Hondo II Strat

This is a guitar I got in exchange for computer work. What is odd is that when I was teen in the 80′s to own a Hondo guitar was like the worst thing you could do. We made fun of them, in complete ignorance, and would never consider anyone who played one to be cool. Boy was I stupid! This guitar is absolutely amazing and I actually play it more then any other guitar I have.

I often refer to this guitar as the ‘Bumble Bee’ and I call it that do to its color and it’s sting. This guitar has been abused in the 20 plus years it has been around by it’s various owners and it still sounds incredible. There is a crack in the paint near the cut away for the neck but it does not seem to be in the wood. The paint- it actually looks sort of like an M&M coating. The body is made of plywood and the paint is super durable and impact resistant and looks like if you were to strip the guitar to paint it you would see nothing but pure ugliness! I would swear the ‘candy coating’ is what is holding it together.

I have always been one to tinker. I love tearing things apart and modifying them. The wiring on this guitar is atrocious and the pick guard very thin and flimsy. There is no shielding quality materials in or around the electronics. But, as I started considering tearing it apart and replacing the guts at the last minute I decided not to and left them alone. Even with the old crappy parts in it the sound is crystal clear when playing clean and piercing when distorted.

Originally the wah bar was screwed flat and blocked from the underside. After all there is no way that thing would stay in tune after one use- WRONG! I am one of the few people who actual use the wah bar on the strat guitars. I set them up to float so that they can raise and lower. Before I decided to undo the handy work of the would be luthier who blocked up the bar I notice something very interesting about the tuning heads- I could not knock this thing out of tune buy any normal playing or contact. So, I freed the bar. This is incredible! I can wang on it and it does not lose tune by very much if at all for light use and if I dive bomb I may need to make minor tune adjustments once ever two dives.

This guitar was made in Korea. Hondo itself was formed in 1969 as a joint venture between Samik and the Texas based IMC. In the early ’70s Hondo’s were copies of Fender and Gibson guitars which, I believe is when this guitar was made. Eventually IMC bought into Charvel/Jackson and Hondo started making them which increased the quality of the Hondo line. This one is a keeper. It is the first electric I grab when I walk into my studio when I want to ‘let it out’ or have an idea for a riff I want to experiment with. If I ever find one for sale cheap I will definitely be checking it out.

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