And with sparkle finishes, mother-of-pearl backs, and an abundance of switches, I think there’s little doubt that an accordion-making background influenced the design!Īs the 1960s progressed, Eko moved towards more traditional finishes on their guitars, and they also built guitars for other companies, including Vox and Goya. Because model names were based on their configuration, we know by name that your 500/3V has three pickups and a vibrato tailpiece. There were quite a few variations of the 500 series, including different pickup configurations and the option of vibrato or non-vibrato.
#EKO RANGER GUITAR ELECTRIC SERIES#
Your guitar, the 500/3V, comes from Eko’s popular 500 series produced in the early 1960s. The Lo Ducas acted as technical designers and provided input on Eko designs, and Eko continued to build the guitars in Italy with Lo Duca Brothers serving as the exclusive dealer in the U.S.Īnd with sparkle finishes, mother-of-pearl backs, and an abundance of switches, I think there’s little doubt that an accordion-making background influenced the design! and teamed up with the Lo Ducas to develop a line of electric guitars.
As the electric-guitar market began to grow, the company looked to produce solidbodies as well. When Pigini sensed the guitar boom coming, he started out by building traditional acoustics and small archtop guitars in Italy. One of those distributors was Lo Duca Brothers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which sold accordions, sheet music, and other musical items, but had also expanded into guitars and amplifiers by distributing the Magnatone line by the late 1950s. When World War II came to a close, many of the accordions Pigini was making were sent to America for distribution. So, let’s talk a little about the company’s history and how your investment is doing.Įko’s history as a guitar maker started in 1959, but the company’s founder, Oliviero Pigini, was involved in the Italian music industry for many years before that-most notably with accordions. You are also correct that Eko is still around today, nearly 60 years after they began building guitars. That’s such a rare combination to find on vintage guitars. No doubt this is a cool-looking guitar (and a great color), but coolness rarely translates into desirability and collectability. I really don’t know much about Eko guitars, except a web search says they are still around, but how has my investment done over the past 15 years? Demand for the Ranger was so high that EKO had to create a production dedicated only to the Ranger Series.Back in the early 2000s, I bought this Eko sparkle-top guitar as a quasi-investment (’50s Strats were too expensive for my blood), thinking it fell into that cool 1960s guitar movement, with an awesome finish. In 1967, both the 12-string and 6 string went through a restyle and the new versions were showcased for the first time during the Frankfurt Messe under the names of Ranger VI and Ranger XII.
After just a short time, the J56 became the best-selling 12-string guitar on the market. Specifications as well as sound of the 6 string were applied to the 12-string, conferring to the instrument stability and build quality. and UK, which led to the J56, as it was named until ‘67. It wasn’t long until there was a demand for a 12-string version, especially in U.S.A. It was an immediate success due to style, playability and price. After a thorough market research, the dreadnought shape was chosen, very much in fashion in the U.S. In 1962 EKO decided on producing a series of folk guitars, upon popular demand by Italian and foreign markets.
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