NBD: 80s hair holdover

[electracoyote]

Not sure it's an 80's thing as shell pink has been "in" more than "out" over the decades. You just gotta own it on stage, that's all.

I'd clean it up, set it up, and rock it as is. Now that I think of it, I'd like to have a shell pink in my collection and I'm a little jealous over your score.

 

[bolophonic]

I bought a similar Mako bass from the 80’s, with the same Grover tuners. Mine was metallic red over plywood. Personally, I would keep the pink, but I totally understand the urge to do something completely different.

 

[PWRL]

I think it looks cool like it is. All you need is a Dimarzio and a paint-splattered pickguard.

 

[bolophonic]

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.

What about just parting it out and selling the body? You could easily find a body that you like to pair with the Hondo neck. Shipping a body is 100x less worrisome than shipping an entire bass.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

What about just parting it out and selling the body? You could easily find a body that you like to pair with the Hondo neck. Shipping a body is 100x less worrisome than shipping an entire bass.

Yeah you're right and that was my initial thought sort of - strip and use the body and hardware. The Grover Titan tuners alone are awesome and go for $100 new. And the neck is straight and beautiful maple on the back. I'm actually playing the hell out of it. It's just that the whole thing is cheesy!

I definitely respect the time-capsule element of old s***, and if I sold the body, it would just be a generic body. All together, the thing is like a totem where if you touch it, it transports you to 1986, which is sounding pretty good these days, so I dig what people are saying about that:

I hate seeing old unique stuff like this get painted normal finishes you cant buy them like this anymore sadly

 

[Killing Floor]

That is awesome!!

Rock the paint off of it!

Hondo basses were a hidden secret, they punched well above their weight.

 

[rtslinger]

Imo leave it original yeah it only cost 30 bucks, but it is all original right down to the paint. As always in the long run it is your bass and you can do to it what you would like, but you asked and most are of the same opinion
either way nice looking bass enjoy

 

[Yellow Bang66]

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.

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Not Bad, Nice platform for a rebuild. Imho, its the pickguardless body that screams 80's hair metal! I have an"87 fender JBS that gives off the same 80's Vibe but... when I slap a pick guard on it. it bounces back to the 70s& 90s! I put a Tele bass PG on another JBS and it makes it look like a Muscle car!U just gotta add some pinstripes!

 

[micguy]

That's not that 80's - it's not even pointy.

If you're looking for an excuse to wear Spandex on stage, that bass doesn't qualify. Sorry...

 

[farmertom]

I love it as is, I’d probably stripe it like a Van Halen guitar in lime green!
That thing is RAD

God Bless

 

[Johnny Fingers]

I like it. See what it looks like under a green floodlight. Or one of those four-color motorized wheel lights that people use for aluminum Christmas trees.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

Personally, I'm not a pink kinda guy.
However I will admit the paint seems to be in good shape.
If you do strip it and find basswood, you likely won't enjoy the grain and color of it.
That tends to be boring, gray/green, with little interesting grain pattern.
Whatever you decide don't add a PG.
Ps with pick guards are common.
Back routed, not so much.

 

[coy garcia]

There is also the random bumper sticker option. The more offensive the more punk.

 

[Paul Szegedin]

There is also the random bumper sticker option. The more offensive the more punk.

The most offensive bumper sticker I can think of:

 

[Riff Ranger]

Personally, I'm not a pink kinda guy.
However I will admit the paint seems to be in good shape.
If you do strip it and find basswood, you likely won't enjoy the grain and color of it.
That tends to be boring, gray/green, with little interesting grain pattern.
Whatever you decide don't add a PG.
Ps with pick guards are common.
Back routed, not so much.

Agreed, and pine would also be a crapshoot at best; most manufacturers wouldn’t bother to match grain between pieces on a body destined for a solid finish, either.

I’ve got a see-through finish over basswood where they couldn’t be bothered

 

[Paul Szegedin]

Agreed, and pine would also be a crapshoot at best; most manufacturers wouldn’t bother to match grain between pieces on a body destined for a solid finish, either.

I’ve got a see-through finish over basswood where they couldn’t be bothered

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I mean, it looks great to me, but I'm a hardcore anti-snob. The worst thing in the world is a $10,000 PRS guitar. You guys really ground me down about the stripping the finish thing, but if I did, I wouldn't expect much. I have another one in progress that I'm doing a French polish natural finish, and the mismatched alder pieces are even worse than yours, but I don't care -- it was $21. And the cheaper they come, the more I am satisfied with the improvements.