Encore Blaster EBP-E6 Electric Guitar
Currently, it is the budget electric guitar market that is fought out fiercely in all of the guitar industry. Most manufacturers have managed to move their manufacturing base to places such as China, Korea and Vietnam, which gives them an opportunity to offer ultra low manufacturing costs. When this is mixed with a well trained workforce using very accurate CNC machines, and you have got the perfect recipe for budget priced quality instruments. As you can imagine, Encore is one such manufacturer who has invested years in building a solid reputation in the beginner’s market. In the following review, we will see about the E6 from the Blaster series. Its design is a familiar favourite, so the real question at stake here is that, if they really play and sound anything like the legends that they seek to emulate.
The Encore Blaster EBP-E6 Electric Guitar might not please you much in the name stakes, as it sounds just like an android from a 70′s science fiction flick; but rest assured that the guitar itself has a lot more charm to it.
Body and finishing:
There are no prizes for guessing which classic guitar has provided the muse here. At a distance, it has a strong resemblance to another illustrious instrument, but its axe has plenty of character that has very little to do with its shapes. The Encore Blaster EBP-E6 Electric Guitar has quite a light weight body weighing just 6lbs, as it is made out of Solid Wutong, which is naturally a soft and light weight wood. The Blue model, which Encore decided to call just “Blue” has a pleasant hint of green too, giving it an elegant vintage look. The E6 series guitar is available in a range of finishes such as Gloss Black, Sunburst, Red, Vintage White, Blue and Pink. The Gloss Black finishing is also available in a left hand version.
Neck, Fingerboard and Frets:
The bolt-on Maple neck has been snugly attached to the body of the guitar with the usual four screws. It is of medium depth with slightly rounded carve. The rosewood fingerboard is quite comfortable and has lots of real estate, thanks to its 10 inch radius. Few of the 22 nickel silver frets are little sharp around the edges; and we found the 13th fret to be covered in glue, which is not great quality control, even at this budget level. Overall, the fretwork is OK, and while it is far from being luxurious, it feels positive and comfortable to play with, particularly with the satin finishing. In fact, it feels more like the ones on the Vintage Advance Series Axes; that is no mystery here. The Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster inspired E6 have very snug and tight neck pockets.
Hardware:
The hardware part of the Encore EBPE6 Electric Guitar is not disappointing either. The hardware includes a six in a line enclosed machine heads, a string tree for E and B, and also a Vibrato bridge with six separate saddles. This vibrato actually works well, with a fair deal of abuse being metered out before the tuning starts suffering. It is also quite soft and hence, making it easy to get expressive with; a great surprise on a guitar that is so cheap. The electronics are pretty standard, having a three GuitarTech Single coil pickups that is controlled through a five way switch, two tone knobs and one volume. The controls work quite smoothly and have a positive feel and the jack sockets leave you quite confident that your cable is securely connected. This Encore EBP-E6 Electric Guitar is fitted with JHS’s own Guitar Tech pickups, which have apparently seen upgrades to the quality of both the magnets and the wire. Even better, the bridges and tuners are reassuringly stable and solid. Well, it might not be the best and most sophisticated hardware that you will see, but it is all a well made and functional stuff. It is a doodle to make all the necessary action and intonation adjustments on the bridge, and the guitar tunes up easily and stay that way without any hassles.
Sound and Action:
The Encore Blaster EBP E6 is charged with snappy and zingy, making it heaps of fun to play; thank the five-way pickup selector setup. The tones are clean and solid, if not a little thin, but certainly adds gain and really opens up the voice of the guitar. The neck pickup is full, with a good deal of bite, keeping the note separation even while playing with heavy gain. The Start style vibrato bridge the E6 works better than some equivalents we have seen on some of the considerably more expensive electric guitars. On the disappointing side, it suffers from indistinct low-end characteristics and there is also a disappointing over emphasis on the mid range. But, a healthy output level from the humbuckers means that it is possible to achieve a respectable over driven tone as long as you trim the woolly bass frequencies. As long as you do not get too energetic, you will be able to use the vibrato arm and return to pitch without going out of tune. The overall feel and tone of the guitar is very authentic; it is surprisingly a likable guitar.
Verdict:
The Encore Blaster EBP E6 is not the kind of guitar that will see you much beyond your first band and early gigs, but this one has a lot more to offer than the vast majority in this ultra low price bracket. If you are on the look for more cut and glassy edge to your tone, then, the E6 is the right choice. The guitar also covers a lot of ground in terms of genres, though it will not stretch as far as metal or jazz. Taking the price tag into consideration, it feels remarkably good to play with and the upgraded hardware makes a massive difference in the way that they ultimately perform. There are quite a few pricy guitars that do not play or look half as good as this one. There is very little doubt that Trev Wilkinson has struck gold again. The Encore Blaster EBP E6 Electric Guitar has our recommendations.
Encore Blaster EBP-E6 Electric Guitar – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Encore |
| Series | Blaster |
| Model Number | EBP-E6 |
| Model Name | Encore Blaster EBP-E6 Electric Guitar |
| Guitar Type | Electric Guitar |
| Finishes available | Gloss Black, Sunburst, Red, Vintage White, Blue and Pink |
| Left hand version available | Yes |
| Body | Solid Wutong |
| Finger board | Rosewood |
| Bridge | Fulcrum style Vibrato, Chrome |
| Neck | Bolt-on Maple |
| Frets | 22 medium |
| String spacing at nut | 34mm |
| Scale | 25.5 inches |
| Cast | No |
| Nut Width | 43mm |
| Pickups | 3 x Guitar Tech Single coils |
| Machine heads | Generic chrome |
| Controls | 1 x Volume 2 x Tone 5 way selector |
| Weight | 2.72 Kgs |
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