1960's Eko Florentine II Red Burst Electric Guitar Made in Italy

Here's an awesome vintage player's guitar that very few people have heard of. And boy does it play! The body is about the width of a Stratocaster (13" lower bout), and it's light as a feather, around 5 lbs. It's super easy to get up on the neck, the tuners are high quality, the zero fret ensures wonderful intonation, and the vibe is absolutely undeniable. This is like the evil Knieval goes to Sorrento commemorative guitar, and I just love it.

The neck is a comfortable shape, medium in size, and sort of a D in profile. The zero fret is wonderful for keeping the guitar intonated. Frets are fairly low, somewhat in the fashion of the day. They still have room for some crownings. Zero frets were really popular out of Italy. Most "manouche" guitars from back in the day were produced by Italians (in Paris). Those almost all feature zero frets. I've got a Baldwin that was made in Italy, also a big old zero fret. They're great, and I love that mark of Italian style, both in terms of looks and great intonation! Floating bridge gets the most resonance out of this guitar, and you really feel it! Again, this thing is an absolute featherweight, but sounds wonderful unplugged. Such a fun guitar to play.

Eko produced a bunch of these guitars with red burst bodies and sunburst necks. I've found a few of this same scheme online. Must've had a bunch of extra necks at the factory? Eko was the largest exporter in Europe for a short time, and as a result, they must've had a lot of stock to move through. At any rate, when you're enjoying ripping this guitar, you'll be the only one who knows what color the back of the neck is.

Master volume and tone are easy to dial. I tend to keep the tone nearly or all of the way up. The electronics are sort of squirrelly in this guitar. The bridge pickup is nasally/sharp as a tack. It is really bite-y! The neck pickup is quite mellow/bass heavy. On the "2" position, both pickups are on. This is the position I use 95% of the time with this guitar. It combines both pickups, so there's a noticeably output bump. It's really balanced well between the two pickups and I just think it brings out the sound of the guitar in a really natural way, it "makes sense" playing it. While I'm on the topic of electronics, check out the crazy switching system. Have you ever seen anything like that? Again, unique feature of this guitar.

There are plenty of bumps and bruises on this guitar. It's been loved, with a case, without a case, all over the place. See pictures for a good close up of most of the damaged areas. The big one is a chunk of clear coat missing from around the output jack. Looks pretty rough in pictures but it's easy to forget about in person. Lots of other dings and what not. Fortunately nothing that impedes enjoying the musical aspects of this Florentine ripper.

Guitar will be packed in high quality packaging with a proper box. I ship vintage keyboards and instruments worldwide safely, please ask any questions you've got. I'm happy to answer whatever I can. thanks much!