NBD: 80s hair holdover

[Paul Szegedin]

I feel like I need to join a Poison cover band now.
$30 for a Hondo Fame 8300 bass with great Grover tuners and actually a great neck. Just ugly as sin.

Does anybody know what wood the body of these is made of? Because I'm gonna re-finish it. I'm hearing alder for Hondos, but when I get the neck off, this wood is very light in color.

 

[Ghastly]

Doesn't look so bad. Pink and black... a nice combo.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

Doesn't look so bad. Pink and black... a nice combo.

It is almost a shame to strip the paint, because it's a genuine 1986 artefact. Color is really not my thing though. Gonna have to figure out how to make the neck look presentable, because it's really a nice piece of maple. Even the dot inlays are pinkish.

 

[songwriter21]

I feel like I need to join a Poison cover band now.
$30 for a Hondo Fame 8300 bass with great Grover tuners and actually a great neck. Just ugly as sin.

Does anybody know what wood the body of these is made of? Because I'm gonna re-finish it. I'm hearing alder for Hondos, but when I get the neck off, this wood is very light in color.

Looks a lot better than those nuclear green Deans....

 

[Riverrunsred]

I like it as is.

 

[Turnaround]

Black knobs, black strings - rock it!

 

[Riff Ranger]

All that for the price of one of the tuning machines? Score! Since you’re already determined to work on it, maybe you could find a body that would fit the neck and keep the ‘80s finish intact for when you come to your senses?!?!



(I kid in the italics, but I did mean it about finding a different body in a finish you like.)

Let us know where you end up here:

Let's See Your Hot-Rodded Cheapo Basses!

 

[Paul Szegedin]

All that for the price of one of the tuning machines? Score! Since you’re already determined to work on it, maybe you could find a body that would fit the neck and keep the ‘80s finish intact for when you come to your senses?!?!



(I kid in the italics, but I did mean it about finding a different body in a finish you like.)

Let us know where you end up here:

Let's See Your Hot-Rodded Cheapo Basses!

Keep the paint on the body, or the neck? You have a point there, in any case. I'm starting to think some metalhead might really like it refurbished. It's unusual because it's routed from the back and doesn't have pickguard screw holes. I thought the color was atrocious and just bought it to use the alder (?) body and tuners, maybe the pickups and bridge, which are all fine. But it does seem like a shame to strip the oh-so-80s logo off this headstock. Not sure yet.

I will definitely post to your cheapo bass thread -- this is the fourth frankenbass under $85 that I've bought and have in various states of revival or goofy mods.

 

[Riff Ranger]

Keep the paint on the body, or the neck? You have a point there, in any case. I'm starting to think some metalhead might really like it refurbished. It's unusual because it's routed from the back and doesn't have pickguard screw holes. I thought the color was atrocious and just bought it to use the alder (?) body and tuners, maybe the pickups and bridge, which are all fine. But it does seem like a shame to strip the oh-so-80s logo off this headstock. Not sure yet.

I will definitely post to your cheapo bass thread -- this is the fourth frankenbass under $85 that I've bought and have in various states of revival or goofy mods.

I thought you liked the neck as-is and had planned to refinish the body. Nothing about it strikes me as particularly collectible, and you’ve got your “before” photographs, so if I’m being serious, I think you should go after whatever “after” you have in mind and make that thing a desirable player for you or someone else

 

[57pbass]

Don’t paint it. Get some colored strings and make it a novelty bass. Between your outfits and instruments the people will be entertained both visually and musically.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

What's so bad about that finish? kinda resembles Fender's Burgundy Mist. Or maybe their Salmon Pink. Heck, I'd throw a pickguard on it like this p bass. Ultimately, you like what you like.

 

[pbass2]

That's not that 80's looking--that pink is almost 50's kinda pink, like pulling up to the Drive-In for a patty melt and malt. I dig it.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

I thought you liked the neck as-is and had planned to refinish the body. Nothing about it strikes me as particularly collectible, and you’ve got your “before” photographs, so if I’m being serious, I think you should go after whatever “after” you have in mind and make that thing a desirable player for you or someone else

I would like to know what lurks beneath the paint before stripping it. It's not plywood, but it's thick, lightweight, and a lighter shade than another alder body I stripped recently. I'm not finding this specific model on the google.

View attachment 4256540 What's so bad about that finish? kinda resembles Fender's Burgundy Mist. Or maybe their Salmon Pink. Heck, I'd throw a pickguard on it like this p bass. Ultimately, you like what you like.

Well "burgundy mist" or "salmon" is being charitable toward this bass. It's a very 80s, hair-metal, Cindy Lauper kind of pink. If it's a decent piece of wood, I'm going to refinish it in a dark natural finish stain with a gloss poly.

Don’t paint it. Get some colored strings and make it a novelty bass. Between your outfits and instruments the people will be entertained both visually and musically.

My outfits? Melissa, is that you?

 

[smarthound]

A cream or aged-white pickguard's going to make that bass look cool.

Hondo Fames were the company's (Samick's) attempt at building a better quality instrument than they were renowned for, using decent hardware (like the Grover tuners). I have a Hondo Fame 12-string electric and it's awesome (also with Grovers).

Agree that the logo is tacky though!

 

[JimmyM]

View attachment 4256540 What's so bad about that finish? kinda resembles Fender's Burgundy Mist. Or maybe their Salmon Pink. Heck, I'd throw a pickguard on it like this p bass. Ultimately, you like what you like.

Ya, why not? That looks good. Besides, it doesn't look as 80's as you think it does.

 

[JimmyThunder]

what a beauty! don't paint it!

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

Just sell it at a good profit and mod something thats easy to replace

 

[wraub]

I like it.

 

[coy garcia]

I think it's awesome as is...I have regretted every bass I've ever modded as the yrs go by.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

Just sell it at a good profit and mod something thats easy to replace

You guys are making me feel guilty in advance for the mauling I'm going to do to this bass. I mean, it was $30. I think I'd have to get ten times that to be motivated to pack it up and schlep down to the post office and sell it.