Fender Highway 1 Strat HSS

This is the most recent version of this guitar (as of October 2009). I won't restate all of the details, but in summary, this is a Hum-Single-Single American assembled Strat with updated pickups and jumbo frets. Its really the only economical option with 22 frets as everything else less expensive has 21, which to me is kind of silly these days. I bought this guitar as a platform guitar, that is, a solid foundation upon which I could re-configure to my needs. For that it is just right; Alder body, great neck and jumbo frets. Still would have preferred a flatter neck radious, but all in all the guitar feels and plays great in the hands. The thin nitro finish was appealing in that it should let the guitar resonate, and it will age well and quickly without having to pay for an instrument that looks pre-beat up (ala the Road Warn series), which to me again is just silly. Special note: if you plan to change pickups, this guitar is routed H-S-S, so if you plan on going humbucker in the neck like I did, be aware; you're going to have to do some woodworking. The included gig bag is decent, but not very heacy duty like some of the better Levy's bags out there.

As above, I bought this guitar to rip it apart, but played one gig with it before I did. The new Alnico III pickups are actually very decent given my general dislike of Fender pickups. The guitar has an ice unplugged resonance, especially for a Strat, and has a nice balanced tone; not to bright, not too dark.

As with most guitars, this one came with the action set awfully high. I tweaked the neck and bridge saddles to make it better, but it appears that the nut on this guitar is actually cut too high. The fit and finish otherwise was flawless; I couldn't find any fault. The guitar arrived apparently a little dehydrated as the frets were protruding somewhat from the fretboard, but some time in its new environment and some oil on the fretboard and all was perfect. Very nicely finished neck and frets. This is a real player.

Its a Fender Strat, what more can you say? Should be ultra reliable.

Never had to deal with Fender

As the guitar arrived stock and after some setup work, it is an excellent instrument. The pickups are decent and better than average for Fender in my opnion and the guitar is worthy of gigs as is. Given how over-priced the American series instruments are and the limited features in the lesser instruments, this guitar in my opinion strikes a perfect balance, and it took very well to the customer pickups and piezo bridge I've installed since. Funny enough, I modeled the colors of my modifications after Fender's Dave Murray guitar, but got something that plays and sounds better than that guitar, has more tonal options (not to mention 22 frets) and looks just like it for about half the price.

I really have no right to bitch about these guitars. I own 6 (!!??) of them in all colors. Except for the Daphne Blue finish that was discontinued.....oh well....E-Bay!
Let me preface.....the guitars are well made....nice resonant wood, big frets, 70's headstock...ect.....
My bitch is with the electronics......see below!

The guitar, straight from the factory, was UNPLAYABLE to me!!
First:
The PING tuners on this thing bite ass!! Got rid of them....put on a set of Fender/Schaller locking tuners....now it's great!
Second: the pickups totally suck ass!! I replaced the pickups in ALL 6 of my HSS's, now....they're totally awesome guitars.
The single coils hummed like a mofo....I know ...I know.....typical of common single coils. But hey people.....it's the 21st century....we have indoor plumbing now, cell phones that have T.V. on them......so why deal with the HUM like some 1950's guitarist?
I put NOISELESS pickups in ALL of them...a combo of Fender Vintage Noiseless and DiMarzio Area pickups. NOW....they're awesome club guitars!!
Fender CANNOT do humbuckers!! So.....I put a combination of Gibson and DiMarzio P.A.F. humbuckers in ALL of them, and now they friggin' rock!!!

So...all you have to do is drop another $2-300 bucks in these and you will have an unbeatable guitar!

That pisses me off though!

The finish is GREAT!!

This thing is a tank!

As I mentioned....construction wise....they're GREAT!

The electronics totally bite ass!!

Once you change the pickups and tuners....they RAWK!!!

Nitrocellulose finish in midnight wine looks awesome with grain showing through. Typical Strat 5-way selector with vol & tone controls. C-shaped (fat) Maple neck w/rosewood and JUMBO frets. Pretty decent gig bag was included.

I like everything from blues to bluesy rock to hard rock to metal. This guitar is great for blues and blues rock. I think the Atomic humbucker does a fantastic job with those styles, but it's lacking for that fat & crunchy harder sound that I also want. If I wasn't such a tightwad, I'd just use it for the bluesy stuff and buy an Epi Les Paul or a PRS SE Custom for the harder stuff. Those are also good choices in the $400 - $600 price range, but I'd never trade this Highway 1 for either of them. I have already bought a DiMarzio Tone Zone HB to get a little more versatility out of this guitar because it really is a joy to play. Again, the humbucker is fine for blues and some classic rock, but I can't get the harder midrange crunch that I'm looking for with my gear. It's a pretty hot humbucker. Put me down for a 10 for blues and a 6 for metal. It averages out to 8 and I'm a tough grader!

No major problems out of the box, but I'm certainly not a pro. I'm having it set up when I have DiMarzio HB put in. Hardware was fine, action was fine, wood quality is excellent. High quality guitar.

I've had it for a couple of months now and it seems very durable.

I've been playing off & on for a few years. It's a hobby that I get a lot of enjoyment from, but I've never played in front of a crowd.

I use a Fender Super Champ XD amp and play around with a Crybaby Wah at times. This guitar sounds really good with that little amp and you can get a lot of ripping on the blues.

I compared this guitar to an Epi SG (made in China), a PRS SE Custom (Korean), a MIM Fat Strat and an American Standard Strat. I really think that I got the best value of all of them. I'm sure that I could have stretched for the American Std Strat & been happy with it, but for me the tone of this puppy is just as nice in a less subtle sort of way. It's a bonus that the money was less for the Highway 1 than the American Std. If this guitar was missing, there is no question that I would get another. I'm giving the overall score a 10 because of the value that I got for what I paid.

Built in March 2008
Basic Strat with grease bucket circuitry. like the way the tone controls affect sound. Not sure if this is unique to the gb circuitry but in the end it works out that the middle pup, when selected alone, has no tone control. Has the black nitro finish (looks awesome) that after less than a year has been polished up to a shine by my strumming arm. might just be sweat and grease that would polish out but I'm not that concerned about the half matt half polished finish.

Play it through a VOX VT50 and a VOX Hand wired AC15, no pedals. play it clean to thick distortion (never into metal territory though). For the most I play various genres of rock ad this guitar is well suited for that. I am happy with the stock pups, no need to upgrade. I did make one mod to it that makes it much more versatile for me. I swapped the pup sector switch leads on the neck and middle pups so it now goes... bridge, bridge + NECK, neck, middle + neck, middle.
traded the bridge middle for bridge neck which is way more useful to me.
lost tone control on neck(bummer, but had it at 10 80% of the time anyway). Gained tone control on middle which I never used and now use often. I am very satisfied with the sound, of course I will buy new guitars but I will hold on to this one for life. its a keeper.

set up was awsome, perfect action for me, love the neck
jack was loose in a week like EVERY new guitar I've owned (grrr)
all was right with this one.

freaked out when dead spots on the neck started to appear on me (A at 7th fret, my favorite note!), but tightened all the screws and what not on the guitar (the screws on the bridge were loose) and it went away.
I keep an eye on it and I've had to tighten them again. normal maintenance I suppose.

has the quality build that fender is famous for. a very solid dependable guitar. Stays in tune. built for professional use.

the finish as mentioned earlier is already affected by use. Still is a very nice looking guitar and am very happy with the way she is aging(if not prematurely).

Playing since the mid Eighties. Also have a Hagstrom Viking and between the two guitars through my Vox VT50 and AC15H1TV have everything I need covered. This is a Strat for rockers who want access to those single coil tones. perhaps a country or a metal player might be disappointed,don't know, but I'm not, especially after the one mod on pup selection pairing. Highly recommend this. (switch it back if you ever need to use your warranty, it probably voids it) . If it was stolen I'd get it again. when I bought this guitar I played it against other Strats and liked the sound and feel of this one best (not being the most expensive guitar was a bonus) If I was allowed only one guitar, I would seriously consider this one. It's very versatile.

I won't repeat what has been said other than to say that it is a stripped down Strat. You could compare it to the faded Gibson SG, Flying V series. Basically you do not get the glossy finish and deluxe hardware from a American Standard. For me, what Fender puts into the guitar is quality.

I would consider myself very critical when it comes to pickups. I dig these. I have a lot of guitars and replaced the pickups in many of them, but I have no desire to do that for this one. The humbucker is thick and warm. The single coil pickups are strat like, but not as glassy as some of my other models. Basically it sounds like a big, meaner strat.

The action is low and perfect. Set up beautifully right out of the factory.

It seems like it could handle a few world tours.

I am a fan of the Highway 1 series. I have a '91 that is still my favorate. In my opinion they have character, as opposed to just being a budget Strat.

Ive got a 2007 Highway One HSS Strat. American made with the nitro-cellulose finish, bridge humbucker, etc. Mine has the sunburst finish with a rosewood fretboard. Greasebucket tone circuit does a nice job of cutting the "sparkle" without making the tone boomy. Mine is still bone-stock with the exception of two extra trem springs I installed for tuning stability. I plan to install a Fender American bridge pickup to make it a straight Strat when the '72 Tele Deluxe I bought arrives. Very nicely featured for what you pay.

I play blues, rock, funk, and the occasional country. As you might suspect, this guitar is a blues monster. I play through a Peavey Classic 50(best amp bargain ever) and use a ToneBone distortion pedal and assorted Boss effects along with a BBE Boosta Grande when I need it. The Highway One is perfect. I haven't played a song yet that it couldn't adapt to. Like any good strat, it does everything well and nothing perfectly. This is truly the working musician's guitar. I spend the majority of my rhythm playing in the 4th position (neck/middle), which produces very nice clean tones. No need to turn the lead channel/distortion pedal off. Just roll that volume back and you're there. For leads, I'll throw 'er on all neck or all bridge, depending on what I want. The neck pickup is beautiful, but tends to hum. The humbucker isn't just great, but it works. I'm yanking it soon anyway. I can't speak to what different pickups would sound like, but the stock ones suit me just fine. I might go all noiseless if I had to change something.

Cosmetically the guitar came out great. Setup wasn't perfect. I have had to take it back to the tech a few times for action issues - I'd fret out around the 15th-17th frets when bending. Finally I took matters into my own hands and set it up myself. I got it right and it's played great ever since. I use .10s, which sing really nicely. The jumbo frets are awesome, and the guitar can take a beating. I dont baby my guitars, and I paid for it with a now-crippled Les Paul I have to stare at daily. Fenders, however, are tougher than a Rhino's nutsack and don't snap like a toothpick when dropped. Mine has a few dings and a tasteful cigarrete burn in the headstock(emergency ashtray). It's getting that "worn-out" vintage look that you can't buy, and I love it. The only real complaint i have is on the bridge, specifically the adjustment screws. I had to crank the saddles on the high-E and B strings almost all the way up to keep them from fretting out, but the low E and A strings have the screws sticking out far enough to gash my hand all to hell during frenzied picking. Not cool.

As we all know, Fenders can take a shot from a tank and still play. My guitar has dropped, been through hot and cold playing, and survived multiple beer spills and has not complained once. I don't have a backup and haven't needed it yet. I use furniture polish on the body, which gives the nitro finish a really nice dull shine. I get comments on it all the time. I've had it about a year and it had been gigged at least twice a week if not more. As with all good Fenders, great reliability.

never needed it, so I can't say.

I've played guitar for about 7 years, although I've only taken it seriously for the last 4 or so. I was always the "fat tone" Les Paul guy, and I never considered a Fender. Glad I did though, because with a little touch and control this guitar will give you whatever you want. I'll probably retire it to blues only use when I get the 72 Deluxe in, but it's more than suited for classic rock and Haggard-style country. I've recommended the Highway One to many players, and I even earned a Guitar Center salesman's commission for him on one last week. Just a great, great guitar for a hell of a price. You can probably pick one up on ebay or craigslist for $600-#650 and spend the savings on pickups or whatever else suits you. I'd get another one of these over a straight up american strat anytime.

I reviewed this guitar last year (see 07/26/2007 below), but I wanted to come back to talk about pickups, based on my experience replacing the stock ones with some better options. It strikes me that pickups are the simple weak link on this guitar, and anybody thinking about buying one ought to consider this. Fender obviously cut some corners to get this guitar's price down, given that it's made in their American factory. And, since a strat is such an easy guitar to work on, pickups are an easy upgrade for anyone unafraid of a soldering iron.

I found the stock pickups to be quite likeable, but not exactly inspiring. The neck single-coil is the one you'll see mentioned here a lot, and it's definitely a nice sound. However, they may have gone a little too far in search of the "sweet, buttery" tone.

The atomic humbucker gets mixed reviews here, too. It's a high-output pickup, at something like 16k. The result is that it is, frankly, a lousy match for the single coils, since the output is WAY higher. It is also clearly designed to be a distortion pickup; it sounds pretty decent through a high-gain amp. But its clean sound leaves a bit to be desired, as it's really peaky in the midrange.

I replaced my single-coils with a set of GFS 70s Greybottom Overwounds (about $70 for a set of 3) and the result was a dramatic difference in PUNCH. There is a lot more going on here, more highs, more lows, and more dynamic range. No contest, these are way better PUs than the stock ones. For $70 or less, this is an easy way to spice up this guitar.

For the HB, I wanted something a little better balanced output-wise, and something with a better clean sound. I put in a Duncan TB59 (which is the strat-spaced version of the SH1 '59). What I didn't get here was much of a difference in output volume; it's not quite as high-output as the stock atomic, but it's still a lot louder than the single coils. But I did achieve a much better clean sound. The 59 has a much nicer profile: better high end and low end. It still sounds good with the gain cranked, but clean, it is a much more usable pickup... and with that, I think I did achieve a slightly better usable balance with the single coils.

I spent $70 on the GFS single coils and another $75 on the Duncan 59 (you might find a GFS alternative for less... I couldn't take sifting through their website any more). Not a huge investment, but I think it makes a major improvement in the sound of this otherwise excellent guitar. The rest of the Highway 1 is great, and I have zero complaints after playing it for a year. I highly recommend this guitar, but do take the pickup issue seriously. A strat is easy to tinker with.

What you would expect from a quality guitar

The Humbucker gets a 10. Really tight aggresive sound when I use it with my dist pedal. The single coils however sound a little dull for my taste. My cheap chinese strat copy with GFS pickups easily outperforms the highway in that respect. Id rate these a 4 :o(.

So for heavy rock its great, and thats its main purpose for me.

Beautiful all the way

Have no idea

Been playing for 20 years.
Would, at least, want to replace it if lost.
Love the design with the flat black body. I dont like that they have made the finish so sensitive to scratches. Yes, I know that it has been done so deliberatly, but I still dont like it. Apart from the boring single coils I love this axe.

Best regards.

Karl (Sweden)

Fenders Highway 1 "stripped down" USA Stratocaster is the way to go if your in a certain budget. Better than Squire for sure, a little better than Mexican & other 399$ Strats. The satin nitrocellulose finish is very nice. Mine has a rosewood fretboard, large headstock,
a "fat" Strat you could say. Not overly bright, very nice neck.

This Highway One Strat stresses mids and not with shrill highs.
That's the way I like it. The sound is a little thin on the single coils. I'm satisfied with it's tone, output, and vibe.

The action is pretty good. I get very little fret buzz with low action. The finish is already starting to change. It's a thinly applied finish and we were told about that up front. That's fine.

The guitar is a work horse for sure. Good tuners, a little less than average saddles and tailpiece. It's solid for sure. Dependable for sure. However, don't expect the thin finish to stay like new for long.

Fender offers Strats in all price ranges. The Highway One is another price range option. In my opinion it doesn't really give you a SRV vibe, or Los Lonely Boys vibe, but you still get your moneys worth.

See the Fender page for detailed features. What makes this model unique are the satin nitro finish, 70's headstock and alnico 3 pikups. All the other features are pretty basic "Super Strat" stuff.

For reference, my other guitars are high end Fender Custom Shop, PRS, Gibson and Martin acoustics.

For the price, this guitar sounds fantastic. I use mine with a bunch of different amps such as a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia, Fender Bassman and Marshall plexi and sounds good with all of them. The pickups are HOT and warm sounding, pretty much the opposite of what a "vintage" pickup sounds like. The alnico 3 is a good choice since it will not get "icepicky" at high volumes. The tone controls and "greasebucket" circuit are OK, pretty good choice for this type of guitar. If you want a classic chimey Strat, this is *not* your best choice. If you play rock, heavy blues or metal and want a mean sounding axe that can also cover other genres, this would be a good choice.

One additional observation I have is that the 70's style headstock actually helps the guitar balance more evenly than say a smaller vintage head stock. It also seems to provide a little extra mass to help with sustain. I like the aesthetics of a smaller head stock, but was pleasantly surprised with the 70's vibe and playability.

The build quality on the HWY1-HSS is first rate. My body is a nicely matched 3 piece affair with a well shielded pickguard and very playable neck. The sunburst is very even and has the right mix of black and red to make it look great (many don't, including the original 60's Strats). My particular guitar had some cold solder joints, but I usually go through them and double check everything anyway so no big deal. The controls are solid and the neck joint is tight and level. For an entry level American made guitar, it is well made and set up.

Very solid guitar, the nitro finish is fragile but it's supposed to be that way. This guitar is built for gigging, you would have to do something pretty extreme to make it fail.

Fender is generally good with service, hopefully you won't need them.

Given it's price and the purpose for which it was built, I would rate the HWY1-HSS a fantastic value. The PRS Custom SE is roughly the same price but is made in Korea and has crappy parts. Carvin, Reverend and Yamaha make some quality guitars in this price range but none of them approach Fender in terms of sound, brand appeal and classic musicality. This guitar will not appeal to everyone, but if you want an affordable workhorse rock guitar, there is none better.