Thoughts on cheaper multiscale 8 strings?

I briefly played one of the Ibanez Iron Label multiscales. Seemed nice enough. I didn’t notice the fan at all, surprisingly. Felt very natural.

People say the neutral fret is critical, so I don’t know what will and won’t be comfortable over the long term, though.

 

Eh, I really think it depends on the player and their form/style. I notice bigger differences in the size of the fan, rather than where the neutral fret is located.

Best bet is go to guitar center and try the cheap stuff, you'll quickly identify the one that feels the best.

 

The problem with the Ibanez neutral fret is that it's so far forward (12th fret) that the frets at the low end of the board (where let's face it- we're going to spend most of our time) are much more dramatically slanted. I have one of the multiscale RGD 6's and my first fret is so slanted that if you were to draw a line connecting the bass end of the first fret with the treble end of the nut, it'd just about be a vertical line.

Where if it was moved forward to what seems to be standard (around the 8th fret), the more dramatic angling would occur near the high frets, but that wouldn't be much of an issue because unless you play for Northlane, you aren't using those high frets on your low strings nearly as often.

It's still nice. I still prefer it to a straight scale. Just saying it could be even better.
FWIW- I did try and decide to buy this guitar by messing around in a GuitarCenter

 

^That's the way lol.

I think when I play a fanned fretboard I instinctively "choke up" on the neck when I play the lower notes. The neck is tilted at a higher angle and my arm, hand, and fingers are still pretty much in a straight line. It affects how I play, but after a while I don't mind or seem to notice unless I'm really watching myself.

Anyway, results may vary. I think finding that ideal neutral fret placement is going leave you without many options. Agile seems to place their neutral fret around 5-7 which would maybe suit your tastes better; by all accounts they're good for the money.

 

https://www.rondomusic.com/MultiScaleGuitars.html

They have Agile Pendulum 8s from 25-27" scale up to 27-30" scale. Price range is $700-$1K at the moment.

 

i bought a 2017 multiscale 8 string Harley Benton, and I was lucky I DIDNT get a Lemon.

That guitar was awesome and had no flaws that effected play ability. It was also built like a tank. They make excellent mod platforms too.

 

Yep, agile or Harley benton. Both have great return policies if you get a bad one

 

They go hand-in hand. If you are talking about chording, a higher neutral fret would feel like a wider fan, and vise-versa.

 

The Jackson dkaf8 seems like a decent starter dirt cheap.