Is the new American Special really just a renamed Highway 1?

To me, it is across between a Highway 1 and a MIM Standard with an American model price tag. YMMV.

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You dig?

The only thing similar to the H1 is the neck-

Gloss urethane looks better than a matte finish, Texas Special pick-ups etc... the only thing missing is the case

check out the video- it explains it all

http://www.fender.com/features/americanspecial/#/home

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Looking at the specs it falls somewhere in between a MIM and a MIA. I'm guessing the price will also fall somwhere in between.

This is a big letdown and is nothing special at all. I hope they have something better than this up there sleeves. If this is it they should of left everything the way it was.

Put it this way, if you took a look at the Les Paul Special, there was nothging that special about it. It was an economy guitar that still kicked a$$- but had the old bricks and mortar features with no case.

Much like this new series... they have made this a bricks and mortar, and it kicks butt over the rivals.

'Special' doesnt neccesarily mean 'deluxe'. Much like cars of yester-year, special generaly meant basic features but not entirely budget... if you get the drift (as best I can explain) 'Standard' will get you standard features associated with demands of todays musicians. 'Deluxe' gave you all the trimmings...

It is meant to be a guitar made in USA but all in all for the budget concious. Good for fender to come through with something like this in todays climate, Gibson still churns out over-priced products that are generally out of reach for most

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Stopped by my local music store Friday and played one. It is not a Hwy One. It is a decently made Stratocaster. The maple neck had hand rolled edges with a satin finish (big headstock) The body was a gloss urethane (red in my case) . The pups were TS and sounded better than the stock HWY1. The tremelo was a vintage 6 point. I played it thru a Peavey classic 50 clean and lead. It was a great guitar for $699.00 with a gig bag. I'd recommend it but for $200.00 more you could have an American Standard.

These Pretty much are"upgraded" HWY1s. Same neck with Jumbo frets like the HWY1, Same Greasebucket tone circuit, same MIM spaced Bridge. New Shiny Poly finish and TX specials. Only real difference.

Does Hwy 1 have rolled edges??

No. However- it's a feature that you wouldnt even notice it, if you didnt know you had it in the first place.

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I think it's a nice addition to the line up... that said, it's not overly exciting and like someone else mentioned, I hope Fender has some more exciting tricks up their sleeve this year.

I'm a sucker for the large headstock and like the more modern feel of the neck... though the tuners aren't my favorite. The pickups on the Hwy1 aren't my favorite either...I prefer the Texas Specials. And finally, I've never been a fan of the matte finish. Most of these things are not too big a deal and if an American Special (or a HWY1) was my only guitar I'd probably learn to love it.

Seems like a cool guitar (if it's built well) but probably won't run out to buy one. The American Special Telecaster, in white, well... that's something I might like to try one of these days.

I highly disagree with this ..Rolled edges is one of the first things i notice as a comfort feature on a guitars neck....

It's much nicer than the Highway one in my opinion. Played this up at NAMM and it's an improved instrument all the way around. The Black pickguard is a nice touch, too. I can't wait for our store to get these in.

I tried the new Special and only difference I noticed between it and my HW-1 was the gloss finish. It did seem to sound more clunky and dead "unplugged" then my HW-1... Even played the new Tele Special against a Tele HW-1 and it still sounded clunky.

Plugged in, I couldn't hear any differnce and the neck/s all felt the same.

Therefore, to me the only difference with the preference of dull or shine?!!

I disliked the HSS model because it's available only[/b] with a rosewood fingerboard.

[b]Also, the Atomic humbucker sounds awful. I'd prefer replacing it with a better-sounding humbucker such as a Fender Enforcer or a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.[/i]