The Blade strat is fantastic too. It had all the electronics changed when i bought it (and i changed all of it too). I also had the neck modified, as the shoulders were too wide for me. That guitar has a very Stevie Ray Vaughan like tone, in the sense that it really digs in on the transients.
I had a Blade R4 until recently (technically I still have it but its up for sale in my mate's shop at the moment). Great guitars. Beautifully made and really well designed.