Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
Any changes are a no-no to a true collector. Even the frets - they would rather have worn out but original frets than operational but new ones. So it becomes a question of whether you want it as a player or as a collector's piece.
Fortunately the guitars like the EKOs don't command ridiculous prices, so I'd say do what you need to to make it playable (frets, nut, wiring,etc.), but hang on to any parts replaced.
+1
Make it playable, but if you want to allow it to continue to appreciate, do no permanent changes except refret, setup, and cleanup. If you need to replace weak pickups or whatever, that's doable because you can simply put the old ones back in when you sell.
Awesome guitar. I played an Eko a little bit in my local store the other day. Silver thing. It had the thickest damn neck I've ever encountered. Thicker than a classical guitar. Kinda crazy instruments but wonderful.
Italia guitars by Trevor Wilkinson are modern guitars made to modern specs in terms of pickup output, neck shape, and hardware, but with styling inspired by '60s Italian guitars.
