Harley Benton R-457MN WH Fanfret Reviews

"Ein Brett"

Was actually reluctant at first, another 7-string? 150€?

This thing is a beast, and as such you might have to deal with a thing here and there.

Sound is amazing, after changing the pickup (EMG-85 now). Really like the bright fretboard, the C shape is a monster, but works well for chords, as there is enough place for the fingers on the fretboard, without it feeling to "broad". With mine there was nearly no fretbuzz, although action is a bit high for my taste, and might get a little tweaking. There are a few "meh" things. There are black plastics covering the string holes on the back. But those covers are only on 3 strings? Side of the fretboard looks like it got dirty when glueing? No major issues in terms of feel, but if you look close it looks weird.

This thing rips with the EMG85, definition on B-string hammering, any amp, riffing is a charm, as well as playing chords. Can match my 600€ Ibanez, and I guess, I'll go down the fanfret road a lot more.

Disappointing

The body is absolutely fine. The problem is frets. They are awfull. Each fret has own level so notes dosent sound. Only frets spoild this guitar.

Quite good for this price!

Finishing and pickups are very bad

Overall, the guitar is nice in terms of playability. The neck is comfortable and the fanfret (this is my first) is a great feature. But that's all.

The pickups are too muffy, even on neck position. I haven't played enough to check if tuners keep in tune. But for a guitar of this price, I was aware that the hardware would be bad.

Finishing is horrible. The paint is well done, but is messed up by micro scratches all over the guitar, especially the back. There are 3 BIG saw cuts near the last frets and scratches all over the freboard. There is also a hit at the back of the neck.

I bought a 5 strings bass of the same brand & price range 2 years ago, and the finishing is perfect, I don't know what happened with this guitar.

I returned the guitar 2 days after delivery. I would have kept it if there wasn't that much finishing issues. Poor hardware is common on guitars in this price range and it could be a nice base guitar for hardware upgrade.

A good tool to try multimenzura, there are flaws in quality, but the sound is not affected by the money for a great option.

Satisfait

tres bonne lutheries, j'ai une accoustique superbe, dumoins tant que je ne la branche pas, les micro son juste tres mou, pas de sortie elevée, ni de tight low end, mais reste jouable pour l'entrainement, apres pour enregistrer ou jouer en live, j'ai changer les mecanique, l'electronique (mechanique bloquante graph tech, micro fishman fluence Tosin Abasi, et quelque ajustement.) La guitar en elle meme était plug and play pour ma part car regler et verifier avec une superbe intonation, une action un peu haute mais ça chacun ses preference, je joue de tout les styles avec sans soucis, et le fanfret change juste la vie meme si ici les low end reste tres pateux (a cause des micro de base) mais une fois changer juste un pure plaisir, mais ce n'est donc plus une guitare à 150€ mais plutçot 600€. donc je conseille pour les gens amant moddé a fond leur guitar sans avoir peur de percé des trous suplementaire ou de jouer sur le corps et le manche de la guitare.

excellent seven string.

The Harley Benton Seven string fan fret is an absolut ripper for those on a tight budget and looking for a good quality seven string. only thing i would change on the guitar would be the tuners that need improving, otherwise a great guitar for all that are leaning towards their first seven string.

Only drawback is tuning stability

I received my guitar in very good shape; No sharp frets or fret buzzing, action is great and a very good sound for such a cheap instrument. The only downside as far as I'm concerned is that it goes out of tune quite quickly, but that can be fixed most likely with a new nut made of a material that will create more friction. Also my personal preference is for thicker strings but that isn't the the product at fault.

Surprised with the overall quality

While my item didn't exactly match the description (different fretboard colour) I was blown away with the quality of this guitar. Solid instrument, easy to play. Keeps in tune very well. Pickups are the least attractive component in this guitar, but I can still get a lot out of it with my Bantamp zombie, or audio interface. No regrets!

Great value

The overall fit and finish of this instrument is top notch ! The only flaw with this was the pickups have more of a darker tone than I prefer but sound is always gonna be one of those personal preference things .

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.

Unbelievable

What a great guitar for so less money. Looks perfect, well painted. The neck, frets, action very good. The only more or less negative are the pickups (too much), but with a little effort no problem. Looking for a good cheap 7-string guitar? This is your choice !!

Acceptable entry level instrument but not same quality as harley progressive benton bass

Playable and have been enjoying but not 100% on quality.

Bought this guitar to have a go at seven string. Happy with my purchase but some quite rough fretwork (feels rough when bending), sharp corner on the high e side of the nut which I have filed down as was uncomfortable playing F barre chords. Pickups quite noisy when not playing and sound quite muddy. Did arrive well set up and has a good quality finish. No problems with tuning stability which I though there might be for the money.

Have still been enjoying playing for the price, and would say for 100ish GBP still a very playable guitar for the money. However purchased a harley benton 5 string progressive bass at the same time which feels like it is punching above its weight for the same price. Feels like this could have been done a bit better.

Nice

Neck profile quite good; frets ok. Finish work smooth. Pickups are alright for an inexpensive guitar. Tuners fine. Overall a good value.