I want a real sweet SRV tone. I tried the Road Worn Series, but I'm not so much digging the stupid dents. So, I went for the Highway Ones. Is this the closest thing I'm going to get to a Road Worn? Is this a good axe to coax some nice SRV tones? Please respond!

I've played several Highway One's, and I would say no. Of course, SRV's tone is a subject of high controversy around here. So before I go on let me point out that SRV himself could get SRV tone from any guitar and any amp. But if what you mean by SRV tone means that you want something warm and fat with plenty of mid range, then I think we can help you out.

The Highway One's pickups strike me as having more of a modern single coil sound. They would probably suit high gain styles very well. They could work for blues, but there are way better pickups out there IMO. Recently I played a Highway One and my Squier Affinity Strat through the same hand made tube amp (belonging to my local guitar shop's owner). I cranked it up and played for awhile on the Highway One, but it just didn't have that warmth and it didn't bring out the best a good tube amp can. It sounded OK though, way better than a stock MIM Standard.

Next, I brought out my main guitar. It's a nine year old Squier Affinity Strat, with Texas Specials. I plugged it in and I couldn't believe it. It sounded like a tube amp should, it had a full sound that the Highway One lacked. And everyone thought it sounded way better too, it wasn't just me. And if I was 10 times more talented with 20 years more experience, it probably would have a tone very close to SRV.

What you might consider is buying a Highway One (which are very good quality and feel great) and adding new pickups to it.
Did you like the Tex-Mex pickups in the Road Worn? If so, they cost less than $100 and would be a good upgrade from stock.
My personal favorites are Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials. You might also look into Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s, they sound really good too.

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I just ordered a HWY1 myself, still waiting for it to arrive though.

I believe the pickups are actually MIM. They're hot but still pretty good. I liked them when I was trying them out at the store.

I just may end up replacing them, but we'll see how I feel about them for the time being.

I have one the HSS one. I like the fact with the bucket brigade circuit I can use the neck and turn the treb down and it doesn't get bassier. I am not a fan of humbuckers but I like the one on the HW1 it still has that strat sound to it.
Good Luck

Thank you all so much. And does the neck have the nitro finish as well as the body? I ask this because I find that it is a little to white for me, so I'm looking to age it a bit so it's nice and tinted.
I will surely look into the texas specials. any other strats that will give me an SRV tone?

This will. Not sure if it is in your price range. You can look at the specs and change out the pups on the HWY 1 or even a MIM Standard to ones like are in this guitar.

Of course tone of a guitar is always in the way you play it and the equipment you play through.

http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 0109200800

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

The neck is bare wood, like an MIM Standard. There is no nitro. I like that, because I don't like the feel of nitro but the downside is as you've pointed out, lack of tinting. It will eventually get darker though. In three or four years it will be noticeably darker, and in about ten years it will have a medium tint that will look very nice. My Squier is nine years old and has it.

I've played several SRV strats, and I think it nailed the tone about as close as it could get (stock). Even though SRV strats have the same pickups as I have in my Squier, they sound a million times better. The tone was really thick and powerful, I think it's the best sounding guitar I've ever played. They had one used at guitar center for $1200 the last time I was there. I was crying when I left it.
The only thing I couldn't easily deal with was the neck. It's wide and fat, like a Gibson '50s neck. It made playing with my thumb over the back nearly impossible for me since my hands are much smaller than most people's. You shouldn't have a problem with it though, 99% of people don't. It's obviously something Stevie would have liked, but something that definately didn't work for me. The good thing about the wider string spacing is that it allows you to string it up with insanely heavy strings (like .13s) and play it comfortably with tripping over your own fingers on a narrower neck. You should try an SRV strat, even if it's over your budget. If you like a lot, save up and get it.

Something like the Kenny Wayne Shepherd strat would be more in the price range of Highway Ones and Road Worns, it sounds awesome and it has killer looks. I haven't played one yet, but here's a great review from oldtonezone.com that might help.

http://www.oldtonezone.com/2009/02/kenn ... at-review/

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=528017

The Deluxe Roadhouse Strat comes with Texas Specials, and you can get one at a great price.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=515525

The Deluxe Lonestar Strat would be good if you'd like a humbucker in the bridge.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=515526

I've heard a lot of good things about the Jimmie Vaughan strat. It has Tex-Mex pickups, just like Road Worns and the bridge pickup is wired to the middle's tone pot leaving the middle pickup wide open. If you get a strat with Tex-Mex pickups or Texas Specials I'd highly recommend that you wire the bridge pickup to one of the tone pots, but whether you leave the middle open or not is totally up to you.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=510057

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