NGD - Eko J56 12-string Acoustic....

[PorkyPrimeCut]

For the record, I've a feeling mine (and the one pictured here) is a 2nd version J56. There are plenty of images floating around of early 12-strings (and 6-strings) with a plain black painted headstock & a simple white painted EKO logo. They're also listed as having ebony fretboards & simpler dot fret markers.

They did make other 12-string models too, so some of the pics you've seen may be of those. I found this out the hard way after sending a set of tuners to an Australian guy restoring a Ranger XII as the spacing was completely different and they didn't fit.

I read about the odd spacing on another forum.

I'm pretty fortunate that the seller found tuners that matched. Well, he said he did.
I've not checked underneath for extra holes but I'm assuming he got the ones I pictured further up in the thread.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I went over to Brandoni Guitars today....


Brandoni HQ

It's not the whole building. They've actually moved into a smaller unit than their previous one but still have tons of stock in other parts of the building.

I'd arranged to pick up the b/w/b pickguard & hung around for a chat about Eko in general & the odd differences in the Ranger series. I mentioned my wanting to swap out the aluminium saddle & the issues I had with needing a different bridge assembly. He pulled out a plastic container full of assorted saddles, bridges, covers, etc... and gave me a brass one. Not only that but he cut & filed me the bone strip to go in it....



I took the aluminium saddle off my Ranger VI to compare them & a thin metal rod fell out. I guess it's just a spacer so less material needs to be used for the grooved section (in this case made of plastic!) The brass & bone looks way nicer & I'm tempted to bin that shitty, buckled piece of plastic & get a bone saddle for my VI too.

He also threw in a couple of aluminium nuts for a 6-string Vox Ultrasonic neck I have. I was certain I needed the narrower of the two but he gave me both for free.
They're in a pretty raw state but once they've been cleaned up & polished they'll work a treat.

We also discussed the tuners. He dug out another couple of boxes full of 6-in-line tuners & found a set that had the odd looking white staggered heads. The plate they were attached to was a bit funky though. Not really what I had in mind. He may well have had the correct ones but, as you can imagine, it'd have taken some digging....



I took a few more pics that I might add to the Brandoni thread I did ages ago, if I can be arsed.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

...and lastly, I just ordered 12 of these little bone beauties from Canada....



I'm playing this guitar to death at the moment so I'll have a pretty good ear for any tonal changes, once the bone parts are installed.
Fortunately (or not?) these Eko guitars have zero frets so there's no need to switch out the nut as well.

[shadowplay]

Looks like you did well on this deal, it's bonny looking too.

Are you banging out the Tim Buckley?

D

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Looks like you did well on this deal, it's bonny looking too.

Indeed.

The body laquer gives it a different kind of tan to my '70s Ranger. It's more of an aged leathery gardeners tan, as opposed to a sitting in front of a lethal UV lamp tan.
I actually don't mind putting a bit of money into it either as the original deal was so sweet. It definitely needs older nickel tuners. The NOS ones are good but to shiny.

These sell for stupidly varying prices so it's hard to estimate a value. Just looking at eBay, then referring to FetishGuitars shows that '70s & '80s models are regularly listed as '60s ones (sometimes ever '50's!?) and people actually pay that extra £50-100. Also, there's every chance that the later models may actually be constructed better (after 20 years of building you'd think so) although mass-production would probably counter that to a degree.
All irrelevant really though. I'm very smitten by its warm shimmering tone. It often sounds like I'm playing through a phaser pedal when I strum slow, chiming open chords. A typical trait of 12 string acoustics? I don't know but I love it.

A couple more observations about the J56. The laquer seems thinner than '70s models which makes it a shade lighter & a good deal louder than my Ranger 6. Also, I originally though the J56 had a painted headstock but it's actually b/w/b material with a lovely raised black & silver laminated logo. Sexy!!

The pickguard I bought is going back. It's just too small & the tan line from the original guards peeks it's head out no matter where I position it (It looks as though they slowly changed shape over the years). Mr Brandoni sells the old dark brown ones so I'll head back on Friday & probably swap them. It's highly unlikely I'll actually find a period correct b/w/b one although I could easily get one made up. I can't really decide.

Are you banging out the Tim Buckley?

Tim Buckley is yet to show up but Roger McGuinn has been hanging around for days now.

[NickD]

It's interesting to know they still hae pickguards, I'd quite like a second pickguard for my Ranger 6, its left handed and I'm right handed, so the 'guard is upside-down. Still, I'm not going to complain for the £20 I paid for it.

I reckon mine is 70s, cracked, shiny poly finish and a silver sticker inside the soundhole.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

It's interesting to know they still hae pickguards, I'd quite like a second pickguard for my Ranger 6, its left handed and I'm right handed, so the 'guard is upside-down. Still, I'm not going to complain for the £20 I paid for it.

I reckon mine is 70s, cracked, shiny poly finish and a silver sticker inside the soundhole.

Gold/black logo & quite wide bridge with 3 screw covers?

Sounds like yours is a mid-late 70's model (in the catalogue it's probably the N1109)

[PorkyPrimeCut]

So, more history.

It appears that the guitar pictured below is the original J56 (in this case a J56/I) which was the electric version....





Differences? No block inlays for starters. Also, the neck was painted black on the back & headstock with a simple EKO stencil instead of the more elaborate laminated logo.
The bridge, as far as I can tell, looks to be a little different too. A black plastic saddle was originally used. This changed to solid aluminium, then back to plastic (white).
The serial on this one - 246508 - is far lower than mine. We're talking 80,000 or so. Is this really the amount of guitars that were built by Eko in-between this ones birth & mine? Since Eko were the biggest guitar manufacturer in Europe at one stage it's entirely plausible (although it could be wrong).
Strangely, the tuners on this one are the exact same ones as the current NOS ones on mine (I thought they were more recent). There's a chance this guitar isn't completely original & newer tuners were added at a later date. I couldn't say. I always thought the really old J54s & J56s had white plastic buttons, not chrome.

On the subject of tuners, mine will be switched out in a couple of days thanks to our very own Ulric (vonCatalyst). He's sold me these off his old E-Ros acoustic (same factory, different branding)...



They're actually a combination of the 2 elements I like the most about the early tuners (simple, no frills plate, chrome buttons) so I'm made up!

[NickD]

It's interesting to know they still hae pickguards, I'd quite like a second pickguard for my Ranger 6, its left handed and I'm right handed, so the 'guard is upside-down. Still, I'm not going to complain for the £20 I paid for it.

I reckon mine is 70s, cracked, shiny poly finish and a silver sticker inside the soundhole.

Gold/black logo & quite wide bridge with 3 screw covers?

Sounds like yours is a mid-late 70's model (in the catalogue it's probably the N1109)

Yes, that describes it pretty well - where can I find the catalogue, that would be interesting to see.

It wins the prize for the easiest acoustic I've ever set up, and sounds pretty good, despite the adjustable bridge and bolt on neck.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

It's interesting to know they still hae pickguards, I'd quite like a second pickguard for my Ranger 6, its left handed and I'm right handed, so the 'guard is upside-down. Still, I'm not going to complain for the £20 I paid for it.

I reckon mine is 70s, cracked, shiny poly finish and a silver sticker inside the soundhole.

Gold/black logo & quite wide bridge with 3 screw covers?

Sounds like yours is a mid-late 70's model (in the catalogue it's probably the N1109)

Yes, that describes it pretty well - where can I find the catalogue, that would be interesting to see.

It wins the prize for the easiest acoustic I've ever set up, and sounds pretty good, despite the adjustable bridge and bolt on neck.

I always refer to this website. It looks as though it's a kind of compilation of catalogues from the 60s through to the 80s.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Another small snippet to add....

The necks on early versions of this hugely popular guitar were 5-piece, as opposed to 3-piece ones (introduced from around the turn of the 70s). Normally it's pretty clear as the alternately stained wood gives a visible skunk stripe, like on this early Ranger VI....




At first glance my neck actually looks like a 1-piece because all the wood's the same shade. Sure enough though, on close inspection, I can make out 5 separate pieces.
Also, according to a website and a few guitar shops online, the fretboards were originally Brazilian rosewood! Yowza!! I thought that was way too exotic for the likes of Eko.
I guess back in the day there was an abundance of the stuff available & it was far from being seen as an endangered wood, as it is today.

[NickD]

You are right, it is the 1109 - thanks for the link.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I received the older tuners today. Super fast Royal Mail!!

A way better match for this guitar. It didn't take me long to get them looking like this....



I'll run a little steel wool over the plates to get rid of surface rust. I'll maybe oil the cogs but other than that they can stay as they are.
I absolutely love the grip & feel of these things. Pretty much the same as the Klusons on my '59 Jazzmaster. The NOS ones are way too slippery.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Aah, bugger!! Should've checked the screw-spacing!!! They won't align with the original screw holes so I'll have to keep searching for worthy replacements to the NOS ones.
This probably means a trip back to Brandoni's. Who knows, he might be up for a straight swap as he's still making new guitars.

My other alternative would be to relic the NOS ones with ferric oxide but I'm a bit reluctant to age perfectly good tuners, all for the sake of them feeling a bit funny.

Another lesson learned. I guess E-Ros, Eko, Watkins and whoever else came out of the same factory only shared the same wood. Everything else - bridge assemblies, pickguards & tuners - seemed to vary quite a bit.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Well, good old eBay seems to have come up with the goods....



These aren't necessarily period correct but they're the style I want so I've pulled the trigger. I didn't even wait to hear back about the screw hole measurements as I'm 99% sure these are the right fit (I've seen them on loads of late 60's Rangers). I took the other tuners off & there's no tan-line to match. These are a little more angular than the correct ones which have a simpler rectangular plate (but plastic keys). I should be able to sell the NOS ones & break even with these as they were cheaper.

Meanwhile the guitar looks like this at the moment....



The binding didn't lie straight with the body &, as I suspected, a shim is the culprit. I need to read up a little on setting the action up properly without the shim (which I'll keep, just to be on the safe side). I'll also get down to cleaning up the sanded area around where the pickguard lives.

The bridge looks much tidier now all the bone parts are in place....



That's not a crack top left, it's a cat hair!!!

I can't wait to get this thing put back together. Hopefully within the next 7 days I'll have a great (slightly improved) sounding J56.