Eko Ranger 6 - 80's D50 guitar

Hello all

Hope this finds everyone safe and well.

I'm seeking advice about a guitar, an Eko Ranger 6, from possibly '85 or '86, that belonged my my late father and has quietly sat gathering dust.

I'm not much of a guitar player (I can barely call myself a mandolin picker these days) so I'd like to sell it on to someone who can really appreciate it. Idly I once toyed with the idea of a) learning to flatpick b) converting to a mandocello/bouzouki sort of arrangement. But this looks too fine an instrument for an indifferent picker like myself and the least said about my handicraft skills the better...

So, I'm uncertain of its value and would welcome thoughts. Whilst I would trouble a local music shop, there's none nearby. I've noted a few similar models being offered at £400 but I have no idea if that's realistic.

So far as I can deduce...

Spruce top, flamed ?maple back/sides, mahogany neck, enclosed tuners (wondering if dad swapped them for Goto's). Label, handily in Italian, denotes it was made in Italy and is a D50. Neck straight, no buzzing when strummed etc.

No dings, very little in the way of fret wear and one light cosmetic blemish to the finish on the rear.

Comments? Ideas?

They make a great wall hanger.

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Originally Posted by slimt

They make a great wall hanger.

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Same bracket as all those amazing 100 year old Italian round backs to be had on eBay? Hmmm.... That 'cello project could be on...

https://www.fetishguitars.com/eko/eko-ranger/

You hear that Eko guitars are pretty good as far as cheaper instruments go. Here is one made in 1967 with an asking price of £700 and 25 watchers waiting for a dose of reality to be indulged in by the seller. Jimmy Page played an Eko sold by Vox and that model sells for silly money.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1967-Eko-...gAAOSwH~ZfJtss

I bought the 12 string version back in the 1960s and I think it cost me about £25 (new). They were playable and well built - in fact too well built - and the sound suffered for it; the 6 string version was probably one of the quietest and characterless guitars I’ve ever come across. As for a “spruce top” read “plywood”. Stick a magnetic pickup on one and it’ll probbaly be OK but it’s not an experience I’m keen to repeat; which is probably why mine has been gathering dust, untouched, in the spare room,for the last 30 years.

They come up for auction pretty regularly so it shouldn’t be that difficult to obtain a “going” price. I certainly wouldn’t expect someone to pay more than £100 for one.

How’s thisfor starters? - https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...b-ac8a010be988

200,000 Ranger Guitars were imported to the US from Italy by the LoDuca brothers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These are laminated top, back and sides that hold up fairly well. I've never seen one delaminate but if you live in a swamp that may be a problem. If you want a Ranger to sound "Good" change out the metal adjustable bridge saddle for a solid saddle. It's never going to sound like a Martin or Gibson but as their advertisements said "for 20% of the price you get 90% of the sound". 90% might have been a stretch but it was a good beginners guitar. There are 18 for sale on ebay and the sold section shows they can be had for $100 with shipping included up to about $350 though I would never pay that much... someone did (on ebay). FYI they do make reissues in China.

Sorry, but I'd go with what Ray(T) says about the 6 string Eko Ranger above - a great camping guitar, because it was so heavily built of ply (with a bolt on neck) that you wouldn't damage it easily, in fact you could probably drive in tent pegs with it. To play, mine was a clunker - sounded dead and was heavy to play. Cost me all of £25, but I'd say that 'for 5% of the price I got 2% of the sound'. I used to throw it in the car and leave it there in the (UK) summer - if it warped worse than it started I never noticed.

A luthier friend once told me that, in some of them, the enormous block of wood the neck sat on, through which the screws passed, tended to disintigrate.

As for durability, the lead singer in a band I used to play in, occasionally used the 12 string version - we often referred to his technique as “percussion guitar”. In one club, a famous Irish musician picked it up and was so disgusted he threw it across the dressing room. It survived!

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Originally Posted by maxr

Sorry, but I'd go with what Ray(T) says

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Oh, I'm not disagreeing with Ray(T).

...and changing out the metal adjustable bridge saddle for a solid saddle is not going to change a Pigs Ear into a Silk Purse. Though it couldn't hurt.

Most student model guitars sound fairly awful.