Hondo Electric Guitar Models For Sale (2023 Update)

I've wanted a semi-hollow for some time and I took the plunge to get this one. It's a very nice guitar that looks good and plays well. I was initially suspicious because of the price, as other guitars in the range did not play so well to me. Anyway, I had the store do a setup to ensure everything was fine and had the strings on I like to use. I change my own strings, of course, but I don't have tools for doing a proper setup. Good thing I did. Their Technician/Luthier CONNER, was very, very conscientious about his work, even fixing a slightly raised 14th fret. He was very meticulous in his inspection and work. If you don't have a semi-hollow body ax, this would be a good choice for the money. I have not had it long enough to say much about the two split-coil switches for the humbuckers. Maybe they'll turn out to add some good sounds as I play more. My only significant gripe is that the back of the neck has a standard gloss finish. If you play guitar, you probably hate that, as well. But some light sanding and oil should improve the playability.George

This was for my son, a late beginner, to add to his Ibanez s521. This was ordered online, not bought off the wall. It comes very well packaged for shipment and arrived with zero scratches or damage. The strings that it has are actually OK and I may keep them for a bit. I am not a huge fan of the gold metallic but it is the kid's preference, and the finish seems nice. I did not see much of the paint covering part of the binding in places as some have remarked, and the binding seems to be pretty decently done. The only really startling indicator of low build quality on ours is the very rough finish on the insides of the f holes. There are places that the paint has small runs in it and you can tell there was cost savings. There are guitars in the price category that are much better finished in there and I would have gladly paid a couple of extra bucks for this. At least they could have painted it black on the sides of the holes, like they did on some of the other colors, to hide it somewhat. On the gold, it is just jarring. I may do just that, after it is out of warranty of course. It is sad because there aren't any other significant issues on mine. The fret ends seem pretty nice and there really isn't any lifting, sprout, or sharpness on any of them. I am intermediate, so I can't really say authoritatively how the tone compares to others objectively, but to my ears it sounds pretty good especially compared to some others in the price range, like the stock Ibanez pickups. Seem to have clarity and not muddy. Like the neck profile. Neck required a slight loosening of the truss rod to straighten and the action was easily lowered to 1.5mm at the 12th fret low e without significant buzzing. The treble bleed does its job and single coil option is nice too. It won't sound like my strat but it does give some versatility. The guitar is very fun to play with its neck profile and radius once I did my mild setup on it, and hard to explain, but I don't want to put it down once I start using it. Despite the one flaw, I still think it is a good buy and recommended.JM

A great es-335 from Epiphone, especially with the alnicoV humbuckers, coil splitting, and quality control all around. I did very little set-up to get nice low action; I must also put on some new strings, loop-tie them, with some stop bar adjustment. I like this glossy ebony finish, but used steel wool on the back of the neck to take down the stickiness. Clear mellow sound with a bit of woodiness on the neck pickup; good for rhythm, CCR, country, jazz, and classic rock. The bridge pickup gives me more attack; good for clear chicken picking, and with pedals heavy distortion chunks and leads. With the coil split, I can almost get a Tele sound on the bridge pickup. The neck shape is sort-of D shaped; I prefer the rounded C-shape of the 1950s Gibsons. Great guitar at a super price on deal of the day sale. This is one of those rare very low priced yet quality guitars worth buying and playing.Professorchill

I use it just for my own enjoyment and growth as a guitarist and musician. I've wanted a top-flight guitar for awhile now. The neck is easily playable, even for a guy like me with relatively small hands. It played well for me right out of the box. It is pricy, but then, you get what you pay for. I would highly recommend.Tony in Vegas

Guitar shipped UPS. Unboxed it that same day. Was in perfect condition. Gibson hardcase with red velvet interior box candy included a cheap strap, a universal truss rod adjustment tool, literature and a picture of the guitar at the factory. I plugged it in and after a few amp adjustments on the low gain clean side with reverb and delay began to play. The strings are new 10s, it came tuned down for shipping, I tuned it up and played a few licks. The action is low and does not buzz, truss rod is perfect, annotation perfect, finish perfect. The sound is incredibly clear jangly and tasty unlike any of my other guitars. The T type pickups are unbelievably good. I haven't really tried putting heavy gain on it but I did notice the more gain the more effective the tone knobs become. But even clean the tone and volume adjustments are noticeable more than most guitars. Overall I am very happy with the purchase, I believe I will choose this guitar over every other guitar in my collection. I have played every guitar I can get my hands on and the ES 335 with the T type pickups blows every other guitar away. There is no better guitar on the market. Thank you Gibson for this instrument and thank you Guitar Center for your wonderful customer service.Steve

What a brilliant guitar and superb value package! I have owned ‘real’ Gibsons over the years and bought this outfit as a birthday gift for my granddaughter who is learning to play. She has had a fender acoustic for a couple of years and now wants her own electric guitar. I chose this outfit as having previously owned one in the past I like Epiphone guitars. Before giving it to her I thought it best to check it over and set it up but there was nothing to do really, after tuning this guitar was perfectly playable right out the box! The feel, balance and weight is very like my Gibson and the sound is superb. The amp is excellent and packs enough punch to put a smile on your face too. She’s delighted with the built in tuner as well as the other essentials included in the outfit. What’s not to like? I can’t find a better value package!W O.

My original review still stands, but I made cosmetic-only upgrades for less than an average couple's meal at a casual restaurant that makes this look much, much more expensive. No tuner, pickup or pot swaps. Replaced black plastic parts with cream, added cream pickguard, replaced chrome tuner knobs with Klausen-style ivory-look knobs. Installed chrome pickup covers. Replaced speed knobs with gold top-hats.Easily done to make this look like a proper Les Paul. I'm happy with the looks for the little extra money spent.Steve

As the song says: "I'm a Sucker for a Cheap Guitar". I own over 30 – some cheap, some not so cheap. This one arrived perfectly set up: low action, no buzzing, no sharp fret edges, easy to play – amazing for a guitar in this price range. Although not great, the pickups even sounded acceptable. It's heavy, which to me means good, though not as heavy as my Gibson. It's OK-looking, but needed something to enhance it – a pickguard. I added one and it looks much better – more expensive. Instead of cutting off part of the guard to accommodate the knob as I've seen some others do, I drilled a hole big enough for the nut on the body underneath the knob to fit through the guard (see photos). Since the guard isn't much thicker than the nut, it allowed the guard to fit flush with the body and the knob to turn without any restriction of motion, and the pickguard is not butchered. It's a very clean look – like it came that way – not modified. So, I am pleased with this instrument, and would recommend it to anyone for any purpose: especially beginners to play or someone like me who just collects cheap guitars to hang on the wall of their studiio.Steve

Poor build quality. Finish was missing around neck and there were a couple glue spots. The knob was wobbly and obviously not installed properly. Cyan blue did not look like the photos. Looked more washed out. Still nice but definitely different from photos.Jose C

I had an 80s stealth and a mid 90s bich. This is a solid guitar. Playable out of the box. I did swap to 10s, intonation. My only issues are the kill switch is just ok and the body not being contoured for the picking forearm. Beautiful guitar. I even like the abalone. This guitar outshines and outplays my premium Ibby. The neck is very comfortable. You can really the difference in quality vs other guitars in its price range. I'm still getting used to the Fishman pups but they sound very balanced and articulate. I was worried about these comeback guitars but I'm very happy with what I got. I know the tops vary in pattern but again, I'm happy with what I got. It's a bit smaller than I expected. The shape is brutal. A case would have been nice. Im using a standard strat style case. I took a chance ordering it from GC blindly. No issues. It really was playable right out of the box.Ghostpuncher