***** Ehsaan Noorani Signature Strat Review ******

I wanted to try the EN Strat, So went into the store last evening and asked at the reception if they have the EN Strat in stock, and the reply was positive, so walked upto the floor where they have these guitars on display and I was shown quiet a few EN strats, different colors, upon asking if the the differences are just in color or the specs, I was told its just the colors that are different and all the other specs are the same.

The first one that I saw was NOT the color (Bluish) that I had seen in many pics, and in the back of my mind I wanted to try that color and no other.
There is no reason why I wanted to play the blue one, as that is I had mostly seen many using on YouTube Including Mr Ehsaan

So when I got to the Blue strat, first thing i noticed was the pickup selector switch didnt have a cap on it, and the selector itself looked a little bent to me, just a little (Have a picture to support this statement of mine), This maybe due to many people playing it at the store, and probably floor models may not be always in pristine condition (To a beginner it may be a deal breaker, IMO).

I picked it up and the color was great, Looked at the front and Back of the Headstock, Immediately noticed the locking tuners, it was a great surprise, Its Made in China, Flipped around a few times to take a look at the piece in detail, must say the color, neck, the fretwork was great was polished and smooth, no sharp edges to hurt the fingers, I always do that with any guitar i pick up. The knobs and the pickup selector switch was smooth to operate, there were no noticable scratchy pots (when pluged into the amp), which is another test i like to do.

I try electric guitars unplugged to hear how they resonate acoustically, this one was great, could hear the notes resonate very well and that was a positive sign for me.

OK, so hooked up the guitar into a Line 6 Spider, played for a minute and hated it (No Disrespect to Line 6 Intended),
I wanted to play through an amp that could bring the guitar tonality out to my ears, no less, no more.
So then I looked around to find a Blues Jr III, asked the sales rep to help me hook up the guitar with the BJr, which he obligingly did.

The guitar feels great, the neck is thin, thinner than the Mexican Strats that were there, Setup was FANTASTIC...Low action, great playability...

The overall tones i could get were great, at all times i was playing with Vol =10, Treble -9, Bass = 8, Middle = 3 , Mas Vol = 4 (Its Loud), Reverb = 4.5 on the Blues Jr, with the FAT switch toggled as and when needed.

Now the pickups - (One liner opinion)
This guitar has a 5 way pickup selector.
Pickup Selector (Pos 5) = Bridge Pickup - Warm and nice bite to it, Good for leads.
Pickup Selector (Pos 4) = Bridge + Middle - Single Coil - Loved playing Pride and Joy (SRV) On this position.
Pickup Selector (Pos 3) = Middle Pickup - Great for blues and clean rythmn tones.
Pickup Selector (Pos 2) = Middle + Neck Pickup - This sounded the best to my ears for lead, great jazzy tones, crisp and clear, didnt hurt my ears with too much treble.
Pickup Selector (Pos 1) = Neck Pickup - I am afraid but this position somehow sounded very muddy to me, but I guess with an EQ it would have sounded better. Just my Opinion.

Playing around with the volume control cleans up very well, this is my favourite way of being lazy and still get the tones i like to hear.

Overall a great guitar for the price, I was quoted INR 24400/- for it, wish I didnt have other things to take care of, else would have got it right away :D

Above mentioned are my opinions only, and may differ from yours...Have a good one, and hope this helps.....
Regards
Arya

the pick up selection you have mentioned is wrong.
It is actually
1- bridge
2-bridge+middle
3-bridge+neck
4-middle + neck
5- neck

also the guitar has a seperate tone knob for bridge ....different from many strats

PS- I have been playing this guitar for over 8 months and I bought this for 19k from onstage Noida they are the national distributors

Originally Posted by rahul_up87

the pick up selection you have mentioned is wrong.
It is actually
1- bridge
2-bridge+middle
3-bridge+neck
4-middle + neck
5- neck

I Stand Corrected, It was a typing mistake on my end while writing the review, i just edited it now.

Originally Posted by rahul_up87

also the guitar has a seperate tone knob for bridge ....different from many strats

Well, many strats have a separate tone knob for the Bridge, including my GB&A Strat Copy, its NOT new to this guitar.

Originally Posted by rahul_up87

PS- I have been playing this guitar for over 8 months and I bought this for 19k from onstage Noida they are the national distributors

Well, The price may have increased now, If you read carefully, I tried this @ Onstage Bangalore, Same as the Noida store, I don't think the difference would be 19k in Noida and 24k in Bangalore as on today...I guess the prices all over are same, maybe you were lucky and got a great discount on it.

24K !!!
Its basically a Squier


From Ehsaan of Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Originally Posted by alpha1

24K !!!
Its basically a Squier


From Ehsaan of Shankar Ehsaan Loy

OnStage Music Factory

their site says 19,937
i was quoted 20 k today

Originally Posted by rahul_up87

OnStage Music Factory

their site says 19,937
i was quoted 20 k today

Wow, I need to check with the Onstage guys here in Bangalore then....