Contemporary Color
Any doubts about where the Ghost VI
resides on the line between modern and
vintage, from a sound perspective, will be
answered the second you plug in and turn
up, which I did through a Fender Bassman
4x10 reissue and a silverface Fender Twin.
The bridge humbucker has a distinct
humbucker-equipped-Telecaster snap that
would cut through any band mix, and it
worked very nicely with the high-headroom
Twin and the darker, meatier Bassman for
a little chicken-pickin’ paradise. Selecting
the bridge and middle pickups transformed
the tone into a classic Richard Thompson/
Knopfler-esque, out-of-phase Strat tone
that inspired me to play along with a few
favorite Fairport Convention jams. It’s a
great illustration of how these pickups manage
to impart a lot of single-coil character
with much greater headroom.
With an admitted predisposition about
how a Vox-style guitar should sound, I was
initially a little confused by the disparity
between the look of the guitar hanging
around my shoulder and the Fender-y
tones that spilled forth. And the light
setup (the guitar was strung with .009s and
low action) confounded my initial attempts
to dig in and play the fast, heavy folk-rock
arpeggios I’d be inclined to play on
a vintage Phantom. But once I was better
acquainted with the tonal characteristics
of the pickups and the Ghost’s slinky feel,
I was more than happy to string together
some legato runs, full-step bends, and fast
finger vibrato. And that re-orientation of
my approach to the guitar reinforced my
thoughts about how comfortable and playable
its neck is.
Neck and neck-and-middle pickup configurations
delivered more of the familiar
Strat-with-headroom quality you tend to
get out of blade-style humbuckers. But they
seemed to work best in out-of-phase positions,
where working the tone knob summoned
all kinds of cool, boxy tones that
still sustained and sang beautifully.
In general, the tremolo system was ill-matched
to the Ghost as it was set up. The
attractive, Bigsby-inspired unit worked with
a mellow touch when I reduced the tension
on the arm, but that adjustment seemed to
also make the guitar more susceptible to
slipping out of tune. If you choose to forego
the tremolo entirely, it can be tucked
away just like a Bigsby by turning the arm
around backwards, which also has the benefit
of improving access to the aft-most
tone control.
The Verdict
There is definitely a disconnect between
how the Eko Ghost VI plays and sounds
and how most experienced Vox fans will
expect it to play. But for players unfamiliar
with the vintage Vox and Eko legacy of
snorkely pickup tones and jangle-ready
setups, the Ghost VI is an appealing way to
get Fender-style playability and tones while
getting a whole different visual vibe. Fans
of out-of-phase Knopfler sounds will find a
lot to like about the clarity and headroom from the humbuckers in bridge-and-middle
and neck-and-middle settings. And honky-tonkin’
Telecaster fans will love the civilized-but-nasty treble bite of the bridge pickup
through a loud Fender amp. Will those
factors sway a buyer otherwise bound for
a Strat? From psychedelic revivalists and
garage punks to art rockers Phantom-style
guitars have always attracted some very
left-of-center characters. But it’s fascinating
to imagine how players with those sensibilities
might appreciate this very playable take
on a ’60s-style icon.
Buy if...
you love the out-of-left-field ’60s
look but need modern playability
and tones.
Skip if...
you think Phantom-style guitars are
only good for paddling a canoe.
Rating...
