Bargain basement all laminated instrument. They were notoriously heavy and encased in such thick lacquer that although they felt OK to play, the sound was nothing to get excited about. I bought one new in the late 1960s and it served me well (though quietly!) until I could afford something better a few years later. Don't raise your hopes about raising much cash. Why not give it away to a youngster starting out?

Can i find out the age of my eko guitar from the serial number Unfortunatly, once you get past the well known Fender/Gibson/Gretch brands, info gets harder to come by.o can try contacting Eko directly in Italy.

I've come over all nostalgic now! (I also hasd the 12 string version which had similar good/bad points - great playing neck; quiet and unrefined tone.) Keith. Wow that name brings back some memories, as there were quite a few around in the days when I was a youngster. Tems dongle cracker.

They were generally considered unplayable, and I would not give this to a youngster, rather to someone who already developed a serious grip of death. I disagree that they were 'generally considered unplayable' at that time. They were no worse than many other low budget guitars (I think it cost me around £30 new in around 1969), and a lot better than some that were available in the late 1960s. In fact the neck on my Ranger was the best bit, and it played well with an easily attainable low action thanks to the screw-adjustable bridge saddle and the (shimmable) bolt on neck.

It certainly did not need a serious grip of death, although a hefty right hand helped! Although still very much a low end instrument it was a huge step up in quality and playability from my first 'no name' guitar, and had a certain charm. At the folk club where I used to sing then, it was borrowed by Johnny Silvo who used it for most of his set and commented that it 'has the feel, but not the sound'! He asked if there was a Guild, Martin or Gibson in the house. Haha - as if! Late 1960s working class Crewe couldn't stretch to anything like that.

The 'best' guitar in the room was a Harmony Sovereign, which sounded good, but was so badly set up that he found that to be unplayable. Apols for the nostalgia fest! ' A guitar like an EKO, with such a limited number of guitars sold ' Huh? They built between 100/200,000!

I reckon most Brits and other Europeans started on these, and due to their being built like battleships, many are still around. Sorry, my post was a bit poorly worded.

Yes Eko made a ton of them back in the day. It's the number of guitars bought and sold now however, that determines the VPG value. Go to any vintage guitar show, check ebay or Reverb listings, Cl ads. An Eko is a relatively rare bird. Then look for listings for a Martin D-18.