El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

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Lamf77
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El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by Lamf77 »

Hi everyone...new to board.
I came across an El Degas 345 someone close to me has for sale. From the photos, it looks in pretty good shape. Seller told me the original tuners have been replaced.
I can not seem to find much info anywhere on comparative pricing. Just wondering what I should expect to pay?
It is the darker wood version...maybe walnut?
Thanks so much,
Mike
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charles
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Re: El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by charles »

It can be a bit tough to price these ones. It's a bolt-on so I immediately think somewhere in the $200-300 range is the most I would pay, personally.

It really depends how it feels in your hands. I had one years ago and never liked the way it played, and the varitone was more interesting in theory than in practice. Your mileage may vary.
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
Lamf77
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Re: El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by Lamf77 »

Thanks. Very difficult without help since so many places charge outrages amounts for "lawsuit" era guitars. The seller told me $250, and the original tuners have been changed. Not sure how much that effects price.
Thanks again.
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charles
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Re: El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by charles »

So long as the tuners suit the guitar, they might be an improvement over the originals.
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
Lamf77
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Re: El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by Lamf77 »

They were Ping tuners and not bad. However...there were 4-5 weird stress like cracks running horizontal below the neck plate on the back of the guitar.
It almost looked liked the back of the guitar was collapsing inward a bit. Besides that, the front of the guitar was way more beat up that pictures. I simply told him I was interested in something in better condition and that was that. Thanks so much for the quick replies! It is very appreciated!
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charles
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Re: El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by charles »

Glad to help.
I started ElDegas.com many years ago to help celebrate and inform about El Degas instruments. It all started with a used Ric 4000 bass copy I bought in circa 2000.

El Degas stable as of 03/2022: 42 :shock: (13 bass, 26 electric, 3 acoustic)
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Barry
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Re: El Degas ES-345 On The Way?

Post by Barry »

Lamf77 wrote:They were Ping tuners and not bad. However...there were 4-5 weird stress like cracks running horizontal below the neck plate on the back of the guitar.
It almost looked liked the back of the guitar was collapsing inward a bit. Besides that, the front of the guitar was way more beat up that pictures. I simply told him I was interested in something in better condition and that was that. Thanks so much for the quick replies! It is very appreciated!
Sounds like you made a wise decision not to buy. It's extremely uncommon to see horizontal stress cracks below the neck plate and as you determined it was likely because of either a blow to the back of the neck, or worse, collapsing bracing/bridge. However, it's hard to tell without pix.

As for the Ping tuners, they're good but I suspect the originals were Kluson style (like the Gibson) so these would be completely different.
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