Jinder

I’ve always got my eye out for unusual and inexpensive guitars as I like fettling and restoring instruments in my spare time. I figure that when I’m not on the road or recording, working with guitars in a different way helps to keep that connection current, and I appreciate working with wood and steel. Recently a singer/songwriter friend of mine contacted me to let me know that he had recently bought himself a Martin, and wondered if I knew anyone who would be interested in his old guitar, an Eko Ranger VI with the J160E style proprietary “Electra” pickup system, complete with volume and tone controls on the top. He wanted £40 for it…I couldn’t resist! I picked it up and it was in excellent shape. Ian had owned it from new and had written every song he had ever penned with it. I checked the serial number and the guitar was born exactly seven days before I was. After an action tweak with the handy adjustable bridge (I’m not agonising over the tonal different between adjustable and non adjustable…these were all adjustable) I was pleased to find it played very well, the neck was comfortable in a clubby, ‘70s way and the old, dead strings just added to the character of the thing. I expected to play it for a bit and then put it away to work on at a later date, but it’s been here for three weeks now and I haven’t been able to put it down! When I was learning to play many moons ago, a lot of people I knew and played with had an Eko of some variety, and the tone is extremely nostalgic and evocative of those days. Previous owner Ian had never played it plugged in, so for the first time in its 41yrs I fired up my AER and, predictably, the pickup is fairly dire…I think it would respond better with Monel/Nickel Bronze strings, but really the pickup is an interesting curio at best. The guitar is a joy to sing with…not overly loud, but very rich and full with a soft treble and a sweet, almost burbling midrange which is really pleasant. The bottom end is woody and present but not overbearing. I’ve been playing it with a 1mm Dunlop nylon pick, which isn’t something I ever use normally (.88mm Tortex Flex is my go-to) but it really suits the Eko. I’ve kept the ancient strings but eventually will change them, and clean the fretboard and polish the frets. For now though, it’s possibly the best £40 I’ve ever spent!

Absolutely outstanding…just marvellous, marvellous stuff. Thankyou!!

As BK and Zomb have alluded, it’s not really a numbers game as per years. Basically any Bozeman built slope has an equal shot at being great…some are built lighter than others, minutiae of specs vary but ultimately they are all largely hand built, high end instruments, and the natural variables in each piece of tonewood such as density, grain, mass etc which come with all organic matter are likely to make far more difference than model year. For example, in 2007/8 my old band had an artist deal with Gibson and ordered (amongst a couple of other bits) three J45 Modern Classics, which are now known as Standards. The three were so sonically different from one another it was unreal. One was rich, dark and plummy, one more tight and bright with a high end sheen, one balanced and extremely even. They rolled off the production line within a couple of days of each other, and we were all so surprised by each of them when we got them in a room together. Figuratively speaking, all three were very good guitars, but distinctly different. I think the key advice is to try before you buy if you can, but go by factors such as neck profile and other specs (Sitka Vs Adi, torrefaction Vs traditional curing) that you know are to your taste rather than year of manufacture. Good luck with your hunt!

BK, I’m surprised that you didn’t get along with the MagMic! I really like mine, have had it for years and it’s been in my Dove for the last few. I find it really crisp and articulate. Not quite as sweet as my Sunrises, but very useful for gigs when I need something active that’s plug-n-play rather than requiring if a pre. If you’re having a pickup clearout, it may be worth posting what you’ve got here on the forum in case anybody is in the market for them…probably more money to be recouped than pawning them and plenty of us are pickup enthusiasts who would be prepared to cover the postage too!

I had a cherry red J180 which was lovely. Really balanced and recorded very well. I didn’t particularly think the pickguards had a damping effect, but the guitar had a resonant node around the third fret of the bottom E which bothered me no end. I traded it for my ‘95 Dove a few years ago and have zero complaints as I love my Dove, but if the J180 hadn’t had the wolf note at the G I wouldn’t have parted with it.

RB, If I were in your shoes I’d snag that Sycamore gem faster than a rabbit up a drainpipe!! (I know that’s not the saying, but my old drummer came out with it once unintentionally and it never fails to amuse me) I’ve never played a Sycamore early Bozeman guitar I haven’t loved. They just have a little extra something that makes them shine sonically and in terms of responsiveness. They rarely come up for sale (barely ever in the UK!), presumably because they tend to be keepers. The J100 with the belly up bridge and plain pickguard has such a cool aesthetic too. And in black!! So cool. Not that I want to encourage reckless guitar purchasing, but I do love a bit of reckless guitar purchasing!!

Thanks Tom!! I have hands like shovels and have often inadvertently caused a wince or two with a handshake, so I sympathise! For me, the sweet spot was going to 13s and downturning to Eb. I’ve not had too many issues with fretting sharp but I used to break strings with a vengeance due to my heavy right hand! No such problems since going to 13s thankfully, I can get four gigs from a set of D’Addario XTs or Martin Lifespans. The Dunlop Tortex Flex picks help too, the .73s still feel like original Yellows that I loved for many years but are a little less inflexible, so tend to extend string life a bit 🙂

I have a Custom Shop maple AJ. A maple slope dread is a joy, I absolutely adore mine. The clarity and power is astonishing. I bought my AJ because I played a Maple J45 back in 2008 and fell in love with it…the AJ was the closest thing I could find ten years later, as the maple J45 was out of production at the time.

I had an F25 for a while, a ‘66 as I recall…may have been a ‘68. Tonally it was GREAT, super dry and woody, loads of volume as Tom described, sustain for miles, probably due to the enormous neck and being a twelve fretter. The neck was an issue for me long term though, as Zomby said it is VERY wide and shallow, and didn’t agree with my hands at all after a while. I have a degree of carpal tunnel syndrome, which used to be unbearable but has been brought under control as much as possible by way of diet, sobriety and choosing the right neck profiles, but the F25 fired off the CTS like nothing on earth. Such a shame as I enjoyed owning it!

Thanks all! I’m looking into ordering one of the replacement handles with buckles-it’s an in line fitment so that should buckle straight up to it. Eventually I’ll park this case in favour of a nice lightweight SKB or Calton, but a fix ej have to do for now. Thankyou for your help and advice!

At my gig yesterday evening, as I set out to leave, the handle broke off my SJ200 case! Thankfully I managed to catch the case and crisis was averted, but I now need to find some way of replacing the handle. I’ve owned the guitar from new since 2016 and I’ve taken it all over the world with me, so any warranty that may have been in place regarding the case will be well and truly expired. It’s the case with the softer leather covered handle rather than the hard plastic unit. Any tips on how I can obtain a replacement and how to fit it?

I owned one! Got a killer deal on it used. Loved it, gigged with it, wrote with it, was about to make a record with it but had to sell it to pay for a divorce. I still miss it and really wish I hadn’t had to sell it. I loved how user friendly it was, such an easy going couch guitar and would slip under your elbow so comfortably onstage or around the house. Light on the strap and comfy in the lap. Surprisingly loud and projecting sound with great tone and responsiveness. Not a super dry and honky blues machine like some LGs can be, but a great all-rounder. Like a baby J45. Man, I enjoyed that guitar.

Oh man, that’s an absolute beauty!! I love the top. Looks like Adi to me. I’ve always wanted an SJ, it’s one “big league” Gibson I’ve never owned.

If it’s a ‘91 it may well have the Fullerplast lacquer finish, which is why it appears heavier than Nitro. That stuff is complicated, difficult to remove and very hard to refinish. I would strongly advise to leave it alone and enjoy it as is, or if you’re absolutely set on refinishing it, take it to a high end luthier like Dan Erlewine to have it done properly.

I’ve used G7th since they first released the Performance in 2004. Best capos I’ve ever used, I have a Performance, Performance 2, Performance 3, Newporter, Newporter 12 string and a Heritage for tenor guitar/banjo, and each is brilliant in their own ways. The staggered pad 12 string Newporter is an utterly brillant bit of design, and enabled me to tour with my 12 string at last! My favourite is the Performance 3 for general use. As close to perfect as a capo can get. Honourable mention must go to the Dunlop Victor also, I’ve owned and enjoyed several of those.

Collings electrics are stratospherically great…at least the ones I’ve come across have been. That’s a real gem. The CS Strat too, what a lineup!!

I have a set of the T-I 11s on my Sigma CF-100 copy. They’ve been on there for six months or so and sound and feel fantastic, still. Lovely strings

I absolutely agree, the XTs are a warmer string. I didn’t get on with the XS but all my main players (SJ200, Dove and Maple AJ) are Maple, which may well account for the excess of brightness at play with the XS. The XTs have a wonderful chime and bloom to them though, my absolute favourites currently.

I’m using 80/20 XTs, currently 13-56 tuned down to Eb. Absolutely love them!

I didn’t like the XS at all. Made my SJ200 sound like a banjo. The XTs on the other hand, WOW. Amazing tone, feel, intonation and longevity. I won’t use anything else on my SJ200 and Maple AJ. Incredible strings.

LG1s and LG2s have distinct personalities. The bracing makes the two surprisingly different to one another despite the form factor and construction otherwise basically being identical. I like both. The 2 and 3, being x-braced, are a sort of baby J45 in some ways. The LG2 I owned sounded like my J45 does after I’ve recorded it and EQ’d it to sound right in a mix. Very balanced and toneful. The LG1s tend to have a touch less volume, but can bark when hit with a pick and have a funky, bluesy sound for rags and so forth when played fingerstyle. Less sustain, a little more upper midrange push than an LG2. Essentially, yes you could re-brace an LG1 and turn it into an LG2. A fun project, and if you’re not mad about the ladder braced LG1 tone, it could turn the guitar into something you really treasure. Bear in mind, though, that an LG1 that’s just been turned into an LG2 won’t sound quite the same as a guitar that’s been an LG2 for 70yrs. The top will have learned it’s ladder braced role in life many decades prior, and in terms of resonance and openness it will need some miles out on it to adapt. It won’t be the work of a moment…give it a couple of years. It may never fully wear the same boots as a native LG2, sonically speaking, but you’ll get close, and possibly even closer than I would anticipate.

Beautiful guitar and great pickup choice!! I agree about wolf notes/tones. They drive me nuts. Always seem to be around G or F# on the bottom E string and in relative spots elsewhere. My SJ200 has no wolf notes whatsoever, and my Dove rings like a bell all over the fretboard, but my Maple AJ previously had a wolf that had set up home at F#. Not massively so, but enough for me to notice. I tuned it out by adding brass bridge pins, which by adding mass to the top lowered the resonant node enough to drop it “between the frets” as such. My old J180 was a fabulous guitar but suffered from a wolf at G which was just maddening. Couldn’t tune it out whatever I tried. It seems to happen most prevalently in lightly braced guitars.

Absolute bucket list guitar for me. I’ve always wanted a Frontier, I played an original from ‘62/‘63 and it floored me. Incredible juxtaposition of power, warmth and articulation. The reissues look absolutely stellar and the demos sound great too. I know it’s essentially a Dove dressed up differently, and I do already have a very good Dove, but I can’t help having major GAS for the Frontier. It’s the Gram Parsons connection, I think. Just too cool. Enjoy!!

If we think about it from a mechanical perspective, it makes no sense at all. It claims to guide strings more directly to the machinehead capstan, but introduces a further bend in their route from nut to machinehead. It claims to reduce friction but adds another frictional element between the nut and the machineheads. It appears to rely on friction to keep it in place, even! If a nut is correctly cut, you should have none of the problems that this claims to cure. Even on a poorly cut nut, a pinch of graphite powder in the nut slots will help far more than this thing!

This saddle is 100% fine. As stated, you want a little air-gap to accommodate any swelling or shrinkage in the wood that may cause damage otherwise. Everything is as it should be 🙂