R-458BK Fanfret : Beat expectations!

Not only did it arrive pretty much exactly as it indicated on the website , but it got here to Canada in perfect shape!

While it did require a slight intonation and general setup tweak, it was more-or-less ready to rock out of the box.

Some have slagged the pickups and tuners, but I have found that for the price point, this is a stellar deal. The pickups aren't muddy, and while the tuners aren't ideal, they're not as sloppy as some would have you believe.

The fretwork is good, and I haven't encountered any fret-out anywhere on the neck. While I didn't require a lot of time to get accustomed to the fanfrets, the flat D-shape on the neck does take some time if you're more accustomed to baseball bat necks over Ibanez Wizard-style necks.

For anyone getting into 8-string/multiscale instruments, it's hard to find a better deal than this.