I don’t know why, but I had a feeling it would be the headstock that suffered an unfortunate accident - good thing Sean is gonna make it even better, cause that’s how we roll around here!🤘🏻😎🎸
you never use a power drill to enlarge tuner holes, specially on an old instrument, I use a small 1/4" round fine file and slowly sand the hole until it's the right size for the tuners.
I have one of these. I got it new when I was 12, so that would make it 1985. It was bought by one of my friend's dads and I got it back about 7-8 years ago. I did a mild resto on it (new pickguard and pickups, new trem) but it's still a nice playing guitar. Plywood body though, but that's it. One thing, no Fender parts fit on it. The dimensions are slightly off.
I have a Hondo Deluxe 860 Flying V Electric Bass, metallic red, white covered D'Marzio split P bass pup. My five year-old granddaughter and I 'work on it' whenever she visits. She is a great polisher of the tuning keys. We even make videos for her Mom, Dad and Grandma. Too much fun!
If you want a cheaply built guitar. My first electric guitar I bought a 1980 Austin strat copy with large strat headstock. The bridge block was made stamped steal. The pickups were 4K ohm PU's with a brass plate on the back of the pickups. It did not have pole pieces on the pickups. Just chrome plastic dots glued to the covers. The body was made of plywood. the neck nut was 1 9/16 wide. I replaced the PU's with duncan SSL-1 and played it for a few years and the neck twisted. I might have the body and neck somewhere in a box. I have a 1980 Hondo Classical guitar that I still play today.
What you're doing is awesome. It sucks that the neck broke like it did. I have no doubts that you and Kathy will make it great. Can't wait to see part 2.😊
Those Hondo pickups were Dimarzio designed stacked humbuckers. Also Kluson makes a great replacement tuner that fits those F Stamp style diagonal tuners.
That break looks like what happened to me on my first guitar upgrade. Mine wasn't trying to drill out the headstock though. It was trying to route a bigger curve on the edge of a cheap tele and breaking a big chunk out of right above where the jack goes.
I have a 1997 Squire made in Korea. My first guitar I bought new . Heavy and still great . Few people have tried to buy it after they realized it is twice the weight as the new squires .
Can't wait for part two. I know you have her best interest at heart and your neck will not end on the line for this, it should actually end-up in the guitar 🤘🎸
I've only recently discovered this channel. I love the fact that there is no fake reverence to fancy, or pristine, brand guitars. Guitars are beautiful things! Whether they are straight out of the box, or beat to hell!
This is like what I did with the Silvertone neck. It was ugggleee! But it cleaned up. I couldn’t pay someone to clean it up. The frets were green. 9.5 radius and I had to really clean to get it right. But it cleared up. You are a man of principle and I appreciate you and Cathy.My guitar is getting the Cathybuckers and a Single coil Ceramic in the middle. It’s good thick plywood with a big rout and I got a new black pickguard for HSH pickups to go with the tri-tone tobacco burst color. It’s going to be great and I’m looking forward to it. It has a great 5 way switch and I am blocking the trem down. The soldering should be done soon. You and Cathy helped me with that clean up on the neck and it is very good. Thank you 🙏
Mines went the same. And I don't use tobacco products. The pickup covers are obviously ABS plastic and it is sunlight that turns them that colour. Though in some cases nicotine may also add to it. It doesn't even have to be white or cream plastic,a lot of blue plastic will turn a dark bottle green colour. You can use a process called retrobrighting using hydrogen peroxide to restore the colour in lighter coloured plastics but I am not a fan myself and use other methods.
Hey Sean, for cleaning your small metal bits (bridge, saddles and hardware) have you thought of using a small Vibratory corncob tumbler with fine media in it (like ones handloaders use to polish spent bullet cartridge casings)? I use one to polish up cartridge cases to a near mirror polish and have used them for removing corrosion and oxidization from misc. hardware in the past. Just something to consider if you want to use something a little more "hands off" that may end up cheaper than buying polishing creams and using your time for to apply the elbow grease... Frankford Arsenal sells a small dry-media "Case tumbler" for about $75 and since you're not polishing dirty bullet casings the media should stay clean and usable for a long while...
I had a Hondo Les Paul copy back in the early 80s that someone gave me. I don't know what the neck wood was, but it was soft, lightweight, brittle, and useless ! It had some kind of a hollow top plywood body, looked like a thin layer of plywood had been steamed to create the shape of a Les Paul top, but .between the layers, the body was hollow, and you could hear it when you played it, plugged in or not... The neck could not be straightened, though it had a decent fretboard, so I did the same thing as you. I salvaged the fretboard from the neck, made a maple replacement neck,, and fixed the fretboard to it. Then I refretted it with jumbo frets before I shaped the neck. I made a solid oak body to replace the disasterpiece body that it had. I routed and sanded the body till I had a good Les Paul shaped top.. Then I shaped the back of the neck, and fitted the boot. I had plenty of wood on the back, so I made a Valute (I didn't even know there was a name for them then...) so the curse of the Les Paul wouldn't happen to mine. The neck was then set into the body. I countersunk the screws after grinding a 1/4" off the point end, then I filled over the holes. I set the neck into the mortise with thinned epoxy glue. I gave it 2 weeks to dry, then I sanded and shaped the joint to look natural. After some spray paint, I had a homemade Les Paul, built from the cadaver of a Hondo !!!! Friends frequently compared it to a Les Paul Custom, because of the weight, but it played like a dream, and sounded great with those Dimarzio Super Distortions I put in it !
I did the same thing when putting new tuners on a squier that i got cheap. Learned me how to use a reamer tool to get the job done. Some wood glue and clamps and we were all back in business. Thankfully the headstock wasnt finished like the Hondo.
Hondo guitars are from the late 70s into the mid/late 80s (maybe into the 90s). I remember seeing ads in certain magazines with order forms, so yeah... mail order. That guitar is very likely about 40 years old.
I used to see Hondo II guitars at a local guitar studio that I have done a lot of business at. Never bought one, though. Those and other cut-rate guitars always seemed low in quality to me. That's one reason why I'm interested in this video -- to learn something about what I turned down! Thanks, Sean!
Keep the patina Sean..id replace the switch to Black and keep all the Original stuff,the pick guard is probably ALSO replaced..go Black,paint the Headstock Black on the repalcement....it should give you a Tuxedo look...God bless you and yours.
So, I've got a 2020 EVH Wolfgang Special and I've got a 1986 Kramer F1000. Original Deutsch Floyd Rose R3, rosewood fretboard. It's got a long leg Seymour Duncan custom '78 reverse zebra(about 8.5k). I hadn't played it in about 5 years. I took it out and only the low E needed to be tuned. The other 5 strings were still perfectly tuned, perfectly! Huge difference with the Floyd's. The German one feels smoother and firmer than the FR Special 🤟
My first guitar was a Hondo black strat copy. Got it for Christmas 1987. I played it through a Fender Sidekick Reverb 25. I took lessons at the store for 6 weeks then quit and attempted to learn from magazines. The guitar actually had a high fret and was sent back to the company for a month. They let me use a Fender Lead 2 for the duration. The setup was great for making squeally feedback noises. The guitar wasn't even made of wood it was like poerclin or something super heavy to have on a strap for a 13 year old. The store we got the complete setup had Fenders, Gibsons, Westones, and Hondos at the time. It was $180 brand new I kept it for 2 years and traded it in at another music store for an Applause guitar.
Looking forward to part 2. As to old, my guitar, a Harmony Meteor, was my father's. He bought second hand about 1960. All original electronics and still plays great. Learned my first song on it. Had to finger my G by just fretting the high E as my fingers weren't long enough to reach the A or low E. Only thing I've done, other than clean it up was adjust the neck and I did have to build up one of the nut slots, the one for the D string as it had worn down. Frets as smooth as all get out, not from polishing but 60+ years of play.
ive got a pearl white strat body from the early 80s but it is not as yellowed as this one is. ide wager that it was made around 1982-84.the finish looks identical to mine its super thin and the guitar resonates loudly unplugged. i think mine had a harmony label on the original neck. its got an old fender neck on it now. it's not a thick Polly finish at all..mine has finish checking. ide have fitted a fender pick guard kept the old covers and knobs and tossed a 90s mim fender neck on it an call it good. i was the 1000th like btw! thats rad!
I have had twist drill bits do that and it sucks. How I get past that part is to go up 1/64” bit at a time and run the drill backwards while doing so. My milling machine can do it but the wood needs to be clamped down tight and flat with a piece of scrap under it. Feed rate can be controlled on the mill without the bit digging into the wood. The smaller drill presses I have won’t control the digging in issue either. I know you will overcome this easily.
I was going say that looked about 40 years old. I found a harmony guitar that's older than you and I and it still plays. Its insane man!! I had to order a tail piece and bridge for it.
I loved this... Laughing at how accurate your description of these old Hondos. I had the EXPLORER copy. I look metal... it was cool... but it would NOT hold it's tune to save its life. Back then I didn't know about replacing tuning machines, I just wanted to rock out. No matter how gashes that fretwork put in my hands while playing, I loved how it looked. I traded it in on a "JB Player" Rhandy Rhodes shark fin V. At least with locking tuners it almost never went out of tune. YES, people getting their first guitar today don't know how lucky they are. Craftsmanship even on a chinese made kit is nothing like what used to be.... LOL keep up the good entertainment.
Sean, thanks for the videos that helped me deal with some of the tooth pain.Got that root canal monday nov 11th and was surprised. Zero pain. Got the crown left to go.
I had a Hondo Explorer from 78, bought used in 81. Was well built just with lesser parts. Changed pickups, tuners and it was a metal beast. I think they had a few price points
I have a Hondo I bought in '85 or '86. It's also white and has a bit of a sun tan, but is way better condition than that one. There is some discoloration in the knobs and pickups, however it's minimal.
Love y'all's videos .I remember when ya first started I was like who is this joker. Now I'm just like can't wait till that jokers new videos up luv ya guys bro u really do so phenomenal work . definitely have a gift and u give so much back. Sean for prez.
I have a Quest budget strat I bought in a pawn shop in 2002 for 80 bucks Canadian. Other than the pick ups it's a pretty solid guitar. It sounds great at low volume but gets microphonic at higher volumes. I'm more of a metal player so it's not ideal but for 80 bucks it's been a solid addition for 22 years and counting. The only things I've had to fix over the years was the nut and input jack.I ran the serial numbers but not much info comes up Best I could find was they were made by Vantage in the earlly 80's.
Back in the early 90's there were a few music stores where I live that sold The Hondo brand. Along with these they also sold Series A, Austin and a host of other budget guitars.
It seems like just about any guitar project is going to have some surprises . Some surprises are worse than others. Very well done video, looking forward to part two.
Still using a smaller drill bit could have saved the perfectly fine neck. I know your all about doing things fast and your way but i also know your smart and do some quality work it never hurts to make smaller increments when increasing the size of a hole. Im sure the neck your making her will be a better neck but personally id rather had the neck that came on the guitar especially if it was my first guitar that was bought for me by my father. Crap does happen but that crap could have been bypassed by just making the hole bigger in 2 step increments instead of one. At least tell me your gonna shoot the headstock to match the body
I just found this channel and Im not sure where you are from Sean but you remind me of some of my Okeechobee friends. Im watching from northeast florida. I dig the content and the original song was cool too.
@@scarmyguitar Oh heck yeah Im over in your town all the time. Keep the tunes coming, feels like home! On another note, I had a chibson custom made LP and it showed up scarred. I kept it and figured it was going to be a good mod platform. Id love for you to check it out and give it the once over. It's as good as i could with the tools i have. Its still not right. But i think your the man to make it be the beast it should be. Anyways Have an excellent holiday! Il hollar at you soon.
Oops on the headstock drill jobby. Here's a tip for doing that work. Use a rat tail file instead of a drill bit. Yes, just lock the file into your drill. There, that's a very good tip for you, so that broken shit don't happen!
Hando's were a solid little starter guitar. Needed new tuning machines and a set up right out of the box. Eventually they needed shielding and probably new electronics to sound good, but they were not as bad as some people made them out to be. Know they were around in the 70s but my experience of them was as a kid in the 80s. They were gone by the 90s but you would still see them second hand.
That is one slick looking guitar for a budget guitar that's over 35-40 years old, heck, it's nice in today's budget standards. Ouch! But, in true Sean form you came up with a plan, looking forward to seeing the next video. Thanks for another fine video Sean and Cathy.
Amazon is 30 years old... Those pickups look a lot like the PuPs on my 35+ year old West Strat-o-clone. If they are the same, there are two magnets, one on either side of the pole pieces. From what I've been able to find, they made single coils like that for just a few years in the mid-60s
I have a 1973 LesPaul Junior, made by Arbiter (as in Dallas-Arbiter). P90 pick-up sunburst finish. I bought it for £45 and still playing it over fifty years later 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hi Youngster, I watched both those videos of you working on that poor shape of a Les Paul, Gibson, that is. I appreciate you doing that as it was very educational for me. Thank you, Bill
DANG!!! But the original neck looks like a very simple fix to me. Even if you swap necks, you should fix the old neck. Just for the practice and the experience if nothing else. Plus we would love to see it.
Why is it that I was already thinking save the fretboard, and build a new neck. By the look of the CNC machine in action, I'm guessing your thinking the same way ! I cant wait for part 2 !
You do realise this Guitar is likely from late 70s early 80s right? Before CNC was a thing. More than likely cut out on a pin router by someone who couldn't use a pin router.
@Lamster66 Hondo was started in 72 and was that name until 2004. CNC machines first came out in the 40s. Manufacturers were using them in the 70s for guitars. Peavy guitars in the 70s were made with CNC machines. It became more prevalent in the 80s to the point of it being hard to find them hand made today. As for when Hondo guitars were made with a CNC machine I have no idea.
I was lucky. When I was a kid in the late 80s-early 90s, my local music store did carry some off brands. My first guitar was a midnight blue Hondo "super strat". It wasn't bad at all.
My buddy has a lotus from from like 1992 and after a little work and some upgrades its a really nice guitar still. I had to drill the holes out for new tuners too. Luckily it was super solid... also i put 500k pots in my strat too. Gives it more beef.
I had one of those old Hondo guitars like that, but mine had 2 Humbuckers .Mine was a 1985 -86 I got it in a trade deal along with a peavey T45 bass and an old Ampeg bass amp .when I tool the Hondo apart to clean it up it had 2 super distortion pups in it.Also I had a i6 peavey foundation the same pearl white color .I wish I would have kept both of those bass guitars they were both American made
I will say, Step drills will help greatly when enlarging holes, whether in a headstock, or in a pickguard. the cheap ones at harbor freight or northern tool ect work just fine.
At the music store I worked at in Western Canada in the eighties, we brought in Honda IIs as a budget line. Some of them were pretty sorry. They did wind up doing a Pro line which were much better. That included for a brief time an official Paul Dean (Loverboy) signature model, based on a guitar he designed. Personally, the Aria Pro II brand, which also sold in that price range, were much better value. You should try and scare up a Gorilla amp to have it as a package for the ultimate 80s starter kit 😅
My friend that started playing guitar and got me into it started by taking over his sister’s old Hondo Strat and it was better than a Squier that I had it was the same pretty pearl white as the one in this video except it had a bridge humbucker and a pointy 80s shred style headstock between a Jackson and ESP shape if I remember correctly it was heavy AF .
I don't feel so bad now about making a mess of a neck on a Chinacaster when trying to bust the nut loose. They glued it to the neck using wood glue. 😪😪 In any case, maybe try using a reamer instead of a drill bit?
Oh man I cant stand when I get a strat copy that is just different enough that a replacement pickguard wont fit. I had friend give me a Behringer strat copy that he bought for his son and I upgraded the tuners and the bridge saddles for him and he wanted me to put a black pickguard on it too but it was a slightly different shape so I couldnt do it.
Oh crap Sean you were almost done with it that just about broke my heart but I know you'll fix it way better than it was you and Kathy are one hell of a team love you guys
I've never seen any guitar that color that's gorgeous Anderson Plastics aged that color I think it looks awesome they should make some pickup covers in knobs an accessory for guitars like that in that color I wouldn't change that at all I cleaned it up make sure it was playing great with some fresh strings on there call it good love it❤
That's a no no using a drill bit on tuner holes. You need to use a T-Handle Reamer.
I don’t know why, but I had a feeling it would be the headstock that suffered an unfortunate accident - good thing Sean is gonna make it even better, cause that’s how we roll around here!🤘🏻😎🎸
you never use a power drill to enlarge tuner holes, specially on an old instrument, I use a small 1/4" round fine file and slowly sand the hole until it's the right size for the tuners.
Ive learned that one the hard way. Its hard to resist the urge to use power tools but its best to use hand files and go slow.
I have one of these. I got it new when I was 12, so that would make it 1985. It was bought by one of my friend's dads and I got it back about 7-8 years ago. I did a mild resto on it (new pickguard and pickups, new trem) but it's still a nice playing guitar. Plywood body though, but that's it. One thing, no Fender parts fit on it. The dimensions are slightly off.
I have a Hondo Deluxe 860 Flying V Electric Bass, metallic red, white covered D'Marzio split P bass pup. My five year-old granddaughter and I 'work on it' whenever she visits. She is a great polisher of the tuning keys. We even make videos for her Mom, Dad and Grandma. Too much fun!
My heart sank when I saw the headstock split, but I instantly knew you'd probably install a new neck. I'll be watching for part two.
true shoulda used a reamer
Same.
If you want a cheaply built guitar. My first electric guitar I bought a 1980 Austin strat copy with large strat headstock. The bridge block was made stamped steal. The pickups were 4K ohm PU's with a brass plate on the back of the pickups. It did not have pole pieces on the pickups. Just chrome plastic dots glued to the covers. The body was made of plywood. the neck nut was 1 9/16 wide. I replaced the PU's with duncan SSL-1 and played it for a few years and the neck twisted. I might have the body and neck somewhere in a box. I have a 1980 Hondo Classical guitar that I still play today.
I think my eyes crossed when I saw that headstock break. But I knows you are a going to make it better than before. Bring on part 2.
What you're doing is awesome. It sucks that the neck broke like it did. I have no doubts that you and Kathy will make it great. Can't wait to see part 2.😊
Those Hondo pickups were Dimarzio designed stacked humbuckers. Also Kluson makes a great replacement tuner that fits those F Stamp style diagonal tuners.
Friendly Tip: Drill in reverse to resize the tuner holes. It takes time and blackens the wood but it is way safer.
I saw that coming, i would have used a more hispeed drill, and smaller steps te drill out
That break looks like what happened to me on my first guitar upgrade. Mine wasn't trying to drill out the headstock though. It was trying to route a bigger curve on the edge of a cheap tele and breaking a big chunk out of right above where the jack goes.
I have a 1997 Squire made in Korea. My first guitar I bought new . Heavy and still great . Few people have tried to buy it after they realized it is twice the weight as the new squires .
Can't wait for part two. I know you have her best interest at heart and your neck will not end on the line for this, it should actually end-up in the guitar 🤘🎸
My OCD really kicked in, when you started polishing the body and removing some of the patina.
I been in the business since 79. And I love it. Can't get quality like this anymore
I've only recently discovered this channel. I love the fact that there is no fake reverence to fancy, or pristine, brand guitars. Guitars are beautiful things! Whether they are straight out of the box, or beat to hell!
This is like what I did with the Silvertone neck. It was ugggleee! But it cleaned up. I couldn’t pay someone to clean it up. The frets were green. 9.5 radius and I had to really clean to get it right. But it cleared up. You are a man of principle and I appreciate you and Cathy.My guitar is getting the Cathybuckers and a Single coil Ceramic in the middle. It’s good thick plywood with a big rout and I got a new black pickguard for HSH pickups to go with the tri-tone tobacco burst color. It’s going to be great and I’m looking forward to it. It has a great 5 way switch and I am blocking the trem down. The soldering should be done soon. You and Cathy helped me with that clean up on the neck and it is very good. Thank you 🙏
Good work brother. It's not your fault that the neck wood was old and brittle. Can't wait to see what you hook her up with though! 🤘🤘
That color is nicotine white pearl.😂
That’s what I was thinking lol
Yep
Mines went the same. And I don't use tobacco products. The pickup covers are obviously ABS plastic and it is sunlight that turns them that colour. Though in some cases nicotine may also add to it.
It doesn't even have to be white or cream plastic,a lot of blue plastic will turn a dark bottle green colour. You can use a process called retrobrighting using hydrogen peroxide to restore the colour in lighter coloured plastics but I am not a fan myself and use other methods.
Hey Sean, for cleaning your small metal bits (bridge, saddles and hardware) have you thought of using a small Vibratory corncob tumbler with fine media in it (like ones handloaders use to polish spent bullet cartridge casings)? I use one to polish up cartridge cases to a near mirror polish and have used them for removing corrosion and oxidization from misc. hardware in the past. Just something to consider if you want to use something a little more "hands off" that may end up cheaper than buying polishing creams and using your time for to apply the elbow grease... Frankford Arsenal sells a small dry-media "Case tumbler" for about $75 and since you're not polishing dirty bullet casings the media should stay clean and usable for a long while...
Yep reverse drilling tuner holes is the way to go, it won't bite the wood and well that😊
Step bits are worth their weight in gold. Ive done this exact same thing before. I bought a set of step bits and have never regretted it. 🤙
I had a Hondo Les Paul copy back in the early 80s that someone gave me. I don't know what the neck wood was, but it was soft, lightweight, brittle, and useless ! It had some kind of a hollow top plywood body, looked like a thin layer of plywood had been steamed to create the shape of a Les Paul top, but .between the layers, the body was hollow, and you could hear it when you played it, plugged in or not... The neck could not be straightened, though it had a decent fretboard, so I did the same thing as you. I salvaged the fretboard from the neck, made a maple replacement neck,, and fixed the fretboard to it. Then I refretted it with jumbo frets before I shaped the neck.
I made a solid oak body to replace the disasterpiece body that it had. I routed and sanded the body till I had a good Les Paul shaped top..
Then I shaped the back of the neck, and fitted the boot. I had plenty of wood on the back, so I made a Valute (I didn't even know there was a name for them then...) so the curse of the Les Paul wouldn't happen to mine.
The neck was then set into the body. I countersunk the screws after grinding a 1/4" off the point end, then I filled over the holes. I set the neck into the mortise with thinned epoxy glue. I gave it 2 weeks to dry, then I sanded and shaped the joint to look natural.
After some spray paint, I had a homemade Les Paul, built from the cadaver of a Hondo !!!!
Friends frequently compared it to a Les Paul Custom, because of the weight, but it played like a dream, and sounded great with those Dimarzio Super Distortions I put in it !
The very first Hondos from the 70's were made in Japan. In the early 80's production moved to the Samick guitar factory in South Korea.
I did the same thing when putting new tuners on a squier that i got cheap. Learned me how to use a reamer tool to get the job done. Some wood glue and clamps and we were all back in business. Thankfully the headstock wasnt finished like the Hondo.
Man, the finished product is going to be perfect! And brother, the song at 24:30 ish is freaking fire!
Sure is and I love the guitar sound
Hondo guitars are from the late 70s into the mid/late 80s (maybe into the 90s). I remember seeing ads in certain magazines with order forms, so yeah... mail order. That guitar is very likely about 40 years old.
For future reference Kluson make a direct replacement for those types of tuners.
Paint and hardware looks a lot like a 1989 Squier II from Korea. Not bad with a few upgrades.
I used to see Hondo II guitars at a local guitar studio that I have done a lot of business at. Never bought one, though. Those and other cut-rate guitars always seemed low in quality to me. That's one reason why I'm interested in this video -- to learn something about what I turned down! Thanks, Sean!
Keep the patina Sean..id replace the switch to Black and keep all the Original stuff,the pick guard is probably ALSO replaced..go Black,paint the Headstock Black on the repalcement....it should give you a Tuxedo look...God bless you and yours.
So, I've got a 2020 EVH Wolfgang Special and I've got a 1986 Kramer F1000. Original Deutsch Floyd Rose R3, rosewood fretboard. It's got a long leg Seymour Duncan custom '78 reverse zebra(about 8.5k). I hadn't played it in about 5 years. I took it out and only the low E needed to be tuned. The other 5 strings were still perfectly tuned, perfectly! Huge difference with the Floyd's. The German one feels smoother and firmer than the FR Special 🤟
Cool video.Wow I didn't expect that.Can't wait till part two.Gotta hear what that thing sounds like.
My first guitar was a Hondo black strat copy. Got it for Christmas 1987. I played it through a Fender Sidekick Reverb 25. I took lessons at the store for 6 weeks then quit and attempted to learn from magazines. The guitar actually had a high fret and was sent back to the company for a month. They let me use a Fender Lead 2 for the duration. The setup was great for making squeally feedback noises. The guitar wasn't even made of wood it was like poerclin or something super heavy to have on a strap for a 13 year old. The store we got the complete setup had Fenders, Gibsons, Westones, and Hondos at the time. It was $180 brand new I kept it for 2 years and traded it in at another music store for an Applause guitar.
Looking forward to part 2. As to old, my guitar, a Harmony Meteor, was my father's. He bought second hand about 1960. All original electronics and still plays great. Learned my first song on it. Had to finger my G by just fretting the high E as my fingers weren't long enough to reach the A or low E. Only thing I've done, other than clean it up was adjust the neck and I did have to build up one of the nut slots, the one for the D string as it had worn down. Frets as smooth as all get out, not from polishing but 60+ years of play.
ive got a pearl white strat body from the early 80s but it is not as yellowed as this one is. ide wager that it was made around 1982-84.the finish looks identical to mine its super thin and the guitar resonates loudly unplugged. i think mine had a harmony label on the original neck. its got an old fender neck on it now. it's not a thick Polly finish at all..mine has finish checking. ide have fitted a fender pick guard kept the old covers and knobs and tossed a 90s mim fender neck on it an call it good. i was the 1000th like btw! thats rad!
I just put on vintage tuners to replace this type.
Oh, and I use a hand reamer on them thar holes.
I have had twist drill bits do that and it sucks. How I get past that part is to go up 1/64” bit at a time and run the drill backwards while doing so. My milling machine can do it but the wood needs to be clamped down tight and flat with a piece of scrap under it. Feed rate can be controlled on the mill without the bit digging into the wood. The smaller drill presses I have won’t control the digging in issue either. I know you will overcome this easily.
After everything you’ve already put into that neck - wood glue and clamp - maybe a couple of small dowel pins.
Even though I knew it was coming, I still cringed when that beastie split. Looking forward to the next one. Thanks for this.
Almost looks like it spent 20 years in an attic going from 10 degrees to 150 degrees for 20 years.
I was going say that looked about 40 years old. I found a harmony guitar that's older than you and I and it still plays. Its insane man!! I had to order a tail piece and bridge for it.
I loved this... Laughing at how accurate your description of these old Hondos. I had the EXPLORER copy. I look metal... it was cool... but it would NOT hold it's tune to save its life. Back then I didn't know about replacing tuning machines, I just wanted to rock out. No matter how gashes that fretwork put in my hands while playing, I loved how it looked. I traded it in on a "JB Player" Rhandy Rhodes shark fin V. At least with locking tuners it almost never went out of tune. YES, people getting their first guitar today don't know how lucky they are. Craftsmanship even on a chinese made kit is nothing like what used to be.... LOL keep up the good entertainment.
The anticipation for part two is overwhelming. Can you hurry, please?
Reamer for tuner holes, that won’t happen, nice guitar parts in your song, needed a chorus
Sean, thanks for the videos that helped me deal with some of the tooth pain.Got that root canal monday nov 11th and was surprised. Zero pain. Got the crown left to go.
I had a Hondo Explorer from 78, bought used in 81. Was well built just with lesser parts. Changed pickups, tuners and it was a metal beast. I think they had a few price points
For some reason I think little lady's old strat is about to be playing veeery nice...lol. You're the man! 😎
I have a Hondo I bought in '85 or '86. It's also white and has a bit of a sun tan, but is way better condition than that one. There is some discoloration in the knobs and pickups, however it's minimal.
How do you get a copy of that music you played on this video? That was some really good guitar work.
I can't wait to see the next video with it all Seaned up, & hear it with Cathy's pickups in it. That's better than shined up!
Love y'all's videos .I remember when ya first started I was like who is this joker. Now I'm just like can't wait till that jokers new videos up luv ya guys bro u really do so phenomenal work . definitely have a gift and u give so much back. Sean for prez.
I have a Quest budget strat I bought in a pawn shop in 2002 for 80 bucks Canadian. Other than the pick ups it's a pretty solid guitar. It sounds great at low volume but gets microphonic at higher volumes. I'm more of a metal player so it's not ideal but for 80 bucks it's been a solid addition for 22 years and counting. The only things I've had to fix over the years was the nut and input jack.I ran the serial numbers but not much info comes up
Best I could find was they were made by Vantage in the earlly 80's.
Back in the early 90's there were a few music stores where I live that sold The Hondo brand. Along with these they also sold Series A, Austin and a host of other budget guitars.
It seems like just about any guitar project is going to have some surprises . Some surprises are worse than others. Very well done video, looking forward to part two.
Hondo made the H 76 from 1986 to 1988 the guitar retailed for $75.00
Still using a smaller drill bit could have saved the perfectly fine neck. I know your all about doing things fast and your way but i also know your smart and do some quality work it never hurts to make smaller increments when increasing the size of a hole. Im sure the neck your making her will be a better neck but personally id rather had the neck that came on the guitar especially if it was my first guitar that was bought for me by my father. Crap does happen but that crap could have been bypassed by just making the hole bigger in 2 step increments instead of one. At least tell me your gonna shoot the headstock to match the body
If I remember correctly one of my earliest guitars was an Arbor Explorer copy half black and half red in the late 80's.
I remember a range of Hondos in my local guitar shop around 1980. That will be 40-45 years old.
I just found this channel and Im not sure where you are from Sean but you remind me of some of my Okeechobee friends. Im watching from northeast florida. I dig the content and the original song was cool too.
Appreciate that, glad you like the music! Orlando here
@@scarmyguitar Oh heck yeah Im over in your town all the time. Keep the tunes coming, feels like home! On another note, I had a chibson custom made LP and it showed up scarred. I kept it and figured it was going to be a good mod platform. Id love for you to check it out and give it the once over. It's as good as i could with the tools i have. Its still not right. But i think your the man to make it be the beast it should be. Anyways Have an excellent holiday! Il hollar at you soon.
Oops on the headstock drill jobby. Here's a tip for doing that work. Use a rat tail file instead of a drill bit. Yes, just lock the file into your drill. There, that's a very good tip for you, so that broken shit don't happen!
Hando's were a solid little starter guitar. Needed new tuning machines and a set up right out of the box. Eventually they needed shielding and probably new electronics to sound good, but they were not as bad as some people made them out to be. Know they were around in the 70s but my experience of them was as a kid in the 80s. They were gone by the 90s but you would still see them second hand.
That is one slick looking guitar for a budget guitar that's over 35-40 years old, heck, it's nice in today's budget standards. Ouch! But, in true Sean form you came up with a plan, looking forward to seeing the next video. Thanks for another fine video Sean and Cathy.
Amazon is 30 years old...
Those pickups look a lot like the PuPs on my 35+ year old West Strat-o-clone. If they are the same, there are two magnets, one on either side of the pole pieces. From what I've been able to find, they made single coils like that for just a few years in the mid-60s
I have a 1973 LesPaul Junior, made by Arbiter (as in Dallas-Arbiter). P90 pick-up sunburst finish. I bought it for £45 and still playing it over fifty years later 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sean that country song is dope find somebody to release that thing man that needs to go on the country charts now
It is but I was expecting he'd say......and Ice Cold Pepsi.😂
Hi Youngster,
I watched both those videos of you working on that poor shape of a Les Paul, Gibson, that is. I appreciate you doing that as it was very educational for me.
Thank you,
Bill
Should gave used a reamer the headstock would not have broken. $15.00 tool.
DANG!!! But the original neck looks like a very simple fix to me. Even if you swap necks, you should fix the old neck. Just for the practice and the experience if nothing else. Plus we would love to see it.
Why is it that I was already thinking save the fretboard, and build a new neck. By the look of the CNC machine in action, I'm guessing your thinking the same way ! I cant wait for part 2 !
I was told those holes are for INDEXING the CNC machines.
You do realise this Guitar is likely from late 70s early 80s right?
Before CNC was a thing. More than likely cut out on a pin router by someone who couldn't use a pin router.
@Lamster66 Hondo was started in 72 and was that name until 2004. CNC machines first came out in the 40s. Manufacturers were using them in the 70s for guitars. Peavy guitars in the 70s were made with CNC machines. It became more prevalent in the 80s to the point of it being hard to find them hand made today. As for when Hondo guitars were made with a CNC machine I have no idea.
I was lucky. When I was a kid in the late 80s-early 90s, my local music store did carry some off brands. My first guitar was a midnight blue Hondo "super strat". It wasn't bad at all.
I still rock my lotus Les Paul. Same era as that Hondo. Great guitars.
That guitar has definitely spent a few years in a room where someone smokes. It looks gorgeous.
Dope?
It must have been from before we got it.
My buddy has a lotus from from like 1992 and after a little work and some upgrades its a really nice guitar still. I had to drill the holes out for new tuners too. Luckily it was super solid... also i put 500k pots in my strat too. Gives it more beef.
Huge smile when i saw that plasti x, i swear by that stuff and i swear it makes my setup customers come back just for the good smelling guitar!
I had one of those old Hondo guitars like that, but mine had 2 Humbuckers .Mine was a 1985 -86 I got it in a trade deal along with a peavey T45 bass and an old Ampeg bass amp .when I tool the Hondo apart to clean it up it had 2 super distortion pups in it.Also I had a i6 peavey foundation the same pearl white color .I wish I would have kept both of those bass guitars they were both American made
You should have used some Topol to polish the body.....the smoker's tooth polish!
When you are enlarging tuning peg holes, you have to put the drill in reverse. Otherwise it will do what it did.
I will say, Step drills will help greatly when enlarging holes, whether in a headstock, or in a pickguard. the cheap ones at harbor freight or northern tool ect work just fine.
Love that colour like years of smoke damage that guitar deserves a new neck
Wish I still had my Hondo from the 80's. Not sure how old it was back then used. Just a kid back then. I really liked this video. Time Capsule
At the music store I worked at in Western Canada in the eighties, we brought in Honda IIs as a budget line. Some of them were pretty sorry. They did wind up doing a Pro line which were much better. That included for a brief time an official Paul Dean (Loverboy) signature model, based on a guitar he designed. Personally, the Aria Pro II brand, which also sold in that price range, were much better value.
You should try and scare up a Gorilla amp to have it as a package for the ultimate 80s starter kit 😅
Awe man. Yah ya got me for part two. This is going to be rad.
This Hondo will be from the early 80s.
My friend that started playing guitar and got me into it started by taking over his sister’s old Hondo Strat and it was better than a Squier that I had it was the same pretty pearl white as the one in this video except it had a bridge humbucker and a pointy 80s shred style headstock between a Jackson and ESP shape if I remember correctly it was heavy AF .
I don't feel so bad now about making a mess of a neck on a Chinacaster when trying to bust the nut loose. They glued it to the neck using wood glue. 😪😪 In any case, maybe try using a reamer instead of a drill bit?
Korea
Hey you may not believe this but Amazon is 30 years old. They first started by selling only books.
Riiigggghhhhtt.....but they weren't bringing Hondo guitars to your door, correct? That was my point.
Oh man I cant stand when I get a strat copy that is just different enough that a replacement pickguard wont fit. I had friend give me a Behringer strat copy that he bought for his son and I upgraded the tuners and the bridge saddles for him and he wanted me to put a black pickguard on it too but it was a slightly different shape so I couldnt do it.
Oh crap Sean you were almost done with it that just about broke my heart but I know you'll fix it way better than it was you and Kathy are one hell of a team love you guys
So what did you mess up on it. Looks good so far.
Great looking guitar for its age. I have confidence in you Sean. You can remedy the situation. 🤘🎸👍
That song @24:26 is the total package ...lyrics, music, all around badass jam! We really need some sort of digital release available for purchase.
I agreed
My local shop (Motor City Guitar) had two of these back in the day.
I have a Hondo bass from the 80s. Plays and sounds great. I love it
Lookin Forward to Part 2 Brother !!!
Can't wait for part II.
I've never seen any guitar that color that's gorgeous Anderson Plastics aged that color I think it looks awesome they should make some pickup covers in knobs an accessory for guitars like that in that color I wouldn't change that at all I cleaned it up make sure it was playing great with some fresh strings on there call it good love it❤