EKO Bolero

1967 Italian made flat-top 6 string round-hole guitar. Sunburst finish over what appears to be laminate. Entire body has incredible thick poly overcoat. No pickguard for this guitar. Bolt-on neck has T-bar reinforcement that is not adjustable - sets deep in neck cavity on a laminated neck block. Slotted head suggests dual use with either nylon or steel strings. String-thru fixed bridge is glued to top (no tailpiece, like the similar 'Fiesta') and is rivited to the body at each end with 1" square metal plates under the bridge plate at each rivit to spread out the tension. Rosewood fingerboard is narrow suggesting the guitar was meant as a kind of dual purpose Folk OR Classical guitar. Instrument is smallish and scale is shorter than Martins and Gibsons. Neck has MOP dot markers and is not bound and utilized a ZERO fret. Tuners have nifty Z shaped white plastic buttons. Body is double bound and has a formed bow to the back.

This guitar was a wreck when it was given to me. I hesitated to put much time into repairing it. I'm glad I did, though....because after stringing it up with Martin 'Silk and Steels' it sounds wonderful. It has nice even mellow tone that is quite responsive. A Jazzy tone, if you will. No buzzes, no rattles. Excellent.

When the guitar was given to me, it had three strings (rusty) that were still functional...and two that were just broken ends. The Bridge was pulling UP at the back and the nut was broken in half. The whole instrument was covered with a thick coat of sawdust and dirt. It had debris insided. The Frets were pulling up at both ends and the fretboard was completely oxidized making the guitar virtually unplayable. A number LARGE finish fractures graced the top. The read (and only) strap-button was broken off about 4mm inside the hole. I fixed ALL these problems and shimmed the neck to achieve a 2/32" action at the 12th fret. The ZERO fret achieves a modest action at the first position without any nut adjustments. I give this catagory a 10 for my expert restoration and setup. :0)

After all it's been thru, I'd say this guitar would withstand World War Three....and who knows? Maybe it might. I must admit, I get a bit nervous that the plastic tuner buttons might break off, but they haven't yet. I wouldn't really use this guitar at a gig...it's more of a 'sit on the couch and drink some beer' guitar. I dig it. But yeah.... it's really solid. Almost over-built.

EKO seems to still exist. But I don't need THEM.

I'm keepin' this EKO 'Bolero'....it's like no other guitar I own.