R-458 BK Progressiv Series : Very good for the price

Let's be realistic, if you are paying this price you are not going to get a Pro instrument equivalent, costing at least 5x more. As such, gripes about finish, pickups etc need to be filtered through a reality-check.

For the price this is an excellent instrument. The only real downside for me was that at this scale length (25.5"), the F# string is a bit too flabby. This can be compensated with heavier strings but with a single trussrod in the neck you need to be careful. Pickups are adequate/good while hardware is what you would expect for the price.

As an introduction into 8 strings this is excellent and at this price you can't go wrong since if you like the rig (which at a distance can easily be mistaken for a Schecter) you can afford better pickups/machineheads etc.