sparquelito

Like merciful-evans, I use a Beat Buddy with factory foot switch. Never heard of the item in the OP, but it does look interesting. And all the Mooer pedals seem to be well-reviewed, including that one, so I am guessing it would be a worthwhile investment. 😗

Unattractive, at the very least. Interesting though. I would love to hold one and try it out, before I pass judgement. Sparky PS I do recall hearing a lot of these same comments back in the 1980's, when the Ned Steinberger guitars and basses first hit the scene.

Welcome, Dan. Great to have you here with us. I can't really help with that footswitch, but chances are that if you advertise it on Craigslist or Reverb, somebody out there needs one! 😉

Interesting. The body shape is closer to the old ES-175, but the volume and tone knob orientation is wrong. The serial number comes up as a Made In Nashville Gibson, born on 20 July 2006. But the serial number appears to have been etched-in with a C&C machine, instead of stamped into the wood and then painted over. And the screw securing the pick guard bracket looks cheap to me, and not the type Gibson might use. That alone makes my spidey sense tingle that it's a fake, but then again, I have no experience with that particular model. I'll stand aside and let the experts try their hand at this one. 🤔

If it helps, I can't afford the shipping on W&W straps here either, Merciful Evans. Now, that said, my neighbor lady has offered to give me some straps by an outfit she calls 'S&M'. I don't know if they are a company that is trying to compete with W&W, but she seems quite mad for them. 🤔

The very first electric guitar I ever bought (when I was in a garage band, back in high school) was a used 1971 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. A gold-top. Had to have it after I sawr Jeff Lynne playing one on the television. Sold it stupidly when I joined the Army and left home to go off to Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC. I am happy to report that the fellow I sold it to still owns it and plays it to this day. So I got that going for me. 😞

Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm a heretic. I love Gibson, always have. I have owned a half dozen Les Pauls over the past 40 + years, along with an SG and my recent gift, the Firebird Zero. But the Flying V just never did a thing for me. The psychology of what makes something (or someone) attractive to one person, and not another? That's some really deep study right there. 😓

Oddly enough, there aren't really all that many Gibsons that I have yearned to play, but never had the chance to hold. * A proper Firebird and, a cheap one, * the 1970's Gibson Marauder There are also a few that I'll probably never hold or play, but mainly because I'm not a fan of them. The Flying V - Never much cared for the aesthetics on that guitar Super 400 - Big, beautiful, ugly, bling-y, expensive beast. Not my thing. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. :(

I'm a fan of dropshots. Easy to use, no hassles. 🙂

That's so great!! Thanks for sharing that, sir. 😊

I looked far and wide. I cannot find the answer! 😔

Fjestad's blue book puts that model as being made between 1984 and 1987. Worth $600 to $700, in that condition. 😁

To be fair, I make it a point to spread my business around. I buy guitars, amps, strings, and straps (and various accessories) from all the local guitar stores, just to do my part to help keep them all afloat. Same with grocery stores. One day it'll be Publix. The next, Kroger. On another occasion it might be Dollar General or the Walmart Neighborhood Market. The one thing that the groceries stores don't have is something analogous to a Pawn Shop. You can get guitars at a pawn shop, but not groceries. Dang it. 🙁

My experiences (my realities, my opinions) are admittedly limited, since I have only visited and bought from five Guitar Centers in the past ten years. But I'll share with you. My realities are the Guitar Center in Huntsville, AL (the nearest one to where I live), along with The Fret Shop in Huntsville (3 miles away), and the Railroad Bazaar in Athens (19 miles away). Neither of the two existing guitar stores had to shut down because of the installation of a new Guitar Center a few years ago. All three stores are doing just fine together. Thriving some might say. My realities also include my favorite Guitar Center in Arlington, Texas, and a number of guitar stores all within two, five or eight miles that have all done just fine with GC in their backyard. I'm talking about Arlington Music, the Texas Guitar Ranch, Kerry's Guitar Shop, Murphy's Music Center, and a few others. All these stores are going just fine together, and they (and the GC) have coexisted there for many years. The Guitar Centers in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area. There are five of them there. (I've been to three of them. There're two there I haven't managed to make it to yet.) There are also 8 or 9 other guitar stores in that area, all within just a few miles of one of the GC's. Everyone seems to be doing fine out there. Lord knows I try to visit them all when I'm out there on work-related endeavors. It keeps me out of the bars. Johnson City, Tennessee is a thriving town. A college town. There's industry there. A great population, and a wonderful night life. It's a progressive city. It's considered 'the San Francisco of Tennessee' for some reasons I would rather not get into in a family forum. I have stayed there (and visited local guitar stores) on a number of occasions, when I was flying helicopters to and from the Bell Helicopter mod facility nearby there. In my opinion, those guitar stores there are going to do just fine. But that's just my opinion. It's not like we're discussing matters of hard science like tone-woods, c-shaped necks, brass saddles, cargo shorts, thick versus thin gauge strings, and poly versus nitrocellulose paint finishes. There's no room for discussion there. 🤐

Johnson City is a fine town with a robust population and a good economy. I think that the other music stores in town (and I bought a nice Ibanez Jet King from one of them years ago) will adapt and do fine. And the competition from those other stores will keep Guitar Center honest in their pricing and occasional bargains. Congratulations! :)

I like it! Good job. :)

Welcome Alpha0815, I have a lot of friends from Louisiana, and some in-laws as well. Glad to have you aboard. Photos of the 335 are always appreciated. 🙂

I'll definitely keep an eye on them, sir. For right now they seem to be holding the guitar in tune fairly well. My brother and I were in the music room yesterday, fooling around with some originals, and I was on drums for half the day. Stacey was playing the Hondo for a stretch there, and it sounded like it was holding pitch. I'm a very strange person about keeping a guitar bone-stock, and thus far (from what I can find on the internet) this Hondo II looks to have all the original factory bits. 😃

Good morning, BigBassBill. Hello from Northern Alabama. It's chilly here, but probably not as chilly as where you are, sir. Can you post photos of your Gibson? The guys around here are mad for photos of guitars. 😙

Yes, We will be playing a 'Bike Week' gig at a local bar in early April. Planning on bringing this Hondo, along with my white Strat, and maybe my Firebird. I'm experimenting with the tonal options with the mini switch. Seems useful enough, for sure. 🙂

New Guitar Day. Picked up this 1980 Hondo II HD990WA (in Walnut finish) for $115 at a local pawn shop the other day. She cleaned up real nice. Feels really good, sounds fantastic, and (for a single humbucker pickup-equipped guitar) it's amazingly versatile. Nato body and neck, and she features an original DiMarzzio K-10 humbucker. She weighs 8 lbs, 4 ounces and has a 24 ¾ ” scale The small switch is described as a Series/Parallel Mini Switch. It's sort of a coil-tapping feature, unique for a barely post-1970's guitar. (I'm sure the electronics experts will educate me on the fine points of that item.) I just know it sounds great in both distinctly-different tonal options. I am really digging this old guitar! I can't wait to gig with her. 😙

I do not watch TV. Haven't for about 8 years now. Life is really so much better without it. :)

Went over to my girl singer's house, and worked on some new songs with her. Then I went over to Athens to sell an old Kent Les Paul copy to a wonderful gent. Installed an ancient Pioneer tuner and speakers out in the garage. Made supper for the wife, and then sold a puppy pen to some neighbor friends who were in need of such a thing. Productive day. :)

Here you go, sir. I sold her to the son of a good friend. He's a college student, and quite a good acoustic guitar player. Kid wanted to branch out into electrics, and the Les Paul was a dream of his. 🙂 The SG Naked and the Hondo Les Paul I have since sold off as well. :(

Monrovia Fire-Rescue, my local volunteer fire department. 😐