Just received my new Guitar from Thomann.de.
It is a Harley Benton R-457 white Fanfret 7 string.
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_r_457_wh_fanfret.htm

Way Cheap. Heavy. I thought I would have to replace the nut but it needs a fretjob first. String bends are noisy. I need to take steel wool to them and polish them because the frets all have grooves in them running the short way across all frets. Fret ends are good, though sloppy, but at this price any attention paid to the fret ends is good. Now I need to get a tool to protect the fretboard while fixing the frets. The string height is acceptable and no fret buzz. Intonation off but not by much. No pro set up needed yet.

I have only once paid under $200 for a guitar, but it was used and I knew it's whole history.
I bought this because it is my first 7-string and first fanfret. If I like it I may get a more expensive one in the future.

Not great but so far not that bad for the price.

 

Well, thats what the fanfret system is for so it should be good!
nice modern chinese machines pumping out these guitars so i think the precision is hi quality

thats an amazing price for a fanfret wow.. do they make acoustic jumbo cutaway version?!
edit: yea they do but they are not cheap

btw for working on the frets i found the best method to protect the neck is frogtape. kinda expensive vs painters tape but its definitely better.
and much finer work can be done vs a piece of metal with a hole for a fret

 

Last edited: Sep 19, 2020

Thanks for the advise. I'm not afraid to work on a cheap guitar and mess it up. I will build skills to work on my more expensive guitars.