Hondo Electrics how good are they?

[Ian Supplee]

I just found one in a buddies storage unit. The neck is gone demolished, but here is my worry. The neck was Mahogany the body is layers of plywood. Here is my question should I drop Electronics into it or Should it just be a shop test/ finishing tester guitar. I looked at the Stewmac trade secrets page and found out Erick Coleman Swapped out the Electronics and it was fine so i have a small spark of hope. comments on what I Should do. I have had one of these also in my shop before for repair and it was mainly the electronics that needed some TLC.

Ian Supplee

[Thomas James]

Not so good. Student quality. Some models may have a quirky collectible value.

[Paul Verticchio]

That body is worth less than the price of one board foot of plywood.

Not worth the investment of time or $$.

Ian, when these were first being sold, every guitarist's opinion of them were that they were junk.

I agree.  Just my opinion.

[Kerry Krishna]

 The next lowest down guitar was anything from Sears. That about says everything that ya need to know. 

[Ian Supplee]

So basicly a painter guitar to test finishs on if so good i need one  anyway

 

[Paul Verticchio]

You can test finishes on just about anything that will "hold" paint.  Most use scrap wood.  So, in that sense: yes.

Kerry: You're exactly right.  Nowadays everyone gets hot & bothered about Danelectro (Sears) & Kay (Monkey Wards) guitars.  They were crap when they were new and now they're 50 year old crap.  The Harmony made Silvertones were a cut above but still near-entry-level instruments. The Teisco Silvertones were abysmal.

It seems the "draw" of the Danny's & Harmony's are the pickups.  Since both kinds of pickups are still available today, it make no sense (other than "personal attachment) to lust over these instruments.

BTW: I think the Harmony made solid bodies from the mid-late 60's are some very cool looking guitars, but if you've ever restored one, you realize that the wood used to build them is just a step above REALLY soft balsa wood. We could never keep ours in tune back in the day.  I now understand "why".

Ian: remember this as you advance in your career: Just because it's old doesn't mean that it's good or valuable.  Some instruments belong in the trash.   

If we keep bringing up junk guitars, the next big topics will be "What do you have in your trash can?

Have a good one (:

[Mark Pollock]

I dunno, the Dano I had was a basic U2 model, crap construction, and yet - those necks were VERY solid and well shaped. It was a breeze to play, and held tuning very well. The tone was good too, but it really was a playable guitar. We can bemoan the weird bridge and aluminum nut all we want, but it was a damn playable guitar, unlike some "better" guitars of the time.

[Paul Verticchio]

You're right Mark (:

The Dano necks had only one fatal flaw: no adjustable truss rod. That knocked 'em off my list.

There's no denying that they had a unique and WAY COOL sound. Possibly THE coolest.  I also admit that they worked very well in spite of themselves. I consider them definitely worth saving (: 

OT: I think Dano's evolved (not literally) into Joe Naylor's Reverend brand guitars.  Those are great "working musician's" guitars. Joe took the basic philosophy and built a well crafted instrument around it. (:

BTW: you should see the dead mint '58 Dano Longhorn Bass (in copper-tone 'burst) we got in at the shop (w/ orig. SS case).  It's a piece of visual art!!!! It stops people dead in their tracks.  It's just beautiful.  I really do have to start taking my digital camera to work with me (;

Have a great week Mark (-:

[Mark Pollock]

Now we have an argument! I feel that the Dano necks are plenty solid without a truss rod. They don't need 'em! And truss rods on electrics always seems a bit silly to me anyways, unless you are using some HUGE strings, there just isn't as much pull, especially with all the people that play with 9's on their guitar. They are there to make manufacturing easier, IMHO.

I don't think I'm ready to make an argument that a solid neck without a truss rod makes for a better tone - that would be really stupid, given that the rest of a Dano is friggin' pine blocks and wallpaper. :)

[Paul Verticchio]

Argument(!)? Nah (:  Just different opinions.

I take it that you don't work on many electric guitars.  To me, an adjustable truss rod is vital for dialing in relief (or none at all as the case may be}, as actual string tensions vary from set to set as well as gauge to gauge.

I have electrics, especially vintage ones, come in that haven't seen the light of day in decades.  Many of them have 1/8"-3/16" of relief at the 7th fret. Adjusting the truss rod is the only way to get the neck back in alignment without doing major surgery. Going from the "vintage" factory 12-58's to 10-46's also requires a truss rod adjustment.

Other opinions or views?

[Mark Pollock]

I've worked on quite a few electrics, and it seems that truss rods are included whether they are needed or not. Some necks need the help. Others really don't. In my limited Dano experience, those necks were solid and didn't have any problems with relief. I had one where the frets were accidentally cut at an angle, but it didn't flex!!

[Tim Mace]

worfless

[Ian Supplee]

well i knew it was funky looking thats what made me nervous but anyway he i got a testing guitar lol. and i agree with all of you i always look to see what its made of or how it sounds before i buy this was just a here take it lol.