I was quite dubious about this guitar as it's insanely cheap BUT it really is a brilliant instrument, not just "at this price range", not just "for beginners" - it could be 2 or 3 times the price and would still be excellent.
THE PROS
The neck and fretboard are really great. In some ways, I prefer it to the QEB multiscale, which is twice the price. There is an Ibanez like feel to the fretboard, it's very "fast" and I would say that for people with smaller hands the neck is more accommodating. It feels great out the box.
Fretwork is fine, not noticed any uneven frets BUT they could do with a polish, there's a slight grating sometimes on some bends in the higher register. it's a 5-10 minute job when changing strings, though. Aside from that, again, it's playable out the box.
Pickups are really good. I really have a hard time deciding if I prefer these or the pickups on the HB QEB, which, as mentioned, is twice the price. I think this is slightly clearer, with a little more bass, but perhaps that's just due to lower pickup output (I don't know if they ARE lower output, but it seems to sound slightly less crumbly when there's a lot going on). I keep swapping between the 458 and the QEB and, really, once I settle into one I really enjoy it, then switch to the other and I have a very hard time saying which I prefer. It's a difficult choice. The QEB wins on aesthetics, but I think the 458 might actually win on playability.
Speaking of the QEB, from stock that fretboard needed oiling. The 458 didn't. There seems to be some kind of finish on it and, as mentioned before, it has an Ibanez sort of feel. I love the fretboard on this guitar, and wish they'd used similar on the QEB (which has been much improved after an application of F-One oil, but it was inferior to the 458 on arrival)
The strings are great, it comes with 9's as opposed to the 10's on the QEB and this made a big difference to the immediate playability. For me, I found the QEB really resisted my playing style (lots of bends and vibrato). The strings felt stiffer and less compliant. The 458 strings feel really great, so much so that I have decided I will always use 9's on 8 string guitars now. It's easy to get pitch harmonics from the lower strings and the bending resistance is great. If you're used to really heavy, stiff strings this MIGHT be a negative but, for me, again this gets a +1 vs the QEB out of the box.
THE CONS
The tuners are the worst thing about this guitar, 100%. They are really not very good at all. Not only do they not hold tune very well but the gear ratio seems non existent on some. I can literally turn one of them about 380 degrees and it makes no difference, sometimes more. Then, all of a sudden, there's a PING and it jumps to a different tuning. It goes out of tune when I'm playing, a lot more than the QEB, which is a shame. I understand this is a very cheap guitar and high quality tuners might be a bit of an ask BUT these are definitely going to need replaced. However, at 30-60 euros it's not much to put in to a guitar so cheap. Do not let this point dissuade you. This is the only "major" drawback on this guitar.
The "Bridge" is in 6 different sections, with an adjustable saddle for each string completely isolated from the rest (The same as the QEB models). One of mine buzzed quite a bit and this WAS fixed by tightening the screw but, at the same time, those screws also control the intonation. I didn't really notice a change and it checked out okay with a tuner, but I thought it was odd and the screw is now further in on the saddle than any of the others are.
The top E string housing is also at a slight angle to the rest. The rest are all bunched together, but the top E has a gap between it and the next at one end, presumably when they were putting this one together they noticed that the string wasn't close enough to the edge of the fretboard and compensated. It's a VERY small visual niggle and doesn't affect playability.
The body is really quite generic, as is the headstock, but it doesn't look much different to, say, a Schecter headstock so it's a personal thing I suppose. I get that this has to be reasonably generic looking and appeal to as many folks as possible and, at this price, it's not a big issue. I prefer the LOOK of the QEB >BUT< there's practicality here, as the 458 tuners are split between the sides of the headstock, which makes them better for access. The QEB tuners are very cramped together, as they're all along one side.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My "CONS" are mostly nitpicky and aesthetic based, the only real issue with this guitar are the bad tuners. Aside from that, I am really stunned by the quality of this guitar. I am going to return this OR the QEB and I'm really not sure which is going back. I love them both for different reasons, but this guitar punches WAAAAAAAY above its price point and if you're thinking of getting an 8 string but also thinking "this can't be good, it's too cheap" then think again. Personally, I think this is a great guitar and every bit as, if not more, playable than the QEB.
