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P.S. I am also looking for parts to continue repair on this beast, as I believe it may have originally had bridge and pu covers. If anyone knows anything about it, or has the parts, please let me know!! Also any old hondo's that you want to get rid of somewhat cheap, as I would enjoy working on one or two more.In high school when I first wanted to learn to play, a guitarist friend of mine hooked me up (for free) with a bass his former bassist left him. It's an old eighties(?older?)-era Hondo (I think Hondo II) P-bass, which the original owner made fretless by ripping the fretwire out. Further more, when I got it, two of the tuneing keys were snapped off, the pot knobs were missing, the thing was dirty and beat to hell, and shortly after I got it the wiring **** the bed. Soooo, with no job and no money, I used a leatherman to tune the strings with no keys, attempted twice to rewire the pickups (never did get that to work) and rewired an old tube-amp classroom record player to plug in as a practice amp, lol. The wires I used to hook up the input jack were way too small, and just plain burned out every time I plugged in. Oh well.
Anyway, after 2 and a half years in the army, and coming home from Iraq, I swore I would get my bass playable. After being told I could replace it for around 75 bucks, I spent around a hundred and fifty bucks to have the pickups rewired, new pots and tuners put in, the neck leveled, the old varnish sanded off (after sitting in a storage shed for close to five years, the neck finish was in bad shape, but it made it easy to get it redone) and the fret slots filled with a slightly darker veneer, which looks pretty good with the blond fretboard. *Edit: Also had the plastic nut replaced, and some other stuff I think, can't remember, will when I see it again* The body is heavy, weighs the same as an Abrams tank, and is finished in some kind of dark sunburst, maybe tobbaco burst? Anyway, all cleaned up, it looks ok, still not great, the pickguard had been replaced when I got it with a black metal one, it's all beat to hell, but you can set it on a stand, pluck a note, walk away, and ten minutes later it's still resonating when you get back. I love the sustain and tone.
Is it my perfect bass? No. I love Deans, I like Rics, and I have seen many very beatiful basses in this thread alone I would like to check out. But I doubt I will ever find a bass that will hold my heart like this one. Still have to put Black hardware on it instead of the chrome, and I want straplocks, but overall, this thing is my baby.
Any other ideas will be appreciated. lunarpollen, you will indeed be number 2, as soon as the name is settled.
