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Post subject: Jimmy Vaughan vs. Highway One - I solved it
Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 2:28 pm
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Been researching here and lurking for a while.

In my mind the best Strats from a conceptual point of view are the Jimmy Vaughan and the Highway One. I don't like 2 point trems and I'm not going to spend more than 800-1000 bucks new, ever. In fact that's a stretch. I bought a pre upgrade Highway One for 299 a long time ago and have abused the thing since. It looks like hell and I've done so many pickup swaps I lost track. I bought a Jimmy Vaughn not long ago frankly because of the neck.

The Highway One has settled in with a CS 69 pup in the neck position, a 62 reissue in the middle and a Ducan SSL-1 in the bridge. When I realized I almost had a Gilmour Setup I added a mini toggle to combine the bridge pup and the neck. I shielded it and did a star grounding job. Between the electronics, a Calaham Block and the thin finish - what's left of it after an aborted removal with a sander producing the most hideous relic job ever, it had the sound. Think Gilmour in Gdansk. As part of the abuse I beat the bridge to make sure it was perfectly flat and square - you'd be surprised how far off it was - and removed the finish under it to make that as perfectly flat as I could manage as well. There's a lot of bare wood on that thing. Along with scrapes, dents and solder burns.

But the JV had the feel. That neck, Oh, the itty bit extra nut width and the soft V. The Tex Mex pups are good, but I prefer the chime and sparkle of the lower output pups.

So I put the JV's neck on the HIghway One body and I think I have my perfect Strat now.


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Post subject: Re: Jimmy Vaughan vs. Highway One - I solved it
Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 4:18 pm
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Hank Fnord wrote:
Been researching here and lurking for a while.

In my mind the best Strats from a conceptual point of view are the Jimmy Vaughan and the Highway One. I don't like 2 point trems and I'm not going to spend more than 800-1000 bucks new, ever. In fact that's a stretch. I bought a pre upgrade Highway One for 299 a long time ago and have abused the thing since. It looks like hell and I've done so many pickup swaps I lost track. I bought a Jimmy Vaughn not long ago frankly because of the neck.

The Highway One has settled in with a CS 69 pup in the neck position, a 62 reissue in the middle and a Ducan SSL-1 in the bridge. When I realized I almost had a Gilmour Setup I added a mini toggle to combine the bridge pup and the neck. I shielded it and did a star grounding job. Between the electronics, a Calaham Block and the thin finish - what's left of it after an aborted removal with a sander producing the most hideous relic job ever, it had the sound. Think Gilmour in Gdansk. As part of the abuse I beat the bridge to make sure it was perfectly flat and square - you'd be surprised how far off it was - and removed the finish under it to make that as perfectly flat as I could manage as well. There's a lot of bare wood on that thing. Along with scrapes, dents and solder burns.

But the JV had the feel. That neck, Oh, the itty bit extra nut width and the soft V. The Tex Mex pups are good, but I prefer the chime and sparkle of the lower output pups.

So I put the JV's neck on the HIghway One body and I think I have my perfect Strat now.


:P :P :wink: Good Post!! :)


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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:29 pm
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I was looking forward to that conversation! :)


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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:31 pm
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Apparently his highway is better than anything including customshop.

That guy made one hell of a find. :D

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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:42 pm
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That's what I've been looking for. A neck that is fast,fast, to keep up with my playing! :lol: :wink:
A mili-second here and there you know!


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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:51 pm
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But to say its better than all else to everyone else???
Maybe adolf had it wrong with the whole aryian race thing and should of lorded Cnecks with jumbo frets and 9.5" radius above us all. Afterall its apparently the single best step humanity can take regardless of personal opinion.

I dont for one second believe that highway ones are bad guitars. I do believe as with all fender products there is better for the money. I also believe they dont suit everyone. If they did slash would play them, he doesnt. The guys a spoilt 12 year old that needs to justify his guitar to aid his journey through puberty that says his guitar is the be all end all of strats.

Thats my point. H.O's are good guitars on the whole. Their not my ultimate choice though.

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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 7:43 pm
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I am glad you have worked out your thoughts on this issue :wink:

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

So who make the bestest!!! pizza pies? Lets hear it!!!

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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 8:59 pm
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To show how everybody has different views here is a atricle from Electric Guitar review. A independent view of the Highway One.

Model Fender Highway One Stratocaster

Intro Introduced in July of 2006, the upgraded Highway One Stratocaster is Fender’s least expensive American Made Strat, and as such has been highly touted as the obvious answer for those guitar players longing for American Made quality at a reasonable price.

The guitar does sport some nice amenities––including a set of suped-up “hot” singlecoil pickups (reverse wound/reverse polarity in the middle position,) a satin nitro lacquer finish, and Fender’s Greasebucket Tone Circuit––though to my mind there are some downsides to the design as well.

While the Highway One Stratocaster will undoubtedly be a perfect fit for many guitar players, especially those prone to high-gain mayhem (these pickups sounds phenomenal with a little overdrive,) I’m not afraid to tell you that the three guitars I played for this review weren’t particularly comfortable in the neck department.

What I Liked Nice, nice finish… OK, it’s not for everyone, and it certainly brings a unique look to the Highway One, but if you’re at all enamored of a satin finish, and if you’ve been looking to get into a guitar that doesn’t look like it’s been dipped in a vat of gooey varnish, well, this one’s a no-brainer.

In my experience people who’ve never played a Strat with a true nitrocellulose finish tend to underestimate its effect on tone and sustain, but to my ears a nitro-finished guitar sounds richer, with more sonic subtleties, and with just a little more oomph. Of course, that delicate finish tends to scratch easily, but the upside is that you get an instrument that should age beautifully––kind of like a nice bottle of wine.

I also really liked the electronics in the Highway One Strat, though once again, this really comes down to personal preference, and what exactly you want to do with your guitar.

For instance, while the hot Alnico 3 single-coils absolutely pop, and they sound great pushing a tube-amp or pumped through a nice high-gain distortion pedal, I found that clean tones lacked the warmth of a vintage-style single-coil––not a big deal for someone who wants to push their Strat into the heavy shred zone, but a possible deal breaker for those who prefer that old-school Stratocaster squawk.

Another plus is Fender’s Greasebucket Tone Circuit, which modifies the traditional Strat wiring by providing tone control for the bridge pickup instead of the middle, and helps to ease back on the high-end without adding weighty low-end bass into the mix. While I didn’t mess around with this feature a whole lot during my testing (that’s just the kind of player I am… I tend to dial in a nice tone and then stay put,) I can definitely see its uses, and it makes for a great extra touch.

The Highway One’s tremolo worked as advertised, and while I’m not a huge user of this feature I did find the whole thing to stay in tune quite nicely even after judicious use. Tuners work well, too, and of course the Highway One sports a ’70s style oversized headstock––a feature you may love or hate, though I could personally go either way. It would undoubtedly look a lot better (and not so out of place,) in an aged-yellow finish instead of Fender’s current lackluster greyish tint.

What I Didn’t Like Having read rave reviews about this guitar, and considering the sheer number of readers who’ve written me about their much-loved Highway One Stratocasters, I was surprised to find that I didn’t like the necks on these instruments at all.

Now don’t get me wrong––as I always emphasize in my reviews, neck shape and comfort is highly subjective, and every guitarist has a different hand size, different neck-profile preference, and a different style of playing––but all that said, the maple modern C-shaped neck on the Highway One Strat is one of the most uncomfortable that I’ve come across… and I’ve been playing a lot of Strats lately.

To be honest with you, I’m pretty sure it’s not the neck shape itself that’s to blame, but more than likely just a rather unfortunate combination of modern C-shape profile, satin finish on the back of the neck (definitely an acquired taste,) a decidedly sticky, ashen-looking rosewood fretboard (how did they get these things to look so grey?) and a set of frighteningly large Jumbo-sized frets.

I know, I know––there are folks out there who love huge frets, and believe me, I’m not a fan of those extra-skinny vintage wires either––but I found the frets on the Highway One to be so oversized as to make the whole fretboard feel clunky and almost toyish. Of course, if this is your style of fret then I say more power to ya’, but it’s definitely not my bag, and something you might want to be aware of; particularly if you’re considering purchasing one sight unseen.

In an attempt to be perfectly fair, I actually played three of these guitars during the review process (just to be sure I hadn’t stumbled onto a lemon,) but my over all take on the Highway One Strat’s neck/fretboard/fret combination was basically this: slow, sticky, and difficult to play.

Final Word All griping aside, however, the Highway One Stratocaster offers a number of excellent plusses for the guitar player searching for an American Made Strat at a reasonable price, though there are some definite trade-offs that need to be considered.

Fans of mega-sized frets and big, fat necks may well love this instrument, as will those who tend to travel in high-gain territory. But if you’re just looking to get that traditional Stratocaster sound and feel at a low price-point, I would recommend that you keep on looking.

The Highway One Stratocaster does some things very well, but it most certainly is not your father’s Strat, so while I always recommend actually playing a guitar before you purchase it (now there’s a statement that would’ve sounded strange ten years ago,) with the Highway One Stratocaster it’s a true necessity.

You may love it. You may hate it. But either way––don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 3:45 am
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It's all a matter of strokes and folks.

That's why I said "in my mind" and "my perfect Strat." People who get their panties twisted because someone has a different point of view about guitar likes and dislikes are silly.

I'm not a working pro or a fancy shmancy arteest. I'm a working class hero middle aged schmuck going through a midlife crisis trying to relive my youth playing guitar. I hate cars and I love my wife so that's my midlife crisis - rock star fantasies. :P Back in '82 I had to sell my '66 Sunburst Strat to pay the rent and didn't play again until 2001. :( The upside is I missed those idiotic 80's hair metal bands. :roll:

I just don't like the Fender 2 point trem's looks or feel. I have a kid in college and the usual roster of bills so I am not about to spend most of a week's pay for a guitar.

I like simplicity. I also have a MIM Tele (vintage bridge plate, brass saddles and Nocaster pups added - the guitar and pup set were mostly bought with gift certificates from co workers) and a Faded SG Special (Duncan 5'59 pups added). See a trend?

I like to experiment and mod my guitars.

I don't want to worry about dings, scratches, bumps and boo boos.

I ENCOURAGE my grandson to play them.

My personal opinion and preference is for good basic guitars that I don't have to worry about and which I don't feel nervous taking a soldering iron and drill or Dremel to. Hence, "In my mind the best Strats from a conceptual point of view are the Jimmy Vaughan and the Highway One."

My particular Highway was, and parts of it still are, a hideous transparent teal color. It was a Guitar Center clearance item for $299. That's right. I think maybe the color is so fugly they couldn't give it away. After all the abuse it really is ugly, but it is a good hunk of wood. I took it apart to try to refinish it myself and after starting I really wanted to play it, I missed it after a day. Actually after a couple of hours. So with the finish partially removed I put it back together. :shock:

The JV was an impulse purchase. The neck felt like home. What can I say? The price was reasonable and I had a bonus check to work with so I bought it. I should have checked out the rest of it more carefully which led to a Fender customer care experience that was very impressive and shows what good folks they are. The new guitar was perfect and the neck even better - same shape and feel but better looking.

So after a wee bit of Wild Turkey one day I thought about Clapton and making Blackie and took the best parts of both guitars and made my fave.

So when I saw that really long, mostly silly (all love dudes, sorry), JV vs Highway One thread I figured I'd share.

And I reserve the right to swap everything back, paint one or the other - or both - day glo orange put the EMG SA set (old friends of the HO anyhow) on my shelf in and a Darwin Fish sticker on either.

Ain't Fenders fun? :D :shock: :P


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