The HONDO thread.

A. What is the difference between Hondo & Hondo II?

2. I remember a kid in my neighborhood shooting his Hondo Les Paul full of BB's for "more sustain".   (Parents' reaction was even uglier than the "customized guitar")
I think it was just a brand reboot.  They may have changed US distributors or something in the meantime.

At the store I was working at at the time, we had a kid come in with an Epiphone Coronet that needed a setup and it had some wiring issues.  We opened it up and discovered that he had emptied his dad's junk drawer (angle brackets, screws, you name it) into a giant blob of epoxy that nearly completely filled the cavity.  It's a wonder the electronics worked at all.  Why???  "More sustain".

 
I had a Hondo POS strat copy that my Old Man brought home from a tag sale.

He was always a tag/yard sale/thrift shop guy and his policy was that if there was a decent instrument for 50 bucks or less he would bring it home and say, "what can you do with this?" It's amazing I never burned down the house trying to solder or maimed myself with the 50-year old drill.

I also had a Univox sunburst Les Paul copy that he brought home from a Church sale that I really liked :)

 
The Chiquita Travel Guitar was made by Hondo, or at least was sold under their brand name.

This is the only Hondo I would consider owning. Think they are kinda cool. Played one once in the 80s. Don't remember if it was a piece of junk, or playable.

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My first guitar was a Hondo II acoustic. Started out a good guitar to learn on, but then the neck bowed so much that my guitar teacher suggested I use it to shoot arrows. 

 
1980 something. Turned out my landlord played guitar, but no longer had one.
Off we went to Sam Ash so he could buy a Squire Strat. He drove his Toyota Van (engine under the seats) (barefoot) on a hot summer day. While we were at Sam Ash, he said "why don't you get a bass?" I didn't know anything about basses, so he did the yakking. We looked at a black Hondo and a white Kramer. I think the Hondo was around $200 and the Kramer around $400. I remember he said the Kramer was better, but it wasn't twice as good. (Or was it?)

That's how I ended up with Hondo Deluxe Series 840 Bass, which hardly ever got played, but somehow needs a new nut.  It's sitting on a stand next to me right now. (Didn't come with a case or gig bag).

 
Whenever I see the names "Hondo" and "Rondo", I immediately think of "Bondo". Beyond their obvious grammatical similarity, there is some sort of subconscious association there relating those guitars with a putty used to repair damaged shit. 

 
Whenever I see the names "Hondo" and "Rondo", I immediately think of "Bondo". Beyond their obvious grammatical similarity, there is some sort of subconscious association there relating those guitars with a putty used to repair damaged shit. 
I had a 1971 MGB that was made entirely of Bondo!

 
My first left handed guitar was a Hondo Revival LP copy. In fact, it was the first actual left handed guitar I saw in person at that point. I think it was '85. Props to my parents for ponying up. And props to Hondo for making a guitar just good enough to be playable, yet shitty enough for a 14 year old to realize he's gonna need something better....

Here's what's left of mine. I often think of picking up a new neck and a couple EMG's, hahah.

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My first left handed guitar was a Hondo Revival LP copy. In fact, it was the first actual left handed guitar I saw in person at that point. I think it was '85. Props to my parents for ponying up. And props to Hondo for making a guitar just good enough to be playable, yet shitty enough for a 14 year old to realize he's gonna need something better....

Here's what's left of mine. I often think of picking up a new neck and a couple EMG's, hahah.

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What wood is the body made of?

 
I bought an Epiphone Randy Rhoads knock-off in my late teens. Tried to install a Floyd Rose on it. Then I wanted to re-finish it rattle can style. While stripping the finish, particularly the headstock, something peculiar occured. As the Epiphone logo was peeling off, another one revealed itself. HONDO.

-Bobby

 
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