Encore Strat Copy

22 frets, finish: black with white scratchplate or pickguard (like bass drums are called "kick drums" now don't know any other techy stuff btw no idea about the features bit so i put my house number

it sounded cheap and watery until i got it it set up for less than ??20 and now it plays and sounds great, i'm no muso but with the right amp and settings (usually by luck on my account)it can sound great but i am usually drunk so its hit and miss; i put 8/10 average time i'm sober when setting up

bad actually but it was cheap and if you're reading this you're on the net so check out guitar setting up sites, rated 3 because cheapo whaty do you expect?

i used to do punk but in my ripe old age of 39 am appreciating more melodic tones of libertines/killers/frattellis so being the 2nd guitarist i think it would pass but as i said i'm no muso but then again most of the audience who aren't muso's wouldn't be able to tell the difference from a fender so i'm giving it a 6

n/a when it breaks i'll try a squier since the prices have come down in the last few years but i'll give them the benefit of the dout with 5

i just wanted a guitar as cheap as possible to jam with but as i've got more into it and had it set up i feel an indecision to get a new one as it is very worn iN AND SEEMS TO GET BETTER! (THE CAPITALS WERE AN ACCIDENT AND NOT MEANT FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT)

finish is Black with a horrid plastic coating (same stuff is on the neck, just feels hard and plastic)
ive seen a couple of these guitars with different parts on them (notably plastic tuners, utter garbage)

comes with loads of useless crap (a horrid 10watt amp B.B. Blaster , a pitch pipe that is useless for a beginner, a short nylon strap, a crappy fake leather gigbag, a nylon plectrum, spare set of strings which suck.) THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A MANUAL INCLUDED FOR TUNING THIS PIECE OF CRAP. (if you are new then surely you will need this stuff, and since they aim these things at beginners...)

when i first got one it wasnt set up (got it as a gift from argos) it was impossible to tune up (me being a novice didnt help this.)
it basically sat in the corner for a long time untill i decided to buy some proper gear (a new guitar and a proper amp) when i tuned it, it didnt sound half bad.

with the volume on 10 it squeels like a pig on fire, electronics are pretty cheap and the pickups are horrid (they dont have magnetic polepieces just a cheap magnet on the backs of the pickups)

guitar was not set up at the factory (if it was they are more clueless than i was when i bought the thing) action was very high, truss rod was way out.

the pickups dont really make much difference to the sound if they are low or high, not a big problem anyway since anyone can do that to taste.

wood seems ok, very light, neck is disgusting and coated in some plastic shit that makes it seem like its sweating, the bridge is meant to be chrome plated but i noticed after 6 months it had rusted up...

will this guitar withstand live playing ? : NO.

does the hardware seem like it will last ? : nope i took it apart and didnt put it back together out of spite.

is the finish any good ? : nope its crap, lots of dings on the body scratches up really easily.

dependable ? : no

never tried to get it repair i do all that myself.
i emailed JHS (who own encore) and didnt get a reply, i wanted to know if they thought selling guitars in catalog stores was acceptable since they dont seem to set the things up, and the catalog shop isnt going to, not a very good start for a beginner.

ive been playing a while and luckily this didnt stunt my interest, when i tell people ive been playing i discount the years i owned this piece of shit (it was my first guitar) as i learned nothing about music at all.

i wish i had spent my money on somthing more worthwhile (like a yamaha, squier or a stagg copy).

strat style electric guitar with a single humbucker pickup. it has 22 frets with perloid dot markers.i think it is an e1btr. it came with an amp, gig, bag, lead (which was rubbish and broke fairly quick), but hey for the price its a good deal. maple neck, rose wood fret board, not surer about the body. full size guitar with a slight downsize body that looks really cool. only one pickup so tonal variation is a little limited (still about the same as a squire)

good sound coming from the single humbucker, beats a squire. i play stuff like led zeppelin, the hives, chuck berry, ac/dc and it copes fine with a little adjustment on the v&t controlls, thats the best way to change the sound.

the guitar came brand new in a box off of ebay. was not set up action very high but its easy to lower with the allen key provided. finih was on the whole good and the neck id nice and smooth, its actually quite fast. the v&t pots were loose and needed tightening. its quite hard to tune because of the gear ratios in the tuners but once its right it wont go out of tune just from playing. standard strings are cheap so replace them as soon as pos. and get a decent lead cos cheap leads are crap (i now use a nice thick liberty lead and it made a huge difference in the quality of sound0

id say its fairly reliable. ive had it for nearly a year now. the bridge and tuners are still shiney havent rusted or anything. the screws holding the pickup surround in place have got a bit rusty but you dont notice.

not ha d to use them

ive been playing accoustic for 5 years and elcetric for 1. its a good guitar for the money and theres no worry of it getting stolen, if it got stolen id probably buy a better guitar as im looking at upgradeing now,i choose it cos it was a good starter pack and it has done its job, its got me started. its not a pro guitar by any means but hey, it wass cheap

Its got 3 pickups (standard S/S/S configuration), with your average two tone controls (which do nothing at all to the tone), volume control, and pickup selector. Dunno what type of wood the body is made out of, very very light, wouldn't suprise me if it was pine!!!

I recently took the whole guitar apart, including all the wiring, repainted it and put it back together. I dunno wat i did but it now sounds really twangy and trebly which is great for the blink/greenday punk sound i want out of it but pants for the System of a down/slipknot sound i also wanted :( Pickups are the most hideous monstrosities ever strapped to a guitar, not too bad if your playing clean but disgusting distorted/overdriven, You might as well have a microphone next to your electric ravor, you'll get the same sound!!

Action isn't too bad but recently the neck has been going into a banana shape (bending gradually backwards) so i have to keep adjusting it (i think the things getting old and wants to retire!). The paint work survived all sorts of batterings, so thats good.

As i said, neck is bending, so a sign of not being very good. Other than that has lasted a fair while without any other damage from my butter fingers.

N/A

For similar money, you can get yourself a squier. I say do it.

Guitar is a red Encore Strat copy (made in India) bought second hand from a music shop for #75 in 1994. It has a rosewood fingerboard and a maple neck. I believe the body is ash. The guitar has 2 tone controls, a volume control and a 5 way selector. The pickup configuration is 2 single coils and 1 humbucker. The headstock is the same pattern as a Fender Strat.

I have owned this guitar for over 10 years and over that time my musical tastes have changed (hard rock, metal, blues rock, punk) and this guitar has coped well. I'm seriously glad I bought one with a humbucker as without it the guitar would be lacking when playing more aggressive styles of music. I tend to find the sound thins out a little on the very highest notes but that could be as much down to poor playing technique as I sound equally sketchy trying to squeeze into those high notes on real Fender Strats! I've played through a number of amps but have settled on a Peavey Bandit 112 Transtube (a great amp!). I haven't used much in the way of effects. I bought a KORG AX1G multi effects unit after I'd read good reviews but must say I'm disappointed with it. It seemed gimmicky and muddied the sound. This was a cheap effects unit so I'm in no doubt that it was the culprit and not the guitar! I find the guitar able to produce both rich warm sounds as well as bright tones. You can get a really smooth bluesy feel from this guitar as well as a crunching heavy sound. Pinch harmonics are easy to achieve and sound fantastic. I could go on and on, it sounds great!

I bought this guitar 2nd hand and I'm sure the music shop had spent time setting it up because it has a lovely low action. It just couldn't have been this good when new! The fit between the neck and the body is a four bolt fit and is faultless, you wouldn't slide a cigarette paper in there! The frets were gorgeous (a little worn now but still great). The only low point is the poor finish of the paintwork on the body. It is extremely durable but seems thin as you can see the wood grain. Inside the back cover the finish is awful, but you can't see that so I personally don't feel that it matters.

This guitar is rock solid. I bought this 2nd hand over a decade ago and this guitar has had lots of use and everything still lines up beautifully! The finish has held up and the way the guitar plays seems to get better with age. The strap buttons will never come out as I've rocked this guitar hard and they've not even loosened. The tone and volume pots are getting a bit crackly (only when adjusting) and probably need cleaning. The only part of the finish to suffer is the paintwork at the bottom of the guitar where the strap buckle has worn it away.

Playing 16 years and have owned this guitar for the past 11 years. When I bought it I played numerous other guitars in the store and this was not only the cheapest but was *by far* the best sounding. Reading the other reviews, either the company's newer models are lame or there are different models of Strat copies made by the company. The guitar I have sounds nothing like some of the other guitars reviewed here. The only Strat copy I've come across that compares to this guitar is the Yamaha Pacifica. The Yamaha has a better finish but the Encore gives away nothing in terms of sound and action. All I can say is that there clearly seems to be different types of "Encore" Strats out there, some are exceptional others dreadful. Don't take my or anyone else's review here as the gospel truth. The best way to buy a guitar you plan on keeping for a while is to go to a shop and play all the guitars you're interested in side by side and choose the one that sounds best and suits you - then but it! No two guitars are the same even if they're the same make and model!

I bought this guitar 7 years ago (1996), Proberbly made abroad...
22 Frets, Made from fibreboard or MDF or some other cheap ass material pretending to be wood, Has 1 Volume and 2 Tone pots with a 5-way... Standard Tremlo Bridge and 3 Single Coil Pickups (Still trying to work out who makes them!)
All electronics are passive (And are very scratchy)

This guitar is too twangy for my style of music (Metal/Heavy Rock).
Currently using A Marshall 50Watt Cab and NI Guitar Rig.
Used to be very noisy until I Shielded the Electronics and the P/U's
By adding a simple Phase inversion switch I now have 2 more Tone settings aswel as the standard 5.
I Dislike the cheapness of this guitar, the fact that the bridge lifts too far from the body when using heavy gauge strings and the way the Pots and 5-Way make a scratchy noise when being moved.

It was poorly setup when I recieved it.
Screws were loose here and there and the bottom E was already broken before I unpacked it.

"Will this guitar withstand live playing?"... Definately Not!
"Does the hardware seem like it will last?"... Nope... Starting to rust already!
"Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off
with lots of playing?"... I think not! The wood underneath the bridge has broken off due to the screws being too small and the Truss pulling the neck too far back!
"Are the strap buttons solid?"... The Buttons are... Just that the screws attaching them to the body are too small for the holes...
"Can you depend on it?"... At home... Yes... In small doses, More of a practaceing guitar.
"Would you use it on a gig without a backup?"... Definately not!!! I would rather not play!!!

Do they even have a website?!

"How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?"... Been playing 9 years, I own an Epiphone SG and a Stagg BC300 Bass Guitar.
"Anything else you'd like to share?"... I would recommend to everyone owning this guitar to do as many mods on it you can find to make this guitar better sounding!!!

Its an Encore Strat copy, early 90's I think. Made... somewhere? All in white, with a whammy bar. Its a strat copy, and has all the strat features.

The Encore Strat is without a doubt the best budget Stat in the world. Its got a great tone from the neck pick-up but it does all the other strat sounds adequately.

This guitar was pre-owned, but even though its worn, been gigged, and battered it still fits together like a dream. Its a real beauty. I wouldn't change a thing, except the pick-ups if I knew what I wanted instead?

Yes. It will, it has, and I'd trust it too again. Its may not be glamorous but it does the job solidly.

N/A

Its an ugly looking beast, unless you like strats all in white. I don't so I changed the scratch plate to a red marble oine, and now its a real vintage looker. I always disliked this particular guitar, too work-a-day, too ordinary, and I don't like strats. My friend had a beautiful Cherry Red Casino which I always admired, but now I have them both I realise why he always played this one. Its way better than my old Squire Strat. Its the best value for money strat I've ever played or heard and I won't hesistate to recommend this to you all.

This guitar was bought new in 1994 - but it may have been sitting in the shop for a wee while. Its a basic copy of a fender strat - headstock doesn't look funny or anything.
Rosewood fretboard - don't know what the body is made of but it's VERY HEAVY.

Right. I have had this guitar for 10 years and have only just bought something to replace it. Owing to all the good service I've had from it I wanted to pay it a little tribute.
I'm not denying that this guitar can be a bugger to play and that I've had to set it up a number of times to get it right, but the tone on this guitar kicks ass. I mean it really does. I'm not an deluded idiot it sounds amazing okay. I don't know whether they started off making these guitars reasonably well and then they went downhill or what, but the sound on this guitar is the least of its worries. The problems it has are that some of the frets are a tiny bit dodgy, it's hard to play the notes way up high sometimes, and there's not much sustain at all. All these things interfere with the sound. Over the years it has become easier and easier to play, which shows how an instrument can be worn in.

I play through a fender amp and go for a really full bluesy sound. Many many times i've been playing this guitar at gigs or on the street busking and people have come and looked at it and been surprised that it's an encore. This guitar has soul.

No doubt the pickups, if cheaply made, must be intelligently made, because they get everything across - I mean, all the frequencies are there. I have a fender squier also, and although it's easier to play and faster, its sound is thin and has no balls whatsover up against the encore.

I had all my own adjustments to this guitar.
Although the action isn't super smooth by any means, it feels good and responds well. One thing I have to say is that the action has improved with time, and that the truss rod is good and strong and hasn't warped.

I have totally dumped on this guitar and it has never let me down. I used it busking and no other guitar would do, so i'd just re-string it while the rest of the band played. We played for about six weeks on the streets - come wind and rain. Still fine. People should stop being so uptight about their guitars.

I have just bought myself a 1964 fender strat reissue. Basically, I had very few complaints with the encore, but knew that certain things would just not be possible with it. Hopefully the new guitar will suffice for the rest of time.

No doubt i was very lucky with this particular encore - it sounds like most people are gettting a cruddy deal on the new ones.

I just wanted to say that it's important to have an instrument that you love when you start out, so choose carefully. Also, do consider buying a second hand instrument, because they're better. Well, they're worn in.

Don't be fooled by the shopkeeper- you can get a cheap guitar that sounds better than most of the other stuff in the shop. Use your ear, and decide what sound you want.

typical argos bad strat copy, everything about it looks and feels cheap, (i suppose because it is) I found this in the corner of a friends room, who played guitar for a bit then gave up...(wonder why)
I wonder how many beginners have been lumped with this as their first guitar and given up. The feel of the 'guitar' is awful. It must be made of chipboard..bad chipboard at that. I pride myself on not being a gear snob and giving everything a fair chance. But after many hours playing about with it, attempting to give it a decent set up, i have found it is a lost cause.

I cannot comment on how this would sound through a proper amp, as i only played it through the afformentioned friends toy amp, the type that are generally thrown in with a 'guitar' like this in 'toys r us' outlets around the world. Fair enough as a beginner you are not going to be a tone obsessed valve head..but the result is still a bit of a joke...however taking into acount the price and target market ill say..

Its fair to say i have yet to come accross a guitar that was setup well from the factory.. But this is inexcusable. I have tried to change /adjust everything on this terrible excuse for firewood. All to no avail, it's signiture sound is 'buzz'. The 'paint' job is thin and cheap feeling. As is everthing on this guitar. It is one long battle (attempting) to play this instrument.

This wouldn't withstand the taunts you would recieve from the crowd let alone any actual playing. Can't stay in tune... just horrible. however its fair to say people buying this guitar will be at level where live playing is simply not an option. All materials and hardware belong on a bonfire, and the pickups are cheap and nasty. The neck feels like it would snap easily, which is no bad thing really.

This company should get an award. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to make a good guitar at a reasonable price, however they have managed to push the boundries of just how terrible a guitar can be. This is simply exploitation of beginners, who dread the prospect of going into a guitar shop, and just want everything they need in one package. I wonder how many new Vai's or Satrani's have been put off by this. If you are looking for your first guitar look elsewhere.

OK its fair to point out the price. However research your guitar before buying it, and look at second hand instuments. You are certain to find something a million times better at a similar price, Yamaha's a good place to start. Also take someone who knows about guitars to the shop to give you advice...I find it sad (most) guitar shop attendants are unwilling to give beginners the time of day, and are content in the quick sell of crap like this.

Bought this guitar, as a starter, in 2001. Standard Fender Stratocaster copy; three single coil pickups, twenty one frets, tremelo arm, volume and tone knobs.

For a beginner, this guitar was fine. When you can't play, you can't see the strengths or weaknesses of the guitar. I've played with it quite a bit over the past three years, and it produces a nice sound, with a good tone. I took a spring out of the bridge, changed the polarity of the neck pickup, set it up properly, and tried running it through lots of differant amplifiers and pedles. It gives a really warm, deep blues sound with just the right amount of interferance from the pickups themselves. Running it through an old Pioneer tape amplifier gives it an almost natural distortion, truly perfect for playing the blues.

The guitar was set up poorly, but so what? To me, this was a starter gitar, one on which I learnt to play. Now with greater knowlege, I set it up to my own standards, its like a blank canvas, ready for you to create your own tone from it. The same is not possible on a Fender Jaguar or a Gibson Lucille, i'd be too scared to play with it!

I deliberatly scratched off the finish to give it a 'used and abused' look, thusly, can't comment on the durability of the finish. However, the electronics have stood the test of three years of neglect.

Been playing 3 years
Other guitras: Vintage copy of SG,
Stagg copy of a Warlock,
Fender Accoustic DG1,
Earthtone accoustic 'Summer Breeze',
Dobro Resonator
and a Yamaha Jazz bass.

Overall rating:

Just because it's not a Fender, Gibson, Ibanez or PRS doesn't make it a poor guitar; quite the contary, if you are looking to create your own tone, then using a Gibson Les Paul into a Marshall stack, or a Fender Stratocaster into a Bluesbraker, will produce a tone similar to the people who have used this equipment before. To be a true guitarist is to experiment, and to use a guitar which isn't 'perfect' in every way is as important as writing your own songs, or having your soul in your music. To buy a guitar based solely on its name, and on the fact that it's tone has been 'approved' by the guitar community is folly. Try an Encore, try everything to get your tone, don't be fooled by other's nievety.