new/old Hondo II lots of pics

[Bassassin]

Pisces - I can't quite tell from the pic, does the sticker on the back of the neck say Made In Japan or Made In Korea? I had a very similarly-built Hondo Les Paul copy and have wondered about its origin for ages.

Quite surprised to find that this is as early as 1975 - I didn't know Hondo were producing good-quality original instruments that early.

Jon.

[PISCES19]

Hello Jon, the sticker on the back does say made in Korea. I can't be too sure of the date I purchased the guitar but i'm pretty sure it's around 1975 not much later if it is, don't think it was as late as 1977.

[lhpcope]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum. I picked up one of theses Hondo II guitars off ebay a few weeks ago.
[http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q487/lhpcope/IMG_2409.jpg] and [http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q487/lhpcope/IMG_2410.jpg].

The top is three piece, the body is two piece, and the neck is five piece. The body looks like ash to me.
[http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q487/lhpcope/IMG_2419.jpg] and [http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q487/lhpcope/IMG_2417.jpg]

which is not a bad thing at all.

The neck is straight and over all is a very good player. The pickups were both Diamarzio DP104s in their OEM form, the K model without adj screws. Unfortunately one of them was open so I put in another HB I had laying around.

My question is the headstock plastic is cracked and partially missing. [http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q487/lhpcope/IMG_2411.jpg]

Does anyone have an idea how to repair this without loosing the logo and flower pot?

Thanks, lhpcope[/url]

[wietse]

[lhpcope]

Thanks for making them visible!

[daan]

Wow haven't checked this post in a long while! I haven't finished my Hondo yet, I have the finish stripped off the back/sides/neck but not the top. I got way overambitious with mine-Hey, the binding's all cracked and missing in some spots, so let's re-bind it! OOps, nobody sells wbwbwbw binding like this... Hey, the headstock overlay peeled off, so let's redo that, too! Oops, the "gibson" flowerpot ones aren't the same size and the tuner holes don't line up... Hey, the top is 1mm veneer (in 5 non-matching pieces...) and my buddy has a vacuum bag setup to make CF parts in, let's get some nice veneer to re-do the top! Oops, he moved away and I don't know anyone else with veneering equipment... Duh. I'm sure I'll get it finished someday, especially since I have everything I need to finish it, just no time to do it in. I should have just gotten it playing and left it at that.

[lhpcope]

Good Luck!!! Mine would seem to have its headstock covered with 0.3mm plastic, which I have found a source for. I just am not sure how to proceed on the repair.

[daan]

Well the binding was coming off mine, so as I was picking the pieces off I noticed the overlay wasn't attatched real well. Also when I drilled out the tuner holes for the new tuners that took more of the overlay off, too. The rest came off no problem with a putty knife/scraper thing (real thin flexible steel paddle) A little heat helped loosen it, a hair dryer worked fine.

[lhpcope]

How were you able to work around the flower pot inlay without disturbing it?

[daan]

Uh actually mine didn't have a flower pot on it.

It was already peeling, the binding was coming off and when I enlarged the tuner holes it took more of the overlay off too so I just took the rest of it off. I was gonna order a new overlay http://www.croxguitars.com/overlays.htm
but I realized (besides that this isn't a Gibson and I don't wanna make it look like one) that the headstock shape is different and the tuner holes are in different spots. I got some thin maple veneer and will just paint it black when it's done (50,000 years from now...)

[daan]

I cheated, since I haven't gotten any farther on this, I bought another one
THis one was in MUCH better shape, but it still needed new tuners and bridge.



I did get a new Tone Pros bridge and tailpiece for it, but unfortunately the bushings are just smaller enough that what this originally had, that they don't actually hold into the holes... THey're also too much smaller to wrap them in tape/copper shielding to make them fit. And the new parts won't screw into the old bushings... Back to the drawing board.