eldegas.com

I had purchased a brown el degas from a pawn shop about under a year ago for $170 and I have to say, it is infact my favourite guitar right now other than my ibanez. It easy and great to play. I cant tell you what model it is right now or what i think the knockoff may be, but I'll post a picture later..

But what I was wondering was, are these guitars rare? If so when did they stop being made and exactly how rare are these guys?

Edit its the one inbetween the purple and sunburst.. the brown dude.

Well if you look around the forums you should find some answers to most of your questions.

As to being 'rare', since they haven't been made in a long while I guess you could say that they are. As you've discovered, El Degas made some superb instruments, and it looks like you made a great purchase there!

They are starting to become better known and I suppose their value will eventually increase as the word gets out. That would make Charles a millionaire I'm thinking

Naw, I'd rather El Degas stay rather obscure and the prices stay down... I don't thing the values will ever get too far-fetched. They were brought out as a low-cost alternative / knock off of the big two.

Other brands such as Greco and Burny really have taken off with the collectors, but I'd rather El Degas stay a more "working-man's" brand

Magnif, welcome. As to your questions, these guitars are sort-of rare, but not in a 10-times-the-original-value kind of way. Looks like you've gotten yourself a nice little El Degas - the jury's still out on the exact nomenclature of that model - it's sort of a copy of an Alembic, sort of a copy of an Ibanez Artist... You paid a decent price for it. The bolt on El Degas guitars tend to go for approx $100-250 depending on features and condition, sometimes more and sometimes less.

The history of this brand is sketchy at best. El Degas started as a MIJ import brand by B&J music of NY, NY. El Degas models were made in most, if not all, the major factories (i.e. Fuji Gen, Matsumoku, etc) in Japan to some capacity throughout the late 60s - early 80s era. At some point of the history, B&J Music was sold to Kaman music; and production moved (all or in part) to Korea and other countries (not sure if those two events coincide). Looks like they stopped being made sometime in the early 80s.

Hope this is helpful.

I have a long history with El Degas guitars. When I was a young man playing in the '70's, a friend that I played with got his hands on his brother's El Degas, and I lusted after it. I bought a used G L32 around then for 100.00, and never looked back. It is a copy of a Gibson, Tobacco finish. I replaced the tuning pegs with good quality replacements in the 80's.It was my guitar of choice , until a week ago, when I bought a new Martin D-16. I have played the El Degas busking on the street, on stage, and anywhere else I cared to. The neck has remained true, although the some frets are beginning to buzz. It has a big, solid voice, and is sweet on the high notes. It has been dropped, had beer spilled on it, a number of toke burns, is covered in assorted wounds,and was even used a weapon to poke some fool in the face with the headstock,( never try to rob a busker!)and it is still playing well and sounding good. I owned another, a knock off of a D-18, in Mahogany, that I gave to a young fella who needed a good guitar. It too is '70's vintage, and is still sounding good today.What is the deal with El Degas? Good wood, very good workmanship, and excellent quality all round!! A reliable, tough, workmanlike instrument!

What a great site! I learned something new...my Gl32 is a guild copy. Maybe the Guild copied is a Gibson copy.... whatever it is, it is still a great guitar! I play it now with a bottleneck, in a E or G tuning. It has such a good tone!

You got one of the good ones - enjoy it!

Feel free to make a new thread in the Showcase section to post some photos of it, hint hint

charles wrote:You got one of the good ones - enjoy it!
Feel free to make a new thread in the Showcase section to post some photos of it, hint hint

Yes beebop, let's have a look at her!

I'll post a photo as soon as i can borrow a camera....I waste all my money on strings and such. You know how it is. I just finished practicing with new d-28. Strung with light gauge strings, the action is not as slick as the El-Degas strung with extra-light strings. Of course, I have to get a set-up,as the new guitar has only a factory set up, and the Martin's Voice is incomparable. But the El-Degas still has a great sound, and the action is superb! The neck is in tune all the way down the fretboard, and it's s handsome instrument in a distressed kind of way!!! Something like it's owner.....