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Post by scorpiodog on Jun 18, 2014 10:35:59 GMT
I do hope to once more attempt a reset on a old solid wood guitar which will hopefully be a bit better than this one was and I would quite like to get a vintage EKO ranger 12 string which is in good condition one day because what I was able to play on this 12 string sounded alright before it fell apart I also liked the 16 3/4" body, although the EKO ones are probably better than the EROS 12ers I think they're the same. The Eros was more expensive than the Eko, I think because it was better appointed. I have an Eko (bought it in 1969 - couldn't afford an Eros - about a fiver more, if I recall) and the real problem with it is total lack of volume. The finish is really thick, like poured plastic and the neck block seems to stop the top vibrating properly. They're built like tanks and really heavy. You can buy them new again now. But I wouldn't. The only reason I keep mine is because it's been my companion these 45 years, outlasted 2 wives and I can recall how every single battlescar on the old thing was inflicted (one of them really is a battlescar, from the day my brother-in-law thought my head would look better embedded in the back of the guitar. It barely cracked the guitar but didn't half hurt my head!). It's like an old dog who can't really do much anymore, but is lovely to have around. There are some low priced 12 string guitars around and you'd be better off with virtually anything other than an Eko.
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Post by scorpiodog on Jun 18, 2014 10:38:04 GMT
Having recently been told I'm being made redundant Damn it, Ross, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you get a job real quickly.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Jun 18, 2014 11:32:22 GMT
I think they're the same. The Eros was more expensive than the Eko, I think because it was better appointed. I have an Eko (bought it in 1969 - couldn't afford an Eros - about a fiver more, if I recall) and the real problem with it is total lack of volume. The finish is really thick, like poured plastic and the neck block seems to stop the top vibrating properly. They're built like tanks and really heavy. They are the same, from the same luthier by all accounts, and the 12-er has the same body as the six string. As you say, no volume whatsover, but there are folks who love them. I gave mine to a mate who already had the 12 string version, and he still plays both with soundhole pickups.
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Post by keithambridge on Jun 18, 2014 11:44:29 GMT
I have decided to write the guitar off (for an all laminate guitar, it probably isn't worth the time/effort and money spent on tools) but salvage parts including the entire neck and neck block because I was actually starting to make a guitar replicating an old stella, I already have the oak back and sides roughly cut and I had carved a solid oak neck although I could use the one from this guitar, I could either use parts from this to create the stella-ish guitar or I could make a copy of this guitar (same shape/look) but with solid oak back and sides, I need to get a bending iron though (any chance of finding one of those used do you think?) I was bidding on an old bending iron on ebay a while back but it went for about £90! I use a 3mm walled 50mm diameter alluminium pipe held in a vice and heated with either a blow torch or an electric paint stripper (depending if I've got power or not)!
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jun 18, 2014 12:59:16 GMT
Some years ago I reset the neck on my Eko Ranger 12 very quickly and easily - it was a bolt-on. Keith
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Post by alexkirtley on Jun 18, 2014 13:43:54 GMT
Some years ago I reset the neck on my Eko Ranger 12 very quickly and easily - it was a bolt-on. Keith That's cheating
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Post by scorpiodog on Jun 18, 2014 14:27:21 GMT
Mine's a bolt on as well. Maybe they are different then.
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Post by alexkirtley on Jun 18, 2014 14:36:20 GMT
Are they the same size? (16.75" lower bout)?, if they are then I might look for a 60's bolt on neck Eko Ranger 12 string with the block inlays just as a vintage 12 string to play around with, I have a Vintage (the brand vintage) paul brett 12 string which is a great main 12 string but I liked the EROS when playing some blues on it (despite the very dodgy neck angle+action and the warped top, before it fell apart), I actually liked the lack of volume/projection, it's easy to sing over.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Jun 18, 2014 14:59:37 GMT
Mine's a bolt on as well. Maybe they are different then. The Eros Dakota I had was bolt-on as well. There's a pic of a couple near the bottom of this page. I actually chose one with a much darker stain so I could kid myself that I looked like John Lennon when I was playing it. link
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Post by vicov on Jun 18, 2014 15:42:18 GMT
I had an Eros XII in the early '70's & I am almost 100% sure that it had a bolt on neck (although at my age, brain fade is beginning to set in). I came across this old blog which relates.......http://guitarz.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/italian-folk-guitars-e-ros-dakota-vs.html.
V
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Post by scorpiodog on Jun 18, 2014 15:58:43 GMT
Just had a quick shufti on ebay. Seems to me the old Ranger VI is much cheaper than the XII. Assuming there's no difference in the bracing, you could try marrying the Eros neck to a Eko 6 body. I did own a Ranger 6 that looked like it had been run over by a car (before i got it). I gave it away and it's still being played, apparently. Built like a tank.
I think you should be able to get one for £75 or so. It's got to be worth a try, I would have thought.
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Post by alexkirtley on Jun 18, 2014 16:14:20 GMT
Just had a quick shufti on ebay. Seems to me the old Ranger VI is much cheaper than the XII. Assuming there's no difference in the bracing, you could try marrying the Eros neck to a Eko 6 body. I did own a Ranger 6 that looked like it had been run over by a car (before i got it). I gave it away and it's still being played, apparently. Built like a tank. I think you should be able to get one for £75 or so. It's got to be worth a try, I would have thought. The problem is that the eros had a dovetail neck joint, not a bolt on so it couldnt simply swap over. I managed to save not only the EROS neck but also the neck block so I could use both in a future build, presuming my current build works out, or I could take the 6 on a plate tuners off and use them on my own carved oak neck
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