Hondo P-Bass Copy

Don't know the year it was made, but in the 70's or early 80's.
20 frets / 4 strings
controls : 1 volume and 1 tone
1 precision-like pickup passive electronics
Neck is mede of maple / sclae is made of rosewood
body is painted in black, don't know the wood of the body, but it is very heavy
precision body, with cheaps tuners

it play rock nearly all the time.
the sound is not very good, and the bass buzzes a lot

the head of the tuners buzzes too...

the set-up is not good, the neck has curved with the years so now the strings are far away and it is not very easy to play.

this bass is build like a tank. it has nearly 30 years and everything seems to be still there.

the sound pot has been suppressed on mine because the knob has been broken, and the tone pot scratches and need replacement, but everthing is still working.

the company no longer exists.

i play for one year now. check out the neck if you buy one of these bass and be ready to buy some tuners and a good pickup.

these bass are cheap but made to last as long as possible they're very heavy and it's hard to play for hours with this hanging on your shoulders!

Made sometime between 1979 and 1984 in Korea
20 frets, four strings. It has one volume control and i beleive the other one is tone. It has the standard P-Bass configuration of the pickups. I believe the neck is made of maple, and the fretboard is rosewood. It's got a nice natural finish. The tuners are fairly heavy but I don't know who manufactured them. Unfortunately there are no serial numbers and Hondo is so hard to find information on.....

The sound is generally good, sometimes there's a little buzzing near the first and second frets on the E string. I play all kinds of musical styles and this bass fits that well. It has mostly a darker sound. I wouldn't be too ashamed to play it on stage.

I Have no idea about any of the factory settings, my father bought it twenty five years ago and it hasn't seen the shop since.....because I have only been using it the past couple of years I have no idea on the factory settings. Although it hasn't seen adjustment in 25 years the action is perfect and the finish hasn't chipped a bit.

As I just said my bass hasn't seen any repairs even for minor things in twenty five years and it still plays fine....I would say it's very reliable. The finish is solidly intact and I can always depend on it. As I've said the neck or anything for that matter has ever been adjusted, and I would easily play it on a gig with no backup. The only 2 problems I've ever had was the strap buttons loosening, which I regularly have to screw in about once a month, and the tone switch, which until today I didn't even know it was a tone switch, doesn't work and to my knowledge hasn't worked for a long time....but those are relatively minor things.

I've never dealt with the company, it never had a warranty, never needed one either....If anyone could help me find some information on this bass (Like the model name....oy!) i would apreciate it alot.....

I've been playing for a couple of years and my bass has never let me down. I think it's a solid bass with a good enough sound but if it were stolen i wouldn't buy another one only because I could probably never find one. I love the reliability, the neck is fast enough

My Hondo 4 string P-bass copy was built in the mid to late 80's, I'd guess, in Korea I think. Can't seem to find much info on Hondo axes. It has a tobacco sunburst finish with a maple neck, can't tell what the body's made of. Gloss finish. Has 1 volume/1 tone control (passive). Has one split P-bass type pickup. Looks very much like the Fender unit, with similar type bridge. Tuners are diecast, very solid, but non-locking. Has rosewood fretboard w/20 medium frets. To me the neck feels thin, very easy to play.

I am a lifelong guitarist who only occasionally dabbles in bass playing. I use the 2-finger method on my bass and I think I sound good! I don't know why so many other reviewers berated this bass so badly; maybe theirs were worn out when they got them. At any rate, mine is a little dandy that sounds just fine. The volume & tone controls work perfectly, and there are no extraneous noises whatsoever. Whoever owned this bass before probably never used it much, or else babied it completely. I play it at church often, on a 30 watt bass amp w/10-inch speaker, and can be heard easily over the other guitars, drums, piano, etc. I haven't developed the "slap" technique yet, so I don't know if my Hondo would work for that or not. But for Gospel, country, soft rock, etc. it is just great. Actually, there are no "dislikes"; for what I do with it, my Hondo suits me perfectly.

No complaints in any of the Action/Fit & Finish criteria. I adjusted the action at the bridge to where it's like butter in my hands. It was used when I got it, so a previous owner may have had her worked over at a guitar shop some time ago. At any rate, there are NO hardware, fret, finish, nut, control, or buzzing issues with it. It sounds and plays like a dream (to me, anyway!), and looks very nice.

If I were Timothy Schmidt or Jaco Pastorius I might opt for a "Big Name" bass to play live on, but in my neck of the woods and to the crowd I run with, this P-bass fills the bill fine. I wouldn't be afraid (or ashamed) to play this bass with any band around who would have me. I'd bet a year's pay that I could gig with it all night and all the next day with zero problems, it's that solid. The way I take care of my stuff, it'll outlast me.

N/A (who would you call?)

I've been playing about 44 years now. I own 2 flattop acoustic/electrics, a Les Paul electric, 3 nylon string guitars, and 4 amps. A lifelong buddy of mine gave this to me because he couldn't get much use out of it as he'd never played a bass before. I was so thankful,I bought him an acoustic guitar/mandolin pack from Musician's Friend! I love the sunburst finish, easy action, and comfortable body curves of this bass. I've got Rotosound strings on it right now and it really thumps. I guess my favorite feature would be the easy-playing neck. I think it sounds as good or better than most of the budget Squier, Epi, low-end Ibanez, Yamaha, and Peavey units I've heard. I can't speak for other Hondo owners, but I'm real proud of mine-it's definitely a keeper!

Made in the 80s some time, can't tell for sure
the usual 20 frets, but because I will replace this guitar, I give making it a fretless.
Usual p-bass p/up configuration.
The body is ply-wood, as I have stripped it of paint, the neck a two layered maple.

Mud!

Surprisingly the action is great, very low, the neck is fast, a little fuzz on the E string close to the nut but, cant really comment on the finish due to my alterations

fuzz on the neck, the tuning pegs buzzed untill I covered them in gum, the pickups are rusty and sound like crap, the vol crackles when I turn it, the tone dial has no effect, but as said in other reviews have said, its a tank, more like a Lada really so ten, it ant gonna fall apart but the quality of the components are not. Have replaced musch of it already.

N/A

This bass is now my pet project, ripping the frets out, adding a bridge j-bass p/u, changing the paint and more. I would feel stink if it went missing, a) becuase I put so much work into it and b) I'd have to feel sorry for the guy who stole it. And wonder why he didn't go for my '62 fender jazz

This is a copy of a Fender Precision with a maple neck and a natural finish. I have owned two Precisions in the past - an original '57 maple neck and a '62 replica. The features were nearly identical. The neck on the Hondo II is slightly smaller at the nut.

I am quite pleased with the sound. I had switched back to a Gibson EB0 a couple of years ago - what I played in the late 60's and early 70s. I was pleased with the EB0 but missed the clarity of the Precision.

The action was quite good when I bought the bass but I had to disassemble it to bring it back to Canada. When I reassembled the bqass I noticed that the pick-ups had become unglued (the magnets) and that the strings needed to be replaced. The finish was fine - a glorious natural one. I picked up some strings at Bass Northwet in Seattle and am really pleased with the result.

The controls are a little noisy but I can switch them later on. I believe that the knobs are a little too lightweight compared to Fender originals. I will replace them.

I would have no problem playing this without a back-up. Frankly I have never owned an instrument or an amplifier that needed a back-up. I imagine any instrument that cheap would not work 10 days out of the store.

I have not been able to find out much information about the Hondo company or Hondo instruments. There were no markings on the bass so I am not sure where or when it was built.

I dropped by Sam Ash in Edison, NJ, looking for a Fender Jazz Bass with a maple neck. The closest bass I could find was a Fender Custom Shop 60s model with a rosewood fretboard at $2300. It was nice but not what I was looking for. I had an original '57 maple neck Precision so I am not easily impressed with copies.

I noticed that the only maple neck was a used Hondo Bass. On a whim I tried it out and bought it 5 minutes later. It was far more playable than the Jazz bass. I did not even plug the bass in at the stoire as I was in a hurry.

When I finally hooked it up to my Orange amp, I was not disappointed. I will keep my eye out for a maple neck Jazz Bass but am in no hurry anymore. This Hondo is a keeper.

i think it was made in the late 80s. it has 20 frets and 4 strings. it has volun and tone. i dont know what its made out of. it has a black finish. it also has a strung through body.

its sound is horrible. constant buzzing. and that is a p.o.s.

the only flaws this bass hass is when you put your finger on the first fret and 3rd it makes a horrible buzzing sound.

constantly gose out of tune and srews pickups the whole shot. and it works only 25% of the time

never heard of them befor

dont bey thus bass!!!!!!!!even if you are a beginer its worthless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i dont know where or when it was made. I got it of of ebay. it has 20 fretsand 4 strings. its prity simple a volume and tone not to shur what its made of.

sounds like crap. with a constent buzzing sound.

the wood is poor droped it once and cracked. screws are falling out and the tuning keeps getting messed up

only works 4 out of 10 times, and keeps on skiping and pickups are falling out

dont know

DONT BYE THIS BASS!!!! even if its cracked in half and pooped on and he offeres you $50 its still not worth it

not shure what year it was mad i guess sometime in the 80's
body was plasterd with stickes .one heavy bass
the p style pickups were rusted out
took me 3 hrs to clean up

the picups were rusted out sounded like sh|t

this bass was a P.O.S.

it only worked 20% of the time. BUT i was using $2 CRAP CABES

NEVE DELT WITH THEM

NEVER BUY HONDO IT IS THE F'N WORST BRAND EVER

I received the bass in 1997 from my uncle, who played in the 70s and 80s. Probably a 71 or 72 model. Brown sunburst finish, 34" scale, 3ply black pickguard, split coil p/u, one volume one tone control. Standard P-bass body style. Basic Fender Precision standards. I got it w/ a case and Ernie Ball Custom strings from about 1974.

It probably played well in the 70s when it was first made , but now it really sucks. I cant tell which knob is which, and when you turn either one it just crackles. On the volume knob, the bass only makes a sound if the knob is turned to an exact point. The pickup is probably gone bad too, so I really cant say anything. Although it plays, the sound is muddy and you get A LOT of buzz.

This is another loser category. The nut is wasted and the A string slips off every time it gets played. Buzzes like hell, against the nut and frets. If you ever find this bass, LEAVE THE BRIDGE COVER ON. My bridge is now loose and will never stay put. Its also difficult to adjust.

This bass has lasted 30 years and still plays, so its probably durable. This would actually make a great starter bass.

I dont think Hondo or Hondo II exists anymore. Oh well.

I only play guitar, so dont listen to my bass opinion. When I was 9 years old (im 16 now), I got a $30 Hohner acoustic for Christmas. It had the worst action and sound I have ever seen and it fretted out around the 11th fret. It was really hard to learn on. But I kept going, nd when I picked up a Fender, it felt like the easiest thing in the world to play. So maybe if you want to learn bass, find one of these and learn on it, then get a Squier or Fender and it'll seem easy. Anyway, its a cheap, solid starter bass.

This bass is a Fender Precision knockoff so it has 20 frets with a 34" scale, the split single-coil pickup, a crappy Squire-esque bridge and a decent three-ply pickguard. There aren't many features on this dog at all unless you get really excited about having a Volume *and* a Tone knob. It's the lowest rung of the bass-guitar ladder. I don't say that as an insult but as far as features go, there aren't a whole lot and what's there isn't quite as good as an entry-level Fender.

Please do not ever buy or trade for this guitar with the intention of getting any kind of signature tone out of it. It only resembles the P-Bass' tone in that it sounds muddy. You can get some brightness out of it by going full-treble with the tone control but it eats strings to stay even the least bit bright. The pickups are noisy as hell but you won't notice it over the fret buzz or the rattle of the tuning machines. If you just attack and kill your bass on stage I'd highly reccommend this guitar because it has the positive, bare-bones attributes of the original Fender. Slap all you want, thrash all you want, rip the strings out with your teeth and it'll still broadcast through your equipment.

The action on the Hondo II P-Bass is actually quite dynamic. It can go from fret-sander to tightrope-across-Niagra-Falls with just a few turns of the truss-rod. I'm actually stunned at the quality of the neck on this beast. The "Hondo II" logo is actually an inlay in the headstock and not a sticker. The finish of the neck and fretboard make me think that Hondo was raiding Fender's dumpsters for seconds when they put this line into production. It's actually a quality neck with a good truss rod and lots of adjustment possibilities. The nut is a plastic piece of crap and the bridge gives you just enough play to get the bass in tune with itself. The pickups seem to have a corrosive effect on any springs and screws I install or perhaps they just love to fall into the cavities but it's tough to keep them above body-level for any extended period of time. The wiring is the finest Indonesian slave-labor can provide. I don't believe they allow their workers near soldering-irons or maybe solder goes for something like $3,500.00/oz over there but the joins never hold and its almost impossible to move the pickups, pots or bridge without breaking the wires off. The tuning machines are the bane of my existence. They buzz incessantly (a problem I have alleviated by tying a thick bandanna around the headstock).

Wiring aside, reliability and durability are the reason to own this bass. The freaking thing is a gigantic, heavy, nasty, solid bass guitar which (if you never have to screw with the electronics) should last you up to a nuclear holocaust and beyond (if you want to use it as a bludgeon to assert your dominance over the other mutants). The tuning machines, despite their teeth-shattering buzzing, *never* slip and the guitar stays in tune for months at a time.

Who is Hondo? Who is Hondo II? I've never heard anything concrete about this company but have seen their influence throughout my musical career. I should give them a higher rating on Customer Support because they make it possible for people to buy instruments just for the hell of it and put out a better product than the Squier garbage currently flooding the market but the fact of the matter is neither I nor anyone I've met has known anything about this company. I think that makes customer support pretty lame.

I'm being hard on this worthy bass guitar because it really is a markedly inferior product when compared to a Fender or high-quality knockoff but for $100.00 (with case) you probably couldn't find a better starter instrument. I refuse to part with it because it was my first but I did recently de-fret it and got a good look at what a quality piece of work the neck and fingerboard are. The tuners are infuriating but if I were to replace the tuners, pickups and pots I'd have one hell of a nice fretless. I just don't think you can consider replacing tuners, pickups and pots when it would be only slightly more expensive to buy a brand name. For a starter bass though, it's great.