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Hondo II guitars circa 1980

Hondo II: the First Name In First Bands.   Marketed as ideal beginner-instruments, Hondo II was the US brand name for certain guitars built by the Korean Samick corporation.  According to wikipedia, Hondos were built in Japan between 1974 and 1983.   Samick is among the world’s largest manufacturers of musical instruments, with much modern production of guitars taking place in Indonesia.  Anyways… by the time I started playing the electric guitar, the Hondo II name was already retired and they were simply branded ‘Samicks.’  Not sure what was up with the awkward name Hondo.  Was is supposed to invoke Honda, then known to Americans as a leading manufacturer of motorcycles? Here’s a look back at the company’s big push into the US market in the 1970s. 

The Hondo Longhorns circa 1981; updated versions of the circa 1960 Danelectro instruments.

The Honda II lineup circa 1981. We see copies of: Gibson’s THE PAUL, the Fender Lead II, an early Fender Telecaster, an EVH-style strat, as well as some generic-looking but original instruments.

The Hondo 781 EXP, a lurid instrument sure to inspire fist-pumping.

In 1979 Hondo offered Asian-made licensed-versions (not copies…) of the respected SD Curlee instruments. 

Anyone out there using Hondos these days?  Are any of the models worth recommending?  Let us know…

chris

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  • My bench test guitar is one of those SD Curlee Hondos, but someone stripped the finish and logo and dyed it black. Fifty bucks, it was, and plays perfectly up to about the fourteenth fret.

  • I'm not sure to whom i'm sending this!
    Anyway, i bought in december 1980 a Hondo II les paul in France, (i'm french),
    now leave in Amsterdam, just picked it up back from my parents place, let it checked
    out : neck (bold on) a bit curved , but kan play with it...Playing high notes requires
    some muscles in the fingers!!(strings far up..). Nbr: H7 40AB, sticker "made in Korea
    wich puzzles me cause i thought (wikipedia!) that korean hondo II les paul models started in 1983?
    I like very much the distortion ability, sustain, ...En my emotional shit with it!
    'd like to know more about it , any internet site??
    I'm just trying to get informations, i'got other guitars (better??), but this one is special
    to me...So, whoever reads this , thanks for your time! Pascal (51 years old).

    • Pascal, por favor, ponte en contacto conmigo.
      Espero que alguien me pueda ayudar, ya que he perdido el contacto y estoy intentando localizarte en las redes, ha pasado mucho tiempo y me gustaria poder hablar contigo.

      Montse de Asturias España

    • Much of the info on Hondos is wrong. Very few were made in Japan. Most were made in Korea, from 1974-1988.

      • Again, this information is from Wikipedia. Please follow the link in the article. If you have definitive proof to the contrary, please provide it to me and I will make adjustments. ED

        • Samick factories were in Korea; none in Japan.
          Not sure who made the Japanese Hondos.

      • Mines made in Japan and by hondo
        tokai ,it s a fendar lead one copy,

    • I have the Nomad 3x I also think it is a special guitar. Can you tell anything about it.

  • I have a cherry wood finished Hondo II finished les paul copy. Need to replace scratchy pots, anyone have a wiring diagram?

  • When I was in high school I played in a working band near Binghamton NY called "Sapphire." My bass player dreamed of one day owning a Rickenbacher bass but settled for the Hondo II version. Finally he had saved enough money to buy the real thing, but soon decided he LIKED THE HONDO version BETTER, and continued to play the copy. I suppose it may have been the "I'm just USED to this one" factor, but might also say something about the quality of the instrument.

    • no its true, real ricks have weak e string prob cos the 2 truss rod deal, i swapped all hardware onto ibanez copy, sorted. i have several hondo ii longhorns best money i ever spent....

  • Hey, that sounds like me,
    Oh it was me, yes I remember that after Bob Twining at the Music Workshop, set it up (the Hondo) it played like a dream, and actually had a little deeper bottom to it than the crisp Rickenbacher. I owned both for 20 years, and the "Rick" was sold in almost new condition.

  • i got a 2 tone sunburst telacaster deluxe series h757g do any body know anything about these guitars

      • Mike,
        Those 75* seires guitars were actually pretty nice axes's. I own several of the Strat copies of the same seires. Aside from the name "Hondo" and the goofy headstock shapes most of them had I really love the tone of the pickups they used in that and the earlier H76 guitars (those had the best pickups). Great for vintage tones, blues, classic rock.

        • I believe I have 2 of these 70's Hondo Strat's, Jason and love them for same reasons. Built like a tank, beautiful tone and Jumbo frets, the Champagne one begs me to play it and I love playing it and hearing it.
          Personally I think you would need to spend $1000 plus (Australian $ in my case) on a actual fender, new or second hand to get the playability and sound of these Strats. No wonder Fender and Gibson wanted to sue the Jap makers in the 80's.
          Help? I can't find any ID on my guitars any suggestions.

          • Check the neck joint. My champagne strat has a sep6e marking. Has a jackson styled headstock/neck... Cannot find anything online. Looks 80s a.f.
            Post if you find a similar marking?

          • Neither can I. I have a nomad
            three3 x with no identification on it also it has built in speakers. Do you know anything about this model.

  • I have a Hondo 11{that's a roman numeral 2} classic guitar made in Korea model E 800, can anyone tell me more about them? I have checked all over and no where do they even mention a E 800. It was given to me when I showed some interest by a teacher who had extra guitars from a guitar club he used to run, the neck is a bit wide and it only goes to the 12th fret then the body starts, it has 3 wound and 3 nylon strings, it has good sound and is easy on the fingers to play.

  • hi, my names mike, i just purchased a hondo 2 h75, its a great guitar but it has no serial number or any markings other than brand and model. i was wondering what years they were made, cant find any info on them other than it might be early eighties. any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much mike

  • I have the Gibson J200 copy by Hondo II and I must say it's great, will never part with it.

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