But there were cheaper alternatives, like the Eko 995. Eko guitars and basses were crafted by the Oliviero Pigini company of Recanati, Italy, founded in 1959. From the outset, the firm concentrated on accordion manufacturing and expanded into guitar production in the early ’60s. Jun 18, 2016 - The best source of info is going to be Eko itself. Here's a link to their site- Ekoguitars Acoustic Classic Electric and Bass Guitars.

Some pics of my new guitar. It is an EKO Ranger VI. It's stamped 1968, made in Italy and it also has a signature.

(I think it might be handwritten) It plays and it looks awesome. Has some cracks but they're only on the clear coat.

The bolt on neck feels nice. There's also a height adjustable bridge.

I guess these were fairly common back in the day in Europe. Double bound body. The tuners are really cool. Never seen that type before. Anyway I really like mine. One of the nicest acoustics I've ever had.

I might make this the one acoustic I keep for life. *The first pic is the one that looks the closest to the actual color/shade. I certainly remember these guitars from the period. They were cheap - around £30 when the cheapest Martin was about £150 and a J-45 was £100. They certainly looked OK, and the necks were well-made and coiuld be set-up for a nice action. But the 100% laminated bodies didn't exactly make them tone-monsters. As my son said a year or two back, after playing a much more expensive guitar than the Eko, ' After playing the Gibson [J50] and the Taylor [214E], that's like playing a cardboard box'.

But, on balance,they were the right thing in the right place at the right time at the right price. So many British C&W groups featured a rhythm guitarist/lead singer with an (electrified) Eko. At least they stayed in tune! Jimbo wrote.But the 100% laminated bodies didn't exactly make them tone-monsters.

My flatmate has a Martin dreadnought so it's been interesting comparing the two. I can honestly say that EKO's can easily hold their own. Agreed, the laminate/laquer is OTT (although Tribi9's actually looks good for once) & they're probably the heaviest acoustics out there but they still have gorgeous tone. Deep, warm, resonant. Pretty bright & chimey on the high side too. The Martin is definitely more balanced & way, way lighter but I really dig the dark boominess of my EKO's.

I actually bought the 80's model because I'd read they were slightly lighter in weight but I still class my '73 as my number 1. Nice guitars Porky and Zenjenga. I thought the different EKO headstock logo was for guitars made earlier than mine Porky but I see was wrong. I guess they went back in the 80's to the older logo. I do agree they sound different but it is a nice different. I'm not even sure how to describe.

It is not very loud but the sound is very pleasing. The only thing that was wrong with mine is that some of the frets were sliding out. I had to tap a few of them back in and others I completely removed and placed them back in. They're fine now and don't seem to be moving much.