Legend Guitar Company MJV-602

Made in early 2002 this is #278 in what I hope to be a long line of fine acoustic guitars. Darker and rich solid spruce (no white Englemann here) top, beautiful rosewood solid back and sides with a Fishman Matrix pickup built in. The finish on this mini jumbo cutaway is deep with great dimension and features rosewood binding on body and neck. Grover tuners with a 1 3/4 inch neck. Came with a nice case 20 frets. Rosette is spectacular with very attractive but plain shell dots on the neck (I prefer simplicity)

A rich and even sound, very liquid and resonant as would be expected from a guitar in this price range $3000+ list. I was initially disappointed that it came with the Fishman Matrix as I am a B-Band addict but the Matrix does surprisingly well no doubt due to the superior construction and materials used in this truly handmade guitar. Will try a B-Band just the same and see. The grover tuners are tight and accurate with plenty of gearing to fine tune. Perfect for finger picking, bending, and hammering. Glistening highs with a stable bottom end. Hell it even sound good through a blues junior and that is rare for a piezo quitar. Acoustically it is breathtaking.

This particular model was made for the NAMM show and was set up perfectly. The Elixir strings (Nano) were another minor concern but actually sound very nice but I will change to Martin SP phosphor bronze lights as soon as I see how long the the Gore's actually last. Book matched spruce top (darker than normal - looks well aged) and not a flaw to be found. Neck is a little tight but simply needs playing. The action is extremely low and fast for an acoustic with this kind of robust sound. E string is a little tenuous on hard picking but easily overcome by moveing back slightly toward the saddle. No other buzzes even on firm attack. This thing is primo in every way. Legend should do well and being the first to review one of their pieces here tells me a lot of you need to hear their line.

Haven't played out with it and probably will be my studio preference but it seems hearty enough and with the steel truss rod (though it has a dovetail fit hand carved neck)adjustments for environmental changes should be easy. I would never use any guitar without a back up but the feel is so unique that it is now my favorite and considering what I have in the closet, that is saying quite a lot.

Legend is a relatively new company and I am told they left Larivee to start their own works. Three luthiers who really know their art. Lifetime warranty but I would never send it back. Have a great guitar tech. I would be willing to bet that if I needed them they would be responsive and their distributor Robbie Brown is one of the most respected guitar handlers in the business. He doesn't mess with flakes I am told. However lets be clear here, an instrument of this caliber is a find. I always look at as many guitars as possible from the same stable before I buy as each one has its own unique characteristics but this thing literally hypnotized me.

Have been playing since I was 6- thats 49 short years ago. It is absolutely the finest most symbiotic instrument I have EVER touched. Didn't go in to buy a guitar. Cripple Creek sells a product of mine called Googalies which is a high end guitar cloth (www.googalies.com/guitars/. Each time I go there to take them more cloths I play the best, brightest and newest of their outstanding selection. This thing jumped into my hands and really took me by surprise. I have never felt or heard such liquidity in any guitar and I own a number of incredible ones (Taylor, Les Paul, Martin, Takamine LTD99, etc) which my tech, Steve Spalding, always makes better each time he does his magic on them. I really don't think he will find anything to do on this beauty but I will let him see it just so he can turn green for a moment. This is a special guitar no doubt set up for the NAMM show to impress but I think the guys at Legend have a solid and remarkable game plan as well as a profound talent that will bring ultra high end instruments within the fiscal reach of a lot more people. As far as value I realize that 2400 buck is not cheap but certain instruments are worth that kind of price and frankly I would have paid considerably more for this particular instrument. I am really picky about minor flaws and have driven music stores crazy for years trying and not buying until I found just the right instrument. Glowing reviews are always suspect so if you are in the price range, go to a good shop that has these and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.