Fender Ed O´Brien Stratocaster

The EOB Stratocaster is a really good choice for the guitar player who wants a Strat-type guitar with a Fernandes sustainer.

The sustainer and the choice of pick-ups sets the guitar apart from any ordinary Stratocaster, and if it's the classic Strat sound you're after, this guitar won't satisfy you. But if you are looking for a guitar designed to help you shape your own tone, it's a really good guitar for the money.

This guitar has a really fat neck, and if you are accustomed to a modern, very slim neck, it will take some time to get used to this one.

It's a well built guitar with nice body resonance, and the pick-ups are first class and well balanced with lots of bite and power.

So what's the design flaw? It's the truss rod, which can only be adjusted if you first remove the neck. This design was used on some very early Strat models, but it's impractical and should not have been used on any modern guitar. Hopefully, the neck is so fat that it won't need truss rod adjustments very often, but it's a totally unnecessary design choice.

Apart from that, I really like this guitar. I find myself playing the middle pick-up a lot, and with the sustainer and a few of my favorite pedals, it's easy to get inspired to go into experimental and ambient soundscapes.

If the truss rod adjustment hadn't been such a backwards design, I would have given the guitar five stars, no doubt. But it's still a very good instrument for the money, and it doesn't really have any competition in being a Strat-type with sustainer.

I've had this guitar for 1 week. So this is my initial impression which might change over time.

Out of the box, I plugged into my Interface (DAW) and was immediately impressed with the sound and the sustainer. I'm using this guitar a non-traditional way (no amp), to make weird noise and melodies for more electronic based music, so the sustainer was the main featured I liked. I used pedals before the interface to boost the signal and cab sounds.

I plan to set it up more to my own taste, but this is probably expected with any new (or old) guitar. Fatter strings etc, lower/higher action. But I can complain how it came out of the box.

Pros.
Sustainer no.1
Nice Humbucker picked sound.
The Neck is great to play on.

Cons.
Battery for the sustainer can run out quickly if left on.
Comes only with gig bag, it needs a hardcase.
Will need additional setting up for personalized playing.