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HD-999 dimarzios 4

DiMarzio K-10s in an HD-999 B

Beginning in 1978, Hondo worked out a deal to become one of the first import manufacturers to offer optional American-made DiMarzio pickups. While the catalog referred to them as (and pictured) Super IIs, they actually used a different pickup, designed specifically for Hondos, called the K-10. However, it is very similar in specs to a Super II.

D.C. Resistance is around 8.7 to 9k Ohms. They can be identified by their screw-less pole pieces and gold baseplate with four screws and "DiMarzio Pickups, Made in U.S.A." engraved. Earlier (pre-1981) examples have legs with clipped edges and convex polepieces, whereas later examples have triangular shaped legs and perfectly flat polepieces.

DiMarzio K10

Underside of pre-1981 K-10 with clipped legs

Every Hondo equipped with factory DiMarzios also got a Mother of Pearl inlaid logo. This can help you determine whether any given guitar had Dimarzios that were taken out, or has some now that were not stock. However, there were exceptions around 1982-1983, as there was not yet an inlay for the new Sunrise logo. Some examples have a Mother of Pearl "Hondo II" Script logo inlaid underneath the silkscreened Sunrise logo. They also came with a black DiMarzio sticker, often placed on the pickups themselves or on the body, next to the pickups. Most of these stickers have not survived.

They were used until 1983. After that, Samick designed a similar pickup called the X-14, which can look exactly like the K-10 but without the engraving on the baseplate. These are often mistaken for actual DiMarzios so buyer beware! This is not to say they aren't good pickups in their own right (they really are), but be sure to know what you're buying.

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