I've written about these six and 12 string Honey Ric copies, and Honeys in general before so (most) of the details are in those blogs, but this is another Honey SG5 I recently put in the shop (it disappeared in a few hours) so I thought I'd revisit this model as I really do love them.
I'm a huge Rickenbacker fan. I love the aesthetics and the quality of them and I love the way they play and sound. They're not just a "jangly pop" guitar like a lot of people think. They do many styles and genres and are a GREAT rock guitar.
Japanese manufacturers were quick to jump on the Ric copies after the Beatles exploded and made many copy and influenced guitars and basses in price ranges from intermediate to professional. These late sixties Honeys definitely fall in the "professional" category.
While not in the same league as actual Rickenbackers, they're one of the better copies, along with the great Greco versions, and follow details and construction fairly closely.
The two piece (laminated down the middle) bodies do a good job of replicating a 330 body and the quality and finish is what you'd expect from this Teisco Gen Gakki factory in the late sixties .... great.
The neck is thin and very sixties Ric feeling and one thing I love about these Honeys is they still have the sixties 22 fret neck (with zero fret) finishing at the body giving that crescent it's full curve.
These play and sound very much like a real Ric and these pickups, while not Toasters or High Gains, are a great medium output pickup with great Ric sparkle.
I'm a huge fan of Japanese guitars in general and domestic brands like Honey showed they could make great copies for a local market. Honey was probably more famous for it's electronics and it's amps and effects were very popular in Japan. Honey is of course responsible for what would become the GREAT Shen-ei/Univox Superfuzz.
