AboutJohnny Genocide Expertise I can answer questions regarding playing, guitar models, guitar construction, amplifiers, effects, starting a band, recording and touring. As the Guitarist and singer for No Alternative I have recorded a number of albums, singles and CDs as well as extensive touring. I can also answer questions about starting a band and recording.
Experience I have been a guitar player for 26 years. I play and tour with No Alternative. With a number of CDs out there are also 14 bands that have recorded my songs.
Publications Can You Hear Me, Live at the Deaf Club (With KGB)
SF Underground, Subterranean Records (No Alternative)
Backtracks, Subterranean Records (No Alternative)
Lifeline/No Alternative, Bull Dog Records (No Alternative)
Johnny Got His Gun, Wingnut Records (No Alternative)
SF Nights, Bachuus Archives (No Alternative)
Expert: Johnny Genocide Date: 7/3/2008 Subject: Hondo II Professional Tele Copy
Question Hi, I just bought a Hondo II Professional - Made in Japan. I believe that it may have been manufactured by Tokai. It looks like a Breezy Sound except for the shape of the head stock.
Tuners have "Tokai" stamped on the back.
Serial # is 0015551 which is stamped on the 4 bolt neck plate
It's a Tele copy, string through the body, with two pups. (Original pups have been replaced with American Fender Tele pups).
The body is three pieces, the neck appears to be maple, and the body is a light colored wood (the original paint was stripped off).
Would you happen to have any information about this guitar?
Thanks for writing! This is a tough one because Hondo doesn't have a great deal of serial number support. Tokai, on the other hand, has great support. This is why I started looking at Tokai models similar to yours. My reasoning is simple: Tokai, Hondo, and a few other Japanese Brand Names are interrelated through shared factories and parent companies. The Hondo II Professional series are their top of the line copy guitars. It's hard to tell from the photos but this guitar is probably from around 1977 to 1983/84. I cannot narrow it down without further research (which I'll do). Value-wise, if the Tokai tuners are stock, then it has a historical value which could be anywhere from $500.00 to about $1,500.00. My email address is:
jgenocidepatterson@yahoo.com
Hit me back at the above address with an email in about a week and I should have further information. The trick to dating this guitar is to go through the old Hondo/Tokai catalogs and play match the pictures. It was probably painted a traditional Telecaster Off White or Yellow, which would place it towards the late 1970s, early 1980s. See if you can find any of the original paint job around the pickup cavities or under the volume knobs. Let me know what you find. Again, I'll do some research and poke around. Thanks again for writing and do stay in touch so I can give you a more definitive answer. You have a great guitar that I would hang on to since there are not too many of the Telecaster copies floating around....
