Bartolini / Morbidoni / Diamond Ranger 3 - more glitter and pushbuttons from 1960s Italy

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This guitar serves as a convenient reminder that you can't believe what an eBay seller tells you, even if they are someone who supposedly knows a thing or two about guitars, a guitar dealer or a guitar shop for example.

This glittery orange beast festooned with pushbutton pickup selectors is currently listed on eBay with the title:

1960s EKO DIAMOND PANTHER Electric Guitar ORANGE Sparkl

(sic)

There seems to be a tendency to proclaim any vintage guitar coming out of Italy as being an "Eko", much as vintage Japanese guitars will get labelled "Teisco" or "Matsumoku" without any foundation whatsoever.

So, having said that it should come as no surprise that this guitar is NOT an Eko and neither is it a model named "Panther" despite the Panther picture on the nameplate on the headstock. The major giveaway as to its true name is the actual NAME on the nameplate. (D'Oh!)

It's a Diamond Ranger 3 (the number denoting number of pickups), and from what I can ascertain is actually a guitar Alberto Morbidoni Castelfidardo produced by Bartolini. The Diamond brandname was applied for export to the United States and in particular Washington. Other brandnames such as Dega and Samferri were used for guitars supplied to distributors in other states.

Follow that? It is all rather convoluted and I think I got it correct. Italian speakers can check for themselves here. Anyway, it's currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,195.

G L Wilson

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