What do you guys think of this?

As you might know, i am a big fan of Hondo ii Professional series made at the Tokai factory. I've brought them up a few times around here, i have a couple and love them. All i want now is one of the Fender Lead copies. Anyway, i stumbled across this neck thru which is a real beauty and reminds me of my Memphis ghost. Gorgeous wood grains on the back. I'm pretty sure its Korean, but hey thats o.k. It always amuses me how so many people advertise Hondos as Japanese even though most are plywood crap and probably 95% are Korean made. The guys asking too much but i dig this guitar! Opinions?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-HONDO-II-Neck-Thru-Electric-Guitar-Case-/360386354842?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D2065891166057905768

Yeah he certainly is asking lots more than I would pay. Lots more.

Seems to be honest about condition at least... even mentions the "non-original" case has a broken latch.

We all do have weaknesses for certain things though I suppose. I say go for it if it trips your trigger that much.

$50.00 to ship? Getting a little on the side there too, huh. He strikes me as being only about the $$. Good luck talking him into the vicinity of reasonable -ness.

Actually Ice i'm not real interested in buying it, i was just curious as to what you all think of the quality of this here axe. You can find the Professional series for cheap if you look hard enough (although this is not one). I've never seen a neck thru Hondo. She looks pretty well made, dont ya think?
By the way, here is a link to one of my Hondo ii Pros just for kicks.

http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=6589

Wow, that is a gorgeous guitar. And although the price is high for a Hondo, compare it to any similar guitar on the market today, eh?

That is a nice guitar. I had a Hondo professional which was Matsumoku as it had original MMK 45's. I sold it and now have two set neck Hondo Les Pauls. One I think is Korean and one Japanese. They are both extremely heavy, solid wood (not ply) and very well put together.

Both of my Les Paul's have Dimarzios and Grovers.

Not all Hondos are tat and I am with you Hobster, they did sell some nice instruments.

Hoax

hoax wrote:
That is a nice guitar. I had a Hondo professional which was Matsumoku as it had original MMK 45's. I sold it and now have two set neck Hondo Les Pauls. One I think is Korean and one Japanese. They are both extremely heavy, solid wood (not ply) and very well put together.

Both of my Les Paul's have Dimarzios and Grovers.

Not all Hondos are tat and I am with you Hobster, they did sell some nice instruments.

Hoax

Nice to see another hondo fan hoax. Yeah, they did make some at Matsumoku as well, although they seem harder to find. If Uncle Matt made them they can't be too bad,right?

Cool guitar! Me likee, but I'm a sucker for those double wing styled axes. The body wood might be ash...

I have another one coming next week. It is a Hondo professional double cut with set neck, ash body and I believe MMK 45's. Needs a little tidy up,but I will fully assess it when it arrives.
Hoax

Hondo did make some fine guitars and some crap as well.
Here's my two Japan made one's. dimarzio pups, grover machine heads.








Some of their pups, like on the H 76 Strat. model sound great. the ones with the metal back plate.

Do like that one on ebay, bit pricey though.

Hey Damian

Love the "Fatboy" or should I say heavy boned adolescent!!. That is a really unusual colour. I used to have a blonde one. I take it that this is a recent score for you? Tell us the story.

Graham

hoax wrote:
I have another one coming next week. It is a Hondo professional double cut with set neck, ash body and I believe MMK 45's. Needs a little tidy up,but I will fully assess it when it arrives.
Hoax

You should post some pics when it arrives, i'd love to check it out!
Great guitars Westbone, they seem to be in excellent shape. I like the 937 alot, i've heard nothing but good things about them.

You see a lot of Hondo's cheap on Ebay, I've always stayed away because I didn't know much about them. Might be nice to get a cheap Hondo LP and mod it for some fun. Something I wouldn't usually do as I'm a purist, but these do seem a dime a dozen!

Great idea Chad, just remember most are plywood crap. I actually just won a beater Hondo ii Pro last night for less than $60, it should be a fun project! To my knowledge, the Professional series was made at Tokai, Matsumoku and other Japanese factories. The 935 series is also Japanese made and great quality, and i've been told the Fame series is pretty good also. The majority of the ones advertised as Japanese made are actually Korean, i think people just assume or feel its better marketing. There are some great deals on great guitars if you know what to look for.

So the Professional series is the one to look for, eh? Good to know, thanks! I'd like to have an LP style singlecut, don't have one yet. But I want one that I won't feel bad about customizing. You know what I mean!

One for you hobster, don't know where this guy gets the shipping quotes from, all over the place. Think he makes them up. Way over the top for shipping to the UK, otherwise I would have been a tad interested.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDO-II-PRO-GUITAR-JAPAN-LEAD-2-H1010-TOKIA-NR-/220838633992?pt=Guitar&hash=item336b022208

Yep thats the one. I'll get my hands on one of those Lead 2 copies one day! A sunburst one i was watching on ebay went for $210 with shipping but it was a bit beat up and unoriginal so i'll be patient and things should work out.
Dig the $234 shipping cost by the way.

Edit: O.K, just found the same one on USA ebay w/$25 shipping. If i can convince the wife i might go for it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDO-II-PRO-GUITAR-JAPAN-LEAD-2-H1010-TOKIA-NR-/220838633992?pt=Guitar&hash=item336b022208

Hi Hobster,

I've actually got one of these Hondo H1052B Lead II copies and I'm in the process of rebuilding it.

I found mine in a local market for £45 but it was in bad shape. All the hardware had rusted, the pickup leads snapped off at the coils and the neck needed replacing because the truss rod locked solid. I'm not sure I can still call it a Hondo, the only original parts left are the body, the pots, and one of the switches!

I hope to get it finished soon but are some pics of it at the moment.



The body is made from 10 planks of wood and faced front and back with two ply veneer. This guitar was originally black but the veneer is probably used to improve the look of the sunburst finish.

DAN.

Pretty cool Dan, thanks for the shot of the wood. Thats interesting, i didn't know they had a veneer, it was probably standard but mostly for the burst like you said. I know pressing planks together was pretty popular, my Concord SX has quite a few layers. Sounds like that guitar had a rough ride, glad she is being brought back to life. Enjoy the project!

The more I look at Hondo Lead II models, the more they look like Mats made guitars.
Like the truss rod adjustment, similar to the early Concords, necks with glued on fingerboards, no skunk stripe.
Mats did make a few for Hondo around that time in the Professional range.
The method of gluing multi pieces of timber and facing with a veneer/ply was a method of using up the offcuts. Hence Hondos were on the cheaper end.
Just a thought.

Duo Fuzz,
Do you still have the original Hondo pups, could you post a piccy of the bottom of them. Cheers.