Fender Highway 1 Strat

See this link for full details of spec http://www.fender.com/gear/gear.php?op=3&partno=0111100

Mine is a Honey Blonde as pictured

I spent an afternoon trying out about a dozen Strats from Mexican to top end USA, and the Highways stood up exceedingly well. Noticably better on all settings than any Mex ones, and better than a couple of the considerably more expensive strats I tried.

I can't fault the sound - it's variety incarnate, and none of the tones sound less than very good.

Ive done a bit of recording with it - sounds top class!

Action was fine - no buzzes. The fretboard seems particulary well made, certainly when compared to mex srats and as good as any other of the more expensive strats around.

As for the asthetics, is all very basic, nothing on it is flashy at all, white fret marker dots ect. As is well documented on the other reviews the paint work is shockingly thin! And VERY VERY fragile!!! I am a carefull owner, my Cherry Sunburst Les Paul looks vertually as new after 7 years heavy use. But after 3 months my Highway has two major gashes (down to the wood!) and one little nick. None of which I even recall doing, I think the paint literally FELL OFF!!!

If this bothers you, and it might, stay clear. But in my humble opinon it can look kinda cool. and it's the sound that counts!!!

The body had a big dent as well. I'm quite sure fender use 'seconds' for the bodies on highways so its well worth a thorough going over before you buy. They nocked a little off the price for me!

OK the fininsh is dodgy but everything else seems top notch I cant see myself having any problems.

NA

For the price it can't be beat, if you can over look the cosmetics you'll get a quality guitar with a top class sound!

I plan on getting 10 years plus use out of my little beauty!

I recommend it to friends!

bought it new in 2002. vintage style pickups & 6 point trem. modern c-shape neck. mine has the blonde finish w/ maple fretboard. 3 single-coils(staggered alnico 2 mags)

i am mainly a blues player & this guitar nails the vintage blues sound exactly. it gets ran through various amps but usually a behringer 210 when jammin' with friends or (my favorite) an original '55 fender princeton when practicing. either way, it has the unmistakable strat sound. a bit noisy especially when the gain on the amps is cranked up but like i said, they are vintage style pickups.

right out of the box the guitar seemed to be set up pretty good (at least for me). it came strung with .009's but i like it a little looser so a drop down to .008's really did the trick for me. the finish is thin but thats one of the reasons the price is low so it's understandable. the finish, hardware & plastic were all in fine shape. no apparent flaws.

it seems pretty well made but i wouldn't expect the finish to last very long. if you bump it you are almost certain to end up with some kind of blemish. but hey, things like that just add charactor, right?

no clue here, sorry

i've played off & on for about 20 yrs. i usually switch back & forth between this guitar and a gibson lp (depending on what sound i'm after that day) if it were stolen i would definately replace it immediately. if you like the vintage strat sound & dont have big $$$ to shell out like me, this is your guitar.

Wow!! I went into the Guitar store to buy/order a Washburn NX3 and ended up walking out with a Honey Blonde Highway 1 Strat! While waiting for the clerk to finish up with the guy before me, I grabbed a Highway 1 to kill time. I wasn't plugged in at first and was overwhelmingly impressed with the action. Once I plugged it in, I knew that I wasn't going to order the Washburn NX3, because I would be a fool to buy one, unseen or played, over the Highway 1. Now I know why everyone loves US Strats, they have more tone than any guitar I have played.

Once again, WOW! This guitar has more tone than any guitar I have played ever. With the 5 way switch and two tone pots, there isn't much this guitar can't do.

This guitar stays in tune nicely. I do not miss Floyd Roses much anymore, I can tell you that. Stays in tune, and is easy to tune when it does go out. I don't miss allen wrenches and fine tuners, I can tell you that much. The simple Fender bridge is a thing of beauty. I never knew how much I missed simplicity of design. The less moving items the better with bridges.

Honestly, the craftsmanship is grat from an assembly viewpoint. The bodies may be factory seconds, which is why they are selected for Highway 1's, but that is just my theory. The action is great, low as can be with no fret reverb. It may take me a while to learn how to flail without hitting the 5 way switch, but it's great to be able to switch sounds quickly when needed.

I know that this finish will wear off eventually, but with the wood grain already showing, who cares?? The satin body has a great feel and the lacquer finish is unflawed. The hardware is plastic knobs, and from past experience I know they hold up well, but if they don't they cost $2.00, so once again who cares?

I would defintely take it on the road without a back up if I had to.

N/A

Considering that I got it for $499.00 brand new, when the usual price of $599.00 is still a great value, I am very pleased. My favorite feature on this guitar is a toss up between tonal range and the killer action. The killer action is what struck me first, the tonal range is what sealed the deal. I just couldn't order a korean Washburn that I had never played for $650.00, when I was amazed at the $499.00 Highway 1 which was in stock. So like many others I am now a Strat owner for life.

Blonde with maple neck and cheap-ass gig bag.

Sounds like a strat. Bridge pickup a little on the bright side, but not a problem for me. Don't forget to face magnetic north while playing. Nice overall tonality. Love the neck pickup for solos.

It was set up a little high, but when I tried to go lower buzzing began to become a problem. New set of 10's helped dramatically. Oh yeah, that finish, which I think is O.K. looking chipped the second day I had it - down to bare wood! Other than the action, this guitar required minimal setup.

Have used it live, she did all-right. Stayed in tune pretty well I guess. Finish will be gone someday soon. Oh well.

Have not called for customer support.

I pipe this sucka through a JCM 900 half stack, also have an Ibanez RG550. This mutha rocks, the tone is there. If you're into high gain don't buy this guitar, great for overdriven or clean tones. May purchase new bridge saddles and sperzel tuners?

I have a brand new cocoa transparent highway one strat. I believe it to be '03 or '02. I always told myself, "Self, you would never want one of these. It doesn't even have an american bridge or anything. It looks kinda cheap with its laquered finish. It's just a cheap knock off so people could just say that they owned an american strat." I was wrong. I never played a highway 1 until I walked in the the music store once and started playing every strat I saw. I already had an american series strat(which I reviewed also on this website) But I just Had to play this one b/c it was next in line. This one is a little different in that it has a black humbucker and 2 white single coils. I thought it was used because I never seen stock pick ups in a fender that did not match, but it's new. It also has a wide 70's headstock. A reg. strat is versitle but a fat strat is better.

Sounds great! Not as good as my american series b/c I put vintage noisless pick ups that one. This guitar has a sweet humbucker, I think it's either an atomic or an enforcer. I heard 2 different opinions on this. All I know is that it sounds good when using a high gain setting and you play chords. It doesn't have the chunk I'd like it to have when I palm mute though, but My other guitars do that fine so this one is good for a different purpose. The single coils are good too. Not as good as noisless, but good enough for a 9.

This was the big seller for me. The feel of the neck and they way it played was so incredible that I bought the day I played it. I wasn't even going to buy a guitar, I just wanted to try a bunch of different strats just to check em out. Plus it was a new shipment of Fenders they just got. The neck felt wider than my American series strat. And the action was LOW! Not to the point of buzzing but it felt good. Very easy to play. The only thing wrong with it was that the jack was loose. Not a big problem. That could have happened anywhere or even during shipping so I won't count that. The finish still seams kinda...thin. That's the only way I can describe it. Altough I like it because my arm doesn't stick to it when I play. unlike most other guitars. I haven't changed the action or set up at all. I don't plan to either. Except when I change the saddles from those crappy one to the ones that are on the american strats.

I only played it out twice so far in the few weeks I've had it. But it seems to be nice and solid. One good hit may damage the finish though, but I don't plan on that happening.

No idea.

I've been playing 4 or 5 years. I'm only 19 years old, but I know guitars. I'm always reading about them and researching them. I've owned 8 guitars so far, 3 strats an epiphone g-400 sg, 3 basses and an Ibanez SA160QM. I'm looking at an epiphone Les Paul Custom right now and a firebird VII. This guitar is my 2nd favorite. @nd only to my american series strat. The American series strat feels just slightly better. Of course it has a maple fret board and this one is rosewood. Not a fancy guitar but well worth the money in sound and feel. email me for more answers to questions and what not.

Everything you'd want in a strat is there.

I play texas/chicago blues. The pickups sound very much like a classic strat. It has a bell sound and a quack sound (a mix of both). I am buying this guitar however because of its resonance. I will put a SD Antiquity Custom Bridge and two SD Anqtiquity Texas Hots into Neck and Middle. I will also get the middle p.u. with reverse polarity, so 2 and 4 can be humcancelled.

As for stock pickups I was 100 percent happy with the sound - its classic. (Remember its in whats in your hands and in your heart that makes the difference).

Strings : 9s.
Action : medium.
But can't u ppl change ur action/strings/pickupheight/tremolo???

The guitar is very solid and is fine for playing live. See any other fender review :)

You have to take care of the finish though.

never dealt with them.

Have a Yamaha Pacifica Tele with an SD vintage '54 lead and Texas Special rhythm.
The highway 1 is an investment. Those of you who have issues with the looks or something like that should take a hike.

this is a 2002 model, the blonde. 21 frets satin finish
frets are large, jumbo
same as the american standard
i've had both, its the same
vintage bridge, which i like
alder body

well, i have always loved fender guitars. i love strat sounds.
i currently have a parker classic, warmoth SRV strat, Ernie ball axis sport, p-90's, seagul acoustic, alvarez jumbo 12 string,
i would say this is my favorite guitar. i wanted a fender that would provide a strat tone. the warmoth has the texas specials and they sound good, but less vintage straty, i think. anyway, i like this guitar. i like the satin finish, i hate lacquer.

satin finish, action is perfect for me. craftmanship looks good
nice tight neck fit

fenders run forever.....
can't hurt a fender strat

don't know

i like the guitar because:
1. Vintage Vibe, looks like a relic
2. sounds great and many tones
3. neck feels broke in
4. i get a great straty sound
5. mine came with a hard case, not a cheapo softcase ! heheheh

2002 US made Highway 1 Strat Honey Blonde finish
I won't list the basic feature here, i'll just say that it has a 22 fret neck like the American Standard but without the new truss rod system.
The pickups are anilco vintage not ceramic as on the mexican strat.
The bridge is vintage style.
Finish looks gorgeous to me!

I use it on my GT6 through a Marshall valvesate amp and it sounds awesome!!!
It's definitively better than the mexican strat, i tried both in the shop on the same amp and there is no way i can compare thoses 2 sounds.
On the mexican all the selected pickup positions sound too extreme (too narrow with the bridge pu, to bassy with the neck pu etc...)
This one is very much more subtile in its sound configurations and sounds way better to me.

The action was OK though a little high for me, so I adjusted it so that it's now perfect!!!
Finish looks great and allows for more body vibrations but seems a bit "fragile" so I give it only a 7

Strats can last decades even without any finish

N/A

My first strat, I also own a Godin LG with SP90s and an ESP with 2 EMG 81.
All my guitar realy sounds different, and the strat has a particular place in my collection!!!

I's a great deal for that price!

The guitar is a very basic strat, with all the things a basic strat should be. It is little bright in the treble pickup but all it takes is to roll off the volume slightly ( this is real common in vintage strats). From the perspective of someone who owns several Strats, this guitar is like a dream. Its Cheap, feels like its been played for years, and sounds excellent.

I had $1500 to spend on a guitar so spent quite a while looking around in guitar shops and on ebay, then I stumbled on this thing. I really needed another strat like I needed another nostril and had no idea about the hype behind this guitar. Being the tone snob that I am, how could I possible consider buying a cheapo entry level Strat? From the second I picked this thing up, I knew it was different, yet familiar. I plugged into an evil twin and could not believe the pure tone. The guitar is really light and you can feel it resonate. Even unplugged it was incerdible. I tried really hard not to buy this guitar but ended up taking it home.

The action was a little high out of the box but easily adjusted down to where I like it. The neck had a little too much relief, again easily fixed. Intonation was perfect, pickup heights were at fender spec and the tremelo was a perfect Strat floater.

I know that the other reviews say this thing has a poly finish, but it is lacquer, thin but true. Fender even includes a card to tell you how to care for it. The thin lacquer finish is why this thing is so resonant. I think this guitar will age very gracefully.

Its Fender, what are you gonna do?

I have been playing for 38 years and am an old fart. I have a lot of guitars 7 of which are Strats (55,58,61,65,67,73, and this one) so I know my Strats. I don't play out anymore in a regular band but to keep from losing my chops I play at least once a month at full volume at a warehouse with about 20 different people (all ages). Its a good party and keeps me from getting stale. I have not played this one out yet but plan on doing so next weekend. I will follow up to let you know how this thing plays for real as opposed to in the bedroom.

usa 2002 21frets standard stat 1v 2t knobs all specs in reviews below

play blues and some c rock type stuff play vox amps this guitar doesnt sound bad it just doesnt sound good either i was thinking it would sound better than my mim tele and it doesnt even touch it im going to trade this for a 69 tele thinline maybe or some sort of tele type guitar they cant be beat

it was set up fine for me i like low action and the neck is very nice even though im not used to it everything was fine

it would withstand all of the road abuse you threw at it i wouldnt go to any gig wo a back up

been playing for 15years give or take own tele and too much stuff to list