Hondo H-1100

Stratocaster replica. 1 pc maple neck. 3 pc alder body. Nitro finish -black. Weighs in at 5 pounds. Super light, Super resonant sound. At fist glance, this guitar looks and feels everything like a pre-cbs f***** strat except for the 'eagle' headstock. 5 position selector switch. (NOTE: I own 3 of these guitars. Two begin with serial numbers beginning with number '9', ie: 9******, one begins with '0', which seems to indicate 1979 and 1980 as years of mfg. I'm only reviewing one guitar here, but it is also important to note that all 3 guitars are EXTREMELY consistent with one another and all are excellent in quality.) It is important to note that the 5 positon selector swith operates like any other except when attempting to put switch in "in-between" positions, one must be careful doing so as the 'in-between' positions are not as 'pronounced' as the three main positiions. This is not a defect however, all 3 of my strats are like this. Guitar has inked markings inside of the neck pocket as well as the neck heel. Markings on body neck pocket are H-1100B and another black inked marking in the pocket reads: 9=10. It also reads 9=10 on the neck heel. (The other strats have similar markings ie: 6=12 etc. I don't exactly remember the numbers, and I'm not taking these guitars apart now, however ALL are marked the same way.. a single digit followed by '=' and then a double digit.)

I call this guitar a replica, because it seems to be made up of the exact ingredients that created the perfect stew which was the pre-cbs predecesor. It's not right to call it a mere copy. It's not correct to call this a guitar either. It's a musical intrument. (Don't laugh... pay attention... you'll learn something here, after all, I was playing guitar when the first wave of interest in 'older' guitars hit in the early 1970s. As far as I am concerned this is the 'second' wave of golden era instruments. Don't know the mfg, but these have a SPOOKY pre-cbs vibe... REAL SPOOKY. my guess is Kasuga/Tokai. they have that feel and sound. I can't put it down. Constantly staying up too late when I begin to play before sleep. This strat gets me in alot of trouble sometimes. (should be working inthe yard instead of playing - like I said, hard to put down!!!)

Grey bottom - unmarked pickups. Bridge =6.08 Mid=5.96 Neck=5.91 K Ohms. These bad boys SPANK! I've been playing for over 30 years. These are the REAL DEAL! I tell you no lie, this strat (these strats) remind me of my '56 strat which I paid $40 for in 1974 which was also stolen in 1975. The following years and the rediculous monetary climb of these old seasoned guitars left me searching for over 20 years for that one guitar that was stolen in 1975. I was one who would never touch a japanese made instrument. Bottom line: I was a fool who wasted 20 years looking for a guitar that played like the original I had, but was priced out of the market. I am VERY confident in saying that I'd stack this Hondo up with a pre-cbs, it will hold its own - I don't doubt it! (Don't laugh... you'll only let your prejudice get in the way of enjoying playing now, and you'll only show yourself to be a fool, like I was. Don't worry about saving up for a pre-cbs like I did... step up and pay you $119 at the pawn shop like I did, you'll be very surprised-you'll have a pre-cbs. The strat must say Hondo Professional on the headstock. There are lots of budget hondo's out there, this is NOT one of them. These guitars have skunk stripes also, you are essentially looking for the same things on this guitar as you would on a pre-cbs. Super clean sound that snarls and growls when leaning on the volume a little. You can move easily from Ventures, Buddy Holly, Al Jardine clean tones TO early Clapton 'brownie' tones TO impressive Hendrix/Trower/Marino/Vaughn tones. This guitar will take you there!

Action is low and slinky. Everything is tight and right! neck pocket/neck, hardware etc. (the saddles are not replicas of the pre-cbs however, but do the job fine.) Upgrades would be OK, make them GOOD ones though - call Callaham, or make sure you get steel stamped ones. The originals work fine though! Super fast feel. No matter where I play on the neck, the distance from the string to the neck feels about the same no matter where I play on the neck allowing me to create sinewy lines without fear of tripping in the 7 - 10 fret area.

I would not hesitate to play this out! It is super light, but super tough. Don't get me wrong... Don't slam it around, it's not like one of those Korean tanks, (Korea makes fine guitars too and has for decades, don't let some of the American mfgrs and retailers bullshit you. They've bullshitted me for decades now. They should have spent those years perfecting their craft, however they spent those years bullshitting the customers for those they cared about most - the stockholders. The Americans started out building musical instruments, then they made guitars. When they made guitars, the japanese began making musical intruments. Some guitars are just guitars, some guitars are musical instruments - if you know what I mean...

Don't know. By looking at some of Hondo's offerings in the late 70's and 80s, they were no doubt heavily 'connected' in Japan and Korea. I see some similarities to the mysterious Kasuga company and Tokai. (Somethings going on here!) I would imagine in their day, they probably were ok.

I'm a peaceful man. That's why I play. If this guitar gets stolen I would be very sad, very, very sad. As a matter of fact... I would make every attempt to find the culprit and give him an old fashioned New Jersey ASS BEATING! He wouldn't steal again. (The last guy who did it burned me for decades - I further burned myself (being prejudiced) by not looking at japanese builders sooner, we live and learn).