Harley Benton R-457 BK Progressiv Series

I bought this guitar in March after contemplating for a long time to try my hand at 7-string guitars. The price was a selling factor, of course, and I wanted to see the reputation of Harley Benton instruments for myself.

Upon arrival, I inspected the guitar and found it to be built quite well: no sharp fret ends, no fret buzz, all the screws tight, generally nice finishing job, and it has a nice weight to it. I have no qualms about the initial setup of the guitar (neck relief, saddle placement, string height at the bridge and the 12th fret, pickup height), since I find that this is something one should learn to do by themselves, depending on string gauge, playing style and other factors (EDIT: That's not to say that the guitar was set up atrociously or anything like that; the neck had the right amount of backbow and the string height was quite acceptable at the saddles). I will, however, say that the placement of the nut could've been a tiny bit more careful, and you might find the strings to be sitting a bit too high at the nut, so have some nut files ready, just in case.

On the strings that came with the guitar (09-54), I found the two bottom strings to be a bit too floppy for my taste, thus I strung up the guitar with a LaBella 10-64 set, which goes nicely with Standard Bb and, to some extent, Standard A. More recently I tried out the 10-70 set (which is your standard 10-46 with an added 70) where I swapped out the 46 with a 49 for consistency, wanting to try my hand at Standard G# and Drop F#. I find that, because the scale length is just 648mm, after a certain point it doesn't really matter how thick your lowest string is; you will run into intonation problems, and thicker strings don't really sustain well on that scale length, thus it would be a good idea to invest into a guitar with a longer neck, or a multiscale guitar, if you tune below Standard A.

On the subject of tuning, I found the tuners to be so-so. Tuning up works well, but tuning down, it seems as though the gears in some of the tuners get stuck for about half a turn, so if you plan on keeping the stock tuners, be prepared to do a lot of turning and string stretching. On the other hand, the Hipshot-style hardtail bridge is a nice feature: fixed into the body, but with Fender-style saddles, with ample room for adjustments of individual string height and intonation, and good tuning stability once the strings have been stretched in place.

Now to the neck. Whereas the body has a gloss finish, the neck has more of a satin finish, so it really helps the fretting hand glide around the neck with ease. For me, the fretboard could've been a tad wider; I find it somewhat difficult to fret some of the standard chord shapes without accidentally muting a couple of strings every so often. In contrast to that, the neck could've been a bit thinner. Even though I have somewhat large hands, I find that the neck can become tiresome after a certain point. Then again, this might be because of the neck profile (I'm not comfortable with the D-shape), so if there is any modification to be done on the neck, I'm thinking about having it sanded down to a more fitting shape for my hands at some point. Lastly, access to the higher frets is quite easy despite it being a bolt-on neck; on the other hand the lower horn of the body can become quite the nuisance, as I find the back of my hand hitting against it very often - but again, I have somewhat large hands.

Finally, the pickups. I found that they aren't really as high-gain as the description makes them out to be. That being said, be prepared to sink the bass side of the neck pickup deeper into the body, because even with the 09-54 strings, that pickup can become boomy as F***! You can, of course, compensate slightly for the resulting volume loss by raising the pole screws as needed. The bridge pickup, on the other hand, is quite... barky. This lends itself well to a more modern guitar tone, which isn't really my cup of tea to be honest. Even so, the character of the bridge pickup has inspired a few riffs, and with the right settings you can get some nice tones out of the guitar. As a side note, if you find that the pickups are slanted too much towards the neck or bridge, for me this was solved by flipping around the pickup frames. Lastly, the work in the electronics cavity is quite neat, if a bit clustered, and the volume and tone controls are nicely out of the way of the picking hand.

Despite some issues as detailed above (half of which are more personal than practical), if you're looking for a first foray into the world of 7-string guitars, this guitar is definitely worth checking out, especially considering its price. Not to mention that it could potentially serve as a great platform for modifications.

This guitar is an excellent guitar with an amazing price to build quality ratio. It's perfect for both beginners and intermediate level players. The guitar arrived well intonated and with a comfortable string action, making it easy to play straight out of the box. The body shape is well-cut and feels comfortable, and it's not too heavy.

However, there are a few weak points to consider. The pickups are a bit muddy on standard amps, and the fretboard can be very dry, which can feel strange and unpleasant when playing for the first time. The neck is also thin, which may not be to everyone's taste.

That being said, the cleans sound good, and the pots work well. The hi-gain sounds are particularly impressive and suited for all metal styles.

Overall, the guitar is a great choice for those in need of an affordable 7-string guitar. However, it's worth noting that the Speed-D neck profile may feel different to some players, so it's recommended to try it out before making a purchase. Despite the minor drawbacks, the Harley Benton R-457 BK Progressiv Series is a solid guitar that delivers on its promise of high quality at an affordable price.