The X-14 is Samick/Hondo's standard humbucker, with similar specs to the DiMarzio K-10 and Matsumoku MMK. It was introduced around 1983 and used in almost all Hondos with humbuckers. They were offered in several different styles; a standard humbucker style, a flat polepiece K-10 style, and a Super II style (with or without plastic cover). Because of this, they are often mistaken for DiMarzios (so make sure you know what you're buying).
Specs[]
They typically come in around 7.5–8K Ohms D.C. Resistance and use a ceramic magnet. On the underside, you'll find a blank Brass baseplate with a Reddish-Brown sealant attaching the cover. X-14s that came from the factory with a chrome cover use thin, translucent white bobbins and are not wax-potted.
The pole spacing is slightly narrower than a standard humbucker, in order to accommodate the Wide Tune-O-Matic bridge's narrower post spacing. However, the difference is negligible, so it can be replaced by a standard humbucker or used with a standard bridge without issue.
Tone[]
The tone of the X-14 is very bright due to the ceramic magnet. I would compare it to a Gibson T-Top or Super Humbucker (Tarback). I recommend keeping it a bit further from the strings than most pickups because of how strong it is, especially the treble side, which can get overly sharp if you don't back it off.
I would also recommend swapping the stock 500K pots for 300K or 250K to tame the brightness, as Gibson did with the Super Humbucker.
Otherwise, I find them to be a good sounding pickup worth keeping in the guitar because it's part of the character. Upgrading the cheap original pots and switch (don't throw that away though, it has the production date!) goes a long way in these guitars. If you have a covered example, I would recommend wax potting them if you play loud because they are prone to feedback.
X-13[]
Single coil version of the X-14.
X-15[]
Split bass pickup version of the X-14.
X-16[]
8-pole, straight bar bass pickup version of the X-14.
X-44[]
The X-44 is a higher output version of the X-14.