eldegas.com

I bought my El Degas MT5 12-String in the mid-late 1970s and, except for a few small bumps, it's still perfect. I have no clue what I paid for it back then - I would guess maybe less than $200, because I wouldn't have been able to affort much more than that back then. In any case, I've gotten 1000X that in pleasure from this old guitar over the years and it still wows listeners with it's full, bright - yet mellow - sound. From a sound POV, I still wouldn't trade it for any acoustic I've heard. It's been played at hundreds of campsites to the delight of fellow campers... at churches... at friends' cottages... jam sessions... parties... you name it. I don't care what it's valued at in today's market, to me it's part of me, priceless, and will never be sold during my lifetime, anyway!

I'm glad to hear of how much fun you've had with this guitar - and that it's gotten around so much

Hi Jerry, and welcome. That is a beautiful "Martin" clone guitar alright, and you've kept her well.
Looks like a lot of finger board scuffing in first position, so I know she's been well played over the years. You can restore the luster to the rosewood with a light buffing with #0000 steel wool followed by a walnut oil or lemon oil application, and polishing with a soft cloth or micro-fibre towel.

As you've discovered, like many of us, most of these ED's from the early to mid 70's are wonderfully made and don't take a back seat to anything out there, even today. I feel exactly the same about my 1975 ED "Gibson Dove" replica. Played in classrooms, parties, gatherings of all sorts, and still looks and plays great!

If you can squeeze out a few more pix of her that would be great too...we live for guitar porn in here!

MIJ guitars from this era are typically solid wood construction, which is why they sound so good!

Mine's a laminate.