Harley Benton R-457 Active SBK

First off the thing looks great, really nice matte black finish that looks and feels great, I tried to find imperfections and couldn't find any that I didn't make with my grubby hands, very easy to leave shiny marks.

The frets are all seated properly, no sprouting and no sharp edges, could use a light polish but that's to be expected. Full marks there!

The neck is pretty thin, my first thought was that it looked like a floorboard had been shaped into a neck but when I started to play it I was thankful for that thinness because it's wide but it's still really easy and comfortable to reach that B string (I'm a bassist primarily so that might not be true for guitar players looking to experiment with 7 strings, I find the B on this easier to play than the E on my 6 string) there is a pretty glossy finish on the back that I found kind of sticky, easy fix with some fine grit sandpaper or something like a scotchbrite pad. Mine arrived with a forward bow but that's an easy fix with truss rod adjustment. The only thing losing marks for this neck is the part where the headstock angles back is pretty thin, it's fine but I think for my peace of mind I might make a sort of volute that I can glue on to add a bit of support (that it probably doesn't need)

The bridge seems well made but the action on my guitar is still kind of high with the saddles all the way down so I may need to shim the neck to get it to where I want it, easy job and not something I mind doing on a guitar in this price range but might be an issue for beginners (though if you're brave enough to get a 7 as your first guitar you'll find the courage somewhere, it's a reversible mod anyway)

The pickups are... not great. They're REALLY hot, totally usable for really high gain playing, they aren't very articulate but the can be fun to bash out some of your favourite metal riffs (first thing i played on it was LoG walk with me in hell, the fun bit, not the hard bits haha) but they're damn near impossible to get clean tones out of, makes sense considering this is definitely a metal focused guitar but worth mentioning. I bought this with the intention of replacing the pickups anyway but I was hoping the stock pups would be a little better than they are, if I were more of a gear head I might be able to get them to sound much more usable but right now I feel like if a fly landed on the headstock I'd hear it through the amp which brings me to my last point, this thing is surprisingly resonant! I'm super impressed by how great it sounds unplugged, sustain is great too, I'm really happy with my purchase as I wanted to swap pickups anyway and I think this will sound great with my planned SD Invader in the bridge.

I would recommend this as an excellent mod platform or for someone who want's to start experimenting with extended range guitars, not so great for beginners (I wouldn't recommend 7 strings to a beginner anyway but this price makes it pretty attractive to new comers so worth mentioning)

First impression straight out of the box? its pretty impressive. The black satin finish (as used on a lot of HB guitars like the SC1000 progressive) looks amazing! Its that kind of detail that sets Harley Benton apart from other budget brand guitars. The finish on the neck is also super smooth! The fret ends are really sharp and rough but it can be easily sorted. I was really shocked by the poor finish of the actual frets because with no exaggeration, its like bending a string along sand paper!! Again, I will polish the frets and fix that but i expected better quality control. The tuning pegs are adequate and the nut is tidy and well cut unlike the other HB guitars I have purchased. The switch tip is now missing because it doesn't fit the pickup selector properly and I bent the shaft trying to force it on. I've ordered a new robust switch anyway because it comes with the usual cheap and tacky one. There is no battery holder for the active pickups and it's hidden away under the cover with the tone pots etc. I've fitted EMGs to several guitars and had to do the same so its no big deal for me.

The pickups?? The are very loud! too loud for me. For example, play this guitar through your amp with your favourite clean sound set up and it sounds like you are using an overdrive pedal! Even played with distortion its just way too much and can sound really muddy. Fortunately there's a volume control which if you turn it half way down will give you an halfway decent sound. The neck pickup isnt too bad to be honest (volume 50%) but the neck and bridge combined sounds really sweet (again volume down). I'm going to replace the pickups with some Fishman Fluence pickups but that's just a personal preference for me.
And why would I put such expensive pickups in to this guitar? well, its because i absolutely love it! It took minutes for me to lower the action without altering the truss rod to make it really playable. Its very well balanced and the extra string doesn't make the fret board ridiculously wide (probably comparable to an acoustic guitar?). It holds tune really well and the headstock is pretty tasteful compared to some 7 string guitars.

I know I've been critical about some aspects of this guitar but I've rated it at face value as to what to expect when you get it out of the box. You also have to consider the price? Absolute bargain! and the reason i'm spending money on it is because its a budget guitar that can be made in to an excellant guitar.

I was fortunate enough to have been able to play a Ge*****sic 7 string which to be honest, looked cheap and tacky and was basically very poor in comparision.