Hondo 748 Deluxe Series Les Paul Copy

Later 70's model as far as I can tell. Research on the thing proved to be pretty fruitless in that there's little to no information on these guitars. On the internet and from what I've found at least. Otherwise it's your basic Les Paul layout. 22 frets, 2 Humbuckers and knobs for each, 3 way switch, Solid top, mahogany body, trapezoid inlays, tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tail piece. Black finish with chrome hardware, and creme (white) pickguard, knobs, and pickup rings as well as binding. Oh and it has the open book headstock. Mine came with an after market set of very weird (interesting) locking tuners. I'm swaping those out though for some regular old ones because I don't like fucking around with all that nonsense. I also removed the pickguard (which was a lame mount) because Les Pauls are absolutely ugly with them IMO. It had a little ding in the finish but nothing a dab of black nail polish couldn't fix.

Acoustically It sounded very nice. But when I tested this guitar out on my amp it was lacking something.I hadn't had my amp (the best) set up yet. I decided to play it straight through my marshall as I do when testing all guitars. I run the head out a marshall cab and a mesa boogie. If a guitar doesn't sound good through the basic amp then there's no sense in throwing effects in front to make it sound good. The clean portion and the neck pickup sounded very rich and nice. When I switched to the dirt the lack came in. I fiddled with the amp a bit and that didn't do it. So I then cranked the bridge pickup height up a couple turns and I'll be damned if this baby didn't sing like a Siren. Great sound. I haven't had any problems with feedback or pickup buzz but I may change them out to Duncan Alnico II's only because I love those in Les Pauls. Other than that you have you're basic les paul sound. It's fat when it needs to be and trebly when it needs to be. I actually took it to the store and put it up against LP's of today and no joke it smoked almost all of them in the place. it tied and few, lost to one. The only other LP i've played that I've loved this much is the one i built.

There was a set up done on it before I got it. The previous owner (a family friend) is a guitar nut job. So the action was perfect. nice and low. The finish as I stated above was great especially for an instrument of it's age. One little ding and now even that is gone thanks to my girlfriends nail polish.

It's survived through the end of the 70's to now (2008) so I think it'll stand up. I haven't played it live yet but I will. it's a great piece. I've done some recent recording and band practice with it and it's done a stellar job. A very solid guitar.

Doubt they have it anymore.

I've been playing for 13 years and own 14 guitars and build/repair them as well. This is in my top 3 now. I love it. I play all kinds of music and am on the life long quest of becoming a master guitarist. This one is great and can do all of it. Well not so much flamenco but everything else. I'm glad i bought it and at a steal with a case included. i'm proud to have it in my collection and i would be beyond upset if it were lost, stolen, broke, set on fire, etc. Again it's survived decades and different owners, it sounds phenomenal, and plays like a dream. if any one has a chance to get their hands on one i suggest you take it. these copies beat the shit out of gibsons back in the day and today through my tests it's smoked them so far.

Late 70's/early 80's Les Paul Standard copy (best era for copies) Hondo model likely Korean. 22 frets. Solid-top. Standard Rythm/middle/treble switch, with two volume, and two tones knobs. Now this guitar is HEAVILY modified from it's original state, except for the pickups. After taking them out to examine the make, I was surprised to see a think coating of wax on the bottom appearently for feedback reduction So they are likely the orginal pickups or a lower end pu. I plan to change them to Gibson 57' classics. Qulited Maple-top, Mahogany body with the good Ol' Cherry Sunburst finish. THe best finish for guitars peried. IMHO. This guitar IS a Les Paul Standard. I played this against my friends' Epi LP Custom, and this bad-boy smoked that guitar! I put it up against another fella's real Gibson Black Beauty Custom and if not for the lame PU's I would have got him good too. Now the guy who had this before me modified this guitar big time as I said. Everything was changed to official gibson hardware. The bridge, the saddles, the pickgaurd and cover around the pickup selector, the covers around the pickups themselves, everything. He even changed the pots to good 500k gibson pots. the pot knobs are even gibson! Gotoh tuners. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why he did'nt change the Pickups! You can tell they are'nt Gibson because of the tone compared to another guitar. But by itself it sounds as gibson as you can get. Those darn pickups!Nothing ever deserves a 10, there is always room for better. a 9 would be good for this guitar, but until I change those pickups, it get's a 8.

I play in a band the does a range of music, from real R&B (Boyz II men, Usher,Mowtown) to Rock (Our Lady Peace,Incubus,U2,Lenny Kravitz) to Brit-pop (Stereophonics,Travis,Coldplay,Deliriou5?) to punk, (The Strokes, The Hives, The White stripes) How's that for Variety? I run this guitar through a VOX Cambridge 30>Vox Wah>Guyatone OD-2>Guyatone HD-2>Line6 DL4>Line6 MM4. The PU's are very noisy but as I said I'll deal with that. Sounds really like a gibson though, the same FAT rich tone grinding out a bit at about 10 O'clock on my amp. Those PU's are just killing this review!

When I bought this guitar used, it was set up perfectly ready to play. EVERTHING is the same as the LP standard minus those PU's. There were a few minor scratches on the back from belt buckle wear. other than that, just perfect.

70's guitar in almost perfect condition? You be the judge. I bought a set of Schaller strap locks for $10 and went on my way. I have another guitar I use as my backup if a string breaks, but as soon as there is a break in the set, I change the string and put this guy right back on. It's a heavy baby, 9 pounds.

Customer support? Are they still selling guitars? I'll never have to contact them about anyting. I should contac Gibson if I have a problem with parts, because this guitar is all gibson anyway.

I've been playin 2 years a buying a real LP did'nt seem practical, so when i came across thos guy, I had to have it. I have a les paul for less than half the price, is the way I look at it. If it were stolen (God forbid) I would cry, and cry, and continue to cry like a little girl. I plan to sand off the hondo logo, re-paint it and leave it blank. So this guitar is a one time piece, don't bother trying to find one, most of the hondo's that you'll come across are the "Hondo II" model guitars which are totally different.They suck. If you ever come across one that got the Gibson treatment like mine did... BUY IT!

looks good

sounds great

all is well now

weighs a ton, very well made, a beaut now

huh

i rebuilt this guitar , changed the tuners and refinished the body and neck. looks great, and sounds really authentic. these pickups are alright, was going to replace them , but that would be foolish. i'd
LOVE to get my hands on another one. if you want to sell one get in touch with me.

late 70"s les paul copy,mahogany neck and body, flame maple top, 2 humbucking pick-ups,open book headstock,rosewood fingerboard. real cheesey hardware,i'm replacing all

only plugged in when guitar was obtained, strong,quiet,musical sounding. guitar was dismantled shortly thereafter, refinishing the piece

huh, bought over e-bay, little disappointed with condition (photos on e-bay awesome)no set at all, wrong type tuners,nice maple top,bookmatched great for a copy. flaws are all age related.

no clue

what !!!!!!!!!!!!!

been sort of playing for 35 years. have owned dozens of guitars from teles and strats, yamaha sbg half dozen assorted guilds,s-100,ce110,m-65(1959) etc.never owned a real gibson,closest was a epiphone sg-400. now own fender strat plus, tokai goldsound strat, saga u build it yourself strat(a real nice guitar)and an ovation acoustic. building the saga got me inspired, i'm rebuilding(not restoring) the hondo. i will post results when job is done

Spot-on LP Standard copy that was, most likely, made in Japan, late-'70s or early '80s. It has a mahogany set neck and multipiece mahogany body with a relatively thin maple cap. Honeyburst finish, chrome bridge and tailpiece, decent PAF-type PUs, hunk of crap tuners. Weighs a ton. Aside from the throwaway tuners, it resembles the real thing enough to make you hesitate to spend more on the Ace Frehley model.

I'm really more of a Fender guy--they tend to bear up well under my heavy right hand, but this guitar is quite sturdy. Really, I only bought it because it was an incredible bargain and I thought it'd be fun to mess with, but I find myself playing it more and more. The sound is full but not muddy. I use a Marshall combo, and the overdriven tone of this guitar is transcendent. I do miss the whacked-out Fender overtones, but you can't have everything, right?

I bought this guitar on a whim at a pawn shop in DC, so I can't comment on the factory setup. It had just two strings on it (they were corroded--black), it was caked with greasy dust, the neck was badly bowed, and the pickup selector was jammed. One tuner was missing its knob. Once I got it cleaned up, set up and polished, it became the prettiest piece I own. The maple top is a bookmatched two-piece and has fine striping. The hardware is moderately chintzy (except the tuners, which suck), befitting a copy. It plays great.

Aside from the aforementioned mediocre hardware, this guitar is ready to go. I NEVER do a gig without a backup (I always break strings), but I haven't broken one on this axe yet. Workmanship is B+ at worst. Mostly, I'd give it an A. Maybe some guys from Kalamazoo were moonlighting in the Land of the Rising Sun. The tuners must be and will be replaced soon.

They have customer support? Could've fooled me.

I've been playing for about 18 years, and this is the best bargain I've ever found. The guy who sold it to me obviously just wanted it out of his store. I'd buy it again, though the Hondo label is definitely uncool and I'd be surprised if I were offered more then $100 for it if I tried to sell it (which I won't do). For my purposes, it's as good as a Gibson.