Hondo II Pro - Fender Lead Copy

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GeorgeF

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Sharing some pics and what I know about this guitar, and hoping to get some of your own opinions on it and knowledge!

I've heard rumours that Hondo II Pros were allegedly built by Tokai in the 80s (this guitar was apparently built between '81 and '82). I can neither prove nor disprove that except to say it was made in Japan as stated on the headstock. I'm splurging all the info on it with the hope you all might be able to validate as Tokai or not, it might be boring to most of you!

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Most importantly it is very nice and stupidly fun to play. I picked this guitar up for about ?70 from a different forum and it is worth every penny. It's a little dinged here and there, but it gets played more than my Classic Vibe Tele (which I'm selling now), and for all intents and purposes it is my go to Tele. I don't think I will ever sell it.

The electrics are quite tidy with good soldering, and the parts are cheapish but functional. It has 250K pots and a 0.047 cap.

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The pickups are beefy ceramic monsters with a construction I've not really seen before - Bridge: 8.9k / Neck: 9.38k! They sound great driven but still have a very pleasing chime when clean. The bridge actually sounds more like a Tele than my Classic Vibe. However, the neck pickup is too bassy and strong for my taste so when I finally land a real Tokai Strat I will probably swap the neck into the bridge position of the Strat.

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Do these routs match anything similar to Tokai? (excuse the socks)
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I should also add that there at least 3 pieces to the body showing a budget driven construction.

The neck is a dream and shows some Tokai-ish traits such as a capped maple fingerboard and wide spaced 12th fret dots. It has a 9.5" radius (I think). The wood selection is perhaps not as good as Tokais seen with the grain here...

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The neck profile is what I would expect a U profile to be. It's definitely not a C, but very comfortable to hold.

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Apparently this is a Tokai serial?

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The tuners are also similar to those found on ST42s and Silver stars, though I expect they appear all over the place.

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The nut is definitely unlike Tokai Fender copies of the era

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Here's a demo, not of myself, but he plays better than I could anyway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MAKdT0B80

All in all it's a great guitar, showing impressive craftsmanship, but definitely at a budget. So what do you guys think? Is it a Tokai?
 
The squared off ends of the pickup routs are not typically Tokai and the electrics don`t say Tokai to me,Gabe.
 
bluejeannot said:
The squared off ends of the pickup routs are not typically Tokai and the electrics don`t say Tokai to me,Gabe.

Maybe my memory is failing me but the red capacitor is typical for Tokai from 90's or so??
 
I'm not really surprised it doesn't have quintessential Tokai quality in it's features. However, it's interesting that it looks like a cap from a '90s Tokai because most other examples of this guitar and Hondo II Pro Strats are stated to be from the early to mid '80s (also when the Fender Lead series was about).

There is no hard evidence either way, but sways of threads on the internet where people immediately pipe up and say Hondo II Pros were made by Tokai (or Matsumoku) withouth debate. I suppose that could be people hyping up their reputation for mojo and sale etc. I'm not too bothered either way but would like to get some solid facts.

I also own a Korean Hondo II acoustic (not "Pro") and it's complete garbage in comparison.
 
GeorgeF said:
There is no hard evidence either way, but sways of threads on the internet where people immediately pipe up and say Hondo II Pros were made by Tokai (or Matsumoku) withouth debate.

The routing did make me think of Matsumoku immediately when I saw it.
 
jacco said:
GeorgeF said:
There is no hard evidence either way, but sways of threads on the internet where people immediately pipe up and say Hondo II Pros were made by Tokai (or Matsumoku) withouth debate.

The routing did make me think of Matsumoku immediately when I saw it.

And it is fully plausible that Matsumoku bought caps from the same place as Tokai. However, didn't Matsumoku close around 1980?
 
That's plausible. Having read a few bits and pieces it seems the main discrepancy as to why people think they were made by Tokai is the similar style serial number but from I've seen it's usually located at the top of the neck plate with Tokais, not the middle. Plenty of other examples of people stating they're from Matsumoku so guess that's more likey.
 
I've got one almost exactly like yours, but with dual humbuckers and a different pickguard. The serial # on mine is only a couple hundred later than yours. Sweet guitar though. Also had a Black one with SS pups but wasn't string through body, alas lost it to the pawn devils a few years ago. I just bought a crazy pawnshop frankenstein that's a Jagmaster body w/ a 1983 Ibanez Roadstar II (Japan) neck. I like it better than the Hondo II.

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Hondoii2.jpg

Hondoii1.jpg

RoadstarJagmaster.jpg
 
If you're happy with it, great. That's all that matters, but since you ask for opinions...
Would I ditch a Squier Tele in favour of one? Never in a million years.
My memory of Hondos is that they were very much 'beginner's instruments' - plywood bodies, cheap hardware...
They may well have been made in the same factory as Tokais, so were many other brands of Japanese guitars. They wouldn't be made BY Tokai, but made by the same people who made guitars FOR Tokai.
Fender discontinued the 'Leads' around 1982.
It's important to remember that most Japanese guitars in the 80s weren't the same standard as Tokais and Yamahas. Cheap then meant crap and unplayable. Tokais weren't cheap, they were just not as expensive as a Fender.
A 'cheap' entry level guitar cost a weeks wage back then and was garbage. Today, a week's wage will buy a pro-quality instrument, but even the cheapest guitars are on a different planet in comparison.
Old doesn't automatically mean great.
 
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