I was wondering if anybody knows which highway one parts are American made and which ones are not? Also am i gonna notice a difference in tone and feel if i change my highway one strats bridge to an american vintage tremolo?


Is there really a difference between the two?

Does it really matter?

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

Ah, the "terroir" theory of guitar bridges...

Cheers - C

I dont know...maybe im goofy but i swear i can tell a substantial difference between my highway one bridge and any american bridge vintage or not.

You've been reading way too many Eric Johnson articles.

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You dig?

The Highway 1 bridge is different. It has normal trem mounting spacing but the actual string spacing is narrower because of the jumbo frets. Other than that there is no difference, still made of the same materials. The Callaham upgrade for the Highway is very nice. To clarify this is for the American 6 screw trem, not the MIM.

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2 Customized Strats w\DiMarzio's
07 SG
Modded DSL50 w\Mercury OT,PT & Choke
Carvin 2x12 V30's
Pitch Black Tuner-EH LPB-1,TS-808
Mxr 108 EQ-Modded Phase90
Carbon Copy
George L cables-Voodoo Power 2 Plus
Pedaltrain Board

Maybe it has been too long since I played an American Standard (almost a year now). I really could not tell the difference at the time at the time of my Hwy 1 purchace (other than the 2 point vs 6 point tremelo), both had really good sustain and clear tone.

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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 only time on a Fender that frets cause an issue with spacing is if they are 'rolled' or have an extreme bevel. Then if you have the wider spacing you could fall off the edge of the fretboard. The size of fret wire itself shouldn't affect the spread.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Hi Jay: I wonder if a couple of different issues are getting mixed up here.

There are indeed bridges sold with narrower string spacing specifically to address a problem with early Strats that had necks made too narrow, so one or both E strings tend to fall off the edge of the fingerboard higher up the neck. Orvilleowner has an amazing photo of his '54 that shows this clearly. Callaham offer a narrow string pitch bridge precisely to help with this.

However, there is also the broader question of player preference in string spacing. Just as on acoustics, some people like it a bit wider (perhaps for easier finger picking) while others like it narrower (which often gets called "vintage", for no very good reason).

The HWY 1 specs on this website don't appear to mention string spacing, but I have a foggy memory that this model comes with a bridge with narrower (I'm guessing 52 mm) pitch, as opposed to "modern" (56 mm). ronbeeglejr's post earlier seems to confirm it.

I guess I could search back to find the HWY 1 Upgrade review in Guitarist magazine if hard data are required...

Dunno if that helps?

Cheers - C

No, that's what I'm saying. As far as the HWY 1 is concerned the string spacing is about the feel under the right hand. Nothing to do with the neck, frets, or whatever.

I can't remember whether the string pitch at bridge changed with the upgrade, whenever that was (2006/7?).

Like vintage or solid steel saddles, it's just a player preference issue - unless you happen to have a mid-'50s Strat!

Cheers - C