Fender Highway 1 Strat

2004 Made in USA Highway 1 Stratocaster. Maple neck. Fender Vintage Noiselss Pickups. THIN nitrocellulose "wine" finish (just thin enough to see the wood). The thin finish also adds a LOT to it's resonance and sustain. American Standard Strats can't even touch it!

Mostly blues. I've been trying to find my own style amidst my SRV and Hendrix studies. The guitar is 200% better in everyway than the Gibson Les Paul Special I traded it for. I had some "trader's remorse" after the first few days, but after a week I was glad I did.

A lot of people give the Highway 1 a bad rap, but I have NEVER played a Start as smooth, clean and comfortable as this one! I put some Ernie Ball 12's on it, which gave her a beefy low end and sonic highs! The mids are adequate, but i don't really need that in a guitar. I leave that to the amp.

People who gripe about intonation and action are dumb. Take the time to adjust it to your liking and she'll purr for you all night long!

Again, the super thin nitro finish add more resonance and sustain than any American Standard or Mexican Strat could dish out. Through a '65 Fender Twin Reverb, she sounds SO silky smooth!

I haven't played her live yet, but I'm pretty hard on electric when practicing. That induces SRV "X-games" style acrobatics when jamming. Strats are like tanks. Even the Highway 1's.

Haven't needed them. Since I acquired it second hand, I imagine the warranty is no longer valid.

Love it! She's my primary guitar, and wouldn't trade her for the world. You can keep your American Standards, this Highway 1 of mine is a guitar that the guitar gods would want back if they knew I had it!

USA Highway 1 Strat - 22 frets (fat ones). 5 way selector, Alnico pickups, grease bucket circuit, rosewood neck, honey blonde body, nitro finish.

I play a range of styles including classic rock, blues/R&B, some metal, a bit of jazz, and this guitar suits perfectly for clean sounds or the heavier stuff - basically I bought this guitar to suit a wide sound range from a range of eras. The stock tones are, for example, a bridge p.u. that sounds great with some gain through a good amp, good sustain for lead work from the middle and neck p.u's as well considering these are single coils. I think the good sustain has something to do with the thin nitro finish.

The Highway 1 needs a good amp to bring out the best from the pickups.

The action is good, easy to play, a little bit of string buzz though, and the tuning took a while to settle down when bending strings, the whammy bar is very good and the H1 stays in tune even after heavy use. Now it's fine.

I think so it sounds fantastic through big amps. I've played it through a Marshall 30th Anniversary 6100 plus a 4x12 cabinet and it has a absolutely storming overdriven sound. The clean sounds great through this setup as well. It doesn't sound so good through a JCM 2000, but I don't rate this setup. The clean sound is very good through a Fender Super 60 Rack - very sharp and clear and it sounds good through a little Fender practice amp. I think it is dependable for gigging, and great fun once you've got a feel for its tonal range.

Haven't had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing on and off for 25 years and this guitar sounds as good as anything I've played/owned. I would buy another, and don't quite get the need to customise it as the in house p.u.'s give it a great tonal range for a lot of styles. Try it in the shop first - through a decent amp - it won't suit everyone.

2007 american made strat
22 jumbo frest
curved C shape maple neck, 70's style headstock 9.5" radius
flat black nitrocellulose lacquer finish
alder body
3 single coil Alnico pickups, reverse wound middle pickup to eliminate some buzz
vintage style strat bridge
chrome hardware

everything you need in a strat

sound is incredible. bridge takes gain and distortion without sounding to tinny or bright. neck is smooth and clear. sounds to me how a strat should sound.

action was good from my dealer, but needs some minor adjustment. finsih is impeccable. the finish ages well, and becomes more and more your's with every little ding, scratch, fade, wear and tare

supposedly the lacquer finish will fade, wear and even "crack" from temperature changes which which allows it to show it's battle wounds. Fender claims that this guitar is meant to be played and gigged and will show it's road worthyness on it's sleeve. they're right.

the maple neck and alder body are soft, great for tone but does ding easily. the flat black finish is amazing, and does wear unevenly. t\

fender does well, warranty is always good.

dealer didn't give me the trem arm, called fender and they sent me one no charge/no questions. sweet.

This is my fourth guitar. and my most expensive. but compared to the others, this one just felt right as soon as I played it. I like that it is american made support the usa, I love the sound, and the way it feels like silk under your fingers.

the vintage style bridge is a little rough and hard to find that sweet spot, especially if palm muting, but that is my only complaint. Had the option for the SSH configuration, but opted for the 3 single coils as my other guitars all have humbuckers.

Im the author of the previous review...i found the receipt for the guitar i got it for $700 US...what a bargain!

handles gain much better than traditional strats...high gain/clean are both crystal clear

decently setup...very playable but needs a pro setup and the nitro finish is freakin awesome!

Fender = built like a rock

never called them

An excellent guitar...for the price you simply cannot beat it, its got it all...great cleans...handles high gain effortlessly and you can even get insane SRV tones with it...what else??? its less than $1k!!!

check out my youtube video on this guitar plugged into a Orange Rockerverb 50 and you will see the great sounds it can produce!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP_ZdJMJmZw

I guess you can really only give it a ten because what else could you want in a strat? Its got the bite and the bark, the neck pickup is simply amazing it'll blow you away...the bridge pickup is great as well. The pickups are really what make this guitar scream...talk about SRV and wow can you get it with this neck pickup. When i got this guitar there was actually a Fender salesman there telling me about all the different strats. They swapped different magnets in the coils this time to handle high gain and take the "shrill" out of your tone and it really does work...I thought this guitar sounded better than the HSS strat, the KWS strat, 60's player strat...all of them. Its the sound i've been looking for in a strat and its in an awesome package. The nitro finish is a really cool touch...i dont like all the pretty glossy stuff anyway...play one you will fall in love...trust me

I read a negative review on this guitar because it didn't have the S1 switching??? Its an SSS guitar thats only for HSS...weird. Its got all the normal features of a strat so...roasted!

What can i say...is there a word that better describes strat perfection? I dont think so...your looking for a kick a$$ strat? you need to buy this...the pickups and the resonance on this guitar is unmatched...why would you pay $2.5k for a les paul when this thing can rip it apart? simply its got it

This is what really drew me to this guitar was the playability. It was almost effortless which is probably because of the giant jumbo frets. It plays great and was setup decently from the factory but could of been better (hence the score of 8) although im going to have it professional done soon...but out of the box it was definitely playable.

its made by Fender enough said

never had to call them

It really is a great guitar...i've been playing for about 13 years and have gone through countless guitars and this is now my main guitar that i only play...i will possess you and force you to buy one...dont make me...now follow the swinging coin...you are getting sleepy...goto nearest guitar store and buy Highway 1 strat...haha

this is the closes to a real strat. no extra bells
and chimes that most strats come with today. its
the real deal.its a MIA the craftmanship is A+ love
the old time finish loads of sustain. the body is a
3 piece alder and is simply flawless - 22 fret neck maple
also flawless. Alnico III PU'S are fantastic very versatile.
i like the fender ping tuners there easy to tune and stay in
tune much better than the vintage tuners.

this strat is simply brilliant one of the very few
that are versatile and thats because of the Alnico III PU'S
classic rock/hard rock/blues and jazz this strat does it all
and i do mean all. deep growl to full ritch tones and inbetween.
my 2008 american standard cant produce like my highway one sss.
i use marshall and vox amps and with this strat it doesnt matter
what i use the highway one sss shines through. its very tone
versatile and its tone superior whith out any doubt over the
new american standards and most other strat for that matter.
the Alnico III PU'S are simply brilliant some of the best
i have herd in a long time. jimi hendrix would love this strat.

this strat was set up right out the box all i did
was change strings.the frets were perfect no ruff edges
the action was perfect and fast, the saddles were right
on.everything from the qaulity of harware to the craftmanship
of this brilliant strat is A+ and some you would think the
customshop put this together. its pure qaulity all the way around.
i see the highway one sss becoming a collectible some day.

this strat will withstand anything you put it through.
you will fall apart befor this strat does.
the hardware is fantastic and will last a life time.
love the old school nitro finish road worns eat your hart out
the highway one's have you beat also.
most certainly can depend on it my new american standard
has faild me twice already the highway one hasnt.
bottom line this strat is made to last and a true tone monster.
one of the most solid built guitars period i have come across
in my 30+years of playing.

this strat is one of the best built and sounding
strats fender has put out in a long time i have been
playing fender strats for over 30 years and is one of
or even the best strat put out in years.its everything
a real strat is suposed to be and more thats why i choose it
no bells and chimes like most have today just a straight up
balls to the wall guitar.i have compared the highway one to
the american standard and the american delux and the highway one
simply walks all over both of them in every way.
if it was stolen i would buy another but lets hope that doesnt happen
for the theifs sake. its the perfect strat to me.

Everything you'd expect from a Fender Strat. sadly it doesn't have the s1 system featured on the American Deluxe strats which is why I'm giving it an 8, but i guess you can't really expect that for such a low price. Besides i think it's one of those guitars thats perfect for modding, since the finish and hardware are very well assembled in the US, but the electronics might be a bit lower quality...
The neck is smooth, with a nice satin finish. looks and plays better than many of the old American Standards (in my opinion), very comfortable for holding chord shapes, perhaps not as fast as a Les Paul or any other Gibson for that matter, but thats not what Strats are for.
The finish probably isn't for everyone, but I like it. it's very thin and wears easily... very easily, and dents quickly, so if you're a fan of the "worn" look, this is for you. It's more matte than glossy, which can get annoying at times , but overall not bad at all.
word of warning; during the first couple of months the bridge and pole pieces started to rust... not a big deal really.

I'm a big fan of the Strat sound, which is what inspired me to buy this guitar. I think that for beginners and early intermediate players, the sound should not really be an issue, but for anyone who has heard an American Standard or a Deluxe it may be a bit of a disappointment. It does come very close to that sound and some people might not even notice, but the simple fact of the matter is that it is basically an American Standard but with a thinner finish, and some pretty average electronics (pickups included). The clean sounds are quite good, but it doesn't handle distortion all that well. personally i swapped out the bridge pickup (which was pretty lame anyway) with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails. this definitely sorted out the distortion sounds which were very good, if little muddy... however i felt that some of the "Strattiness" was lost in all of this, as the pickups were unbalanced, so i took out all the pickups (hot rails included) and bought a set of hand wound Bare Knuckle Irish Tours, which are fantastic! I also changed all the wiring and electronics to very high quality stuff which i found on www.axtec.co.uk and a cool black pickguard.
The sound is fantastic now; its got that typical quacky, glassy strat sound but also handles gain very well. The Bare Knuckles are slightly hotter than typical strat pickups, especially that bridge which is somewhere around 7k. however this doesn't sacrifice any clean tone, in fact it out-performs my friends custom shop strat, and slays any humbucker equipped guitars! I highly recommend the Bare Knuckle pickups, they're fantastic!
Overall, i think it's a shame that the stock pickups and electronics are not what they could be, because this guitar has serious potential.

Everything was surprisingly good out of the factory. The action was a little higher than i liken and there was a very small flaw in the finish but not a big deal... everything else was okay.

I've had this guitar for about 2 years and it's taken a lot of abuse.. so far no real problems with it. Sure the finish is a little thin and does rust eventually but i think this gives it character.
One small problem; the strap buttons are a little thin, and typical straps will slide off from time to time, not that this will likely damage the guitar in any way, except maybe on the exterior (the electronics will be fine!). An easy solution to this is Dunlop Strap Locks, they're only about #20.

im quite pleased that i've never had to deal with them...

I've been playing about 4 years which doesn't seem like a lot, but guitar is pretty much all i do... now that i have finished tinkering with it, there's nothing i'd change, it's great for most things!
I think if it were lost/stolen, i'd look for it because it's my baby!! but if i couldn't find it, i don't think i'd buy another simply because it took me so long to get it sounding how i like.. i think next i'd look at G&L guitars because they're very similar but higher quality.
At the time i bought it, i also compared to a Gibson SG special, which was frankly quite poor, and an ESP ec-1000 which was very nice but didnt really offer the clean tone or dynamic character of the Fender.
If you plan on doing some modding, then this is the perfect victim. but if you just want a great guitar off the line, look elsewhere (preferably the G&L Tribute line, which look very good) or cheaper PRSs etc...
BTW im giving the guitar 9 for after the mods... otherwise a 6 or maybe a 7 for good value...

Just bought a new Honey Blonde Highway One Strat (with a rosewood neck) and I am truly delighted. This was the first time (in over 30+ years of playing) that I have bought a guitar unseen (over the internet in this case) and I am very impressed with it. It is the 2006 upgrade model with large jumbo frets (which I use anyway on my other guitars) and the large 70's headstock. Pickups are Alnico III's and the guitar is otherwise stock. It came with a decent gig bag from Fender too.

Definitely a little darker tone-wise than other Strats I have owned in the past, but really good especially with an overdriven sound and certainly not lacking in the typical clean tones everyone expects from a Strat. I use a stereo setup with quite a few pedals and the sound is 100% class in both clean and overdriven modes. The pickups are clear and well articulated in either mode and as far as distortion goes, this guitar handles overdriven tones much better than other Strats I have tried. For me there is nothing to dislike here.

Great out of the box, although I switched to 011's straightaway as 009's are way too light strings for me. A simple setup and nut filing (undertaken by a repairman) did the job just fine. Action is superb (best I've ever had on a Strat) and the entire finish, fit and appearance are top-notch. Great quality control from Fender, I can't fault it at all really. The finish is quite plain, but if like me you just want a playing instrument then that isn't really an issue. Looks like it will wear well too if you want a 'relic' style appearance within a year or so of playing.

Only just got it but looks totally solid and dependable..it's a Strat after all.

haven't had the need to contact Fender but the shop I bought it from (in the UK) were great and very helpful. Arrived very quickly from them too.

I've been playing professionally for many years and this instrument has really impressed me. I won't be selling this anytime soon (if ever) and would certainly replace it if lost or stolen. Great guitar and a major surprise to me in terms of price and quality. Good for Fender!

I bought this highway one brand new in April 2007. The Highway One was made in USA. It has 22 jumbo Frets. 1 Volume and 2 tone and a 5 way selector a classical configuration(s/s/s). Alnico pick-up. A 70's headstock with a rosewood fretboard. A C style neck.

I change the pickguard for a brown tortoise and i put Schaller locking tuners on it. My guitar has the black lacquer.

I play blues, blues-rock, funk and some 50, 60 and 70's rock. It fit's all for those style.

I have a fender Super-Sonic with a THD Hotplate(Very loud amplifier!). Effects, Guyatone microtuner, Maxon CP-101 Compressor, Maxon OD-9 overdrive, Prescription electronics Experience (Fuzz, octave and Swell), Maxon SD-9, Rocktron Noise gate, Guyatone Micro-Chorus, Guyatone Micro vintage tremolo and Guyatone Micro digital delay(Sound analog).

I had mexican and japanese strat before. I had less hum with the Highway One and love distorsion. I am able to have that SRV(little bit less bright) sound and that Gilmour sound too! Very Versatile. But for a highway one is a highway one not a Standard or a custom. It has is own definition.

Either you like it or not! For me it's my mean guitar for gig cause i like it!

I've changed the Strings for Ernie Ball heavy Slinky's 0.11 to 0.52.

Pick-up were well adjusted

I like the old finish with the lacquer. I.m beginning to have the old look of a custom shop guitar( i wouldn't pay three times for a custom guitar!).

If you don't like vintage look, don buy that little Baby!

That guitar is my main gig! I have a thinline telecaster 72(reissue) has back-up. She doesn't play at all!

My highway one is very reliable!

I will never sold that guitar, like her too much!

Never had to deal with fender customer service!

I've been playing for 20 years now.

I would definetely buy that guitar again if it was stolen!

Versatile versatile!!!!!

has the old school strat features.
plus the jumbo frets simply Brilliant.

this strat does it all and some.
modern - classic - and in between
the highway one strat (SSS)is one of the
very few guitars period that you dont have
to change guitars every time you change styles
of music.very versatile.i have 11 fender strats
a orignal 1968/70/71 just to name a few. 4 of
them are 2007 highway ones SSS and are simply my
go to strats.

the neck action is very fast and smooth
the whole craftmanship/finish and pickups
on this brilliant strat i would with out
any doubt compare to most custom shop strats.

this strat will out live me.
everything on this guitar is tops
and very solid.i would and i have
used the highway one strat with out
a back up in the past. the highway one
stratocaster will become a classic.

the highway one strat i do compare to the
custom shop strats thats how well they are built.
on march 1st 2009 you will be paying $974.98 for
the highway one SSS stratocaster its worth every penny.
the highway one is a much better all around strat than
the new american standard.and i recommend the highway one
to the pro player who wants a guitar that does everything.
and remember the fender corperation has risen all prices
on there guitars as of march 1st 2009.