The OFFICIAL (kinda) HONDO THREAD!!

[Johnny Crab]

Someone did that on a FAME/Hondo here but we did have to put a screw + solder on a common wire to ground all "grounds" together. Before I did that, it would sometimes act like a capacitor(dry night, indoor gig, walk on carpet) and build up a small internal charge and make a "pop" noise when the bass and I discharged across the gap(copper foil not connected correctly to ground). Took a while to figure out WTH was going on.

 

[Chrome Dome]

After I received this Hondo Precision style bass,am finding out it was made,back in 1983,thru 1984? Read where they had an Ash body with laminated walnut strips,in the center of the body? Other than it being on the heavy side,it plays,and sounds great. I had to replace the original pots,and the jack. If it was made in '83,or '84,it is pretty good shape. Seems to be all original,other than the Mighty Mite neck? Been finding some information on them,mostly just curious about them? Might consider hanging on to it for nostalgia reasons. If anyone on here has any more information on the Fame Series,feel free to comment. I found some numbers inscribed on the upper horn,by the neck pocket underneath the pick guard,which is:1206730? This bass,was shipped to me from a seller,in Tomball,Texas.

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

Making some headway on improving my Hondo's playability - I stripped it down for a cleaning, doweled and redrilled a stripped bridge screw hole and all the neck holes so I could use a Fender-size neck plate. Added a cheap bridge that is light years ahead of the old brass Hondo unit that it came with (it looked tough, but was horrible in every other respect.) Shimmed the neck with a piece of credit card and installed an old Fernandes "The Revival" neck that I paid too much for recently. Swapped out the pickup with another vintage Dimarzio (sounds the same as the one that came out...)

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[jhb138]

Added a cheap bridge that is light years ahead of the old brass Hondo unit that it came with (it looked tough, but was horrible in every other respect.)

Are you referring to the style of bridge pictured in Chrome Dome's post above? If so, what don't you like about it?

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

Are you referring to the style of bridge pictured in Chrome Dome's post above? If so, what don't you like about it?

No, it came with this one:

It was difficult to adjust - the set screws are coarse-threaded, so a small turn equals a big height change. And that leads to the saddles leaning against one another, which caused it to rattle. I suppose I could have re-tapped the holes with a fine pitch thread and installed new set screws, but it didn't seem worth the effort. I does look pretty beefy though...

 

[Chrome Dome]

Making some headway on improving my Hondo's playability - I stripped it down for a cleaning, doweled and redrilled a stripped bridge screw hole and all the neck holes so I could use a Fender-size neck plate. Added a cheap bridge that is light years ahead of the old brass Hondo unit that it came with (it looked tough, but was horrible in every other respect.) Shimmed the neck with a piece of credit card and installed an old Fernandes "The Revival" neck that I paid too much for recently. Swapped out the pickup with another vintage Dimarzio (sounds the same as the one that came out...)

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That definitely some mojo. If it plays,and sounds good to you,then that is all that matters.

 

[Chrome Dome]

Not to bore you all,but have some better pictures,after I got,and cleaned it somewhat. As I said before I replaced the pots,and jack. It was playable,but was distorting,and real scratchy pots,which I tried some detoxit,and sprayed them,and kept turning the volume,and tone controls,trying to get dust out,but didn't seem to help? Would like to find a new pick guard?

Actually have it for sale,trying to recoup funds,from couple other projects,putting together? Thanks,for sharing your project there,Bugeyed Earl.

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

That's a great looking bass Chrome Dome, good luck with the sale. For what it's worth, I recall that a standard Fender or Squier shaped pickguard wasn't quite the right shape for my Hondo's body, you might have to make a new one from scratch if you want to replace yours.

 

[jhb138]

No, it came with this one:

It was difficult to adjust - the set screws are coarse-threaded, so a small turn equals a big height change. And that leads to the saddles leaning against one another, which caused it to rattle. I suppose I could have re-tapped the holes with a fine pitch thread and installed new set screws, but it didn't seem worth the effort. I does look pretty beefy though...

Understandable. That thing looks like more trouble than it's worth. Lol.

 

[Chrome Dome]

That's a great looking bass Chrome Dome, good luck with the sale. For what it's worth, I recall that a standard Fender or Squier shaped pickguard wasn't quite the right shape for my Hondo's body, you might have to make a new one from scratch if you want to replace yours.

Thanks,may decide to keep it,and sell the other ones,I have? Pickguard Heaven,usually can make a pick guard for it,you have to send them a tracing,or the original pick guard.

 

[JGbassman]

Understandable. That thing looks like more trouble than it's worth. Lol.

Yours is the first hondo I've seen with the same bridge as mine. Personally I think the bridge is a good design, seems to be solid brass, and the saddles don't move around. Very cool to finally see one like the one on mine

 

[JGbassman]

That's a great looking bass Chrome Dome, good luck with the sale. For what it's worth, I recall that a standard Fender or Squier shaped pickguard wasn't quite the right shape for my Hondo's body, you might have to make a new one from scratch if you want to replace yours.

I had to replace the pickguard on mine as well, I used a squire model. It wasn't a perfect fit but worked good enough. My bass has a wheel truss rod adjuster like the music man basses, so I had to use a Dremel to route that out. The screw holes were different as well, but I just drilled new ones in the body. It's not perfect but black on black hides a lot of imperfections

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

I had to replace the pickguard on mine as well, I used a squire model. It wasn't a perfect fit but worked good enough. My bass has a wheel truss rod adjuster like the music man basses, so I had to use a Dremel to route that out. The screw holes were different as well, but I just drilled new ones in the body. It's not perfect but black on black hides a lot of imperfections

In my case, the bass has been repainted by a previous owner, and it looks like they put it all together before the paint fully cured. There's a noticeable outline of where the pickguard was, so when I tried a replacement, it looked a little weird. I could say it gives the bass character, but there's no shortage of that on this guitar As it turns out, I like the white-on-dirty-white look, and the beat up pickguard fits the overall look perfectly.

 

[superchicken_VI]

Yours is the first hondo I've seen with the same bridge as mine. Personally I think the bridge is a good design, seems to be solid brass, and the saddles don't move around. Very cool to finally see one like the one on mine

I have the same bridge. The adjustment screws have frozen in place and I have to shim them to get the proper height. If I can find a reasonably priced replacement I may get around to that some day.

 

[jhb138]

Re: Hondo bridges.

My Hondo (see post #474) has the string-thru brass bridge. It seems, and this is corroborated by my tech, that the wimpiness of the adjustment screws just can't compete with the burliness of the brass saddles. If you like the saddles and want to keep the bridge, it will certainly mean replacing the screws, and possibly even tapping new holes for them. (Worth it, imo.)

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

Yours is the first hondo I've seen with the same bridge as mine. Personally I think the bridge is a good design, seems to be solid brass, and the saddles don't move around. Very cool to finally see one like the one on mine

I don't think I've seen your bass, do you have pics to share? Does it have a model number on it? Mine came to me with a beat up refinish, and the headstock was bare. I assume it's a Deluxe Series 830, but I can't be positive.

 

[JGbassman]

This is the only pic I have on my iPad, I promise to get some better shots of it when I get to where I'm storing it (owning 18 basses, I don't store them all in my apartment)

It's a 1981 Hondo 2 I bought brand new, and was my first bass. Over the years I gutted the thing, modded it with different pickups or electronics, and eventually it got put in its case and in a closet at my parents house, where it sat since about 1983.

I found it about a couple years ago cleaning up their place, and I decided to restore it by adding a replacement pickguard, pickups and electronics. It still plays well, but the neck has a slight bow that keeps me from getting the action where it's perfect for me. It's plays ok, just needs a pro luthiers touch.

Here she is put back together and waiting to get ready to play sometime. This picture is pretty rough, I'll get some good ones soon and post them here.

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

Cool, that looks exactly like mine, maybe mine is a Hondo II also... The original neck on mine also has a minor hump that causes it to buzz above the 17th fret, that's why I installed the Fernandes neck.

 

[hondo4life]

HONDO THREAD!

 

[JGbassman]

I'm actually impressed at the quality of the bass after all these years. The neck has a definite feel of a thick older, perhaps 50's model neck, with a slight "V" shape, unlike the normal C shape I'm used to with my Fenders. It's solid and stable, with the fretwork suprisingly well done for a cheap bass. The tuners are s little weak, but no more than on the Mexican Fenders. I'm thinking the body might be plywood, but I can't remember for sure. The tone isn't bad with cheaper pickups and electronics, and I can easily get the trademark P bass sound from it.

It's not super light, more in the middle. The brass bridge on mine is in good shape, holds the action and intonation. It had a slight buzz/rattle I fixed by placing a clear piece of plastic between the saddles where they were making contact. The saddles are beefy, and remind me of the Saddles on my Spector.

It has aged with a great pantina, and the frets have little wear. If I can get the neck sorted out, I wouldn't hesitate to gig this bass again. As this was my first bass, it will never be sold. I don't play four string basses a lot anymore, so they mostly are just for noodling on, but I will have to make it a point to bring it to one show and play a few songs on it. The last time this bass was played in a band in front of an audience was 1982. It's sat on the bench long enough.