Conference napalm::guitar

    Oh..alright....I've got a Hondo II Professional, it was my first 
    electric guitar. I took it out the other day, and it sounds OK, brill
    action, but a bit on the small side compared to my other guitars.
    
    Still it was a great to learn on, when I didn't know a good guitar from
    a hole in the ground!
    
    cheers, Martin 

    While in the army, I spent three years in South Korea during the mid
    seventies.  While I was there I owned a couple of guitars that came 
    from the factory that built Hondos.  This was just prior to Hondo going
    to the Hondo II name and offering DiMarzio pickups (a big improvement
    over the Korean pickups).
    
    You could buy a Les Paul style, a Tele Thinline style (semihollow, with
    F-holes), P-bass style or EB3 style for the whopping sum of $35 in any
    music store.  Most had *no* name on the headstock, so an importer could
    glue on a decal.  Some had the decal "Cobra" attached to them.  I owned
    an LP style and an EB3 style bass.  As a beginner at the time, I
    thought they were decent guitars, probably if I played them today I'd
    have a different opinion!!
    
    The real problem was finding amps.  A buddy owned a Marshall copy stack
    that had a whopping 30 watt transistor head.   Going full tilt it
    sounded like a cross between a chainsaw and a swarm of mosquitos. 
    I think the whole stack cost about $150!  I owned (and smoked) a few
    small combos.  
    
    I do remember going into a store in Seoul that had real Fenders, but
    they kept them in the back room.  They brought out a P-bass for me to
    look at once, and when the guy told me the Korean price, I almost fell
    over.  US list for a P-bass at the time was just under $300, they
    wanted about $1500.  
    
    						Brian

    All of this talk about Hondos has got me thinking.  I've been
    considering an inexpensive electric for my oldest son (10 years).
    
    Understand that (in case you don't have any that age of your own) his
    interest in guitar can, and probably will, fade in and out at a fairly
    rapid rate over the next X years. So I hate to make a real investment.
    
    I wouldn't mind doing some fret work, intonation, action, whatever to
    make it a reasonable guitar to play.
    
    Would this be a way to go ?
    
    --Jim
    

    If you want an inexpensive learner guitar, go with an old, used
    Gibson.  Tons better quality, and a very reasonable price.
    
    GAwd, I can't play well on a hondo, I can't imagine someone starting at
    square one trying to get a handle on it!  Give him something he can
    PLAY.

    
    
    You can buy cheap and consider it disposable.  Or you can buy a quality
    used instrument, knowing that you could always get your money back. 
    The difference it makes to have a real playable instrument may
    determine whether your son gets into it, though.  If you can set up a
    cheap guitar and make it play well, then maybe that's not a bad option. 
    Generally, though, there's a reason why a guitar sells for very little.
    

    What is this worth??  My 15 year old daughter is interested in this
    guitar.
    
    It's a Hondo ZX-1
    Inverted headstock
    Gover(sp) tuning machs.
    Jackson Humbucker in bridge position
    Kahler (flyer) tremelo
    Locking nut
    
    That's the whole description I got.  Don't know what year it is.  I
    never tried it 'cause it's a lefty and I'm a righty, so I couldn't tell
    if it plays good or not.  He wants $200.00.  Now, I had never even
    heard of Hondo before, so I thought $200.00 might be kinda high.
    
    Thanks for any help.
    
    Chris D.

    Even though it's got some pretty good `parts' on it, you'd probably be
    better off going with a better name brand, used but not abused.  This
    would be a good guitar to buy for parts though ...  8^)
    
    Scaryu

Hondo's can;t be that bad, when I last saw Deep Purple Roger Glover was 
playing a hondo longhorn bass and he sounded fine...I bet he had better
pickups though...

He used the same one with Rainbow down at Uncle Sam's way back when..

dbii

    An OLD,USED GIBSON for a BEGINNER!!!!Fer gawds sake man,how much do you
    EARN!!!!!!!!
    	I bet the only difference between a properly set up Hondo and a
    Gibson is the weight,the sound thro'a practice amp would be perfectly
    adequate for a beginner,so THEN he can find out if playing guitar is 
    for him or not...you don't give a learner driver a Testarossa to find
    out if he'll pass his driving test!
    	   		
    				Big Jim (owner of four vintage HONDO's)
    				     only kidding,Scary!!
    

    Well, my first guitar was a NEW Gibson SG Standard ... I didn't get
    into the Hondo line until I got out on my own and started paying my own
    bills ....  8^)
    
    You have to shop around, but I've played several Hondo LP's, and all of
    them felt every bit as good as an Epiphone.  For a beginner, I think
    it'd be hard to go wrong ...
    
    Scary

    >An OLD,USED GIBSON for a BEGINNER!!!!Fer gawds sake man,how much do you
    >EARN!!!!!!!!
    
    Now?  that doesn't matter, but when I was 13, and just started on
    guitar, *I* bought myself a Sears Les Paul copy.  Found it ws too hard
    to play, then one day at EU's I played an SG and could not believe how
    *easy* it was to play!!  I though all guitars were  hard to play up
    until that point.  Anyways, at 13, I could afford the Gibson SG
    myself...it was going for $225. at time.
    
    Ask yourself, jus HOW cheap (money-wise) can I buy a HONDO for??
    You know, you can get a Gibson Melody Maker for around $175 if you
    look.
    
    >	I bet the only difference between a properly set up Hondo and a
    >Gibson is the weight
    
    Just my humble opinion, but...	WRONG!
    
    >the sound thro'a practice amp would be perfectly adequate for a 
    >beginner
    
    I'm not talking sound, I'm talking playability!!!  Also, how can a
    young player learn intonation, and how to play in tune, if the freakin
    guitar won't even stay in tune?!?!?
    
    >so THEN he can find out if playing guitar is for him or not.
    
    And if it isn't, then the re-sale will be that much easier with a
    Gibson than with a Hondo.
    
    nuff said
    B

    
    	Check out the Fender Squiers or Ibanez entry models.  I have 
    	seen Squiers for under $200 (with case).  Also, I paid about 
    	the same for my first Ibanez Roadstar I.  I didn't know there
    	was such a thing as an old, inexpensive, Gibson, but if you 
    	could find one, then it certainly would be nice to keep it for 
    	your own collection if your son/daughter decides to quit.

    
    
    I don't think it makes so much difference if the first guitar is a
    Gibson or on Hondo as long as the guitar plays well.  I think everyone
    in this file has seen a so-called "beginner's guitar" with the strings
    1/2 inch off the neck and no intonation beyond the 3rd fret.  No one
    could play such a guitar, and it makes learning to play much more
    difficult. 
    
    Remember how hard it is for a beginner to fret a non-barred F chord on
    the 1st fret?  Getting that 1st finget to cover the F and the C?  Now,
    picture that same chord with stiff, high action.
    
    I know that it is possible to get a good-playing Hondo, but I
    personnally agree with Buck.  Used Melody Makers fetch around $200 in
    the Want Ads and would make a good first guitar.  Ditto on SG's,
    although the price rises to $300.  Plenty of low-line Ibanez and Fender
    imports in that range, too.  When it comes time to sell the guitar, the
    resale value will still be there.  The trick is to know what you are
    looking for and to be able to weed out the lemons.
    
    I think for most non-guitar-playing parents, it's MUCH easier to walk
    into Daddys and plunk down $$ for a brand new Hondo or whatever than to
    search the want ads for something they know little about.  Music stores
    count on that.  Easier doesn't mean better, though. 
    
    Kevin
                                  
    

    
    
    
    Playability really is the issue - so if you can find a Hondo (or
    whatever, no bias here) that plays well and meets your price
    requirements, do it.  I can testify to the setback a cheap guitar can
    inflict.  I took lessons on a Kay for six months when I was twelve. 
    The action was so stiff my fingers were close to bleeding after
    practising for half an hour.  Needless to say, I didn't really get into
    guitar until I could afford an instrument that I could play with an
    anesthetic...(yes, it was a used Gibson).
    

    
    
    
    	I was "given" a Hondo Strat by a music store owner once (cleaning
    out his basement).. it didn't have a neck.. I put a Stew-Mac on it and
    re-issues pick-ups and it's now owned by reeeel player...  Even with
    the re-issues though, I always thought that it had that nasal playwood
    sound..  heh.. I love em'
    
    Koneeecheeewaaaa leetle fellers!  [;^)

    hardware would run you about 100$....is the rest of it playable /well
    made?
    it may be a decent geetar...a top of the line hondo!

	At least with an import Fender or an Epiphone or used SG
	you stand a decent chance of getting the cash back out if
	the kid decides to hang it up. It takes a pretty calculated
	sucker hunt to find a buyer for a nasty cheap guitar.

	I'd recommend a decent Fender Bullet H-2. USA made. Usually
	running ~250 w/case in the wantads.

re: .-1

	I gotta agree. Fenders and Gibsons seem to hold
their value no matter what the actual quality of the guitar is. 
Their is *no way*a Fender Bullet is really worth $250, but
it's a USA made Fender and that's all that seems to matter.