Fender Highway 1 Strat

The features are what drew me to this guitar. 9 1/2" radius fingerboard, C shape neck, jumbo frets and a nice light weight and lightly finished body. That's a winner! I can't stand these 12" flat necks and tiny frets and bodys that weigh a ton! Fender has got it right here.

I need more time through my gig rig, but so far so good at home.

This was so cool... This guitar was right out of the box! It is set up great! I really can't believe it. The tremolo works fantastic! It has 9's on it, I need 10's or bigger. No biggie...

I was very impressed with the feel of the instrument, you know how you can just feel it sometimes, that the quaility is good. I believe that I will be playing this guitar for many gigs in the future.

Ha! Yeah, right!

I've been playing for a living for 30 years, went on the road for the first time in 1977. This is my fourth Strat, I also own Gibsons, Ibanez, Washburns etc... The Fender's are number one. If it were stolen and I could afford to but another... Yes! I would, where elas are you gonna' find a neck like that with jumbo frets already installed? I allways check out the new Fenders where ever I am. I might just pick them up and set them down again, because they weigh a ton and have the terrible bullet proof finish and tiny frets. But this guitar is differant, very differant. The Jimmie Vaughans are impressive also, well just the neck and the electronics... the body sucks... and weighs a ton... no tone. But this guitar is complete.

This is a 2005 american strat 3 colour sunburst with a rosewood fingerboard

sounds great bit noisey but all strats are sound exactly like a full price strat i was about to pay 1400$ for one and then i saw this one and i liked it better

it was set up great i havent really changed it yet i just set the neck to the curve i like it at

this would defenetily survive for a long time i wish the paint would come off faster thou that would look really cool

i cant really depend on it scince the pickups broke and the neck exploded but they were repaired under warrenty and upgraded because it souldnt of heppend or something i forgot exactly what they said

when i brought it in to get repaird fender sent me a letter apologizing for the inconvinience and stated that texas specials and a more expensive neck were put on

ive been playing around 2 years but ppl always think ive been playing my entire life i use a fender bassman and an fender FM100H with a marshall cab with 25watt greenbacks i would definatly buy it again because of its low cost im accually gonna order one in about a week as a christmass preasnt for me great overall guitar thou

This was a stock Highway 1. The Fender web site has all of the particulars of this model. The big changes from the American Standard are the pickups, the bridge/tremolo, and the satin finish. I peronally like the 6 point tremolo. I find that it stays in tune much better than my American made 2 point. I hear people say that the satin finish helps to add to the tone. I have both American Standard with polyurethane finish, and this one with the satin finish, and I can't tell the difference. Mine has the maple neck, and I absolutely live it! The stock pickups weren't that bad, but I switched them out to a Pete Biltoff assembly.

I run this through a Fender Blues Deville. The only pedal that I use is an Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer. The guitar had a good tone, but my American Standard had the same basic tone. I figured that because this guitar wasn't that expensive, I'd change the pickups. After extensive research, I settled on a Pete Biltoff (Vintage Vibe Guitars) Stratocaster pickgurd/pickup assembly. All of the pickups were hand wound to 5% over what a typical strat pickup is. I just wanted a little extra umph! After installing this assembly into the guitar, the difference was night and day. These pickups made this guitar come alive! I can't believe that a guitar could sound this good. It's now, very well balanced.

I bought this guitar used, but it was obvious that this guitar was used very little, if at all. When I got it, the setup was alright, but I tweaked it a bit to my liking. I didn't have to adjust the neck. It came straight as an arrow. The finish was perfect. You either like this finish, or you don't. It grew on me, and now I like it. Not a lot of light reflection. The only thing that I don't like about this guitar, is that the vibrato arm is to short height wise from the body. And I mean it's way to short. It hits the body. Do yourself a favor, and buy a different arm.

I haven't had this long enough to test its reliability. I use it mainly for recording. The neck is a tested design, it's just the satin finish that worries me. But, I didn't buy it to keep it pristine, I bought it to play. So far, so good

I've never had to deal with Fender

I've been playing for about 30 years. I mainly play Gibsons. I just needed a Fender for tonal variety during recording sessions. After installing the pickups, I haven't touched my American Standard. And, this thing plays better than my American Standard. I bought this guitar because it was cheap, and I knew that I wanted to butcher it up. After playing it for about a month, I knew that I wasn't going to make many changes...so I just changed out the pickups. The bridge/tremolo is extremely similar to a '69 Strat that I had owned. I always liked that setup. The American Standard 2 point goes out of tune way to easily. Now, like any guitar, you've got to play them all to see what you like. I bought this in the blind, and just got lucky. Would I replace it if it were stolen? Let's just say that I also have a Mexican Strat that I would use in place of it. Yes, the Mexican made Strat plays just as well as my Americans. I'd just change the pickguard assembly. Nobody would be able to tell the difference. And as far as playability go, they play the same.

This is a 2005 Hwy 1 in translucent blonde (beautiful).
Alder body
Maple neck with modern C shape
Maple fretboard
Chrome hardware
Cast/sealed tuning machines
Vintage-style synchronized tremolo
3 Alnico 5 single-coil Strat pickups
5-way pickup switching
3-ply parchment pickguard
Master volume
Tone 1 (neck pickup)
Tone 2 (middle pickup)
Greasebucket tone circuit on bridge pickup

I love the sound of this guitar, very clean when you want it to be yet can get as dirty as a pig eating slop. It suits mt style quite well. It is very quiet an all positions, or quieter than I expected it to be so I am quite pleased. I tried a few other Strats but this one sounded cleaner, fuller, kinda in your face sound that isn't harsh or muddy... in a word ...NICE.

So far I haven't found a single flaw... I have owned several Strats in the past, including a very expensive Custom Shop model and this one "feels" almost as good as those did. I paid 1600.00 for a Strat that was very nice, had all the bells and whistles like a LSR nut, locking tuners, a set neck with sculpted heel, TBX... and while those were great they didn't make the guitar. If I sit and play this thing with my eyes closed, I would swear I am playing a much more expensive guitar. This is absolute value for your money.... The set up was great off the shelf, but I did raise the action a bit and blocked the bridge. Other than that, I don't think I would change a thing.

Should last as well as any Strat out there.

Never used it.

I've been playing for 17 years. I own a number of Vox amps and a couple of other guitars. If this were lost or stolen I would cry! I would definitely buy another one! It is without a doubt the best guitar I have ever owned! I believe it is the best value on the market.
I understand from friends who work at GC that they can't keep these in stock--the word is getting out!

This guitar was manufactured in Sept. 2005. The finish on this looks and resonates very well. It has a vintage blonde satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish. This is a very comfortable and lightweight guitar USA made guitar. I'd guess about 6 pounds. It has a maple one piece neck and fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets.
This pickup configuration is S-S-S. Non-locking ping tuners that work very well, even with heavy trem action. It has a 5-position selector switch, and the greasebucket tone circuit that allows you to roll off some of the treble, without adding bass. This is a very nice feature, but took me a couple of months to get used to because I've always run both tones wide open.

The pickups on this guitar produce a more round tone that can sound glassy and great with high gain. The thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish lets the body wood's natural tone shine through.

The setup wasn't bad, but I adjusted and tweaked the string height and pickup height to my liking.

This is a very durable, quality USA made Fender Stratocaster and is the REAL DEAL !

Fender's website is great for provided specs and their customer service is tops.

I've been playing for 40 years and have 9 Strats currently. This one is my "go-to" guitar lately and I may need to thin the heard and buy another one with a S-S-H configuration. The backs of these necks are so smooth and no fret sprout at all. Just very comfortable guitars.

US Made Standard Strat. Satin Teal Blue finish. The finish is not nitro celluose. It is acrylic. Not a very tough or pretty finish. Maple neck and fretboard. 2004 model. It was new, on closeout.

Disappointing sound. Weak strat sounds. Has some hum. Hard to find an amp it sounds good through. Tried a Marshall JCM tube, Marshall MG series, Roland.

Action was ok factory set, but not great. I can't say there were any noticeable defects from the factory.

Guitar does not stay in tune. Finish is very thin matte acrylic finish. It started to wear off immediately. The finish was advertised as thin so as to let the resonance come out of the wood, but I don't think it is very resonant at all.

New with factory warranty. The guitar fell on its face on carpet at home while resting on a couch. It surprisingly was dented in several places and the finish came off. I wrote Fender and asked them if they had any touchup paint. They wrote back after a month and said there was no touch up paint and I should bring it to an autobody shop if I wanted it to get touched up. I may as well get the auto shop to paint flames on it. Disappointing experience with customer service.

Been playing a long time and have several Strats. The guitar was on close out so I bought it since it was US made. Sorry folks, I don't think US made nowadays is that great a difference compared to Mexican, Japanese or korean strats I can say I have had better playing experience with a cheap Japanese made Squier than this Strat. Not a favorite guitar of mine. Maybe I should pay someone to steal it. If I keep the guitar i will refinish or strip the finish, which is worn and ugly already and change the pickups to something hotter.

It is a basic American made guitar with a 3 color sunburst finish. The tuners are standard and the pick ups and bridge vintage style. The neck is Rosewood with 22 frets.

It sounds great. To get great sound as always with a Fender turn it up. The Greasebucket Technology works great to roll the highs off a little with out losing tone. It makes the guitar more versitile. I use it thru a Triggerman 60 with an Akai Headrush 2 and a Little Big Muff. My 2006 model is not as noisy as I expected on full volume.

The guitar was set up poorley. Alot of fret buzz. I had to adjust the neck slightly and set the action a little higher. Doing this one of the fret saddle adjustment screws was stripped on the inside from the factory,I could not turn it. It has a vintage bridge which I like but use good strings to keep it in tune. The Finish, 3 color, is thin on mine but it will in time give the guitar a "used" not abused look I think. I love the rosewood neck it feels and plays great when adjusted properly or to an individuals likeing. The knobs and switches are all fine.

Thius guitar should last along time. If you are going to use it as a working guitar it should hold up great. I just had the guitar for a month but I would bet it will be very dependable. Like I said the finish should wear nicely and give it character.

I had to have Fender send me a new saddle. They responded promptley. I have to do the work myself or give it to my Gibson guys to fix. The authorized Fender dealers in my area I would not trust, thru my experience, with a 5 dollar uke.

I have been playing fo 20 years mostly accoustic. Over the last year I decided to play electric. I also bought a mim Tele and it is great. I also have a 1983 Pre-Fender Guild D15 made in America and a Beatiful Les-Paul Classic Plus by Epiphone made in China. The Guild is my work horse but I know this Highway 1 will soon gain my confidence and be my # 2 guitar.

Regular usa built Strat. Guitar has a thin Laquer finish though. Some like this some don't. I do since it lends to the TONE!

Awesome, I bought a new HWY-1 with the Greasebucket circuit. The guitar was built in Sept of 05 which is a month or so after the Dual Tone-Pot circuit Upgrade. The guitar sounds awesome and its VERY easy to find a great tone on any position 1-5. Roll the Tone back and the Highs sound crystal clear with NO-MUFFLED sound!

I hand-picked the Strat. so its a dead-on guitar. I suppose buying on-line might cause a surprize or two but I bought it in person. Everything about the guitar is superb. I like the older style hardware as opposed to the Amer. Serie/s so the older style Trem etc etc are right up my alley! My Strat is Blonde w/Rosewood board. Its very pretty. Nice grain pattern showing through, 2-piece body, nice DARK rosewood board that plays flawless, Spectacular fret job. Only thing the guitar needed was a set-up and intonation tweaked. I added a FENDER Shell Guard as I always wanted a Strat in the Blonde/Shell combo with a rosewood board. Very LEO looking! Anyway I see NO flaws on the finish of this STRAT, Neck pocket, string-path, all is done well!

COME COME STRATOASTERS? They are basically indestructable!!!

Never dealt with FENDER? Never had to!

Been gigging since the 60's. Been a Fender since then. I play Fenders, Gibsons, and Hamer's. I run them through Blackface and Silverface Amps. basically use a TS9 and a 535Dunlop Wah. I found a keeper in this Strat. The weight, balence, tone, playability, finish on this guitar are all Superb. I actually prefer 61-62 c-shape necks[SRV and Cray] that have heel Truss-Rod adjustments. But the HWY-1 and Amer. Serie's necks are very comfortable to play and are right there with the FASTEST necks I ever played. As you can tell I am VERY HAPPY with this Strat. I saw it in Sam Ash, and played next to many Strats. It was the best built Strat in the store and played super. I didn't buy it that day, but thought I should get back before it go's since it was so nice. The good one's GO-FAST! I am anxoius to see the NEW NAMM Aug 06 HWY-1 Upgraded HWY-1 Strat with the Large Headstock and AlnicoIII pups! If its anywere close to this I WILL BUY another one!!!

Most of this stuff is common knowledge. Alder body, maple neck, mine has a rosewood fingerboard, 22 medium jumbo frets, vintage strat bridge, 3 single coil pickups. The body appears to be 3 piece alder, which is fine at this price point. Came with a gig bag instead of a hardshell case.

This is a strat all the way. The pickups sound good, but I'm not a fan of the vintage staggered magnets - though the vintage vibe is what Fender was after with this guitar. These single coils are as noisy as any single coil can get, but the tone is good. However, I swapped out the stock pickups for a set of Lollar Blackface, big improvement. For the price point, this guitar rocks. An American-made strat for about $600, can't beat that.

This guitar played quite well right out of the box, I'm impressed. Action was decent, pickups were adjusted properly, and all the hardware good and tight. I will say the fretwork was VERY good. Some of the better fretwork I've seen on a production guitar.

This guitar feels right. Very solid construction, hardware is high quality. The finish is thinner than most other strats, which is what I wanted. However it could wear through easier than a heavier finish that's more the norm. I would gig it without a backup, but I almost always take 2 or more guitars on a job anyway.

Don't know. Haven't tried to contact them recently. This is the first Fender that I've owned in a very long time, so time will tell. I will say that many years ago, I had good experiences with Fender customer support.

I've been playing for about 30+ years, own G&L, Hamer, Gibson, Heritage, and an Ibanez. I'd definitely replace this guitar if it turned up missing. There's nothing I hate about it, though I might like their 2-point tremolo better. However, all things considered, a great instrument, especially for the dough. I compared this guitar to a Fender American standard. I liked the Standard 2-point tremolo better than the Highway's vintage tremolo bridge. But I didn't much like the "rolled edges" on the Standard's fretwork, which just takes away playing surface. So, the Highway One is an extremely good value in my book.

I own this guitar and I can say that I absolutely love it. It has a standard S/S/S configuration, bla bla. It was set up really well by the luthier at the shop in bucharest, but i ruined the intonation by simply buying different gauge strings. Fixed it easy as pie. Has a maple neck.

Mine has a blue finish, I'm warning you this one has a really really thin finnish it will wear off very quickly. I like this, but most people might want a shiny guitar.

It was noisy like all single coil strats. You are usually supposed to accept this but I couldn't so I bought Fender Noiseless PIckups and now it sounds awesome with absolutely no noise. The pickups aren't as strong as the old ones but I LOVE them. The guitar sounds beautiful. Soaring high tones and rumbling lows.

Beautiful. The luthier arranged it perfectly when i bought it. No flaws.

I haven't really dropped it, not even once cause it's a fender and i really care about it, but the finish wears off quickly and it already has lots of dents and parts where the paint is coming off. I like it :D the buttons and switch are good.

Never had to contact them but the fender website is awesome.

Amazing guitar. Not as good as an american ofcourse, but it still is good, and perfect for playing gigs. This is not a toy!! :D

mine is a 2005, made in USA (by the way Highway one are made and assembled in the USA )22 Medium Jumbo Frets , Honey Blonde, Body Alder, Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Greasebucket? Tone Circuit, (Rolls Off Highs without Adding Bass)
Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup), Greasebucket? Tone Circuit, (Rolls Off Highs without Adding Bass) Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo Scale, 3-Ply White Pickguard, Length 25.5? with a Deluxe Gig Bag.

just perfect !!!!! when I play blues or rock !!! this fully does the job !!! I am using through my traynor with my line6 mm4 plus my echo park. it sounds great.....it's stratocaster !!!!!

the factory set-up was good.....but i'm using Strings .010 to .046 in flat tuning (Eb) so it needed to be set-up to my needs. but now it's perfect !!!! the bridge pick up was not enough high but.....with the screew driver.....i took care of that

this is my second main guitar !!!! everything will withstand live playing and recording. hardware is good.......finish good enough even if it's really thin. i love the color

excellent

I've been playing since I'm 12 year old, I own many electrics (les paul, telecaster ...etc..etc...) this was the last missing piece of equipement to fil my needs. If it were stolen or lost, I would you buy it again. but Remember.....this is a USA stratocaster.......like any made in USA fender guitars......there's always good ones....and bad ones......they are hand made......and all of them are really unique. if you try one that you don't like.....try 'em all until you found the perfect one ! but everywhere on the net......the rumours wants to make us believe those are not real fender USA......don't get fooled by the people who feel that a real good guitar should cost over $1000.00 and more. if it feels good to you, this is what is counts.

This guitar was hand-made in Carona California,in 2005, in the same factory as the American Series Guitars. Some of its features are 22 medium Jumbo frets, three sing coil AlNiCo pickups, a maple neck and fingerboard,five way switching, and and excellent Satin lowgloss finish. The tuners are amazing and allow the guitar to stay in perfect tune, however there are not as good as a locking system used in the new American series strat.

A Few gripes are, the pickups are great, but the pole pieces force alot of mid-boost

I play everything form Jazz to blues to metal to classic rock, and this guitar, with the right effects an do all of this. For clean its sounds beautiful and thick, with a sort of vibe. Great. And for metal the pickups scream out the harmonics, and hit you right btween the eyes. Great great sound!!! However, no sound is perfect, as this is not a perfect world, so I have to give it a nine.

The factory set-up, since it is hand made. The action was perfecteverything was perfect. The second I picked up the guitar I knew it was for me. Absolutley no factory flaws whatsoever.

I would definitely use it at a gig, but the only reason I would have a backup though, in case a string broke and I did not have the time to fix it. I think it is built super strong. The finish however is great, and allows the tone to ring through. However, scratches can appear easier if you're not careful.

The warranty is a lifetime warranty, but i have had no problems as of yet.

I just love this guitar to death. I don't know why, it just sounds great. An amazing instrument. The best part was the price. Some great playes have played it, and say the price must have been twice, some even three times what it was worth!!! A great buy if you want a jazz guitar, but don't really want a hollow body because you dont play just jazz, this is the guitar for you. The only players i might not recommend this for, would be players who love their Floyd Rose Bridge.

Corona made, 2002 with 22 medium jumbo frets. I think we all know what the specs are.... Good selector - real smooth. The tuners are spot on, smooth and keep the guitar in PERFECT tune. The neck is maple with a nice rosewood 'board, but needs regular oiling. The gig bag is a bit on the cheap side... These guitars retail at ?900 in Ireland, although I got it for ?650 with a ding on the upper bout. All in all, pretty low spec, but that's a good thing -- less things to go wrong. The features are reliable, which is what matters.

I play mainly rock and pop, using a boss DS1 (a classic) and dunlop wah. I use a Fender Frontman 25R, although am upgrading soon. Without distortion the guitar sounds fluid and bright, excellent for smooth progressions and blues. Messing about with the tone controls gives an amazing variety in tone, from sub-aquatic to crystal. With distortion, the guitar screams like a chainsaw in the bridge, but is fairly well-rounded, with good growl in the middle position. A bit dull in the neck. I like the variety but the thing really needs to be kept above eight to hold onto its tone - below that it becomes really weak.

The factory set up was okay, although there was problems with intonation and saddle heights. Major buzzing on 'G'. I took the thing to my local guitar store - the guy did a damn good job, but couldn't completely erradicate the buzzing, unless he dramatically raised the action. He brought it up a small bit and the buzzing is greatly reduced, although the problem might be with the nut. The pickups are fine, set up as they should be. The guitar was second hand (it was bought and transported from the U.S. to Ireland.) It recived a ding in shipment and so I got it at a cheap price. Even looking at the guitar causes it to chip. But I think that's okay, don't see the point in paying a bucket of cash for a silly relic finish, buy a highway - you'll have your relic finish in a few months

This guitar will withstand a nuclear war. It's a brick. The hardware is farily solid too, with the exception of the trem arm -- the threads will wear out if overtightened even in the slightest. The finish is not going to last. But I don't care. A fender should look like it was played by a maniac. The strap buttons are not that solid, mine came off - but I do throw my guitar around a hell of a lot. I patched it up and its fine now. I can definitely depend on this guitar, I would use it without a backup if I had to, but what's the point in doing that?

Never dealt with them. Nice website, though...

Been playing for about ten years. I own a couple of tanglewood acoustics, and a rubbish squier strat that I kick from time to time. I've destroyed a few guitars in my time. If it was stolen.... yes I would buy it again, but I'd probably make some modifications. I changed the pickguard on this - a four-ply red moto, goes well with the cocoa colour, and the internal steel plate seems to make the sound sustain a bit better than the plastic. I'd probably change the pickups too: they're good without distortion, but can lack presence. I adore the neck -- it's unbelieavably smooth, the weight is good and it does hold its tone remarkably well, as long as it is kept no lower than eight. I wish it had a better trem block, the strings stick when you want to remove them.

Highway 1 in honey blond with maple neck. Vintage bridge,tuners. New features include special tone controls, 2 string trees. 70's alnico pickups. I am a vintage nut and I find these litte changes a definate plus.

I went out to find a inexpensive strat that has THE sound. I played everything 2-3 times. I played the JV,57 reissue,v neck, 50's classic as well as the expensive ones, 54 custom shop, shur's, and countless others. The salesman told me to try the Hughway one. I never even heard of it, so I did. WOW, what a great guitar. The sound was clean quiet ( just as quiet as the noiseless V neck ) and extremely articulate. I put down a deposit and went to think it over. Suffering from GAS, I read all the posts of other guitars and decided I can spend the extra to get somrthing I would love. I played some of the more expensive ones and then played the HW 1 again. A guy came up to me and said that the HW 1 sounded better than all the rest and that included a $2500 Shur. He said his friend owns 6 stats and likes this one the best. Moral; Your first impression is usually right.

I love the finish, It looks like a very cool closet classic. It playes as good as my 63 olympic white strat. Great see thru alder body,No buzzes. Fret outs, crackling pots or switches. Beatiful, F'n Beautiful

This is a special finish that will need a little care not to harm it but it will really wear in well in time. All the mechanical parts are nice and tight. I know it will serve me well in the years to come.

Fender is well known not to help when you need them or if they will ever return a call. I just bring it to my tech when there is a issue.

A exceptional value. Good at twice the price.I was going to get a guitar and gut it. Putting in Fralin', CTS pots, etc. I am just adding strap locks and start making music and entertaning people.

Highway 1 in honey blond with maple neck. Vintage bridge,tuners. New features include special tone controls, 2 string trees. 70's alnico pickups. I am a vintage nut and I find these litte changes a definate plus.

I went out to find a inexpensive strat that has THE sound. I played everything 2-3 times. I played the JV,57 reissue,v neck, 50's classic as well as the expensive ones, 54 custom shop, shur's, and countless others. The salesman told me to try the Hughway one. I never even heard of it, so I did. WOW, what a great guitar. The sound was clean quiet ( just as quiet as the noiseless V neck ) and extremely articulate. I put down a deposit and went to think it over. Suffering from GAS, I read all the posts of other guitars and decided I can spend the extra to get somrthing I would love. I played some of the more expensive ones and then played the HW 1 again. A guy came up to me and said that the HW 1 sounded better than all the rest and that included a $2500 Shur. He said his friend owns 6 stats and likes this one the best. Moral; Your first impression is usually right.

I love the finish, It looks like a very cool closet classic. It playes as good as my 63 olympic white strat. Great see thru alder body,No buzzes. Fret outs, crackling pots or switches. Beatiful, F'n Beautiful

This is a special finish that will need a little care not to harm it but it will really wear in well in time. All the mechanical parts are nice and tight. I know it will serve me well in the years to come.

Fender is well known not to help when you need them or if they will ever return a call. I just bring it to my tech when there is a issue.

A exceptional value. Good at twice the price.I was going to get a guitar and gut it. Putting in Fralin', CTS pots, etc. I am just adding strap locks and start making music and entertaning people.

Mine was built in 2004, has a rosewood fretboard and the standard 3 single coil pickups. has volume and tone controls, for bridge and neck, the bridge is pretty standard, I don't think its mexican, but when using the trem, it will go out of tune.
tuners look like mexican ones.
came with gigbag, strings and a strap.

I play mostly classic rock, so I think I'll change the pickups for ones with more output, on high gain the standard ones are a bit noisy. it has a thin bright sound, but with good amp settings a warmer sound can de found.
when I bought it it was buzzing,so I had it set up properly to make it easier to play on.

factory setup was ok, however the action was quite low, so it did buzz.
pickups were adjusted ok i guess, but I'll swap them anyway so that doesn't really matter to me.
I like the finish, looks better than the plastic-like finishes some other strats have, it also makes for a good sustain. I guess the finish will wear of within a couple of years, but that only makes it look better.

This guitar is a proper built product, the hardware is of less quality, but it does the job, I wouldn,t play it live without a backup. finish will wear off quickly.
I changes the strap buttons for straplock's so I don't have any experience with them.

I have been playing guitar for about 8 years now, and I have owned several strats, but this was gives me best value for money.
If it were stolen I'd probably replace it,while they are so cheap.

This is a 2005 Honey Blonde with a maple neck. You know the drill from the previous reviews. That review that Samuel gave was just about the same experience..( experience...hendrix, uh, yeah..) I had with it. I had always wanted a Strat even before I could play because my idols were James Young of Styx, Trower and Hendrix. I played so many Strats over the years and I just saw this one- looked like Yngwie's a little and I picked it up and WOW the only way to describe it was s m ooo th. I plugged it in and It didn't have that deep roar like Stevie but more of a chungy twang and with distortion, it growled real perty-like. I had $110 in cash and I laid it down, went and cashed a check and laid some mo' down and two days later paid the rest and brought her home.

Vintage, five way gives endless variety from a crisp chime to a Tele chung to that deep hollow quack. Total Strat. I played with my band the first time with it last night. My fellow band members were all drooling and we played back our session over and over! I was thinking I would have to switch back and forth to a humbucker but it did good.

The action was a little high, it had 9's ( I like 10's) but everthing else was right on.

Tank--but the finish seems a little soft due to the unique finish.

don't know

I've been playing since 1979 and also play an Electra Phoenix-who is sad now that the Strat has come and stole my heart, a Kramer, Carvin Ultra-V and a couple of acoustics. I play through a Randall half stack and use a Fender Frontman 15 practice amp. I use Vintage Ibanez pedals, Boss, Arion and Zoom. I would buy another if it were stolen. I love the....well hell, it's a Strat! The fit, finish, feel, sound and looks were just superior to most mexican and American Strats I had looked at over the years and it just said, " I'm a foxy lady..chicka wow wow chicka wow wow ( sorry Samuel). You can't beat the price either- $590 for an Amnerican Strat. Amen

'' By Far the greatest Bolt Necks out there... ''

2 X Highway 1 Stratocasters, Blonde you know the standard shtick, Rosewood Frettboard the other with a Maple Neck ! added Gold plated Kluzon type tuners , 22 Frets etc... and an Anodized gold Pickguard which makes it the prettiest out there ! definitly looks great with the see thru paint !!!!

What a beauty, what a Neck... nothing like it on the market, and I have 4 Stratocasters added to those 2 X HW1's

Greasebuckets !!! Yeah Baby !!!

Well my music style is more experimental which makes it hard to suit any guitar, I had settled on a couple of Jazzmasters and needed something more expressive as I felt the Jazzmaster muted down at times, I walked into the Shop originally intending to buy a E.J Strat, which I had reserved...

Than this one appeared out of nowhere and I just couldn't believe it... it was like Leo up there in heaven had just finished it and threw it onto my lap !!!

The Sound ! Pure 70's Strat, the Hendrix, Gilmour, SRV shtickle that made me dream about those when I was a kid, I started out playing Some Foxy Lady and just froze thinkin... uhhhh shiiiiiiist

I didn't put it back on the racks, told the salesperson to hold it in the back while I try some other stuff, Got the E.J... and yup... the top string fell off... sound was great though ! tried couple of reissues and some relics but I had a feeling...

you know the feeling u get at a party when u meet a girl and uR'e like holly sh... you start talking to her you guys hit it off and then u're friends are dragging u away to speak to other people.. girls...

but you can only think of THAT girl ...

that was the feeling !!! the neck... I couldn't believe that neck... so after going through a couple of Reissues, Mexican Strats, American Strats, American Deluxes...

I just got back to the counter and bought 2 Blonde Highway 1's, one Rosewood , one Maple.

The Maple Neck got broken on a trip to Talahasee, I was flustered as hell... got the money from the airline company and got a 57 American Reissue Neck from a Local store, the neck isn't as good as the Highway 1 but heck... I thought the 57 Neck was a close enough fit as I needed something comfy.

I've ordered a New Modern C neck with the configuration of the Highway 1 from the Fender Company in Maple, they will give the Maple a Vintage finish as per my request ! hopefully I'll post links to the pics !

Also found out the Pickups are Fender classic 70's, I've ordered a set in case one of 'em decides to play the ol Demagntized trick on me !

This Guitar is flawless, the one I got was a dream, and just utterly crushed the Deluxe and Classic Mexican series I tried...

the neck is unbelievable, smooth and just liberating !!! I feel I can play faster, more precisely ! Still use the Jazzmasters at times but they are starting to ... eh taper off ... I may order a custom pickguard with one Jazzmaster Pickup cut and put it on an affinity Squier that I'm gonna put the 57 Neck on ! that'd be nice !

this Guitar I believe is an excellent compromise of all the best features of everything in the Strat Series from Fender !

Got Home and the first thing I did was adjust those gorgeous pickups to get more tone out of'em, they responded great, Both the guitars got an Anodized Gold pickup installed on them, and I had to adjust alot of the action as the Lower Frets had too much clearance !

Excellent !!! like a brick !!!

Called Fender !!! Excellent Customer service .. a bit slow overall though

Great guitar, Great quality ,

Standard strat features no special switching or fancy bridges just bog standard strat which of course means its pretty feature laden for a ancient design. Cheap satin finish which is to be honest what sold this guitar for me.

It sounds like a classic strat as heard on many millions of recordings since the 50's. Pickups hiss like a rattlesnake through a loud amp but that doesn't bother me its what single coils do in standard form, accept that and theres no worries. For what are probably cheap pickups they produce all the Hendrix / Trower / SRV tones you could wish for through a good valve amp. The thin finish adds greatly to the overall sound producing to my ears a more dynamic / breathier sound than heavily laquered strats.

It came with a very low action and buzzed a little but i was expecting to get it setup anyhow so it didn't unduly worry me. I raised the action myself to suit my requirements and the buzz dissapeared completely so i didn't require a proffesional set up after all. The fingerboard edges are rolled and this produces a beautifully played in feeling, i just can't put this thing down it feels so good. Finish is very thin and easy to scratch and rub away.
To me this is not a problem and i can envisage having a relic strat in about 1 year just from normal playing and a few years down the line it will resemble a Rory Gallagher strat, cool. If you like your guitars to be in pristine condition don't buy one of these.

Its a strat and won't break unless you want it too and even then youll have to try bloody hard. Gig it, eat your dinner off it, go sledging on it and it will still work fine.

Never had to bother them.

Been playing 26 years and this is one of my most played guitars, i own 9.
My first strat was a 70's reissue from the mid 80's and it was an absolute dog, i didn't touch another fender for 15 years. So even if youve had a duffer before from a company don't rite them off.

highway 1 honey blonde strat, alder body, rosewood neck, I swapped the tuners for locking sperzels, swapped pickups for emg single bridge and noisless fender customs for middle and neck, rewired bridge pickup for tone control

originally sounded very tinny and thin , not voiced well at all, the new pickup set-up mentioned above improed this incredibly, very warm and versital tones now. My main rig has been a 78 gibson sg for years, but rarely pick her up anymore due to the mods done on this strat..also own a jackson soloist.
I run marshall amps only
the only effect is crybaby
mostly i play rock/blues and classic metal

out of the box it was aweful! i have never seen any other guitar come home so poorly, once again, after some attention i finally set her up to fit my expectations.
finish is awesome, i love the lack of plastic looking paint, sounds so perfect playing simply acoustic

very tough guitar..solid! i am sure the paint will wear prematurely and that is fine with me...strats always look better worn

no opinion

I truly love this guitar, but as i have listed , i made quite a few mods getting to this point...pretty damn good value for the money.
like most great things in like ..they must be built not bought.

first off: i love this strat but i hate mexican parts. i didnt actuly know how much of it is mexican until i did some research. the pickups, bridge and probably tuners: all mexican. although i love the finish and the sound it gets.

i play alot of srv stuff and this thing (despite basicaly being a mexican strat made in usa) can really handle it. the pickups despite being a bit weak and the bridge pickup too spikey, can sound good with the right amp settings. just dont expect it to be able to handle distortion. and the pickups tend to be quite noisy. as for the finish, apart from looking great gives fantastic sustain and resonance. every strat should have a finish option like this. it really lets the guitars true voice shine out. and the greasebucket tone controls are a great feature too. they roll off the highs without adding bass. its more off a bright sounding guitar and although it cant really take distortion, it can take a hell of alot of overdrive. although if your into intresting thick tones, it can do that as well.

i brought it from a shop and took it back after a few months to have it properly set up to be easier to play. its a beatiful guitar to play and the finish feels nicer to play on than the polyurethene finishes the american strats come with. but because the bridge isnt a proper us vintage and is a mexican one, it just dosent stay in tune when using the tremolo arm. im not sure if other people have this problem but i shall probably get it set up (again) with a proper us bridge and extra rear springs. i also intend to change the pickups to texas specials. apart from that, its action plays fantasticly, and the big frets and modern c shape neck also help make it a great player.

the finish dents slightly easier than the polyurethene finish and the mexican hardware seems to be wearing considerably. but you just have too be careful with it. if anything the finish will probably wear more like stevie ray vaughans but im not too fussed. i replaced the strap buttons with strap locks as the strap would occasionly slip off the buttons.it is very dependable although i would definantly need a backup as strings break fairly easily on this (even though im now on 11's!)

this a guitar that needs hot rodding. new pickups and hardware should do it as i intend to. effectivly, i am a person who was strapped for cash but wanted a us made strat. i got it and still stand by my dessicion even if it dose need sprucing. i love the finish, dont like the mexican parts. if lost or stolen, i would be devastated. i love this guitar so much, not only because i can get some good sounds from it, but personal attachment. its the first strat ive owned and its so much better than my lil old squire. and by upgrading it with new pickups/hardware, you really can make this into the american dream. in my opinion, it could be better that an american standard. and next time i woudnt just go straight for an american standard, i'd get another one of these and make it all american. but as standard, its a brillant guitar for the price.

Mine is Honey Blonde (alder body) with maple neck (22frets) and 3 single Vintage pickups, satin finish... all as factory originals. It has a Vintage style (6 screw) tremolo with 3 springs which has a very thick and solid base which makes the guitar a bit heavier than Standard (Mexican) Strats... (3.7kg) but improves sustain greatly. Tone pots give control over bridge and neck pickups.

Came with a standard Fender gig bag and allen keys and got a spare set of Bullet sttrings and a cable too. The little allen key wouldn't fit the screws though - a mess up in the factory?

The gitar has quite bright sound (thanks to its vintage pickups which are not very "hot") but special tone controls which can roll off highs without adding bass are quite useful for creating a warmer tone. The pickups are great compared to noisy ones on my Mexican Standard Strat... and pots and switch are very smooth to operate, without any clicks and scratching sound. This guitar has wonderful sustain!!! And I mean it! I play modern rock and a bit of Jazz and some 60-70ties stuff. This guitar is really versatile although I will probably replace the pickups with 'hotter ones" (perhaps even a humbucker).

The factory setup was average. Action quite low but terrible buzz... After playing with rod truss and the brigde height I achieved acceptable results but still not perfect. I had to dress and polish the frets. They had almost no crown - flat!!! But after doing that the guitar changed from an average Joe to a monster. It is now very playable and feels great. It has very low action and no buzz whatsoever. The workmanship is on the other hand just great. Finish is perfect, the neck is dead straight and very smooth. All the hardware works fine, looks good and seems to be installed properly.

Well, nitro cellulose finish is not as durable as polyurethane but with proper care this guitar should live for a very long time. Still, one can have the body sanded and resealed with 2 pack polyurethane (like I did with my Mexican Strat (I hated the colour).... at any time). The neck coating is no different from other Strats and all the hardware will last! It is certainly my working horse - no backup needed. I have other guitars only because of different sounds/ styles.

The warranty is 1 year ... the salesperson in the shop I bought from was very helpful and friendly. I was really happy with the service. My only objection is the price (sort of a rip off compared to USA prices) but that is the reality in NZ and AU.

If something happened to it I would buy it again but would have to have more pieces available to choose from (dressed frets, better setup) and would buy if outside of NZ this time - for a better PRICE.
I wish it had a humbucker instead of a single bridge pickup and a switch for more pickup combinations. Also it could be shielded with copper and bridge could be 2 point instead of a 6 screw tremolo.

mine is a 2005 honey blonde satin finish body with a maple fretboard neck. It is USA made in Corona CA. 22 frets and by now you all know what the other spec's are. I've been playing it steady for 6 months now and it's a workhorse. If your a working player this is a great investment in a dependable work piece. It's alder and has the vintage style tremelo bridge/tailpiece. I blocked mine because I always do.

I play the bules / Jazz / Country and R&R . Mostly the Blues. I use a 59 Fender Bassman with 2 Tung-Sol NOS 5881's/2 telefunken 12AX7's/1 Mullard 12AY7 and a Mullard GZ34 rectifier. My board consists of an original Alfonso Hermida solid state ZENDRIVE OD pedal, a ZENDRIVE Tube driven OD pedal and a Boss DD2 delay. I've never percieved any noise but I swaped out the original pickups for a Lindy Fralin blues special at the neck, a Jason Lollar special with a Fralin base plate added at the bridge and an Amercian standard at the middle. This guitar can cover almost any style of music you could want. Remember in the end it comes down to the player. His or her God given talent, heart, ears and soul. The instrument is just the tool thru which the player expresses themselves. I give it a 9 here because I swaped out the pickups.

Mine need a few minutes of set up time but nothing out of the ordinary, minor adjustments that almost all guitars need out of the box. Remembering that I changed the pickups to Fralin's and Lollar's and a Fender American Standard. This was done because I perfer the sound of Fralin's and Lollar's The Ping Fender gears are fine and hold true. The jumbo fret's are very nice.

it will defintely stand live playing, it's an American strat for God's sake. The satin nitro-cellous finish might wear sooner than the poly cleared ones but look at the tone SRV got with his Strat. Did it have a pretty and shiney finish? I rest my case. If you play for a living and you have to answer the back up question, I have to wonder why. I can and do depend on it.

Never dealt with Fender. I think the warranty is 1 year but it's a real USA Strat. They last forever.

Over 40 years of steady playing. I only use this Strat and a single pickup SX Custom built GG7 Archtop guitar. I don't ever need anything else. I chose this guitar because it is the best deal anywhere for a brand new American built Stratocaster. It resonates and sustains beautifully. The original body contour feels great, the weight is perfect and the neck is to die for. Perfect radius. Everything you need and nothing you don't need.

First of all, i'm from Holland, so excuse me if there are some "language-errors" written down in my review.
Bought mine last year at the Music Store in Cologne, Germany.
It has the sunburst color and a maple/ rosewood neck. (makes it more suitable for blues and jazz imho.)All the specs are known by now I guess. ( 5 way switch, gig-bag, etc.)

I play in a cover-band (eagles, stones, little river band etc.)so i was looking for a versatile guitar. A humbucker would be fine to get close to the original sound played in some songs, but mostly this strat does it all. (except for metal, witch isn't my style anyway)Stock pups not too bad, (a bit noisy and thin) but I've changed them after a year with a set of Kinman AVN-Blues. Absolute no hum and very powerfull! Makes this guitar even more versatile. I also connected the bridge pickup with the lower tone-controle
to make the sound of the bridge pickup less harsh/ sharp. Before that, I never used this pup. It was just to sharp. Now I can use it very often. The finish of this guitar could be an issue for some people, but I do believe that it creats more sound. I've played this strat acoustic, and it sounds better than a standard American strat.
With stock pups an 8, with the Kinman pups a 10!

Guitar was well set up in the store. But I do have changed the 0.09 string into 0.10 for more sound. This year the pick-up switch is being replaced and I blocked the bridge. It stays better in tune now.
I love the neck of this guitar, you just have to play this thing.
Also the weight of this strat is very comfortable, a 3 hour set is no problem what so ever. (Wonder how it feels with a LP....)

This guitar will withstand anything. (except for the finish, very thin, but it gives you that 'relic' feeling for less money...)
I would use it without a backup, but I don't do gigs without a backup. One can never know...

Never tried them , didn't need to.

I play 14 years, started when i was 27. First for fun and just only at home. For the last few years i'm playing in a band (using a Boss ME-50 and a VOX Valvetronix amp, i can create almost every sound that i'm looking for) ) and it's getting better and better every. I still take lessons every second week and practice 1 or 2 hours a day. It's a great hobby for me.
I payed 588,- euro's for this strat and payed another 420,- euro's for Kinman pups, new switch, pearl plate, schaller locking keys. So I have a strat Highway for about 1000,- euro's. I think that there is NO standard American strat for this price who can compete in sound, looks and is so easy to play like my Highway 1.
If stolen or lost, I would buy it again. (after I killed the mother&*%$ who took my baby from me)

What more can be said about this guitar. You know the shape, solid body (I think Alder), thin semi/transparent colour finish, 3 passive single coils, 5 way selector, Fender stamped tuners that stay in tune, Maple neck, Plain (not fender stamped) neck plate medium frets. Came with a Fender gig bag and a broken zip!

I brought this guitar cheap from the store as it was shop soiled and had slight damage to the body. (the condition really was a discrace for a new guitar) I needed a quality, cheap guitar to take on the road. I tried the Mex Strat but the pickups and neck reminded me of the Squier. What separates the build quality of this US Strat from the Mex model is the neck whick is smooth and well finished.

The body finish is the penalty you pay for the lower price. As other reviewers comment the thin paint finish to the body chips real easily. I was not supprised it came from the shop damaged. I look after my gear but a slight miscalculation with the lead put another nice dent in the body. I read a review that said you could see filler beneath the paint finish. I'm a carpenter and work with wood all day. I can't see any filler on my guitar.

The neck sticker says "Original Contour Body". (If anybody knows what this means please tell me), Fender seem to make a big thing of it. As for "the thin finish letting the tone through", well the guitar does resonate well unplugged but nobody should be fooled the cheaper finish is to bring the cost down. If you don't mind the worn look go for your life.

I have been playing play rock/blues for about 20 years and compare this guitar to my other US Strat with Custom shop pickups. In comparison the sound is nearly as good as my best guitar. The pickups are obviously weaker but have nice a ballsy bottom end and nice highs. The overall volume of the pickups is reasonably good although noisy, but hey its a Strat. I think the old fashioned Fender bridge adds to the sound.

Plugged into a Duncan pickup booster and Marshall Guvnor into my Fender amp I can get dreamy overdriven sounds which do not hide the character of the guitar. Ideal for this type of music. This guitar is well worth (but does not need) a pickup upgrade. A little more sustain and it would have scored a 10.

The guitar was a mess when I brought it hence the lower price. A string change, bridge adjustment later the guitar plays very well. What sets this guitar apart from the Mex and Squier models is the neck which is a dream to play. Frets are well finished and the semi/matt finish is a great feel. The chrome hardware is well finished and I expect is taken from the American standard Strat. One feature I like is the bridge which is the old original Fender stamped type which gives the guitar an authentic look.

A guitar of this value should perform perfectly live and no doubt it will. Time has proven the reiabilty and durability of this guitar.

Never tried them. As I'm in Australia I would not expect much and would have to rely on the store.

I have been playing guitar for 20 years (infl' Blackmore, SRV, Malmsteen)and love the sound of single coil guitars. I plug into a valve Marshall TSL100 or Fender Deluxe, with pickup booster and/or distortion to get overdriven blues/rock. This guitar is ideal. The outstanding features are the very playable neck and the reasonably good tone from the pickups. If stolen I would have buy another.