Hondo Mr. T *Bling*Bling*caster*

Recently bought a Hondo H-76 stratocaster for the price of a "happymeal", so why not give it a try.

http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/5646/p1000649pp5.jpg

I stripped it and found out that it doesn't have a gold finish. It used to be white. Last owner smoked a lot, i think. It turned the finish into gold. BTW it's plywood as you can see

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/2456/p1000665ad1.jpg

Pickups have a lot of output and sound very warm. There is almost no hum, even at high volume. I don't like the sound of the bridge pickup so i'll replace that one with a P90.

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/3802/p1000666mm6.jpg

Can anyone tell me more about these singlecoils?

Removed the bridge, plugged the holes with pieces of a wooden rod, and i'll replace the bridge with a Diego Deluxe (lefthanded).

http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/7037/p1000667cd5.jpg

I'll build a lefty stratneck from scratch with a maple fretboard and will fit golden lockingtuners.

A hardware will be gold, that with the aged paint that looks like gold will make it a strat Mr. T would like.

I pity the fool don't like that guitar!!!

That is some amazing color transformation. Perhaps Hondo doesn't use the highest quality finishing products???

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Originally Posted by curtisstetka

That is some amazing color transformation. Perhaps Hondo doesn't use the highest quality finishing products???

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I think it's crappy paint, lots of sunlight and lots of sigaretts. I've never seen any discoloration like this before, but i love the color it is right now.

Hmmm, baseplates on the p'ups. Eeenteresting!


So, is that color a pearly white that's just wicked nicotine stained?
Yowza.

Just imagine what the guy's lungs look like.. :wah:

Yeah, but imagine his bluesy, smokin' tone.
http://kristinasepulveda.files.wordp...7/05/cough.gif

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Originally Posted by NeoFauve

Hmmm, baseplates on the p'ups. Eeenteresting!

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They are very strange. They are a bit wider and higher than normal singlecoils, have almost no hum. The sound is warm, with lots of output. A bit like P90 meets Humbucker in Singlecoil size.

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Originally Posted by NeoFauve

So, is that color a pearly white that's just wicked nicotine stained?
Yowza.

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Yep, that's it. Smoking, bad for your health, good for your paint.

case in point why i don't smoke inside my house, only outside.

nice guitar!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chuckocaster

nice guitar!

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Thanx.

made a template for the neck. Should become something like this:

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/6240/p1000670vh6.jpg

Allmost finished the neck i made. It has a asymetric profile and is very fat.

Tinted the nitro cellulose laquer with some yellow/brown/black ink. Next week i'll instal the frets, dots and nut. can't wait......

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/7665/p1000693qn3.jpg

very nice! i have owned a few of those cheap-azz copies over the years (for various reasons, lol). but truth, they mostly played horribly. fun to plunk out some "real" blues, but frankly, too hard to play cleanly or even in-tune for anything more than novelty. of course, it was *always* the neck and/or bridge that made it so. i had a no-namer bought sometime in the early 70's that intonated nearly a quarter tone sharp at the 12th! there was nothing to do for it, as there was basically no adjustment on the bridge. instead of a 3 or 5-way, it had 3 slide switches, and the pickups were wired in series. wickedly hot chicago-type tone, but nearly unplayable without a slide.

i look forward to pics and your review once you get'er built.
a

I have a 'Torch' Strat copy and the pickups look quite similar. As I recall they sounded pretty good and bluesy before I took the pickguard assembly off. The Torch is my pickup testing guitar. Good neck on the Torch, rivals a real Fender, the body is ply, (great skill making the new neck by the way, kudos!)

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Originally Posted by toobalicious

very nice! i have owned a few of those cheap-azz copies over the years (for various reasons, lol). but truth, they mostly played horribly. fun to plunk out some "real" blues, but frankly, too hard to play cleanly or even in-tune for anything more than novelty. of course, it was *always* the neck and/or bridge that made it so. i had a no-namer bought sometime in the early 70's that intonated nearly a quarter tone sharp at the 12th! there was nothing to do for it, as there was basically no adjustment on the bridge. instead of a 3 or 5-way, it had 3 slide switches, and the pickups were wired in series. wickedly hot chicago-type tone, but nearly unplayable without a slide.

i look forward to pics and your review once you get'er built.
a

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You are right. The bridge, neck and tuners are the problem. I made a new neck, fitted gotoh tuners and a Diego deluxe tremelo, so those problems should be solved.

The mid and neck pickups have lots of output, but the bridge pickups has a little to little output. I bought a Wilkinson P90 (9.2K) of ebay, so i'll put that one in bridge position.

Today i fitted the dots and sidedots and bought fretwire (even fatter than the Dunlop Jumbo's)

EDIT: Two new pics:

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/7231/p1000695dw5.jpg

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3281/p1000696yl7.jpg

I would have went with gold tuners but thats just me.

BTW it looks very nice for what it is, and that fat neck looks mighty fun to play. :)

Nice work there G.G.

Keep us posted, I want to see it with frets and hear a report on the sound/playability.

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Originally Posted by Joobsauce

I would have went with gold tuners but thats just me.

BTW it looks very nice for what it is, and that fat neck looks mighty fun to play. :)

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If i'm satisfied with this guitar i'll buy golden Sperzels or Planet Waves. Those black Gotoh's i had laying around here, so i mounted them first.

With frets al a little reliccing of the neck:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/1012/p1000697fb3.jpg

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/3903/p1000698md1.jpg

http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/5641/p1000699dc2.jpg

relic? aw man! whyd you have to go and do that?

just kidding, of course; it is your guitar to make whatever you want it to be.
a

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Originally Posted by toobalicious

relic? aw man! whyd you have to go and do that?

just kidding, of course; it is your guitar to make whatever you want it to be.
a

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Why? Because i can:confused:

Dit some more work on the neck and it starts to look more realistic (in a extreem kind of way). Neck is not completly finished, needs some more work, and a lot of playing which makes it a bit green/brownish)

Did the routing for the P90. Needs some vineer under the PG to jam it in the exact right position.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/738/p1000705jl5.jpg

I hope to have it finished and wired up by next week.

It's finished:

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3817/p1000710sh1.jpg

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7933/p1000711yf8.jpg

And some wellknown intros as soundsamples:

Stevie Ray Vaughan / Riviera Paradise

Jimi Hendrix / Lttle Wing

John Mayer / Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

the 2nd sound clip is srv life without you, just need to say that. :)

And wow, that guitar looks GREAT man, keep doing what you're doing! And the most important thing, besides how it looks and sounds, how does it play?

DOOD! you are a madman! i love it, lovin every minute of it. great job, really great!

I like it.

But then I play a Squier Super-Sonic, so I might be a bit bonkers.

Thanx guys,

Recorded on my mobile phone 3 soundsamples in each position of the switch from neck only to bridge only.

http://www.esnips.com/doc/8e21cea3-2...d2/Recording22

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Originally Posted by Joobsauce

the 2nd sound clip is srv life without you, just need to say that. :)

And wow, that guitar looks GREAT man, keep doing what you're doing! And the most important thing, besides how it looks and sounds, how does it play?

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The second clip is Lenny by SRV.

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Originally Posted by hippiebob01

The second clip is Lenny by SRV.

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Each time i add a soundfile, the links shift up one place, so the titles are wrong.

Don't know ho to fix that.

Now it is Lenny, it was Live without You. It's a stupid problem.

That link has 3 licks in all the different positions of the 5way switch.

Listen to the second soundfile (het short lick around 9th fret (neck , neck + mid and mid)),

This link: http://www.esnips.com/web/Hondostrat...csPage=1#files

and tell me that a plywood guitar sounds like crap.

Cool project.
Sounds nice too.

The second clip is "Recording 22." :D

Recording 6 sounds pretty good. what amp are you using?

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Originally Posted by hippiebob01

Recording 6 sounds pretty good. what amp are you using?

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Haven't been here for a while. The amp was a toneport gx.

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Originally Posted by G.g.

Thanx guys,

Recorded on my mobile phone 3 soundsamples in each position of the switch from neck only to bridge only.

http://www.esnips.com/doc/8e21cea3-2...d2/Recording22

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Sounds great!
Position 4 (middle/P-90) is out of phase.......you might want to reverse the wires on the 90.:hi: