Hondo

[DeMontGuitars.com]

Hello!
i have, and have had many guitars , but one of my favorites is a Tokai made Hondo Les Paul.

I am new here and I may have missed it, but has there been discussions over these guitars?
From what I piece together, and if the information is correct, all the Japanese Hondo's were Tokai. I do have a few number of them.

can anyone tell me what some key identifiers may be to tell me if it is a Tokai made guitar or one of the lesser quality, but still nice, samick made koreans?

 

[mirrorboy]

Samick made Hondos have these stickers on the back of the headstock. Of course they get removed, but I regularly see ebay listings for Hondos with these stickers claiming they are Japanese built :-?

I believe that the Hondo II copies of the Fender "Lead" series were definitely made by Tokai in Japan.

 

[DeMontGuitars.com]

Samick made Hondos have these stickers on the back of the headstock. Of course they get removed, but I regularly see ebay listings for Hondos with these stickers claiming they are Japanese built :-?

I believe that the Hondo II copies of the Fender "Lead" series were definitely made by Tokai in Japan.

I was never sure if Tokai also stickered their guitars. thank you for verifying that for me!
do you know if tokai ever did an laminate stuff for Hondo? I believe all laminated or plywood bodies were made by samick, but have also never been able to confirm that.

 

[mirrorboy]

Here's the first Hondo II logo from 1974. Hondo's owners failed to obtain trade mark registration as it uses the same font as the Honda motor company

Here's an advert from 1978 with the script logo that did obtain approval. This guitar is Korean plywood despite the DiMarzio stamped pickups.

I really don't think Tokai had anything to do with the plywood guitars other than providing technical support to Samick in the early days.

 

[jacco]

If they were Tokai made shouldn't they have the distinct Tokai routing?

 

[DeMontGuitars.com]

Here's the first Hondo II logo from 1974. Hondo's owners failed to obtain trade mark registration as it uses the same font as the Honda motor company

Here's an advert from 1978 with the script logo that did obtain approval. This guitar is Korean plywood despite the DiMarzio stamped pickups.

I really don't think Tokai had anything to do with the plywood guitars other than providing technical support to Samick in the early days.

this is great!
some facts i've never known.
and i didnt realize there were korean hondos with stock dimarzios. i always had learned that if it had dimarzios, then it was tokai. This would not be true then?

 

[DeMontGuitars.com]

If they were Tokai made shouldn't they have the distinct Tokai routing?

can you please elaborate on what the distinct tokai routing is?

 

[rayspang]

I think they mean the square routings on each side of the pickup cavity where the the pickup adjusting screws would sit. Korean Tokai's have oval routings at that location. I have heard several people say that old Hondo LP's are the guitars they pick up more often than others to play. I personally have a 1981 Korean Arirang plywood LP that is one of my favorite players. The weak point is the hardware. Granted, I've replaced everthing but the body and neck, but the thin light weight wt. body is what keeps me coming back. :wink:

 

[jacco]

If they were Tokai made shouldn't they have the distinct Tokai routing?

can you please elaborate on what the distinct tokai routing is?

I'm sorry I was quite positive I answered that question but now I see I didn't;
like said above only Tokai have square tab routing AND diagonal wire drilling

 

[DeMontGuitars.com]

If they were Tokai made shouldn't they have the distinct Tokai routing?

can you please elaborate on what the distinct tokai routing is?

I'm sorry I was quite positive I answered that question but now I see I didn't;
like said above only Tokai have square tab routing AND diagonal wire drilling

this is great information. Thanks so much.
I'm putting together a Hondo website, would you guys mind if i used this information and/or photos? and would you like credit to it?

also, Jacco -- i am VERY interested in the square tab routing and diagonal wire drilling. do you happen to have any photo examples of korean vs japanese?

thanks!