Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

[Kyletrick13]

Hey guys,

I'm 16 and I'm restoring guitars as a hobby and a client said I should jump on this Legend LST-X standard black strat copy for a project. The guitar is $120 AUD and isn't in very good shape hardware wise but the guy suggesting the buy said it looked like a mid 90's legend when they were actually decent and not like the new legend rubbish on the market now. He said that it has a solid ash body and retailed at $450 back in the day.

I'm an investor so I bought it in the hope I can bring it back to life and sell it for more than I paid for it but this guy said that these guitars are almost desired due to their amazing quality and sound.

So I did my research and looked at some reviews but couldn't find much. All I know is that these guitars were built in the mid 90's and can sound amazing but are mostly beginners guitars or used as a base for modded strats.

Can anyone provide any info on these kind of guitars? I have the serial number but I can find anywhere to decode it or figure out when it was made or where etc. just wanna know if it was worth the buy and if it is worth hanging onto due to its desirability.

P.S. (Haven't actually recieved it yet but it'll be here shortly hopefully, I'll post pictures when I get it)

Cheers,
Kyle.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Welcome to the Forum!

I don't know much about the brand...are they the same company that produced amps in the early 80s? Maybe someone here will know something about your guitar- we have a lot of helpful people here. What mods are you planning on doing to it?

 

[Pontiac Jack]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Legend guitars sold here in Australia in the 90's were Aria's base line,entry level guitars.
I think they were Aria's first venture into China,having previously produced stuff in Japan and Korea.
Not sure about the ash body. There's ash and then there's a.s.h.....
The Asian guitar market has palmed a lot of timbers off as "tonewoods" over the years.
The hardware is really not good. The pickups are super cheap ceramics. Being a 90's Strat copy,it won't have a Strat shaped headstock.
Now,having pretty much sh!tcanned it,if it happened to be one of the Legend's sold in Japan,it would be a different story.
Before you pull the trigger on this one, I would recommend checking out Squiers,Profiles or even the swamp ash bodied SX's
These would be a better starting point for modding for just a few extra bucks,and you will end up with a solid,gig-able axe.

The beauty of modding Strat style guitars is being able to put together nice loaded scratchplates and then if you like it,you can swap it into the next axe as you progress. Plus places like GFS sell pretty good quality Korean and Chinese parts for cheap!

Cheers,PJ

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Welcome to the Forum!

I don't know much about the brand...are they the same company that produced amps in the early 80s? Maybe someone here will know something about your guitar- we have a lot of helpful people here. What mods are you planning on doing to it?

Hey,
I'm not planning to do many mods, just restore it. Then maybe put a new pickguard and dials on if I can't get the yellow out of it

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Legend guitars sold here in Australia in the 90's were Aria's base line,entry level guitars.
I think they were Aria's first venture into China,having previously produced stuff in Japan and Korea.
Not sure about the ash body. There's ash and then there's a.s.h.....
The Asian guitar market has palmed a lot of timbers off as "tonewoods" over the years.
The hardware is really not good. The pickups are super cheap ceramics. Being a 90's Strat copy,it won't have a Strat shaped headstock.
Now,having pretty much sh!tcanned it,if it happened to be one of the Legend's sold in Japan,it would be a different story.
Before you pull the trigger on this one, I would recommend checking out Squiers,Profiles or even the swamp ash bodied SX's
These would be a better starting point for modding for just a few extra bucks,and you will end up with a solid,gig-able axe.

The beauty of modding Strat style guitars is being able to put together nice loaded scratchplates and then if you like it,you can swap it into the next axe as you progress. Plus places like GFS sell pretty good quality Korean and Chinese parts for cheap!

Cheers,PJ

Hey,
The guitar does have a Strat shaped headstock, even though it's a legend so that's what got me so intrigued because you don't find a lot like it. Some guy compared the guitar from photos to specifications of a squire Strat and said if it was a squire it would have been made in 92-97 so it's somewhat old I think. But it's just that headstock, I'll see if I can get some pictures up.

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Legend guitars sold here in Australia in the 90's were Aria's base line,entry level guitars.
I think they were Aria's first venture into China,having previously produced stuff in Japan and Korea.
Not sure about the ash body. There's ash and then there's a.s.h.....
The Asian guitar market has palmed a lot of timbers off as "tonewoods" over the years.
The hardware is really not good. The pickups are super cheap ceramics. Being a 90's Strat copy,it won't have a Strat shaped headstock.
Now,having pretty much sh!tcanned it,if it happened to be one of the Legend's sold in Japan,it would be a different story.
Before you pull the trigger on this one, I would recommend checking out Squiers,Profiles or even the swamp ash bodied SX's
These would be a better starting point for modding for just a few extra bucks,and you will end up with a solid,gig-able axe.

The beauty of modding Strat style guitars is being able to put together nice loaded scratchplates and then if you like it,you can swap it into the next axe as you progress. Plus places like GFS sell pretty good quality Korean and Chinese parts for cheap!

Cheers,PJ

Here are some pictures

 

[Pontiac Jack]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

It's produced before they fugly'd up the headstock. This will always be an asset when it comes to reselling.
It'll probably have a swimming pool route,which makes swapping various pickup combos in and out much easier.
As long as the neck is OK,it could be workable.
It you don't want to change the machineheads and need the missing post and ferrule,pm me. I'm pretty sure I'll have a few in the shed.

Cheers,PJ

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

It's produced before they fugly'd up the headstock. This will always be an asset when it comes to reselling.
It'll probably have a swimming pool route,which makes swapping various pickup combos in and out much easier.
As long as the neck is OK,it could be workable.
It you don't want to change the machineheads and need the missing post and ferrule,pm me. I'm pretty sure I'll have a few in the shed.

Cheers,PJ

Oh man that would be awesome! I don't know how to install them out but it would be great to give it a try! Would u be able to send them down? How much would you want?

 

[Detroitblues]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Its a cheap guitar, not worth much. Maybe $50 used at a Pawn shop.

Don't invest, those are best left for someone who wants to learn how to refret guitars or repaint them. Good project guitars are those that won't hurt your pocket book if you're learning how to restore/build guitars.

16.... Mighty young to be an investor and connoisseur in vintage guitar rebuilding...

If you really want to "invest", part it out and sell it in pieces...

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

For being from the 90's, that fretboard looks to be in pretty rough shape, especially on the first 5. Having never even touched one, I don't know the quality, but if you do find it to be a keeper, it would be a great platform for making a Coodercaster.

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

For being from the 90's, that fretboard looks to be in pretty rough shape, especially on the first 5. Having never even touched one, I don't know the quality, but if you do find it to be a keeper, it would be a great platform for making a Coodercaster.

Hahahahahahahahah what's a coodercaster?


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[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Its a cheap guitar, not worth much. Maybe $50 used at a Pawn shop.

Don't invest, those are best left for someone who wants to learn how to refret guitars or repaint them. Good project guitars are those that won't hurt your pocket book if you're learning how to restore/build guitars.

16.... Mighty young to be an investor and connoisseur in vintage guitar rebuilding...

If you really want to "invest", part it out and sell it in pieces...

That is a smart idea, but from what I have heard I reckon it's gonna be a keeper. And I am into all the stuff, if it needs new paint and new frets, I'll do it but that's really only if I love it and thinks it really needs it, and in my world $120 isn't cheap


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[Chistopher]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Hahahahahahahahah what's a coodercaster?

My guitar teacher back in the day had a bit of a thing for taking Asian made strat replicas and turning them into these. It's essentially just a strat with a lap steel bridge pickup and a gold foil neck. The odd aesthetic quirks are also required.

Ry Cooder is the one who came up with the idea.

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

View attachment 82722

My guitar teacher back in the day had a bit of a thing for taking Asian made strat replicas and turning them into these. It's essentially just a strat with a lap steel bridge pickup and a gold foil neck. The odd aesthetic quirks are also required.

Ry Cooder is the one who came up with the idea.

Omg that's amazing!!! That's looks like a lot of work though, and money [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]


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[Chistopher]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Omg that's amazing!!! That's looks like a lot of work though, and money [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]

You can get a Lollar string through pickup for around $250 and a gold foil from a variety of places for around $30. Anything else you do it is up to you in terms of price.

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Hey guys and gals,

So I got the legend LST-X Strat and there is a lot of work that needs to be done, but it's a fascinating guitar. Like what has been mentioned, the guitar as an 8 hole pickguard, 42.5mm nut, bath tub or swimming pool route, Strat shaped headstock, 22 frets, and maybe ceramic pickups but idk how to tell if they are or not. The pickguard has gone really yellow and most of the bolts have rusted but that should be an easy fix. The tuners are missing two parts which hopefully I might be helped out with by a fellow luthier which would be great and a few of the screw holes have lost their thread. The fretboard is also in pretty average condition and most of the frets need work, being frets 1-12. Another weird thing is that the screws holding the spring claw in the back of the guitar have gone completely through the guitar and have slightly pierced the surface of the front of the pickup route which isn't a huge deal but is still annoying. There is a slight scratch in the back of the neck too which might be able to be sanded out but not too sure. Other then that the guitar looks awesome and the body is in great shape!!! Hopefully I'll get a start on her soon and get her up and running in a bit! Still not sure whether to keep her or not though [emoji848] still deciding.

Let me know what you guys and gals think and be sure to check out the pictures!!! [emoji668][emoji668][emoji668][emoji1360][emoji1360]

Cheers,
Kyle.


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[Mincer]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

I think it is a good guitar to practice some restoration work on. After you finish that, you might consider keeping or selling. But this seems like a perfect guitar to play around with.

 

[Kyletrick13]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

I think it is a good guitar to practice some restoration work on. After you finish that, you might consider keeping or selling. But this seems like a perfect guitar to play around with.

Yeah I agree, it's definitely gonna be a good player!

 

[LonePhantom]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

Interesting, I think one of these were in my local Cash Converters recently. Had a strat headstock, so it had me interested, but I had no idea if it had a nasty ply body, or something at least a little more desirable. The one I saw had a maple fretboard, which was more appealing to me. I should see if it's still there, if anyone can give a confirmation on what the body would be made of.

 

[Pontiac Jack]

Re: Legend LST-X Strat Copy Info Help

A little bit of digging says the body wood is "Basswood".
Basswood is defined these days as pretty much anything with a plain, clean grain.
It can be Agathis,(which is Kauri),Jelutong,or any number of other Pine species.
It's soft and light.
Its the vanilla of "tonewoods"!
You'll find out in a hurry if your pickups are any good,coz basswood isn't going to really influence the sound quality the way Mahogany,Ash or Maple will.

Cheers,PJ