These are a breath of fresh air. Something a bit different and amazing value for money. Styled on the sort of vintage guitar which would cost you upwards of £20,000 these days, this little beauty does the same for a pittance. They play and sound fantastic and have (incredibly) the feel of an old vintage instrument. If you want that vibe and don’t want to remortgage the house to get it, this could be the answer. This is what Eko have to say about them.

The Aire Relic represents the marriage of a vintage look with the features of a modern, high-performance instrument. The Relic look makes the Aire look like an instrument transported from the 1960s, but it is the details that make this instrument unique: 24-fret fingerboard, bridge humbucker with push pull for splitting the two coils. The body is made of Pawlonia (wood with characteristics approaching those of swamp ash) which gives great sound and lightness, the neck is made of Roasted Maple (American Rock Maple) and the 24-fret fingerboard is made of Eko WPC (Wood Polymers Composites). For the electronic part, the Aire Relic features Eko Vintage pickups with H-S-S configuration, volume control, 2 tones, 5-way switch and push-pull to split the bridge pickup, making this instrument versatile and thus suitable for all musical genres. The top of the fretboard is easily accessible thanks to the wide cutaway that characterises all Elements Aire models. The Aire Relic is available in the colours that have made guitar history: Daphne Blue, Fiesta Red and Sunburst. The pickguards of the Daphne Blue and Fiesta Red colours are in “Vintage Mint Green” like the instruments of the early 1960s; the pickguard for the Aire Relic Sunburst is the typical tortoise shell. The lived-in appeal of the Aire Relic is provided by the beautiful ‘matt’ Relic finish, which is slightly matt and satin.

Spec:

Colour: Daphne Blue
Body Shape: Aire
Body Material: Paulownia
Neck Material: Roasted American Maple
Fretboard Material: Eko WPC (Wood Polymers Composites)
Neck Shape: Aire Eko C Shape
Width at nut: 42 mm
Radius: 14″
Scale Length: 650 mm
Number of Frets: 24
Fret Type: Medium Jumbo, 2.5 mm
Pickup Configuration: H-S-S with split humbucker via PUSH-PUSH
Pickup: Eko Vintage
Controls: Volume + Tone (push-push to split humbucker pickup)
Bridge: Wilkinson with tremolo lever
Body Finish: Relic Satin
Tuning Machines: Eko Electric
Tuning Machines Configuration: 4 + 2 (strings 6, 5, 4, 3 + strings 2 and 1)