'ello.
I'v been looking for these strats everywhere, and I had a go on one and its the best damn Strat (aswell as my '69 custom shop ). And to put the icing on the cake, it has a big-headstock too which I think are alot better looking to the small one personally. It makes the guitar overall look alot more bold.
I never really paid any interest in them before. After I had finished playing it in the shop, I saw the price! £525... Why are they so cheap compared to other series? I would have thought it would be atleast £800 for its unique features compared to other Strats.

To make it clear what I'm asking: Why are they so cheap?

Thanks, Jimmy.

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• Fender American Series Stratocaster (Olympic white, maple)
• Gibson Flying V (dusty faded cherry)
• Fender 1969 Custom Shop Stratocaster (3-tone sunburst, maple)
• Fender Highway One Stratocaster (Honey blonde, rosewood)

Gig bag instead of a hardshell case, alnico 3 Pups, and has a thinner coating of nitrocellulose lacquer, with a satin finish.

They are cheaper because they are made in the USA with some Mexican parts. Someone once posted it is a 85/15 mix. They do not come with HSC (Gigbag), no S-1 switch (regular controls), no noiseless pickups (AlNico III), no hand rolled frets, no 2 point tremolo, and no strap locks (regular strap buttons). It is a basic guitar made in the USA. The pickups are hot and I really like the Greasebucket circuitry. I bought mine more for how it played than how it sounded (that could be changed later, and was).

With all that being said, I really love the Highway 1 Stratocaster. Mine is an '07. The first mod I did to it was add locking strap locks and locking tuners. I recently upgraded mine from a SSS to a HSS configuration and did a cosmetic facelift to it. My guitar screams now, ready for everything from good Blues to Thrash Metal.

This guitar is a good no frills guitar with really good bones.





This is the same guitar as above after the modifications were done.

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

As mentioned, they are cheaper because other models have upgraded pups, tuning pegs, possiby fret wire and a gig bag instead of a hard case. Cheaper does not mean a cheap guitar, all the features on a Highway One are great and you can always adjust your pickups, I spent two hours on all three (HSS) the other day and got some more responsive sounds, and that was just the overall height so now I can work on the bass or treble side. Allot of people mod them for a nicer sound but I think I will play this for over another 12 months cause it does not matter what sort of guitar you have, it is the hands that the guitar is in that will determine the overall sound coming from it.

As for the 70s headstocks I thought the were kind of corky and looked very novice like when I first seen them, then I had one sitting in my room next to a MIM Strat with a stock one for a week and the 70s headstock just looked so much better. They are a nice heastock but I think my next guitar would have a stock one just for a change. The Highways are great guitars.

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

Count me in as a H1 fan. I've played (and owned, over the years) all manner of Fenders - from a '74 strat in original condition to an 80's MIJ "contemporary" strat with a locking trem, and the H1 suits me best. I think this is largely due to the jumbo frets (pun intended), but I also like the satin finish on the neck. The necks on the H1 just seem to suit my hands better than the necks on other models.

Mind you, I've never played (or even seen in real life) a custom shop strat, otherwise it might be a different story!

Alright, thanks for the info. I'm deffinetly goin' for one. That'll be the third Strat I own.
And something also, have they been discontinued?

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• Fender American Series Stratocaster (Olympic white, maple)
• Gibson Flying V (dusty faded cherry)
• Fender 1969 Custom Shop Stratocaster (3-tone sunburst, maple)
• Fender Highway One Stratocaster (Honey blonde, rosewood)

I had a friend way back when who liked the big headstock a lot better than the old small ones. He said the big ones looked "heavier" (but then he was a huge Blackmore fan). I like them a lot too.

I don't think they are discontinued (can you find them in the stores and internet retailers?); that's a rumor. But maybe you better buy one pronto!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

I LOVE my Hwy 1 Strat! I've got an 07 and it's the best playing/sounding for my tastes.

I love how some people seem to think they're cheaper because of some of the features - Alnico 3 pickups for example. Why would that make them cheaper? They're just different sounding. Not as "hot" as the American Standard. Also, someone said they don't have rolled fret edges - yes, actually, they do (well, mine does). Also there's the thing about Mexican parts being assembled in USA. Well, is that actually true? For a product to be labeled "made in USA" I believe it has to be almost all manufactured in the USA. I've read that Fender got in some hot water back in the early 90's because they tried that with the Fender Prodigy guitars - parts from Mexico being assembled in the USA and it was being sold as an American made guitar.

I think they save money on the woods - 4 or 5 piece bodies, as well as the finish being thin and unpolished.

And frankly, who cares? I actually bought the Hwy 1 when I had walked in the store intending to buy an American Standard. The Hwy 1 just felt better, played better, and sounded better for me. Truely a great guitar!

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The ultimate Rolling Stones experience!
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See the above Highway 1. I see only 3 pieces. And that is because I can look at it up close to see the third. Regardless, I have never picked one up that I did not like.

Powdered Toast Man,

I am glad yours has hand rolled frets, like I said mine does not. If I had seen a Highway 1 Stratocaster in the store with hand rolled frets, I'd grabbed it. But the frets on my Highway 1 are not dressed anything like the frets on the American Standard or American Deluxe. You would figure that if it did have hand rolled frets, Fender would list them in the guitar's unique features area on their specs on the website.

It is still a great guitar. I picked mine for the playability of the instrument.

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

All's I know is the neck/fretboard is one of the best I've played. I love the jumbos and the silky feel of the neck. I've got a maple fb and it's just awesome.

Only way this gutar could be any better would be if they hadn't discontinued Crimson Red.

As for the multi-piece bodies, I was guessing at the number. I really don't care since mine's black anyway.

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The ultimate Rolling Stones experience!
https://www.facebook.com/TheMainStreetExiles

Best feeling neck I've ever held. The finish is so thin it feels like bare wood but I can't get my frets to stop buzzing no matter how it's set up and it's been professionally setup twice (but it sounds much better when I tweak the neck relief and action). The jumbo frets scare a lot of people.
The finish on the fingerboard is thin and plays fast, as well. I don't know how people buy those Fenders with layers and layers of lacquer on the fingerboard.

Hello,

I have zero fret buzz and a very low action, maybe you could try tweaking it yourself. However I think that fret buzz is quite normal and I am sure that you cannot hear it through the amp. And at first I did not like the finish, but it is wearing quite nicely

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

Sounds like the tech who does the setup doesn't know how to do one with jumbo frets. The action will look a little higher because of how tall the frets are. They're likely setting the action too low based on the fretboard surface rather than the tops of the frets. My tech recently was talking about this when we were chatting about the Highway One's and different fret sizes.

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The ultimate Rolling Stones experience!
https://www.facebook.com/TheMainStreetExiles

Had it setup at Sam Ash then some private repair guy. It all buzzed even thru an amp. They told me buzz is common but I won't settle for that. The neck is very straight and frets are set very well. I can set action very high with various neck reliefs and I still get buzz somewhere on the neck. It can buzz as high as 13th fret on 1-2 strings.

+1 there. I love the neck on mine as well. I also wish I had one of those Crimson Red ones as well.

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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