Hondo 761 Fame Series

Unsure of this guitar's origin but it is in exceptional condition for its age. All origional except the tremolo arm is missing and one of the Grover machine heads has been replaced... I can understand why, when fitting new strings and giving it a clean up and a polish I found 2 more of the machine heads were cracked and ready to break... I can't understand why anyone would want to use these so called
U-Beaut 'Grover' machine heads - they are crap... I will be fitting something better in a day or two..... I have replaced the potentiometers with new ones and may fit a Pearl pickguard in the future, should look the part with that red flake paintwork with the white stripes..... Not your average run of the mill sunburst rubbish. Definately a classic in every sense of the word.... It still has the original stickers from the factory on the back of the head and neck, including the manufacture number...... (still very readable)......

I am only a learner of the 6 string - I play Bass, but I know what a good guitar sounds like and this is definately better than anything else I have looked at in my price range - definately better than those modern strat clones, this thing screams... I don't know whether the pickups are original or not, they appear to be, the humbucker really gets that sound happening...

This Hondo has hardly been used in its lifetime - I would estimate it to have been played maybe 20 hours if that - No fret wear, straight neck, low action - it is a treat to learn on.... No dents, dings or scratches - only one pin prick size mark on the back, hardly noticeible. It feels good and easy to play....the electrics are working fine.......

I would have no hesitation (once I have mastered those 6 srtings) in using this guitar for performances... It is no Gibson or Fender but it is a very usable axe...... Once the machine heads have been replaced and new strings fitted it will be ready to rumble..... Strap pins are tight (original) as is the bridge - a good strong setup...

I have emailed Hondo guitars requesting any information on this guitar but as yet have had NO relpy....?

I guess I can't make to many comments regarding this guitar to compare it with anything esle I have owned because I haven't had any others - except for a Squire strat some years back - which I lost interest in and sold to buy a bass guitar.... But I do love the looks, feel, sound and playability of the Hondo Fame 761, although it is a weighty guitar but that may be what makes it sound that little better than most of the strat clones...

Above all IT IS DIFFERENT to most everything out there - and I like to be different to the mainstream - Where would I find another one like the one I have if it got stolen ??? I don't think I would really,they are few and far between here in Australia.... I don't plan on leaving it out of my site.... I give it an overall rating of a 7.5 out of 10 for sure... I will get me a Gibson one day...

THIS IS A FOLLOW UP REVIEW TO THE EDDIE VAN MUNCH 761 SERIES I BOUGHT FOR $30.00. I DECIDED TO SAND THE BODY DOWN, PAINT IT WHITE, AND CREATED MY OWN PICKGUARD. WHAT I DID WAS GO THRU WARMOTH, AND THEY CREATED A PICKGUARD FOR ME; IT IS 2 SINGLE COIL CUTOUT. AND THEY SLANT TO THE LEFT. JUST THE OPPOSITE OF A BRIDGE SINGLE COIL. ONE HOLE FOR VOLUME ONLY. SLIT FOR 5 WAY SWITCH. I ALSO BOUGHT A SET OF 6 IN LINE SCHALLER LIKE PEGS, MADE BY PING!!! PRETTY GOOD. ALSO, GOT A VOLUME DIME SIZE CONTROL CAPACITOR AND VOL. KNOB. 5 WAY SWITCH BY ALLPARTS. NOT MUCH INVESTED, BUT CAME OUT OK. THE BRIDGE AND STRAP BUTTONS ARE FROM A SYNSONICS TERMINATOR THAT I BOUGHT AND REVIEWED EARLIER. I JUST STRIPPED THE BODY, TOOK THE BEST PARTS, AND MY NEPHEWS SMASHED THE REST!! THE BRIDGE WAS A STRAT NON LOCKING TREMELO THING, AND THE STRAP BUTTONS STD. I BOUGHT THE TERMINATOR FOR 3O AS WELL, SO THE BRIDGE AND BUTTONS WERE MORE THAN WORTH THE SYNSONICS ITSELF. IN FACT, MY NEPHEW TOOK THE AMP PART OUT OF THE SYNSONICS AND IN HIS H.S. ELECTRONICS CLASS, MADE A LARGE PRACTICE AMP OUT OF IT!! JUST GOT LUMBER FROM WOOD SHOP, MADE A CABINET, AND VOILA!!

SOUNDS ALLRIGHT. KINDA LIKE A TELE OR JAG; THE 2 SINGLE PICKUP CONFIGURATION IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN ON A TYPICAL STRAT. BRIGHT, BASICALLY. LITTLE VARIETY; WHAT YOU GET IS JUST THAT, 2 SINGLE COILS.USING A FENDER SUPER REVERB, SOUNDS LIKE A FENDER!!

I ADJUSTED THE ACTION; THIS NECK IS ALL MAPLE, SO IT IS COOPERATIVE IN ADJUSTING THE INTONATION. I'VE MANAGED TO ADJ. EVERYTHING WELL. PLAYS WELL, ACTION IS LOW AND SMOOTH. THOSE PING PEGS ARE A SURPRISE. THE FINISH, WELL, I SPRAY PAINTED IT WITH A WHITE ENAMEL COATING. SO, ITS OK, BUT NOT THE MOST PROFESSIONAL, OBVIOUSLY. BUT HEY, ITS FOR FUN.

HMM.... A BACKUP, YEP. JUST THAT EXACTLY. THE HARDWARE IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR NOW; MIGHT NEED REPLACING DOWN THE ROAD, WHO KNOWS? STRAP BUTTONS ARE OK. THEN AGAIN, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD, SOLID GUITAR FOR ANYONE. I KNOW I AM ABLE TO PLAY IT WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.

N.A

I GIVE IT A SEVEN. BECAUSE I BASICALLY REBUILT IT FROM ITS BOUGHT CONDITION: SEVERELY SHITTY. TOOK A LOT PRIDE AND CARE IN SANDING, ADJ THE TRUSS ROD, PICKUP CONFIGURATION, CAREFULLY PAINTING IT. ETC.. IT WOULD HAVE COST CLOSE TO 200.00 FOR A AUTO PAINT SHOP TO DO S0. FOR A LITTLE PIECE OF WOOD!! SO,IN TAKING PRIDE IN CRAFTSMANSHIP AND SUCH, I GIVE IT A SEVEN, AGAIN.

OH BOY, THIS IS INTERESTING, well, my discovery is kinda like the other review for the 761, but I am going to totally redo this geetar. It is a strat clone, candy red, white striped Eddie style paint job. I bought it at a local music store and the sign said, " Eddie Van Munch" on it so ya gotta have a sense of humor but... it has a maple fretbd, 21 frets, maple neck, nice semi jumbo frets. 80's style headstock. Grover tuners. It had no electronics on it; nothing. Just the body, neck, tuners, a Floyd Rose tremelo bridge with only 5 rollers on it. A neck plate. NO pickguard, no back plate for the springs, nada. No input jack. So why am I reviewing it? Well, I intend to redo this, as I said, and here's what I'll do....Oh yea, plywood body. Nice wood grain(?) finish, though.

I am gonna get a strat pickguard with 3 single dimarzios, keep and add a 6th saddle/roller to the floyd bridge, one volume and one tone (masters) 5 way sel. switch. All I'm gonna do for the finish, which I'm currently sanding away ( sorry Ed, but the red and white stripes are yours, not mine.)is varnish/ stain and spray some deft semi gloss on it. Hopefully, it'll turn out well. When all is said and done, hopefully it'll be a playable guitar. I'll use it through a Fender Super Reverb. ANd zoom 505 multi fx. It's a project one, so this is all for fun.

The neck seems straight enough and has a very adj. truss rod so don't think there will be any problems. Can't comment on any flaws, since any knicks are now barely noticeable. It'll be a decent playing guitar when I'm thru.

The hardware= bridge, a floyd rose, adding a 6th saddle, it'll be fine. Grover pegs are decent enough. The finish will au natural with varnish/stain and gloss. Have to buy strap buttons. Locking kind while I'm at it. I sure hope to be able to depend on it. Won't use just this one; it'll be one of the backups for me.

I am confident this will be a good playing guitar by the time I'm done with it. Since it is a project guitar, I am going to be able to customize it to my liking. It'll be a std. strat to some, but to each his own. My prediction for the outcome and quality of this one will be a.....

Cheap Strat clone for 80s pop metal fans. 21-fret wide/thin maple neck with maple fingerboard, big frets and a Jackson-ish headstock (inline, but string pull isn't straight). Plywood body with an amusing Van Halen looking candy stripe finish. Two single-coils and a bridge humbucker. 5-way switch, one volume, two tone controls. Knife-edge trem (one-piece cast with heavy saddles). Grover tuners, but I don't think they are original. It also had two roller string trees, but since the headstock is angled, those didn't change the string angle at all - bizarre, and likely not original either. I think the coolest feature is the jack socket - it looks like a Tele style jack socket from the outside, but instead of being clip-mounted, it's a giant ferrule held by friction. I've never seen a jack socket anywhere near that heavy. Definitely a cheap, low-end guitar, but enough of the hardware is good that I decided to get it for parts. To its credit, it's not lacking any Strat features, though 22+ frets would be good.

In a word: terrible. The wiring was poor and there was more nasty crackling noise than tone coming through. The stock pickups were both thin and weak, the Lace Sensor (blue model) much louder and thicker but still somehow colorless. I'd give the Lace Sensor a 4 and stock pickups a 2 (hey, I've heard worse...) The sound is definitely cheap, but not the currently fashionable sort of cheap.

I will not bother to list all the flaws on this guitar - I have an eye for detail, so I could list about fifty. However, some things are good - the neck is good, stiff and straight, and has a decent finish. The tuners are first-class (though likely not stock), and the bridge is good and solid, and well-plated. Action was actually decent, though the nut was cut very badly, so some open strings would buzz. I think "inconsistent" is the only appropriate rating here.

The body finish was thin, weak, and flaking off easily. The wiring was horrible, and easily broken just by turning a pot too hard. The bridge has a crack where the trem bar goes in, but other than that, it's very solid, with good plating. The tuners and saddles are excellent. Strap buttons are decent. I suppose after a complete rewire, this should be extremely reliable - the finish would wear off easily, sure, but it's covering up plywood, so it's not like dings in the wood would make any difference.

Well, the piece of paper with the price mentioned a year warranty, but I assume that was a store warranty, since the guitar was used. Not like it matters - I took it all apart, put the parts in my parts bin, and threw the body away.

It's good for parts. I was haggling about a trade at the store, and to make me happy, the owner decided to throw in a cheap guitar. I had my choice of this, various Samicks, a Washburn and a Fender Squier, and grabbed this because it had the stiffest neck and best hardware. As a guitar to actually play, well, for the price range one could do a lot worse, but I think one could also do a lot better. The things I like best are the tuners, saddles, and jack socket. The body, wiring, and pickups are horrid. I'd say it's worth $100.