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Post subject: usa standard or highway one
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:26 pm
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Hi Guys,
have been looking and played both the standard and highways and love them both, as the cash wont stretch to both i need some tips on the advantages and disadvantages of these fab axes, i know its a personal thing but any advice? :roll:
Happy Days to you all


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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:56 pm
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I cant speak of too much abou the Highway one,although i did play one a couple of years ago and they sounded good.The finish flakes off pretty easy,so if the finish isnt important it would be ok.I just bought a new American Standard and it is one of the best playing and sounding guitars i know and i also have a SRV too.Another thing is the case,it is a really nice case,i believe the highway one comes with a gig bag.The finish on the AS is really awesome,i got a charcoal gray metallic and it is really sharp.It feels light as a feather too.I payed 849 for mine,which i think is a good price.Pretty close to the highway one with a nicer finish and a HSC.


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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 12:12 pm
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Once again its personal preference; however here is my take on it… first of all I love the oversized headstock on the Highway 1. So much so that 2 of my 4 Strats have then (not highway 1’s though.. 1 is a 87 paisley reissue with 70’s head stock..the other is the Yngwie signature ). Secondly I think to my ears the pickups on the Highway sound better (again that is personal preference). Like budglo said, the finishes are thin and tent to flake away quickly on the hgy 1. In my opinion I like the quality of the American standard better…The Highway has a very limited number of colors that is comes in (which turns me off right there even know I love the pickups and the headstock) Pickup’s are an easy change… Unless you are in love with one of the Highway colors or don’t want to shell out the extra 200 bucks for the standard; or you really want the thinner finish to start working on that road worn look that seems to be sweeping Guitarists here lately… for me it’s the American Standard all the way …hope my opinion helped…..


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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:57 pm
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I own a Highway 1 Stratocaster and absolutly love it.

With that being said, if you have the money for an American Standard and you like how it sounds and plays, I would but it. It comes with more stuff, S-1 switch to have more tones (besides the 5 way selector already delivers), it has a hardshell case that comes with it (which if you do any traveling with your guitar is a plus), a polishing kit, and various sundry of little items that are nice to have.

The Highway 1 has the over-sized headstock, jumbo frets, Greesebucket circuitry, and a "gig" bag (a soft carying case for lite travel.) It does not come with a polishing kit (not that you would need it for it). I am sure that once you purchaced the HSC and the other various sundry items, you may still be about 100 to 200 dollars cheaper than the American Standard.

I would go for the one that I liked better since you already play both and liked them both.

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Last edited by rkreisher on Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:07 pm
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Buy what you can afford they are both great guitars :)


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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:41 pm
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Synkronized wrote:
Buy what you can afford they are both great guitars :)


+1 Sorry, I forgot to add that in my response.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:54 pm
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American Standard over Highway 1 every time!!!


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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:06 pm
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highway one better than the american standard?
yes it is and by a mile. tone-sustain the american standard
cant touch the 2007 to present highway ones. the new
american standards are nice looking strats but thats were it ends.
the highway one strat is the much better strat of the two hands down.


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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:39 pm
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I have to say the American Standard is probably one of the best mass produced guitars they have ever made.They have ton of sustain amd the pickups with the new style bridges are awesome.If you like having a heavily relic guitar in a couple of years and dont care about having many color options then the highway one is suitable guitar.Considering without the HSC we are talking maybe a hundred dollars (i got my AS for 849) there is no comparison.American Standard wins every time.


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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:50 pm
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strat-brat wrote:
American Standard over Highway 1 every time!!!

They are both good guitars but I am with you if you got the money you have to look at the American Standand. This is just one of those quetions where people are going to say that which ever one they own is the best . Both these guitars have there place in the market. Both are built to meet a different price point by cost of the products used to build them. If you look at what each one is made of ( pickups, controls, tuners, block ) then the way the truss rod system is on the Amer.Standard neck you will see and understand why the Standard cost so much more. I am not saying the Hwy1 is a bad guitar but come on it a Harley Sportster against an Electra Glide :shock: The powers to be at Fender are wise and they are going to charge more for the guitar they feel is higher quality because they no they will get it. :wink:

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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:15 pm
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I'm curious, now that it's mentioned, what exactly does the S-1 switch give you in the American Standard? None of the clerks at my local Guitar Center could answer that. (Big suprise eh?).
I have played the Hwy1, and for me, it would have all that I needed in a Strat, but I would take it straight to my local luthier and have him finish it in high gloss, (neck and body), dress the frets, and install locking tuners and an LSR roller nut.
The Am Std I played felt good, but I knew if I bought it, I'd be looking at new pickups right away. the ones in it were lame. It was nice other than that.
-Harley 8)

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:29 pm
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HarleyHexxe wrote:
I'm curious, now that it's mentioned, what exactly does the S-1 switch give you in the American Standard? None of the clerks at my local Guitar Center could answer that. (Big suprise eh?).
I have played the Hwy1, and for me, it would have all that I needed in a Strat, but I would take it straight to my local luthier and have him finish it in high gloss, (neck and body), dress the frets, and install locking tuners and an LSR roller nut.
The Am Std I played felt good, but I knew if I bought it, I'd be looking at new pickups right away. the ones in it were lame. It was nice other than that.
-Harley 8)

I could not explain it better then Fender so heres what they say.

Now standard equipment in many of our American Deluxe series and American series instruments, Fender's groundbreaking S-1 switching system allows players to switch pickup configurations in an instant. The switch is visually undetectable, but tonally it turns your instrument into the most versatile axe on the planet! Located in the crown of the master volume knob, one push of the switch will place your pickups in an assemblage of parallel, series and pickup-combining configurations. You can have the best of all worlds!


This is a section here where that info come from that shows the diagrams for each guitar. You will see the 5way work different when switch is up and down to give you more positions.
http://www.fender.com/products/s1/

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:35 pm
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I have a 2006 Hwy One and I love it. I changed the pickups and tuners and now it's everything I need in a guitar. The new upgraded Hwy Ones have better pickups in them now, so you wouldn't have to change a thing. Hwy Ones are great guitars. However, I do think the American Standards are a bit nicer and if you can afford one, by all means get it. But, the Hwy Ones are great and probably all you'll need. So, I probably didn't help you at all :lol:

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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:33 pm
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I recently went to purchase a new MIA standard that I had been playing at my local music store. I happened to see a limited edition Highway One surf green w/ CS 69 pickups and vintage style neck. After playing it I purchased the Highway One but as I was all set to buy the MIA standard I couldn't get it out of my mind. I went back and purchased the MIA standard as well. Both are terrific guitars with their own unique sounds. I had to sell some unused equipment to fund the purchase but it was worth it. The best of both worlds.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:38 pm
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cvilleira wrote:
strat-brat wrote:
American Standard over Highway 1 every time!!!

They are both good guitars but I am with you if you got the money you have to look at the American Standand. This is just one of those quetions where people are going to say that which ever one they own is the best . Both these guitars have there place in the market. Both are built to meet a different price point by cost of the products used to build them. If you look at what each one is made of ( pickups, controls, tuners, block ) then the way the truss rod system is on the Amer.Standard neck you will see and understand why the Standard cost so much more. I am not saying the Hwy1 is a bad guitar but come on it a Harley Sportster against an Electra Glide :shock: The powers to be at Fender are wise and they are going to charge more for the guitar they feel is higher quality because they no they will get it. :wink:

as far as price theres not that huge of a differnce between
the two. the highway one when i bought mine in 2007 were
$825.00 each they were going between $750.00and $825.00 dollars
at that time it all depended were you got them. i'm not impressed with
the american standard. the highway one is closer to the orignal early 70s
strats than the american standards


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