R-457 Active SBK : Great for a mod project

I bought this guitar as a shot in the dark. I have seen a lot of Harley Benton reviews online and figured for the low cost, the worst i could get was a decent mod project.

Cons first, and there is only one major one... the pickups. The pickups are WAY too hot. With the volume turned all the way up they get a really over-saturated flubby bass sound on a clean channel, and gain just makes it worse. With the volume barely turned up, I could get a decently clean tone. Fortunately, as the title suggests, buy some nicer pickups (~$200), swap these out, and you still have a great 7 string for decent money.

Pros, dollar for dollar you can't beat this deal. The fit and finish of the guitar feels great! All my other guitars are in the $700 - $1200 range, and of course this one does not meet that level, but punches well above it's weight. For the the price, the frets feel great; the neck feels great; the weight and balance are good; and the hardware feels good.

If you don't mind putting in a little work, this guitar is a great start to get an amazing playing 7 string without a big price tag.