EKO S-300

Strat copy (probably made in China; EKO DOESN'T MAKE GUITARS IN ITALY ANYMORE, except for a few top of the line models who are crafted from local guitar builders).

Three cheap passive single coils, strat bridge and cheap sealed tuners.
Nice maple neck with RW fingerboard. 21 frets.
Strat headstock with cheap EKO decal.
The truss-rod hole is too long and it looks terrible, though the neck is the best part of this guitar.

The body might be basswood, 4 pieces.

With stock Pups it's almost unusable. Not as bad as Squier Affinities, but almost. It sounds Glassy and Squeaky.
Noisy Switch too. But I had a spare Custom Shop pickguard assembly, with PUPs and all, so I dropped in the whole thing and the story changed (I had to do some work, as the boudy route is a little bit smaller than Fender's).
Now it still can't compare with my '62 Closet Classic, but it's at least a decent sounding guitar.
I would say as good sounding as a stock MIM Classic Strat (I have had one for years).
Good for Blues, Country or even Jazz (neck PU), clean to crunchy tones.
Not bad for distorted Classic rock either (thanks to my Ibanez TS9), but I don't think it would make it with extreme saturation and/or loud volume.
I haven't tested it with my bigger tube amps yet, but I decided to use a more down-to-earth solid State Fender Princeton Chorus for this review. And it sounds pretty good even with the amp cranked up.

A 7 after the modding. 4 stock.

Terrible action, but I bought s/h, so I don't know how it was right off the shelf.
I set it up to a very low action.
When I got it the tremolo was useless.
With a quick setup, now I can play a little Surf (no dive-bombing, though).
The bridge looks the part, but it's very cheap, and I might need replacing it some day.
Hoping a Fender fits in, you never know.

Very nice red transparent finish.
If only the four wood pieces were better matched...

Cheap plastic nut, but it works at the moment, so lets wait and see.....

I can't see why this guitar shouldn't last long.
I mean, with new tuners, PUPs and electronics) there's nothing really BAD left!!!!
Unless body and neck will disintegrate in my hand one day.....

I have been playing guitar since 1966, and my first instruments have been EKOs. I wish back then starter's guitars were like this one!!
I still own a little 60s EKOs collection, and none of those vintage guitars can compare to this S-300, even stock.
BUT. Those were THE LEGENDARY ORIGINAL EKOS, while this one is only one in a million strat rip-offs.
Not the worst one, one of the cheapest for sure (at least in Italy).
I have owned several Fenders, both vintage and modern, and my main guitar is a heavily modified 1986 EC Strat.
I also own a 62 Custom Shop replica (L.Fralin PUPs), and a no-name 60s strat which I use for slide. And a stock 52 RI Tele, Gibson LP, SG and Lucille, Guild and Gibson Acoustics and many more stringed instruments.
I have played a lot in Europe and in year 2000 I have also toured the US.
I use Fender and Marshall tube amps, but recently I have found out Fender SS amps as a really nice (and lighter) alternative for club work.
Loads of FX, mainly vintage Ibanez. And Vox and Morley Wahs.
If this EKO was stolen I wouldn't replace it.
I already have my Fenders, the reson why I bought it was because I had plenty of spare parts around and no body/neck.
But what I have now is a good jamming tool.
So I don't have to bring one of my main axes around.
If THOSE were stolen, I could never replace THEM!!!

strat copy, 21 frets, sss pups, basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. the tuning machines are very bad and should be replaced.

the sound is not bad. I compared it with a squier and I find the eko is more versatile. so far I used this guitar with 3 different amps:
-fender sidekick reverb, 35w: very decent sound, good overdrive.
-laney hcmr, 15w: very nice combo for practicing.
-samick ba25, 20w (for bass): nice, warm clean sound.

factory set-up isn't good: I had to adjust the action, the bridge, the intonation, the pups and the tuning machines (before they broke). no major flaws, however and the controls are good.

after some minor modifications I felt free to gig with it and I had no problems. the guitar is cheap and solid so I don't have to worry about it.

I play since I was 16, now I'm 26. I also owned 2 other strats (one fender) and an es175 copy. I would buy this again if stolen or broken. I got this because I wanted something cheap to experiment with. I think it's a good guitar after some modifications and matched with the right amp. I suggest to change the tuning machines, as they are very bad, and to make a proper shielding work. I also changed the pups (1 hum in bridge position and no middle pup), but you don't need to. it's a nice, cheap, solid, strat copy. I'm happy with it

classic strato type with 21 frets.
basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard.
6 because of bad tuners and factory settings.

3 noisy singles with low output. sound is not bad. mid pup is rw/rp so notch positions are hum free.

bad over all set up, but no significant flaws.

the guitar is solid and cheap and I feel free to carry and handle it.

never dealt with.

I play since I was 16, now I'm 26. my point of view isn't the pure guitar player's, as I also play drums, bass, percussions, and sing.
I got this 2-3 years ago and worked on it:
-replaced tuners (highly recommended)
-shaped headstock in music man style
-replaced pups and pick guard
-changed circuit
-shielded
-fixed set up (recommended)
-changed finish: from sunburst to natural with oil+wax
now it's a very nice one. pretty suggested if you modify it (change at least the tuners and shield it).
I'd buy it again.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS THE YEAR OF MAKING,BUT IT WAS MY FIRST GUITAR IN '92...
IS THE BEST FENDER IMITATION THAT I'VE BEEN TRIED.
21 FRET,THREE PASSIVESINGLE COIL PICK-UP (VERY LOW POWER AND A BIT NOYSY),5-WAY SELECTOR +TONE+TONE+VOLUME
STRAT BODY STYLE,BRIDGE SIMIL-FENDER AND 6 VERY BAD TUNERS.

SOUND IS OK,CAUSE WOOD ARE GOOD.
TROUGHT THE YEARS I'VE MODIFIED RADICALLY:
BRIDGE FENDER '57,LOCKING TUNERS GOTOH,SEYMOUR DUNCAN HOT RAILS TO BRIDGE AND NECK,AND FENDER LACE SENSOR TO CENTER.
ELECTRIC CIRCUIT FULLY REBUILDED.
AFTER THIS MODIFICATION,THIS ECONOMIC GUITAR BECOMES A KILLER...
ACTION IS VERY VERY LOW!
A MASS OF SUSTAIN OUT FROM THIS PICKUPS.
RATING:7 (10 AFTER MODS)

FACTORY SET-UP SUCKS!
FINITURES ARE OK

I PLAY IT NOW (AFTER 10 YEARS).....THAT'S ALL FOLKS

I DON'T KNOW

PERFECT TO START,GOOD TO CONTINUE (VERY VERY GOOD IF YOU MODIFY IT).