is a LOT of time for things to go sideways with the guy working at Legator, Legator itself, or any other number of things.

Take it from someone that’s been burned more than once - make sure you are ready to lose you money, or get a guitar you don’t like. My general advice to custom guitar seekers is: can you really not get what you want in an existing production guitar?

This.

After all the custom shop group buy shenanigans that have happened here, I think you're barking up the wrong hole.

 

[WintermintP]

I disagree that Legator is a “unique case where they encourage buying in bulk to get a discount.” Every custom shop will do that. They’re often called “runs,” and they don’t usually end well. The issue is getting a lot of people together to do it. And actually getting the guitar in the end. I’ll tell you flat out that I would not be interested in this, because:
1) I don’t know specifically who is building these, and I’ve never seen or heard one of these custom shop guitars before.
2) There is nothing particularly unique about these specs that I want to take on this risk.
3) Large numbers of people doing a buy from a luthier (aka a “run”, and more specifically, a “Black Friday run”) don’t have a great track record of ending well.
4) 2-3 years is a LOT of time for things to go sideways with the guy working at Legator, Legator itself, or any other number of things.

Take it from someone that’s been burned more than once - make sure you are ready to lose you money, or get a guitar you don’t like. My general advice to custom guitar seekers is: can you really not get what you want in an existing production guitar?

You must bear in mind that the main reason we are doing this run is that Legator only has one 9-string guitar in their normal production line: the Artist Signature LM-9. The main problem with that one is the high price tag due to specs I don't need, and I personally needed a different 9-string guitar with different colours and features and that's what led to this run.

1) The builders are in South Korea. They're the same guys that make the ESP LTD and Schecter guitars.

2) I mean, that might sound true for the normie guitars which we need 4 buyers for each, but the 9-string guitar is the main reason why we wound up doing this. But then we also have Fishmans so I don't know if that's something interesting... If you really want something unique to this run there's always the 9-stringer. The normal 6-stringer might be multiscale as well, and they haven't done multiscale 6s in a while.

3) We have an additional ground rule in that everybody pays for their own shipping. The ballpark I mentioned is the exact ballpark I heard over the phone. It's not like I'm going to take a cut from the sales or anything.

4) That's how long Legator took their time to build their guitars historically but things may have changed since. I'll ask the guy about it.

@Randy I dunno, like I said, there would have only been one option for 9-string guitars from Legator if otherwise, so that's why we wound up doing this. But then it's either there's nothing that particularly interesting about the guitars, or, we could give them something drastic like Luminlay block inlays or name brand locking tuning pegs or something, but you'll have to expect a really big price tag or we'll have to get even more buyers.

 

[USMarine75]

Oh man I'm so looking forward to posts in this thread 2-3 years from now.

Can someone please make one of those betting squares charts? I'll take overall disappointment for $10 and wrong specs received for another $10. I'm on the fence but I'm inclined to take Fishman not happening so Legator goes with Lace Deathbars because "they're better" (or some such excuse).




[Tl;dr I would buy an Iron Label 9 string for $1k. You have a good chance of getting a good guitar and if not you just exchange for another.]

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I'm going to be honest. If you really want a 9 string and are prepared to wait 3 years then save hard over that period and order a Waghorn - https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/late-ngd-waghorn-corax-w9-fanned-fret-9-string.315841/

You will get an absolutely incredible instrument way above the quality of a Legator. I've seen many bad Legator NGDs and you don't want to gamble 3 years and X amount of money to get a guitar with major playability and structural flaws.

Make sure you are ready to lose you money, or get a guitar you don’t like

Ordering a Custom Guitar - Chapter 1
The End

 

[diagrammatiks]

Oh man I'm so looking forward to posts in this thread 2-3 years from now.

Can someone please make one of those betting squares charts? I'll take overall disappointment for $10 and wrong specs received for another $10. I'm on the fence but I'm inclined to take Fishman not happening so Legator goes with Lace Deathbars because "they're better" (or some such excuse).




[Tl;dr I would buy an Iron Label 9 string for $1k. You have a good chance of getting a good guitar and if not you just exchange for another.]

no one ever fucking comes back man.

left handed Jackson dude never came back
50 threads about the 6505 man never came back

I mean I hope their really happy with their shit somewhere...

but it'd be funnier if they came back.

 

[USMarine75]

no one ever fucking comes back man.

left handed Jackson dude never came back
50 threads about the 6505 man never came back

I mean I hope their really happy with their shit somewhere...

but it'd be funnier if they came back.

Oh no! I need to know what happened with that left-handed Juggernaut for like $10k. Wasnt he like 17 years old and his parents were paying for part of it? Dammit I need to know.

 

[mastapimp]

Just be honest....these are not from a "custom shop." You're describing an import operation out of a South Korean factory. You say that their current offering in 9 strings is too expensive for the specs at $1600, so you want to order a batch of 15 to 30 of this proposed run to get the price down to $1500 and replace EMGs with Fishmans?

Outside of your own justifications to get a cheaper guitar, you're not really making a great sell on this idea. I'm not trying to be a downer, but this is gonna go nowhere.

 

[WintermintP]

[Tl;dr I would buy an Iron Label 9 string for $1k. You have a good chance of getting a good guitar and if not you just exchange for another.]

Funny you say all that, because it's the guy himself that suggested Fishmans because the next batch of LM-9 guitars are set to also come with Fishmans instead and like I said, I have insider information that the guys at Legator got their Fishman 9s early. And even if your theory were true, I'm already getting a Deathbar on another 9-string guitar that I have so I don't see your point. That and, I did see the Iron Label guitar, and it's not for me. Scale length is too short.

Just be honest....these are not from a "custom shop." You're describing an import operation out of a South Korean factory. You say that their current offering in 9 strings is too expensive for the specs at $1600, so you want to order a batch of 15 to 30 of this proposed run to get the price down to $1500 and replace EMGs with Fishmans?

Again, we wound up with Fishmans because that's what they're already replacing the LM-9's EMG pickups with so...?

@Lorcan Ward Sorry man, I saw that link and er... the fan is still wider than that of the Legator (by half an inch but it still matters) and there's some things I don't like about the pickups.

Also there's still a slight chance that I might be able to get that other Legator that I bought from last year and pick it up mid 2021, so there's that. Maybe that'll gauge whether I should still go through with it or not.

 

[budda]

If buying a single guitar means you arent going to follow through, close the thread now.

 

[WintermintP]

If buying a single guitar means you arent going to follow through, close the thread now.

Dude wtf... we got like 8 other buyers already...

 

[diagrammatiks]

Dude wtf... we got like 8 other buyers already...

uh you literally have 8 other deposits already?

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I disagree that Legator is a “unique case where they encourage buying in bulk to get a discount.” Every custom shop will do that. They’re often called “runs,” and they don’t usually end well. The issue is getting a lot of people together to do it. And actually getting the guitar in the end. I’ll tell you flat out that I would not be interested in this, because:
1) I don’t know specifically who is building these, and I’ve never seen or heard one of these custom shop guitars before.
2) There is nothing particularly unique about these specs that I want to take on this risk.
3) Large numbers of people doing a buy from a luthier (aka a “run”, and more specifically, a “Black Friday run”) don’t have a great track record of ending well.
4) 2-3 years is a LOT of time for things to go sideways with the guy working at Legator, Legator itself, or any other number of things.

Take it from someone that’s been burned more than once - make sure you are ready to lose you money, or get a guitar you don’t like. My general advice to custom guitar seekers is: can you really not get what you want in an existing production guitar?

yeah runs almost never go well unless the specs are dead simple and pre chosen by the dealer.

some other notable runs that are STILL dead in the water after 5 years
ormsby muscle car run
wired guitarist varberg run
vik runs