1960's Eko Case, Mod it? or is it mod enough?

[fender3x]

In the 1980's, when I started my TeleStrat project, I bought a case that I found on sale for $35. The case was originally made for an Eko guitar in the 1960s. The case is in good shape, and still has the "Made in Italy" badge on it. It just has one 2 cm place where the tolex was damaged and repaired before I got it. Quality-wise it's on a par with my mid-1970's black Fender case. Aged, but not otherwise damaged.



I think the case is sort of cool, but to me a case's only intrinsic value is for protecting what's inside. I am thinking it's probably not worth much, but that's also what I thought about my Epiphone Newport, which is now worth 8 times what I sold it for...

I looked at what 60s-era Eko electrics go for on Reverb. I thought they might be worth something because they were decently made and look a bit like Airline or Supro re-issues. Nevertheless, they seem to only rarely go for over $400, although a few pristine examples, often with case, go for $650-1000.* I found one case, about like mine, that was listed for $100. I didn't see any that had sold, so realistically mine's probably worth less than that.

The tolex, wood and hardware are pretty nice, but the orange fur is "meh", and the padding is pretty much non-existent. It's deeper than a strat case, but otherwise similarly proportioned. Good news is that there is plenty of room for a strat. Bad news is that it needs much better padding to hold a strat safely.

I'll need to do some mods to the inside to get my guitar to fit securely. Am I right to think there is no good reason to try to keep the inside original?

[Simon Barden]

If you want a Strat case, what's the cheapest one you can get that will do a reasonable job? I can get an ABS hard case for £50/US$65/AU$91 from Thomann (at least until the end of the year) that does a really good job.

It's going to cost you some money to refurb the case, so if you can sell the case to a collector, factor in what it would cost to refurb it, you may find you're well up on getting a a new case that's lighter and more protective.

[JimC]

Seems to me the only reason to keep the inside original would be for a collector of Eko guitars. I find modding cases a congenial activity, if more expensive than you'd think since aerosol impact adhesive is relatively expensive. Furry and felt fabrics are readily available from craft shops at reasonable cost, and I have plenty of foam after I bought a keyboard flight case very cheaply for the fittings. It has since supplied foam for cases and good quality ply for templates and a pedal board, so twas v cost effective.

[McCreed]

Beauty (and value) are in the eye of the beholder.

A bass player mate of mine has a 70's Music Man bass and just got a 70's case for 20 bucks that's quite trashed.
He'll probably spend more doe fixing it up than buying a new case, but it's more about the journey and he'll finish up with a "vintage" Music Man case. Well... some of it will be vintage anyway...

[fender3x]

Yeah, I can get a ChromaCast case on Amazon for $55 with free shipping. ABS is only a little more. Financially it's probably close to a wash--at best.

I am not convinced there are Eko collectors. I checked on Reverb and Ebay... You can find cases for sale occasionally, but I haven't seen any that actually sold. Some of the wilder, pristine Ekos guitars go for up to a grand, but most are in the $400 range. I am not sure whether I have ever actually seen a genuine Eko. I think I may have seen a Vox or two made in their factory. I am a little surprised there isn't more enthusiasm for them...but then I have no direct experience with them so what do I know?

I do like the idea of having a unique case. Just not sure how much time and effort I really want to spend on it. That said, I know I have some spray adhesive around here somewhere...

[Simon Barden]

Probably more interest over here in Europe where there were a lot more of them. They were rather... agricultural. Their acoustics were pretty common over here in the 70s when I was young. A lot of people had the Eko Ranger 6- and 12-strings because they were about the cheapest guitars you could get. Zero fret, adjustable height bridge, plywood bodies IIRC (as opposed to purpose-built laminates) and a bolt-on neck. Most seemed to play pretty well, and even sounded OK, at least to my young ears.

But the electrics are things I’ve only seen in pictures. Fairly unique styling that stayed rooted in the 50s/60s and got left far behind once the flow of cheap Japanese G and F copies arrived. Even the worst of these was better than the Ekos, plus they looked like the real thing.

[JimC]

I am not convinced there are Eko collectors. I checked on Reverb and Ebay...

Bound to be at least one or two... But does the number of Eko collectors exceed the number of Eko instruments appearing out of lofts and dark corners?

[Simon Barden]

Quite a few listed here on Reverb. https://reverb.com/marketplace?query...ectric-guitars

I think you're probably on the wrong continent for an abundance of Eko electric guitars. I expect the case would be worth a reasonable amount over this side of the pond. But by the time you factor in shipping costs, you'd probably have to sell it for a lot less than it's worth to make it attractive. But you never know.

[fender3x]

Quite a few listed here on Reverb. https://reverb.com/marketplace?query...ectric-guitars

I think you're probably on the wrong continent for an abundance of Eko electric guitars. I expect the case would be worth a reasonable amount over this side of the pond. But by the time you factor in shipping costs, you'd probably have to sell it for a lot less than it's worth to make it attractive. But you never know.

Jumpin' Jehosaphat! New plan. I will buy 10 cheap vintage Ekos here. I'll fly to Europe with the guitars and my case. I'll sell them in Europe and, voila! Trip's paid for. If only infectious disease controls would allow me to travel...

[Simon Barden]

There is of course often a big difference between what people are asking and what people will actually pay, but still, the prices in Europe for them are higher than in the US.