Non-Gibson content but snagged an old Eko recently…serious nostalgia trip!

[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!

[zombywoof]

You had better be careful or you could turn into me.  A phone call from a friend is exactly how I have found myself surrounded by these kinds of guitars including my only acoustic electric which is a 1956 Harmony H40 with a Gibson P13 pickup mounted underneath the fingerboard extension.

But I do recall those EKO offerings.  They began popping up on the east coast of the States around 1970  when the LoDuca Brothers Music Distributors started getting in shipments.

Anyway, these guitars can truly be a blast.  

[fortyearspickn]

I think if I could get my wife's old Harmony fixed up - neck and bridge issues -   I'd play it as much as any of my others. 

[Murph]

Is everybody over there named Ian?

[zombywoof]

11 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

I think if I could get my wife's old Harmony fixed up - neck and bridge issues -   I'd play it as much as any of my others. 

In addition to the H40 I have an all-mahogany 1942 H165, a 1930s Supertone (the Sears house brand before Silvertone) and a couple of 1960s H1260 Sovereigns.  No lie but the Sovereigns get as much time out of the case as any of my Gibsons.  I actually prefer them to a Martin D18.  If nothing else. they have nicer necks than anything you saw in the 1960s or in fact much of what you see today   .91' to .93" thick at the 1st fret with the added bonus of a 1 3/4" nut.  Also, a bit more generous 2 1/4" string spacing at the bridge.  Every time I look at one of my Sovereigns though the first thing that pops into my head is I would love to see the tree the mahogany for the backs came from as one of Harmony's trademarks was a one piece back.

Edited July 2, 2022 by zombywoof

[fortyearspickn]

Yep - much more comfortable to play, neck, body.  I like to think back in the day they got really good wood but didn't think about it.  Not as many of us cork sniffers back then.   I remember my wood working expert brother in law in GA said he use to go to different plants, scouring their discarded pallets for good wood, and would sometimes find rosewood he believed came from Brazil - back when they were burning their forests to clear farmland - I guess they also made pallets?   Who knows.

Apologies Jinder.   Did not intend to divert/deflect your thread.  Congrats on saving a great guitar from the trash heap ! 

[rbpicker]

I love reading stories like this.  Congratulations, Jinder, on a great find, and a trip back in time.   Play in in good health.

roger

[zombywoof]

If I recall correctly (which is not always the case)  at least in the early-1970s EKO used different pickups on the 6 and 12 string Rangers.  Those on the 12 stringers had no poles and were larger being placed in the upper curve of the soundhole.  While I have gotten my hands on a few Rangers I have never owned one.  A while back I did run across an earlier version of your guitar - a J54 or something.  Definitely a rare bird here in the States.