The Eko Ranger series acoustic guitars

Deer Steemians,

Today I want to talk a little bit more about Eko guitars, and especially the eko ranger series.
The eko rangers is the most successful European guitar ever. Close to 200.000 guitars were made in various names and versions.

Eko j-52
It started all with a glued in neck version from around 1964 called the j-52. Not much later it was replaced with the j-54 and j-56. J-54 was a bolt-on neck and the j-56 was the 12 string version. At that time they also crafted small modified versions of these for Vox under the names country-western and folk twelve which ended in 1968.

eko – j54 (1967)
Around 1967 the j-54 and j-56 where renamed Ranger VI and Ranger XII.
At that time acoustic guitars only were a small part of eko range. With the end of the Vox range guitars and competition of Japanese made electric guitars, Eko had to focus more on acoustics. Because of that the Ranger series become the very centre of the company in the 70s.
Before the reissues there has been 2 generations, the before 1973 rangers, and the post 1973.
the post 1973 rangers had less ornate. The post 1973 Rangers are Technically improved. They had thinner and more consistent finish and improved bracing
The Eko rangers are famous for being built like tank and easy to set up.
Many people say it’s a lot of guitar for the price.

I own the Eko Ranger VI Vintage Reissue EQ and it’s a blast to play. Before buying it I didn’t really know about Eko in general.
I was looking for affordable acoustic guitar since I didn’t own one. Went to my local store were they have a lot of brands and after playing with one of their eko’s I was sold. I payed 159€ for it. I thought I would leave the store with a guitar from around 400€.

I Own it for 2 months now and it never failed on me. I don’t know what will happen in couple of years but I looks promising. The 1 thing I didn’t like was the setup from factory. Bad strings, high action,…. After a set of good strings and a setup it feels like an expensive guitar.
Recently I compared it with a expensive martin guitar and the Eko sounded almost as good.

Spec list

Body Shape: Dreadnought
Soundhole: Round
Top: Spruce
Colour : Natural
Finish: Satin
Body Depth: 96-120mm
Bridge: Rosewood
Neck Material: Mahogany
Neck Shape: Low profile
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Nut Material: Aluminum / Zero Fret
Width at Nut: 43 mm
Scale: 650 mm
Saddle: Plastic - Adjustable
On-Board Fishman Sonitone Preamp