Product: Encore Coaster
Price Paid: 90 (UKP)
Submitted
02/04/2004
at
11:08am
by
dave
Features
:
8
i got this guitar in 1987! :-O read on, please.....
Made in the Far East I should think, many moons ago.
22 fretter.
cacky thin laminated body (well) painted black.
standard three single coils volume control 2 tones & a bladey type selector.
the rosewood fingerboard is attached to a sturdy looking piece of something else ;-)
vintage strat type trem & tuners... no need to comment on tuning stability lol
Sound
:
10
ok i confess i hacked this thing to pieces within six months of buying. first came a humbucker at the back, then came a huge chunk lopped out from the uuper horn (cos i play it upside down).... then came tons of other things... even the cacky laminated body held a floyd-licensed trem, until i finally retired the body (but read on! please!)...
when i bought it i played "current" stuff - duran duran(!) king (remember them?) u2 etc etc etc and it was just fine. over the years i've used a hiwatt 50 top through a 2x15 cab, a crate combo, an unnamed combo, a peavey combo, tons of stomp boxes, etc etc etc and it always seemed to stay sounding like *me*, but i guess that's not an advert for the guitar! lol i also did a lot of home recording and this (even though by this time it wasn't stock-off-the-shelf) thing wasn't my *main* guitar, it was my *only* guitar!
it never really ever let me down
after adding the humbucker i tended to stick with that sound (i was much younger after all!)
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
out of the box the guitar was set-up "ok", but nothing an hour or so with some basic tools couldn't fix ;-)
the neck is wonderful. it's the main reason for me writing this pseudo-review. i still use it every day on a body i got for #25UKP from brandoni in wembley.
there *are* one or two deadspots (but look at its age and how much it's been played!!!!) but i dread the day this neck dies on me. i have six other electrics, but always turn to this one first. the action has been amazing since day one... i just hope it has another 17+ years in it!!!
the current body has a floyd licensed trem (again from brandoni, #50UKP brand new!!!) a kent armstrong rails h'b at the front (i use the front p/u a lot more these days!) a kent armstrong single coil in the middle and a kent armstrong super dist at the back... wired to three toggle switches - humbucker / off / single for the front & back pickups and on/off for the middle.
i love this neck... maybe i'll find enough money to get a digital rendering of it so it can be reproduced (minus deadspots!)... oh wait... i'm not satriani or vai or... etc etc etc lol
I would highly recommend getting hold of one of these things if you are into repairs / building, etc... just for the neck.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
see the action fit & finish section for my dribbling! ;-)
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
never needed them. can't comment.
Overall Rating
:
10
Product: Encore Coaster
Price Paid: 60 (# UK) used
Submitted
05/19/2003
at
01:09pm
by
Anonymous
Features
:
7
A typical strat copy, made in the 80's sometime. Nothing fancy, metal tuners, 3 single coil pick-ups, 1 volume & 2 tone cotrols. All stock as far as I can tell. Only a 3 way selector for the pickups so loses a point there. Probably a bit more sturdy than the guitars that Encore produce these days
Sound
:
6
The bridege Pickup sounds fine if a little tinny, ok for lead & rhythm playing, sounds fine distorted also. The Mid and Neck pickups sound fairly indistinct with nothing much different between them and also a bit too muddy. As the guitar has only a 3 way switch I cant really account for the mixed pickup combinations. Tone pots dont really do much either
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
6
The action is superb, strangely enough. A view echoed by others who have played this guitar. Where it does lose out, is the quality of the pickups and tone pots. The pole pieces have rusted, but still work as has the pick up switch, all are reasonably easily repaired I suppose. The tremolo could do with being set up properly, but it's no big deal.
Reliability/Durability
:
6
The guitar itself seems rugged enough, but could probably do with a new better set of pickups and a new pick up switch. The finish seems a bit thin too. I suppose if those things were looked at it might stand the pace. It's lasted about 15 years already so that must be a good thing!
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
As the guitar was made years ago in the far east, I wouldnt even think the manufacturer would be interested!
Overall Rating
:
7
This guitar seen my fine through my formative stages in playing the guitar. In reality it is a beginners guitar, albeit a nice one to play on due to the nice action. I suppose I got more than 60 quid's worth of enjoyment out of the guitar. With a bit of TLC and a bit of money spent it would probably make a nice sounding guitar as well. As mentioned before this is a far different (and better!) guitar than Encore seem to produce these days.
