1962 Eko 500

[Tafarel]

I just got this last night and played it at practice for the first time:

The other guitarist in my band is always searching for what he calls "chintz-tone", and bought one of these from a seller in Italy. Unfortunately, it turned out to be too lush sounding and he offered it to me for $1000. I didn't hesitate a moment.

I am a big fan of Charlie Megira (RIP) and he always played one of these. It sounds amazing drenched in reverb. It has little to no sustain, but the pickups capture something different from my other guitars.

So far, I am in love with this thing.

[marqueemoon]

I love it.

Wish I would have bought one back when they were dirt cheap.

[Tafarel]

I love it.

Wish I would have bought one back when they were dirt cheap.

I know. People are getting crazy money for these. The Ekomasters with vibrato are going for $2k. They have different pickups in them, but I think I would still like them.

This one has the music store stamp from Torino still attached:

[Kinx]

hey, very cool it looks in super nice condition too. I love mine '63, although I had it slightly modded (gotoh TOM fits the original bridge posts perfectly). Here's video I made about it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeElq7kWSH0

[Tafarel]

Hey! I watched that video as well as the other one you did with your pal. It was one of the things that convinced me to make a move for this guitar. I wish mine had the trem, as I love how far down one can go, as well as the stability.

I play super clean with lots of reverb -- four of them, at times -- and this guitar really makes those stacked ambience machines shine.

It is a fantastic guitar. The only Eko I'd played before was a friend's when I was living in Amsterdam, but it was an acoustic and a quality guitar. They are hard to find here in the states, however.

BTW, you can shred with the best of them. Hats off to you -- really swell stuff.

Please make more videos.

[infiniteposse]

Beautiful! It looks related to my Crucianelli that I brought back to life earlier in the year. I had a thread on it here: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=118946

[Tafarel]

Beautiful! It looks related to my Crucianelli that I brought back to life earlier in the year. I had a thread on it here: viewtopic.php?f=42&t=118946

Yeah, I think they must be cousins. Same MOTS body finish; push button pickup selectors; coolio pickguard, etc. I've looked at some Crucianellis on Reverb, but they are even fewer and further between than the Eko electrics, it seems.

On another note -- I have been to Cascais. How do you like seaside living? My cousins live in Albarrois (sp?) I've visited your city a number of years ago.

[infiniteposse]

On another note -- I have been to Cascais. How do you like seaside living? My cousins live in Albarrois (sp?) I've visited your city a number of years ago.

The move's been great! International relocating during a pandemic has its challenges, but being out of the US is totally worth it. Life here's been pretty good. We don't live right on the water, but it's a very fast drive down to it, which is plenty good for me. The weather is a lot like the Bay Area, which is pretty perfect for me. Mostly sunny, nice breeze, infinite evidence of previous cultures and the occasional 60's Italian guitar You should come visit again. The Country has changed a lot in the last decade from what I've been told.

[Tafarel]

On another note -- I have been to Cascais. How do you like seaside living? My cousins live in Albarrois (sp?) I've visited your city a number of years ago.

The move's been great! International relocating during a pandemic has its challenges, but being out of the US is totally worth it. Life here's been pretty good. We don't live right on the water, but it's a very fast drive down to it, which is plenty good for me. The weather is a lot like the Bay Area, which is pretty perfect for me. Mostly sunny, nice breeze, infinite evidence of previous cultures and the occasional 60's Italian guitar You should come visit again. The Country has changed a lot in the last decade from what I've been told.

That's quite a move! I'm sure you encountered a lot impediments in the move, but had a huge sigh of relief when it was all done. I like it there: my wife is Brazilian and my kids both speak Portuguese, as well. Mine is pretty rusty. We have talked about moving to Europe, esp, if the 2022 elections go a certain way. I'm not sure if I could take another four years of ass-clownery -- I'm pretty sure the U.S. couldn't take it, either.

I played the Eko at practice again. It has a tone that sits in the mix -- we have three guitars -- in a unique place. It adds something that to our sound sculptures that I can't get out of the other guitars. The seventh fret needs to be replaced, however. All the other frets are perfect, but the seventh fret on the high 'E' string has a flat spot. Strange.

I am eyeballing Crucianelli guitars on Reverb. There is a red late 60s one with the same body shape as yours, but it has single-coil pickups, which is right up my alley.

[infiniteposse]

That's quite a move! I'm sure you encountered a lot impediments in the move, but had a huge sigh of relief when it was all done. I like it there: my wife is Brazilian and my kids both speak Portuguese, as well. Mine is pretty rusty. We have talked about moving to Europe, esp, if the 2022 elections go a certain way. I'm not sure if I could take another four years of ass-clownery -- I'm pretty sure the U.S. couldn't take it, either.

I played the Eko at practice again. It has a tone that sits in the mix -- we have three guitars -- in a unique place. It adds something that to our sound sculptures that I can't get out of the other guitars. The seventh fret needs to be replaced, however. All the other frets are perfect, but the seventh fret on the high 'E' string has a flat spot. Strange.

I am eyeballing Crucianelli guitars on Reverb. There is a red late 60s one with the same body shape as yours, but it has single-coil pickups, which is right up my alley.

It was a ridiculously huge move for us. Big moves aren't really the most natural thing in the world for me, so it took a lot of discomfort and then a ton of hard work to get it going. It's been 1000% worth it though. Our quality of life, compared to the US, is much better.

So if your wife is a Brazilian citizen, are you and your kids now Brazilian citizens as well? I think there's a reciprocal citizenship/VISA situation with Brazil and there's a ton of Brazilians here. If you haven't done the legwork on that angle yet, it's a great time to do it. Our concerns about 2020 were part of the move strategy and I'm not particularly hopeful about 2022/2024 at the moment. An exit option might serve you well.

I'll say though, buy the stuff you want while you can. Gear here is *way* more expensive and reselling gear here is a pain in the ass.

[Tafarel]

Yes, my wife and kids are dual citizens of Brazil and the U.S. I can get a Brazilian passport by dint of my marriage to a Brazilian national. My cousin moved to Portugal in 1974 and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Portugal. He taught at the Cambridge School for Diplomats in Lisbon until partially retiring a couple years ago. He now serves as faculty recruiter. He has invited us to come and stay (and build a house) on his land. It is mostly used for growing grapes and making wine, which, as it turns out, is pretty good.

I stayed at his fazenda with him and his partner for awhile when I worked for the European Space Agency (by way of NASA) a number of years ago, and you're right, the quality of life is better than the U.S. There are differences that I can live with. The future here does not look bright. I thought we would no longer be talking about Humpty-Trumpty at this point in time, but boy was I wrong. I guess it is too much to hope that he would just fade away like a poor actor that has taken his last curtain call. That buffoon needs to be in jail, but that's a convo for a different part of the forum.

Did you take many guitars/amps with you when you moved? Is the electricity 220v? I have forgotten.

[infiniteposse]

Did you take many guitars/amps with you when you moved? Is the electricity 220v? I have forgotten.

Yup. I sold off things that felt less essential, but I still brought a ton of stuff with me. We did a 20 foot container and filled it about 3/4 up with stuff. I was pretty freaked out about the ocean journey with the instruments, but they did fine. I also brought 3 tube amps and a TMDR. I bought some really good step-up transformers before we left and good power strips from the same supplier and just plug my 120v amps into the strips which are connected to a very stout transformer that gets things to 220v. It's all worked fine. I could have done some rewiring and/or transformer swaps, but just didn't feel comfortable modding the amps like that yet. In retrospect it would have been fine when the amps had the right taps on the transformers, but still, this allows me to get on with it and the amps are exactly as they were when I left.

If you can knock out the Brazilian citizenship easily, I'd do that yesterday. That could be very handy. It sounds like you guys already have a really solid network of folks here as well, which is priceless. If you'd like to talk more offline, feel free to PM me. I'm happy to talk about our experience if it could be of help to you. I feel you re: the trajectory of things in the US. Enough said.