ElDegas MT-15?????

[jaymeknyx]

Dear readers,
I have an early 1970 Model ElDegas Mt-15 made of the rare Brazilian Rosewood- Back and sides...I have found out more about this rare wood and its value..Taylor is the only brand that can still get the Rosewood and it is an upgrade that is only offered on there highest end units the Presentation Model..the upgrade alone is 3500USD..I would like to know more about these rare beautiful sounding guitars (ElDegas Model#MT-15) and maybe its approx. value..i would never sell it, but i cant seem to find anything about this mystery guitar that has slipped through the cracks..

[charles]

The good news: You probably have a great guitar on your hands made from woods not readily available in today's market; and, if it plays well and has no serious issues, will serve you for a long time to come.

The bad news: You will probably never get a resale value near what a more "known brand" would command. You would believe how many sub-$200 EL Degas acoustics I see on the internet. Yours would probably command more around $400-1000 depending on the buyer (you can only sell for how much someone would pay, so to speak). Maybe less. Maybe more.

Really hard to say what the true value would be, and take my advice with a grain of salt. As mentioned, it's worth as much as the market will bear. Unfortunately, a not-well-known brand like El Degas doesn't really get the attention (and command the prices) that its contemporaries from the late 60's - early 80's MIJ / early MIK era do.

I'd love to see photos of your guitar if you have any.

[Barry]

Hi,
Like Charles, I would very much like to see a pic or two of your guitar.
It sounds like you have a real gem there!

For what it's worth the MT prefix on the older El Degas models generally indicated a Martin copy. My own is a Gibson clone and uses a GB prefix...and so on.

Given the vintage I'm guessing it falls within the so called "law suit" era, and what you've got is a spot-on repro of the Martin version.
Again, we'd love to see it

Cheers!

[charles]

For what it's worth the MT prefix on the older El Degas models generally indicated a Martin copy. My own is a Gibson clone and uses a GB prefix...and so on.

Barry nailed it, sorry I forgot to mention the kind of model it is based on the nomenclature

[cpdave]

I have an El Degas MT-15 and its in excellent shape. I would like to sell it, no one wants to give me what I want. So im just going to keep it for now. For a 12-string you cant beat it for tone and beauty. CP Dave

[charles]

I have an El Degas MT-15 and its in excellent shape. I would like to sell it, no one wants to give me what I want. So im just going to keep it for now. For a 12-string you cant beat it for tone and beauty. CP Dave

Feel free to list it on the buy & sell portion of the forums if you want to try your luck here...

El Degas guitars are not as known of a brand as... well, just about any of the other 70's Made In Japan guitar brands.

[cpdave]

I have an El Degas MT-15 and its in excellent shape. I would like to sell it, no one wants to give me what I want. So im just going to keep it for now. For a 12-string you cant beat it for tone and beauty. CP Dave

[cpdave]

Well it sounds great, ill have to think about it. I have pictures i can send if some one e-mails me and asks. CP Dave

[Barry]

Hi cpdave, and thanks for the post.
You may not realize it but you have just given us a little bit more information about the MT15 model:
Aha, it's a 12 string!

Hey Jayme, you forgot to mention that little fact about yours.
(and if yours is not a 12 then we have an even bigger mystery on our hands!)

I don't know about anyone else but I'm really keen to see pix of both of these guitars now!
Your contribution would help build the El Degas knowledge base.

[coldtoke]

I have a MT 15 I bought in 1974 .I took it to a local shop for new machine heads.and saddle(he couldnt find a proper sadle) but when I got it back the intonation was off and a couple of machine heads wont turn without major force.The shop said this is because the bridge is starting to lift and cant be fixed but when i look at it I see no lifting(if there acually is any lifting would this affect the machine heads?) I think I need some one who knows how to fix this properly.

[coldtoke]

Would putting on ill fitting machine heads and wrong sadle throw off the intonation? Does any one know a good repair shop around Ottawa or even GTA

[charles]

Would putting on ill fitting machine heads and wrong sadle throw off the intonation?

Possibly.

Definitely get that in to a proper tech.

[Barry]

Would putting on ill fitting machine heads and wrong sadle throw off the intonation? Does any one know a good repair shop around Ottawa or even GTA

Hi coldtoke, pictures would really help here.
To answer your question, generally speaking, yes, saddle position determines intonation; and no, machine heads should not cause intonation problems IF they are operating smoothly. (I'm not sure what you mean by "ill fitting".) If the string is not wound snugly around the post it can slip and cause the string to go out of tune. Other than that....

I'm assuming Is this a 12 string acoustic? Does it have a solid (glued) bridge, or a separate floating bridge and a trapeze tailpiece? Generally, we're looking at a one piece saddle, pre-configured (compensated) which means no individual string adjustment is possible. The only way there could be an intonation problem is if an incorrect saddle was dropped into the bridge, or if the bridge itself is lifting. If it is lifting it should be very obvious! There will be a "hump" immediately behind it indicating that the sound board is being pulled up. Place a straight edge on the sound board. If it rocks, it's lifting. Repair is possible but could be costly.

Again, we really need pictures to know what we're talking about here.

[mikedem]

Would putting on ill fitting machine heads and wrong sadle throw off the intonation? Does any one know a good repair shop around Ottawa or even GTA

I had a 1964 Standel that sat in my parents basement for 20 years and the bridge came loose. I took it to Retrotown as their guitar tech there named Ian is a genius and has fixed my El Degas in the past and he repaired it as good as new.. Retro has since closed down but I have had contact with him and he is now working at Lauzon Music. He is a great guy and knows his stuff. He has fixed guitars that other shops said were unfixable and when he's done you would never know he touched it.

[housefull]

Good post. I appreciate it.
Many thanks to ur post. I love it.