
Has a reader’s investment in a funky, vintage Italian solidbody been profitable, or will it need to cook longer?
Hey Zach,
Back in the early 2000s, I bought this Eko sparkle-top guitar as a quasi-investment (’50s Strats were too expensive for my blood), thinking it fell into that cool 1960s guitar movement, with an awesome finish. I really don’t know much about Eko guitars, except a web search says they are still around, but how has my investment done over the past 15 years?
Thanks,
Jim in Toledo, Ohio
Hey Jim,
No doubt this is a cool-looking guitar (and a great color), but coolness rarely translates into desirability and collectability. That’s such a rare combination to find on vintage guitars. You are also correct that Eko is still around today, nearly 60 years after they began building guitars. So, let’s talk a little about the company’s history and how your investment is doing.
Eko’s history as a guitar maker started in 1959, but the company’s founder, Oliviero Pigini, was involved in the Italian music industry for many years before that—most notably with accordions. When World War II came to a close, many of the accordions Pigini was making were sent to America for distribution. One of those distributors was Lo Duca Brothers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which sold accordions, sheet music, and other musical items, but had also expanded into guitars and amplifiers by distributing the Magnatone line by the late 1950s.
When Pigini sensed the guitar boom coming, he started out by building traditional acoustics and small archtop guitars in Italy. As the electric-guitar market began to grow, the company looked to produce solidbodies as well. So, Pigini traveled to the U.S. and teamed up with the Lo Ducas to develop a line of electric guitars. The Lo Ducas acted as technical designers and provided input on Eko designs, and Eko continued to build the guitars in Italy with Lo Duca Brothers serving as the exclusive dealer in the U.S.
Your guitar, the 500/3V, comes from Eko’s popular 500 series produced in the early 1960s. There were quite a few variations of the 500 series, including different pickup configurations and the option of vibrato or non-vibrato. Because model names were based on their configuration, we know by name that your 500/3V has three pickups and a vibrato tailpiece. And with sparkle finishes, mother-of-pearl backs, and an abundance of switches, I think there’s little doubt that an accordion-making background influenced the design!
As the 1960s progressed, Eko moved towards more traditional finishes on their guitars, and they also built guitars for other companies, including Vox and Goya. By 1967, Eko had established dealers in nearly 60 countries, but it was also the same year Oliviero Pigini died from a heart attack.
When the guitar market began to soften in the late 1960s, and competition increased from Japan and other countries, Eko (along with many others) felt the pinch. Some companies went out of business or moved production overseas, but Eko instead scaled down and cut back on the number of models they offered. They were able to stay in business and focused more on keyboards and organs.
A mother-of-pearl back isn’t something one sees often, or ever, but it certainly hints at the accordion-design roots behind Eko.
The company’s popular line of Ranger acoustics came out in the 1970s, and artists such as Gerry Rafferty, Jimmy Page, and Mike Rutherford were all seen playing Eko guitars. Eko continued to produce guitars until 1985, and, remarkably, all in Italy up to that point. Oliviero’s brother, Lamberto, later took over the company and, with plans to revive the Eko brand, he released a line of Czech Republic-built guitars called “Eko’s Back” in 2000. Since then they have slowly increased production and reintroduced the Eko brand to consumers and artists alike.
I’m guessing (and hoping) you paid $500 or less for this guitar in the early 2000s. Today this guitar is worth between $700 and $850 in excellent condition. Looking back at historical pricing, it really hasn’t changed much in 15 years. Investing in guitars—or practically anything else—is more luck than science at times. Collectible guitars need a combination of desirability, originality, and uniqueness. (Think of ’58 to ’60 Les Paul ’bursts, which have all three.) Eko built a lot of guitars and your model certainly looks a lot like another brand’s guitar. And while the finish is cool and the pickup configurations are innovative, it hasn’t reached collector status today. Still, you have an interesting piece of history that at least is holding its value!
Jack White's 2025 No Name Tour features live tracks from his album No Name, with shows across North America, Europe, the UK, and Japan.
The EP is a 5-song collection of live tracks taken from White’s 2024 edition of the tour, which was characterized by surprise shows in historic clubs around the world to support the 2024 album No Name.
No Name is available now via Third Man Records. The acclaimed collection was recently honored with a 2025 GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Rock Album” – White’s 34th solo career nomination and 46th overall along with 16 total GRAMMY® Award wins. The No Name Tour began, February 6, with a sold-out show at Toronto, ON’s HISTORY and then travels North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Japan through late May. For complete details and remaining ticket availability, please visit jackwhiteiii.com/tour-dates.
White’s sixth studio album, No Name officially arrived on Friday, August 2 following its clandestine white-label appearance at Third Man Records locations that saw customers slipped, guerilla-style, free unmarked vinyl copies in their shopping bags. True to his DIY roots, the record was recorded at White’s Third Man Studio throughout 2023 and 2024, pressed to vinyl at Third Man Pressing, and released by Third Man Records.
For more information, please visit jackwhiteiii.com.
JACK WHITE - NO NAME TOUR 2025
FEBRUARY
11 – Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
12 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
17 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
18 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
21 – Paris, France – La Cigale
22 – Paris, France – La Trianon
23 – Paris, France – La Trianon
25 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg (Ronda)
26 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg (Ronda)
28 – London, UK – Troxy
MARCH
1 – London, UK – Troxy
2 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Academy Birmingham
3 – Glasgow, UK – Barrowland Ballroom
10 – Hiroshima, Japan – Blue Live Hiroshima
12 – Osaka, Japan – Gorilla Hall
13 – Nagoya, Japan – Diamond Hall
15 – Tokyo, Japan – Toyosu PIT
17 – Tokyo, Japan – Toyosu PIT
APRIL
3 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
4 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
5 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha
7 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
8 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
10 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed (Indoors)
11 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed (Indoors)
12 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple Theatre
13 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple Theatre
15 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe
16 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
18 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle
19 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle
MAY
4 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
5 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
6 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
8 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
9 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
10 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Event Center
12 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
13 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
15 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
16 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
17 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
19 – Seattle, WA – The Paramount Theatre
20 – Seattle, WA – The Paramount Theatre
22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
23 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
24 – Troutdale, OR – Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn
A dose of magic gain potion.
Works like a little vial of magic gain potion. Fattens without obscuring individual frequency bands.
None.
$129
Solodallas SVDS Boost
solodallas.com
The Schaeffer-Vega Diversity System—an early and very successful wireless system—excelled at the tasks it was designed for. But there was more magic than met the eye. Though designed to sound as transparent as possible, it nonetheless colored the signal in a way that people like Angus Young and Eddie Van Halen found essential.
SoloDallas explored the possibilities of this circuit before in pedals like theSchaeffer Replica, but the new SVDS Boost strips the formula to essentials. Minimalist controls—one knob, that’s it—make this boost no less delicious. I’m not surprised Angus Young was smitten with the original SVDS. An SG and Marshall 18-watt amp sound fantastic naked, but the SVDS Boost has the rare talent for fattening everything without seeming to favor or obscure any frequency band too much. And as zest to the PAF/Marshall style formula, it makes the kind of rowdy, organic, airy, large, and punch-packing Marshall sound you would dream of getting in a studio or hearing on the radio. There are many shades of this basic awesome color in spite of the single knob. Unity gain lives in the earliest third of its range. From there you certainly get more volume, but mostly you bathe in various hues of compressed, saturated, thick, and dynamite growl. You don’t need a Gibson and a Marshall to use it to devastating effect, either. A Telecaster and Vibrolux snap with attitude and whip-crack energy with the SVDS in the line. And with both guitar/amp combos, the SVDS’ wide dynamic responsiveness to volume and tone attenuation assures that things stay cracking when you need more control.
Learn about this iconic guitar's journey, its mods done by Frank, and hear how it sounds in the hands of his son Dweezil.
Neil Young’s ’70s hits are some of the most recognizable radio rock jams of all time. But Neil’s guitar playing continued to grow over the ensuing decades, as he traversed styles from blues to country to electronic to rockabilly and beyond, eventually developing one of the most tonally decadent, fully formed improvisational voices in the entire guitar universe.
Neil Young’s ’70s hits are some of the most recognizable radio rock jams of all time. But Neil’s guitar playing continued to grow over the ensuing decades, as he traversed styles from blues to country to electronic to rockabilly and beyond, eventually developing one of the most tonally decadent, fully formed improvisational voices in the entire guitar universe.
Like any discography that’s been growing over the course of more than half a century, it can be hard to decode Young’s work. And with such an adventurous spirit, it could be easy to make some missteps and miss out on his best guitar works. In this episode, Nick guides Jason through some of his hero’s finest moments.
More news from Neil always seems to be on the horizon, so here’s your chance to catch up.