ThomBassmonkey Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 The shop I sometimes teach at is moving and there were a few bits they didn't have the enthusiasm to move, this bass being one of them, so I pinched it. I honestly have no idea about this bass, the only part of it's history that I know is that one of my old students brought it in because she didn't have space for it and was after a new bass, once she'd bought one she said we could just have it since it didn't work anyway. We took it apart with the intentions of cleaning it up and getting it working (it was just the jack iirc) but never quite got around to it. There's no markings anywhere on it apart from the Hondo II on the headstock, the pickups and neck plate are both plain. Some pics: You'll have to excuse the dirt, I only brought it back yesterday and it's literally been in pieces for months and wasn't looked after before that. Missing from the photos are the covers for the pickup and bridge, I think the shop has those bagged up somewhere. The end is obviously snapped off the scratchplate (you can see it at home in the pickup route if you look carefully ) so it'd probably need a new pickguard if it was ever to be returned to former glory. Don't really know what I'm planning to do with it yet, it was a "oh, it's free, I'll have it" situation. It has the potential to be a project bass (I've been thinking of doing a J project, but this'd give me a nice headstart even if it's a P-ish) or maybe restore it, but I don't know if it'd be a great bass ever. It feels ok from what I can tell in it's current state, the neck seems straight etc. So any ideas of value or opinions of the bass as a player etc would be well recieved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Don't be so hard on it, it's not all that Pish. I wonder what the kitchen cupboard handle is for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 (edited) Hiya man. Wow, you got it for nowt, you say? I'd be made up. I bought this (for £80) last week: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=108033"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=108033[/url] Looks like they could've come from the same factory... Spookily enough (well, it is Halloween) the pick-guard on mine is bust in the exact same place. Got a new one on its way, along with other bits and pieces. I'm really quite pleased (and surprised) at how well it plays/sounds so I'm throwing a couple of extra quid at mine. Just seen this, you've probably got yourself a great-bargain there: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hondo_%28guitar_company%29"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hondo_%28guitar_company%29[/url] Cheers for posting your pics. Always nice to see these old boomers! Edited October 31, 2010 by waldemar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 Mid 70s Hondo, made in Korea at the Samick factory. Body is almost certainly plywood, necks on these can actually be quite decent. Hardware (tuners particularly) doesn't tend to be up to much, full-size pots are a good sign - check if they have a "dp" logo - these are not bad, but will probably want a squish of switch cleaner. The pickup's interesting - it's a single-coil with 2 rows of pole pieces, quite common on Japanese basses of the era and I've seen them on MIK basses like yours but never had the chance of a close look to see if they're identical. Japanese ones are Maxons, and should have a logo in italic script embossed on the base plate. You might have to look closely to see it if it's there under the corrosion on the pickup base, or clean it a bit with some metal polish. These are actually really good pickups (well, the Jap ones are) and can be very high output for single-coil units. If you want to keep the original pup (and not have to route the body) it might be worth trying to repair the original scratchplate, or make a replacement yourself - you could get one made to accommodate that pup but it would probably cost more than the bass is worth. These - Hondos in general - don't shift for much on Ebay, a bass like this in good nick might make £70 or so. Oh - the kitchen drawer handle next to the pickup isn't original. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 Yep, it was a freebie. I help out around the shop a fair bit though, so I got first dibs on what they left (nothing impressive, my other loot was a knackered set of shelves and some folding chairs ) Thanks guys I'll have another look at the pup and pots later but I'm pretty sure they didn't have any writing or markings on them (couldn't see any dimples etc around the rust either, so pretty sure there's none there, I'll give it a bit of a rub in a bit to check though). I think that realistically the scratchplate would probably survive just being screwed back on, the screw hole is ok and the rest of the scratplate should hold it straight. Bassassin, if you want me to get any close-up pics of anything (like the pup) so you can have a good look, let me know. I've seen you're the go-to person about Japcrap (and apparently Korcrap ) stuff, so I don't mind uploading anything you'd be interested in seeing in better detail just for your own curiosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 That pickup is also very similar to those used in some of the Bladwin guitars & basses (non-Burns models) of the late 60's. Actually, I have a pickguard 'in the drawer' that might fit that - right angles at neck socket - but it's cut for a Split-P-type pickup. If you're intersted PM me & you can have it for postage. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1007518' date='Oct 31 2010, 04:24 PM']Bassassin, if you want me to get any close-up pics of anything (like the pup) so you can have a good look, let me know. I've seen you're the go-to person about Japcrap (and apparently Korcrap ) stuff, so I don't mind uploading anything you'd be interested in seeing in better detail just for your own curiosity.[/quote] Cheers - wouldn't mind seeing the pickup in a bit more detail, but like I said it does look identical to the MIJ Maxons. Just curious whether it's a Korean copy or they actually used Jap parts. Btw - technical term's KoreaDiarrhoea. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted October 31, 2010 Author Share Posted October 31, 2010 Ok, detailed close-ups of the KoreaDiarrhoea for sir : Back of the pickup, can't see any names on there so it's probably a Korean copy then: Front of the pickup (most of the "dirt" is reflections of the flash in all the scratches, it's far from clean though): Good work on the DP logo, it's there: The rest of the electrics in close, the DP logo is on the pot here, the shadow from my thumb is over it though: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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