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Post subject: Highway 1 purchase question?
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:52 am
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Hi everyone, I'm new and this is my 1st post.


Last week my friend and I went to guitar center where he bought his 1st electric guitar, a $388 discounted sunburst Highway 1 strat. As a seasoned player, it was me that he asked to tell the difference between the guitar he purchased and the others that were available. Truthfully though, my opinions are based solely from the individual guitar and not the series or line that it comes from. So I'm here asking you, so that I may get back to him, as to the main differences between what he bought, and the differences between that and a mexi-standard and vs. other strats in that price range.

Did anyone here buy this guitar, or not and decided on something else, and why?

Any responses will be appreciated, as I'll probably take him to this site at a later time so that he can read the responses himself. And I should note that he only put the guitar on layaway, so if there really is a better solution, or whatnot, he probably could put his money on another guitar if need be.


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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:58 am
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You can get all the specs right here online in Fender's product pages. Just start with the "PRoducts" link at the top of this page.

As for a better solution: there is no better solution than the guitar you liked. These objects aren't washing machines with feature lists: they're musical instruments, and vary quite a bit from one example to the next. The one you like is the best one.

And seriously, a new Strat you really want for only $388? You can't beat that with a stick.


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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:01 am
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When shopping for a guitar you have to go with each individual guitar and not the entire line or model. Each and every guitar is just a little different.
A U.S. made Highway 1 is steal at $388!!!

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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:07 am
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Hey, thanks for the response. But since it's not me buying the guitar, I can't help him there. What he asked me basically, is why it's better than "X" guitar, and why it's not as good as "Y" guitar. He wants to know what he's getting for his money, and in that respect, since I only know my guitars, and not the specs of what makes a Fender guitar priced where it's at, I am hoping that someone could maybe tell me a bit about the Highway 1 model, obviously it's main selling point is that it's a cheaper USA made strat, but what corners do they cut to take a few hundred off the price? ANd why would the average player, assuming, prefer one of these to a standard? Which would lead to the final question of, what does a American Standard have that this one lacks?

And while you are right that I could just go and read the spec sheets, that knowledge doesn't do my friend any good if it's gibberish to him, and since I haven't tested all of Fenders products I'd be a bad comparitive judge.


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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:09 am
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Fender upgraded the Hwy 1 Strats (and Teles) in '06, that is a great deal for a Hwy 1 in my opinion.

As Gravity Jim advised, check the specs from the above link. These guitars feature a "greasebucket" tone circuit. You can roll off the highs without adding bass.

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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:54 am
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If a spec sheet is gibberish to him, then anything we post will be, too.

He got way more guitar than he paid for.


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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:13 am
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Hi there, one of the main differences between the highway 1 and other strats (plainly speaking) is the thinner finish they put on it which wears/relics faster but aslo changes the tone somewhat (not better or worse just different) this cuts down on the costs, i'm sure you're aware many old reliced guitars sound great with practIcally no finsh left on them (look at srv's no 1). I had a highway 1 strat which i sold to buy an american deluxe - wish i could have kept both - the highway 1 was a nice guitar. Anyway looks a good deal i'd go for it. :D

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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:18 pm
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thumper wrote:
Hi there, one of the main differences between the highway 1 and other strats (plainly speaking) is the thinner finish they put on it which wears/relics faster but aslo changes the tone somewhat (not better or worse just different) this cuts down on the costs, i'm sure you're aware many old reliced guitars sound great with practIcally no finsh left on them (look at srv's no 1). I had a highway 1 strat which i sold to buy an american deluxe - wish i could have kept both - the highway 1 was a nice guitar. Anyway looks a good deal i'd go for it. :D
There are other differences as well. The hardware, the bridge in particular is mexican, the saddles are spaced closer together than the American. The saddles are not machined well, saddle height screws easily stripped, compared to the american counterpart. On my upgraded highway one, I had to use blue loctite on three of the saddles so they would not move down. The electronics are also mexican. The pickups are hot alnico 3s and are made in mexico, though the pickups sound great.

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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:36 pm
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True, i think possibly the quality contol is not as high as the nut on mine was badly finished (the bottom E wouldn't sit in it atall). However as for the mexican parts fender are adamant that they are all 100% american parts assembled in the USA. :?

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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:17 pm
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thumper wrote:
True, i think possibly the quality contol is not as high as the nut on mine was badly finished (the bottom E wouldn't sit in it atall). However as for the mexican parts fender are adamant that they are all 100% american parts assembled in the USA. :?
I got the info regarding mexican hardware on the current highway ones directly from Fender. Using such hardware helps to keep the cost down.

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Post subject: Re: Highway 1 purchase question?
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:42 pm
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Chris1980 wrote:
Last week my friend and I went to guitar center where he bought his 1st electric guitar, a $388 discounted sunburst Highway 1 strat.


Sure, some of the Highway 1 parts are "imported," but when was the last time a US-made Strat could be bought new for so little? I paid only about $30 less than that in 1976!

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Post subject: Re: Highway 1 purchase question?
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:48 am
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orvilleowner wrote:
Chris1980 wrote:
Last week my friend and I went to guitar center where he bought his 1st electric guitar, a $388 discounted sunburst Highway 1 strat.


Sure, some of the Highway 1 parts are "imported," but when was the last time a US-made Strat could be bought new for so little? I paid only about $30 less than that in 1976!


Actually, I did. I got my 60th ann Fender strat (the one with the rock in the headstock), for $415 when Guitar Center clearenced them out. They had to order mine from another store, but it was well worth the wait.

But anyways, thanks to all of you who responded. My friend went and picked up his highway 1 yesterday afternoon, and he's happy with it. The only problem was that upon final inspection the action was not right, ( the strings were set wayy higher than they should've been0, but after an adjustment , it plays fine. Next he turned the guitar upside down to look at the backplate and the spring from the tremolo hole fell out. Then the guys at guitar center gave him a tremolo arm that doesn't fit. He called another friend of ours about this and he actually said that when he'd bought a mexi-strat a few months ago, they did the same thing to him, and he's got a whammy bar that doesn't fit right. Apparently at Guitar Center when they get their guitars they remove the tremolo arm and just throw them all in a pile in the backroom, and when you buy the guitar, they randomly get you one. It probably would've happened to me also had my new strat not come shipped from a different store.

Back to the other guitar though, all in all, I think it's pretty nice. We now know that money can be saved by using this style of paint job, and though I knew this, the bridge and electronics are Mexican, yet the guitar is made with American craftsmanship in mind. Most importantly though, my buddy is pleased with his purchase and hopefully this guitar will last him years.


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