R-457MN WH Fanfret : A reasonable introduction to 7 string but QC needs improving

Bought Feb 2019

Hardware quality:

* As expected on a guitar of this price.

* The pickups work well, though might be muddy for some

* The tuners are acceptable but need occasional tuning between days.

* The nut is ok - needed a little graphite.

* Controls worked well.

Playing:

* The neck is buttery smooth and is the right profile for making the most of the fan frets and full range.

* The body exposes the 24th fret really easily and as a newcomer to 7 strings it all felt fluid to play.

QC:

The frets had a lot of buzzing - and the fret edges needed dressing. 5 frets needed filing to fix the buzz, and they felt rough to bend on.

There's a grounding issue - popping the cover off the back showed only partial coating with shield paint but no conductivity. The strings don't seem to be grounded, though there *is* a grounding wire.

Conclusion:

The guitar is a pleasure to play, but QC issues marred it and it required effort to bring the frets up to a reasonable level.