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Vintage eko guitars
Joined: May 04, 2010 Posts: 175 norway |
Posted on May 18 2012 07:55 AM
hei have anyone got or played a solid body electric eko from the 60s? any thing to look out for? and anyone familiar with the pickups in these? Last edited: May 18, 2012 07:56:24 |
Joined: Aug 30, 2010 Posts: 415 Charlotte, NC 
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Posted on May 18 2012 08:15 AM
Here's a link to some new EKO guitars at Pro Guitar Shop. I am very interested in trying out one of these myself! The EKO Cobra 3SBB looks like the jam! —Jeremy |
Joined: Sep 15, 2008 Posts: 110 Melbourne, Australia 
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Posted on May 18 2012 09:22 AM
Cool looking Guitar. |
Joined: Oct 05, 2011 Posts: 744 France
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Posted on May 18 2012 10:13 AM
@ gui_SURF_tar: this page might help you identify the year of production and the model (check out the links on the left of the page for pics of the many variants). Looks like the 400 was Eko's first solidbody model. Never had the chance to play one and never even saw one for sale. They must have great collectors value. @ aqualadius: the reissues are made in China and have little in common with the original Ekos besides looks. I don't mean they're bad guitars, just that they are a modern take on vintage designs. They have been discussed here. I'm GASing for a Kadett '67 RI myself, but they're hard to find in sunburst. —Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers. |
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Joined: Aug 30, 2010 Posts: 415 Charlotte, NC
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Posted on May 18 2012 10:18 AM
Yeah I have a sick fascination with crappy guitars Jeremy |
Joined: Apr 27, 2008 Posts: 82 Chicago. |
Posted on May 18 2012 12:51 PM
I had an EKO bass once. The mutated v type with the pointy headstock. Biggest POS ever. Looked cool as hell but sounded like crap. No tone, no sustain and the strings kept popping off the bridge saddles. Traded it for a '67 Gibson EB-2. Much better.
I came. I saw. I left. |
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Joined: May 04, 2010 Posts: 175 norway |
Posted on May 18 2012 01:14 PM
interesting info guys guess i at least got to check it out. BTW its one like in this link. |
Joined: Dec 08, 2007 Posts: 1304
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Posted on May 18 2012 01:37 PM
I have this Vox Bulldog, which was made by EKO, as were most Vox guitars. The pick-ups are the same ones used on the Phantom model and other EKO guitars. They're very 'plucky' sounding and have that Brian Jones rhythm sound. I recorded this song with it: http://soundcloud.com/coffindagger/04-monsters-from-the-id-2 However, the pick-ups are weak and microphonic, making the guitar unusable at high volume. I don't know about the EKO reissues, but the vintage Italian made models seem very well made.
Here's a youtube demo of the EKO 400: —https://www.facebook.com/coffindagger Last edited: May 18, 2012 13:43:32 |
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Joined: Oct 05, 2011 Posts: 744 France
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Posted on May 18 2012 02:35 PM
gui_SURF_tar wrote:
Looks very nice... but no vibrato. —Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers. |
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Joined: May 04, 2010 Posts: 175 norway |
Posted on May 18 2012 02:52 PM
yeah no vibrato but i also play some rockabilly where a vibrato isnt a must psychonaut the pickups in your vox looks like the same pickups just black |
Joined: Jun 05, 2010 Posts: 620 at south of 
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Posted on May 18 2012 03:55 PM
Try it before buy it if you can, cause old guitar even they are cool are not all good some staying good with years others became not playable |
Joined: Apr 06, 2009 Posts: 565 North Cackalacky 
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Posted on May 19 2012 04:51 PM
Eko and other Italian guitars can sound great; they have neat sort of grainy raunch like a lot of other European axes (Hagstroms, Hofners, Voxes, etc), The pickups can also be a bit microphonic, but there are two bigger things to watch for: One: Them durned Veg-a-Matic buttons! Two: Make the sure the neck has more wood (or aluminum) than plastic! Some of these beasts came out of the accordion factories with plastic fretboards and/or necks that were more styrene than wood, and these boogers can warp into unplayable shapes that you can't fix, or the plastic backing can come off, leaving you with a very unergonomic neck profile (although I have to admit I once played a Wandre where the plastic had fallen off, leaving only the aluminum tube under the fretboard, and it somehow still felt comfortable in my hands...go fig!) Keep these two bugaboos in mind, and you could have a lot of fun. But I also agree with ludobag that you should try before you buy; with old Italian guitars, it's a fine line between a playable guitar and a neat-looking wall hanger. --Crispy |
Joined: Aug 23, 2006 Posts: 2123 The jungle 
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Posted on May 19 2012 05:08 PM
I had an Eko years ago with the blender switches. I found it almost unplayable. My two cents. — |
Joined: Feb 28, 2006 Posts: 813 Boise, ID
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Posted on May 19 2012 11:37 PM
The new Kadett 67 looks pretty cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygB7aGljjqs&feature=youtube_gdata_player —Shawn Martin |
Joined: Apr 21, 2006 Posts: 852 Connersville, Indiana, USA
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Posted on May 20 2012 06:06 AM
drumuitar wrote:
Ditto what drumuitar said! —Fast Cars & Loud Guitars! |
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Joined: Oct 05, 2011 Posts: 744 France
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Posted on May 20 2012 07:43 AM
CrispyGoodness wrote:
Ah, but Wandres appear to have been designed by a superior intelligence... Probably from another planet judging by the design Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers. |
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Joined: Sep 15, 2008 Posts: 110 Melbourne, Australia
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Posted on May 20 2012 09:32 AM
drumuitar wrote:
Haven't seen one of these in the flesh yet, but very interested in trying one out. I actually have an original Kadett from the late '60s; it has nice pickups (not unsimilar to the 400) & ticks all the boxes for potential coolness, but is actually a fairly underwhelming Guitar for some reason. Last edited: May 20, 2012 09:35:22 |
Joined: Sep 07, 2011 Posts: 507 |
Posted on May 30 2012 03:32 AM
The old Teisco jap guitars are awesome, the tuning/action is hit or miss sometimes but they really sound and look out of this world. You know what else is out of this world--the prices these things are fetching on Ebay, oh my... |
Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England 
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Posted on May 30 2012 07:28 AM
I can only speak about Eko acoustics, In the 70s it seemed every friend you visited had one tucked away at home. They were cheap, made from plywood and weighed a ton. I recently bought an Eko Ranger with what i thought was a neck problem, it turned out to be a warped body. I sold it in parts on ebay for a fair return, the plastic finger board alone made more money than i paid for the whole guitar! There is healthy interest in Eko Rangers, some say they sound as good as a Martin. |
Joined: Jan 25, 2007 Posts: 1568 Brighton UK
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Posted on May 30 2012 08:51 AM
crumble wrote:
I bet they don't though. — |
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Those pickups look almost identical to the blackface Teisco pickups from the '60s, which are my favorite pickup for Surf! (Check out a Teisco TG-64 or a K-4L) Polepieces are different (square on the Teiscos), but they look the same otherwise. If they sound similar to the Teiscos, I reckon there's a good chance it'll be a nice Surf Axe. 
I did however find 
It takes a good bit of training to not hit them when you play. Bump them lightly, you've turned off the guitar. Bump them a little harder, you've changed pickups! Bump them a little harder than that, and you might bend or bust a switch, and parts for these guys ain't exactly common. If you're the kind of guy that likes to really spank yore plank, Eye-talian axes might not be for you.