EKO Ranger XII J56
I owned one of the first editions of this guitar which goes back to at least 1967. In 1962 Italian guitar makers EKO decided on producing a series of folk guitars based on the popular dreadnought shape. The twelve-string known as J56 became a best-seller.
The Ranger started life as the J-52 model with a glued-in neck in 1964. A bolt-on neck was added as the J-54 and a twelve-string version J-56 and in early 1967, they were renamed Ranger VI and Ranger XII respectively.
Modified versions were built for Vox under the names Country-Western and Folk Twelve from 1965 till 1968.
The Ranger has a sapele back and sides with the reinforced spruce top. EKO now produces the Ranger again with its Vintage Reissue version.
This guitar was pretty bomb proof and stayed in tune, a definite plus for a 12 string! The neck is bolt on so makes it easy for resetting.
This is a loud guitar, it’s said that compared to a top-of-the-line Martin, Gibson, Taylor or Guild, an EKO Ranger delivers 90% of the sound for under 20% of the price. So, if you are looking for value for a vintage guitar this one might be for you.
Famous players of this guitar are Mike Rutherford from Genesis, Jack Owens and Jimmy Page.
