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Post subject: highway one
Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 2:20 pm
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Looking at getting a new highway one to add to my arsenal.Any opinions on it?


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 3:38 pm
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Have you had an opportunity to play one?
I have a 2006 in honey blonde and love that bass. It has a great feel and I really like the looks of it, 70s logo, nitro finish, just a workhorse of a bass. I am thinking of putting Model P's in it, as I have Model J's in my jazz and love the tones I can get. But it is a great stock bass from the get-go.
I say get one.


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 2:15 pm
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jimiroxxx wrote:
Looking at getting a new highway one to add to my arsenal.Any opinions on it?

They've been through so many changes it's not an easy question to answer.

I hated the originals, but just bought a couple of new ones on backorder that apparently haven't even been made yet. :?

First thing I'm going to do is strip off those awful BA bridges and replace them with vintage style toploaders, sell the BAs and buy some decent machine heads. FMIC would have done better to lose that $tupid bridge and spend the money on something that matters.

[I think they've been listening to too many gristlehead focus groups or something.]

Other than that, they're OK. With care, that matte finish polishes out very nicely, too.


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 10:46 am
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You gotta be kiddin! I have Badass Bridges on all my baasses. Nothing better!


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:23 am
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jimiroxxx wrote:
You gotta be kiddin! I have Badass Bridges on all my baasses. Nothing better!

See my explanation of high- and low-mass bridges and how they work in another thread.

If you don't like the sound of "modern" bass (and I don't), you won't like high-mass bridges.

The Precision isn't a "modern" bass -- it's about the most "traditional" bass there is -- so, many buyers are after the traditional flatwound "thump," to which a low-mass bridge contributes.

This is why so many experienced players on real bass forums talk about swapping out the BAII/IIIs for traditional Fender stamped bridges.

[Of course, if you're using your Precision for Punk, with a pick and bright rounds, then the BAII/III is the bee's knees.]

I also think they have too big a footprint and consequently look bad and unbalanced on Fender basses.


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:43 pm
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+1.....yup, exactly.


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 2:28 am
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Bezmotivnik wrote:

...This is why so many experienced players on real bass forums talk about swapping out the BAII/IIIs for traditional Fender stamped bridges....


I thought this WAS a real bass forum? If not, I sure have blown a lot of time on a fake bass forum!

And agree about your assessment of the Leo Quan products and on top of that their customer support is NONEXISTENT! More sustain is what you get with them, not better tone. You just get the same tone for longer.

What to watch out for about the Highway One series is so many people buy them and almost immediately start doing upgrades that eventually cost more than a USA Standard. Apparently some people start planning upgrades even before they actually get one. Why not just buy the Standard or Deluxe in the first place and get all the benefits of a totally USA made instrument that really is a better instrument all around?

I'm firmly convinced the Highway One's pickup is not quite as good, the hardware is not either but often overlooked is that the wood itself is far from the most select pieces and in fact the bottom of the barrel so to speak. Best woods go to Custom Shop, then next best to certain Artist Series, then next best to Deluxe, then next best to American Standard and some other Artist Series, then next best to the new American Special series and THEN comes the wood designated for Highway One builds....last. So you can take all the parts off a new American Standard and put them on a new Highway One and you will STILL have the same Highway One wood, so it just won't sound quite the same as the American Standard. For the money the H.O's are a really decent instrument, but no matter what you do to it, you can't change the wood!

Some people say the wood doesn't matter that much. I think it does. That is just my opinion. To me a resonant body sounds better than a dead one. A good way to check that is to strike an A-440 tuning fork and touch the base of handle of the tuning fork lightly to the instrument's body approximately at the center half way between bridge and neck. Do this with several different basses and you'll see that some are far more resonant than others. Some will amplify the tuning fork tone making it louder than others will. The best ones will also actually extend the vibration period. The ones that amplify and extend the vibration duration the most will have the best wood. And surprisingly you will even find variations even within the same models because no two pieces of wood are going to be exactly the same.


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:03 am
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Bezmotivnik wrote:
First thing I'm going to do is strip off those awful BA bridges and replace them with vintage style toploaders, sell the BAs and buy some decent machine heads. FMIC would have done better to lose that $tupid bridge and spend the money on something that matters.


Why not purchasing an American Special P-Bass? The American Special has the vintage-style top-load bridge and tuners you're looking for and a maple neck option!

Image


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:01 pm
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I have a highway one and love it! Was about to trade it in for a Duck Dunn sig bass but changed my mind.I had 4 people try and buy my bass before I got out the door with it.And yes I have up graded it! :D

_________________
06 Highway One P Bass 07 Squier 60 Mod P Bass Acoustic Dean Crate BT 100


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:56 pm
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CruelWorld wrote:
I have a highway one and love it! Was about to trade it in for a Duck Dunn sig bass but changed my mind.I had 4 people try and buy my bass before I got out the door with it.And yes I have up graded it! :D


The DONALD DUCK DUNN signature bass is a short run Japanese bass. There were only 200 of them made according to the serial plate. They are gorgeous! Like all the Japanese Fenders they have quality wood, outstanding fit, great neck, a totally amazing finish and decent Gotoh hardware. The problem is the electronics. I've played two of them and wasn't real pleased with the tone from either one. At one time I wanted one as a gigging bass but after trying out two I just wasn't pleased with the tone. While it looks like a '57/'58 it doesn't sound like one. Like many Japanese Fenders the electronics appear to be the weak link. Sure you could modify the electronics, but with only 200 of them in the world you really should not even THINK of doing that. Mod this bass and you blow the collector value. So it is what it is. If you collect basses it is a good short run bass to own and it sure is pretty. But as badly as I once wanted one, not so badly now.


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Post subject: Re: highway one
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:00 pm
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I agree somewhat about the Badass bridges being not good. I think they actually suck up tone and mess with the sound being transfered into the wood of the body. They have too much mass. To me a regular Fender bridge sounds better and louder. I have excellent sustain with the regular bridges on my Fender basses. Sometimes a guitar will just not sound good and it doesn't matter what kind of bridge it has- it still doesn't sound good. A Badass won't fix a dud bass.
Hi-way Ones IMO are not on par with USA Jazzes and P basses even though they say USA on the headstock. I also (excuse the sacriledge) am skepitcal of the origin of the species when it comes to Hi-way One basses. I have had two and got rid of both of them. They just didn't cut it. :(


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