You gotta love when this happens. I was up at the goodwill thrift store just poking around when I came across this guitar. It had no strings, the bridge was hanging off it by one screw and it was covered in duct tape. I sighted the neck and found it straight and pristine. It had all the hardware still and for $20.00 I figured it was worth the purchase. I took it home and cleaned it up, added tremelo springs (missing them) and set it up. This things plays great. It has become one of my nicest guitars. It sounds great and the neck is really, really good. I did a little research, as I've dicovered that the Hondo is little known but those who have them love them. They're not top quality, but they are well made and are well regarded as decent guitars. Hey, I figure for $20.00, I did o.k. It plays as well as my '73 Strat and sound different enough to be unique. Records really well.
Gotta love it
- Thread starter domvac
- Start date
Nice score! I don't know what it is about Hondos, but the only few I've ever seen were in similar disrepair, lol. Something about Hondo's made people want to beat the shit out of them, then take them half apart then walk away from them.
btw, WRONG forum!
I posted there because the header said it was for showing pics of studios or guitars or other gear. I'm still new here. Thanks
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
It must be nice living in never never land. Let us know if you ever decide to come back to reality. Those things are made out of scrap plywood that's not even suitable for building pallets let alone musical instruments. If you like to canoe it might make a decent paddle.
If that's true then you had better get your strat to a good luthier pronto!
Gee, don't hold back, tell me what you really think! Granted, this guitar is not in the same league as my Strat, it still has a maple neck with rosewood and it's straight and true. If the body is plywood (can't tell with the paint) it doesn't matter. It plays beautifully and sounds pretty good. I set the bridge and the action and I know it's a nice guitar. I've played Fender Squiers that were little more than firewood and they were selling for $$$$$. I also own one that is a pretty fine instrument. Until you hold it in your hands and run a few riffs, don't judge it. Just for the info, other guitar players bring their guitars to me to set them up for them. I know what I'm doing. Every now and then, GOD blesses us with a gift. I accept.
Cheers.
My son found a Hondo Les Paul copy when he returned home after Hurricane Katrina. It was NOT in good shape, having been water-soaked for days or weeks. It's now a part of a piece of sculpture... picture shows a different guitar that was substituted for photo day.
Attachments
I also have a Regent bass that I found and rescued from a wood pile. It was covered in snow and was slated to be burned at the next bonfire. Again, the neck was straight but the pickup and pots were trash. I put a Jazz pickup and new pots in it and it plays really nicely. I know there are those who would thumb their nose at this, but the end result is it's very playable and sounds good enough to use for song writing. I'm not daddy warbucks and cannot afford expensive toys. Most of what I have I either built or bought in pawn shops or through want ads. That's how I got my '73 Strat ($350.00) and my '82 Hagstrom Swede ($100.00) and my Ibanez Roadstar ($50.00) and a host of others over the years. Hey, you do what you gotta. Speakers, amps, guitars, keys or what ever. You can find diamonds in the garbage if you have a keen eye and aren't so proud you pass over an opportunity. I'm not "dumpster diving" here. I just happen to run accross these things. For instance, I was on a service call in a ritzy area and driving down the street I saw that someone was throwing out a Sony Bass bin. I picked it up figuring if the thing didn't work, I could strip it for parts and throw the rest out. The thing works fine and is on my theatre surround sound today. People get lazy. They buy new stuff and can't be bothered with the old so they toss it.
Right place, right time.
Cheers.
Right place, right time.
Cheers.
dervish riff
New member
I wish the Goodwill here priced things like that--they usually want $70.00 for anything with strings on it.
I have several refurbed guitars and three Curbside Upgrade amps, I just swapped necks on one of my Squier strats--now it has 22 frets. The donor Squier came out of a trash can in the student ghetto.
Nothing wrong with scrounging up gear, with me it's hereditary (when somebody remarks on me swearing like a sailor, I tell them mom WAS in the navy).
I have several refurbed guitars and three Curbside Upgrade amps, I just swapped necks on one of my Squier strats--now it has 22 frets. The donor Squier came out of a trash can in the student ghetto.
Nothing wrong with scrounging up gear, with me it's hereditary (when somebody remarks on me swearing like a sailor, I tell them mom WAS in the navy).
CoolCat
Well-known member
"Hondo....now there's a name I haven't heard for a long long time....not since the cloning wars...."
ObiWankerWan- Star Wars 1977
Hondo...I had one early on... and strangely, I too immediately trashed it.
I painted it with some crappy spray paint, and didn't even sand it down. I had absolutely no clue.... who knows what I was thinking? I recall I was in such a hurry I put the hardware back on before the paint dried. 15, 16,17yrs old?... I never painted another guitar again. it sucked really bad.
maybe there is something to these being a beginner guitar people "grew thru them".....learn how to tear them apart or try their first paint job, learn how to string a guitar...and toss them into the closet for Goodwill?
$20 you can't go wrong if you had fun messing with it....
I been playing a Epi SG and its CL value is $60 (less, if not mint). I guess everyone can afford a few guitars these days.
Maybe a new value/price group of $10-$60 used guitars?
I have a Squier 51 and its a blast, love it... and my favorite guitar. A lot of 51er's modify theirs in the most crazy cool ways, but its a blast too.
Its just a different approach than say keeping something in a vault pristine condition or trying out your first paint job on a $3000 Les Paul.
http://www.instituteofnoise.com/squier51/forum/default.asp
You might find something here to mess about with your Hondo...
ObiWankerWan- Star Wars 1977
Hondo...I had one early on... and strangely, I too immediately trashed it.
I painted it with some crappy spray paint, and didn't even sand it down. I had absolutely no clue.... who knows what I was thinking? I recall I was in such a hurry I put the hardware back on before the paint dried. 15, 16,17yrs old?... I never painted another guitar again. it sucked really bad.
maybe there is something to these being a beginner guitar people "grew thru them".....learn how to tear them apart or try their first paint job, learn how to string a guitar...and toss them into the closet for Goodwill?
$20 you can't go wrong if you had fun messing with it....
I been playing a Epi SG and its CL value is $60 (less, if not mint). I guess everyone can afford a few guitars these days.
Maybe a new value/price group of $10-$60 used guitars?
I have a Squier 51 and its a blast, love it... and my favorite guitar. A lot of 51er's modify theirs in the most crazy cool ways, but its a blast too.
Its just a different approach than say keeping something in a vault pristine condition or trying out your first paint job on a $3000 Les Paul.
http://www.instituteofnoise.com/squier51/forum/default.asp
You might find something here to mess about with your Hondo...
When I bought this Hondo, I figured "$20.00, I can give it to a friend to learn on". I've been looking for a cheap guitar for a friend with no musical talent and wants to be a rock star but after fixing this one up, I could just see him getting bored after a week and tossing it in a corner and I enjoy it too much. I'm not looking for a project to refinish or restore, I already did that to my Strat which worked out really well. I guess I'll continue to look for a cheapie for my friend and avoid anything that appeals to me. I'm so selfish.
There are several levels of guitars with the "Hondo" name. The ones that are Hondo II 's are the junky plywood variety, I believe made in Korea (before they were making relatively good, decent quality guitars), Indonesia or some other asian country. They were entry level at best. The ones that don't have the II designation, just the "HONDO" logo, I believe most were made in Japan in the 70's, maybe some in the early 80's. From what I have seen, they vary from entry level to pro-level. Like other MIJ's, as that decade progressed the quality improved a lot. I think the Hondo IIs that exist in the states far outnumber the Hondos.
The Hondo "Revival" series that I have seen look to be pretty good. I had a Hondo Revival series 335 copy that was definitely a pro level ax, The fit and finish was impeccable, it came standard with Grover tuners, fret edge binding, decent sounding pickups - it looked, played and sounded wonderful. The Hondo "model 748" Les Paul copies are supposed to be good, I think comparable to Greco, Burny, Tokai Lp's of the same era.
The Hondo "Revival" series that I have seen look to be pretty good. I had a Hondo Revival series 335 copy that was definitely a pro level ax, The fit and finish was impeccable, it came standard with Grover tuners, fret edge binding, decent sounding pickups - it looked, played and sounded wonderful. The Hondo "model 748" Les Paul copies are supposed to be good, I think comparable to Greco, Burny, Tokai Lp's of the same era.
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grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Yeah, I well remember Hondos. Of the first four basses I had, 2 of them were Hondos and the first bass guitar I ever played which belonged to my mate, was a Hondo. So in a curious way, they have etched themselves into my musical history. The two that I had weren't good; the V shape strings were really flubby and like a blancmange ~ punchless in sound, while the one I bought in '86 when I'd been out of the loop for a year was pretty punchy but it had real problems staying in tune or maybe that was just me. I gave the V shape to this kid who promptly embarked on a life of crime {he was going straight and doing record production, last I heard} while the other I swapped for a Fender musicmaster.
The Hondo did what it did and I wrote a number of what I consider to be grand songs on it.