Fender Highway 1 Strat

All the features have been detailed by others so I wont go into all that again. It is a basic "no frills" Stratocaster with an unusual finish. Features (for this price range) I'll give a 6. Has a trem so that is an extra feature.

Sounds like a Strat. That's the bottom line. Has the normal Strat hum but nothing unbearable. Staggered pole pieces even out the sound. So far I've used it with no effects into a Laney VC30-210 and a Vox Cambridge 30 Reverb. Sounds good. Versatile. No complaints. For a Strat sound I'll give it top marks.

It was set-up ok at the place I got it from. The action is a little high and it has 9's on it. I want 10's and a little lower. The intonation is very good though (Buzz Feiten aside). The few I got to try didn't have any finish problems at all. The wood grain can be seen through the finish and mine is nothing spectacular (but that isn't a complaint - just an observation). I think the nut needs a little work but it will anyway with the string guage change. No big deal for me...every guitar I have purchased needs a pro set-up to begin with.

One criticism (this isn't just for the US Special) - on the majority of Fenders I checked out, USA and Mexican, the neck pocket isn't as good as it should be on the lower edge. Appreciable gaps were present on nearly all the Fenders with the exception of the American Deluxe. My cheap Samick bass has a better neck pocket than the majority of the Fenders I tested! The top edge is nice and snug however and I don't foresee it being a problem. It is a QC point Fender should look at though. Otherwise everything was ship shape.

I've only had it a couple of days so I can't really comment on longevity.

Everything seems pretty standard and being a solidbody it wont require too much babying. The strap buttons are not the locking type but reasonably decent. Tuners are decent - no slippage. Trem/Vibrato stays in tune unless I go berserk on it. It will need attention for the change in string guage I want but that's normal. No idea about how the finish will hold up.

I wouldn't use anything at a gig without a backup.

I'd be surprised if, with a little care, this guitar doesn't last me until I can't play anymore.

N/A.

Been playing on and off for 11 years but only fairly recently started to get serious. I am very happy with the guitar overall. Price was right for the sound I was after.

I may have picked a Mexican made Classic 50's model instead but the neck and frets wasn't quite right for me. Price was very similar.

Only real gripe is I wish it came with a proper case instead of a gig bag.

I also own a Rickenbacker 370 and a Gibson LP Studio Gothic. The Strat definitely isn't as well made as the Rick. Nor were any I got to test out. No worse than the Gibson for care of construction though. The Gibson is a set-neck and requires more work but the fretwork on the Strat wont need to be touched. My Gibson needed one straight out of the box.

Overall it's a great guitar and I'd buy it again.

The teal green transparent model with a rosewood fretboard. 2002 model, of course. The frets are the same as on an American Strat, with the medium - jumbo feel to them. Usual Stratocaster pickup config. except the middle pickup is nit reverse wound / reverse polarity or whatever, but it doesn't seem to matter in that it is well - shielded or grounded with little to no noticeable hum. Pole pieces on pickups are staggered height and seem to have good balance. Finish is satin, almost flat, very thin, but it shines up quite a bit with an initial polishing. Bridge is like the vintage, six screw model with screw - in arm. Tuners are the American - style nice sealed and tight string through the post - type. It has two string trees (retainers) on the e,b, and g,d strings, respectively. The neck is 25.5" scale and is relatively thin in profile and plays great. Comes with gig bag and the usual stickers and inspection tags.
A nice, straightforward, no - frills Strat.

It sounds great, although compared to my other Strats, it's a little on the bright side. It really does a good job of bringing out the lower notes with snap and that's something that often lacks on my other, more expensive Strats. I use a Mark IV Mesa head with a Marshall 1936 2x12 sealed cabinet. I play through a Clde reissue VOX wha, a Digitech distortion pedal, a Boss DS-1 (the best cheap distortion pedal out there, period! It works!), a Boss Chorus Ensemble pedal and have a Boss digital delay in the effects loop of the amp. The guitar is surprisingly free of noticeable hum in all pickup positions. It has a good bright sound and sounds especially good with distortion. A lot of tones can be had between the five pickup positions. I am one of those guys that sets the tone controls wide open to full treble and alters the bass and mid content on the amp itself, so the tone controls don't really affect me one way or another. I don't dislike anything about the guitar.

The gfuita came with action a little on the high side from the factory, but it is an easy adjustment anyone can do in a matter of a half an hour (intonation, action, trus rod relief). After a change of strings from the .009s to .010s, and the tweaks I mentioned above, the guitar plays as good if not better than a few of my other higher -end models.

The pickups came adjusted too close to the strings, so I lowered them to the usual standard for vintage pickups, which is around 7/64s to 8/64s, allowing the bass side to sit further away from the strings. The neck pocket is soild, there is no tilt - neck adjuster or bi - flex truss rod. Good feature is that the truss rod still adjusts at the headstock through a hole in the end of the walnut skunk stripe, making it easy to fine tune the relief in the neck. I like mine almost flat, with little relief, but also with no fretting out when bending strings in the upper registers. The neck was generally better and more consistent than some American Standards I have ownwed or presently own. I did the usual tightening of key screws at the neck joint, tightened the nuts on the tuners at the headstock face, readjusted the trem to properly float when tuned to pitch, which for our band is a half step lower than concert pitch. The only problem I initially had was that the high "e" string was breaking at the hole under the bridge saddle where it comes through the trem block. There must have been a burr or sharp edge there, so I used a small round needle file to carefully remove the sharp or burred edge and since have had no problems occur.

It is a Fender Stratocaster. Like all other Fenders I have owned and that would be too many to remember them all, it is a solid piece of gear. The finish shines up almost to a gloss if you polish it regularly. The finish looks nice and the wood is nicely grained beneath. The neck is satin in finish as a typical American Strat is. The only funny thing is that I get a sticky residue buildup under my hands on the neck after a while, which normally does not occur with my other guitars. I had the same thing happen with the Voodoo Strats I have owned, but it's not the kind of thing to make me want to declare the guitar as a poor instrument. In fact, I really like it for it isn't equipped with any bells and whistles, yet doesn't seem as inherently "cheap" in feel when compared to the average Mexican - made Standard Strat or Telecaster. There is a notoceable difference in appearance and feel and tone between the Standard Mex model and the American - made guitars. The Mex ones are good guitars, but I just prefer one that comes from the actual home factory. Call me nationalistic, patriotic or maybe even neurotic!

Fender has always been good to me and helpful...I have to wonder about the horror stories told by many others, because they have always corrected what little problems I've had with their products in the last 31 years I've been playing guitar.

I really like the guitar. I'm not some bozo who plays in his bedroom and has little experience. I have played guitar nonstop for 31 years and I think that this, like all the other Fenders in my stable, is a great guitar. What is great to one is not always the same to another, but this is a nice guitar. It is different in that the finish is not buffed to a high gloss, but it has it's advantages in that fingerprints and sweat don't readily show up as they do on gloss.

Standard Strat features. You know the drill.

Doesn't sound any better than the Mexican models. The first thing I usually do is replace the pickups anyway, so this probably isn't a problem for those of you who like to mess around with the electronics as I do (leave vintage originals to collectors, I just want to play!).

Terrible. Fender really screwed up here. Trust me, get a Mexican model for $200 less or pay $200 more and get the real thing. You could even find one of the 70s "lawsuit" copies and you would still have twice the guitar at less than half the price. I, however, like the finish: it has an aged look to it. To me, the looks of the guitars I use come AFTER its playability anyway. That is, after all, what really matters. This guitar is for the person that HAS to have a US strat, but I warn you, THIS IS NOT THE QUALITY OF A REAL AMERICAN STRAT, IT IS NOT EVEN THE QUALITY OF THE HIGHER END MEXICAN REISSUES (the 70's strat is awesome, by the way).

I'm not keeping it to find out!

I love Fender, I do, but this was just a mistake (as was the Smith Strats of 83. CBS almost ruined Fender forever, but thats another story). Oh what the Highway 1 Strat could have been...

As I said, I love Fender. I have 3 Strats: a custom 70's reissue with a brass nut, 2 Dimarzio YJM's and an HS-3 at the bridge (Yes, Yngwie is god), a Mexican standard fat strat with a Air Norton humbucker, and another Strat mutt that is so customized you can hardly call it a Fender anymore. (scalloped neck, newer warmoth bridge, replacement pickups, the works). I also have a Les Paul, a 70s model Epiphone EA-250 hollowbody, a 1937 Gibson J-35, and many other guitars, some vintage, in my collection of over 20. At the moment I'm looking for one of the Japanese HM Strats of the early 80's.

See Website

Sounds like a strat. I replace all my pups with Kinman anyway so I don't get that much into the stock sound. I am pretty picky with my set-up, if I owned this guitar I know I would have it sounding exactly how I want it to.

I tried one out at GC yesterday (that's probably part of the problem)and I was not impressed. The guitar needed a set-up badly as the action was way high...but it did play and sound like a strat. It was solidly built but I just can't get over the finish! I saw a trans blue one and the one I played was trans blonde. The finish looks very toy-like. It may look vintage or worn to some but to me it looks cheap. Someone on the Fenderforum used "orange peel" to describe the texture and the one I played was just like that. Overall, its proabably a good guitar but I will stick to strats from 84-00. Those years, although not vintage, are really great guitars--I have 8 of them so far. Easy to work on, sound great, and very versatile. Plus you can buy'em for 400-500 on eBay. I only wish Fender made the American Standard Strat in Butterscotch or Vintage Blonde!!!

Fender Strats will survive almost anything. I am sure this one would as well.

Never needed them yet.

It's a good guitar but I would pass and get a used American Standard. I really wanted the blonde color one but after trying it I changed my mind. IMO the new finishes look very toyish and not vintage-like at all. They play fine but you can pretty much set-up a strat the way you want. $599 is alot for a guitar without a case with marginal, at best, pick-ups.

2002 Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster. (see Fender's website for specs.) This guitar is a "no-frills" American strat with basic functionality.

The guitar sounds OK. Not as clean as an "American Stratocaster" model, but not bad.

I've played three of these to date and have been disappointed with the overall fit and finish on them. The action was poor, and the trem setup was off -- both of these could be fixed by a good guitar tech. My main complaint is the finish on these guitars -- two of them had poorly matched 3-piece bodies (another reviewer stated his had a 4-piece body), and the stain/finish looked like something I would produce at home with a can of spray paint.....no kidding here. Some areas appeared heavier coated than others with varying degrees of "orangepeel" and smoothness throughout. I can't say that I've ever seen this kind of finish on any american factory finished guitar.

Fenders, in general, are very dependable and durable guitars.

Never had to deal with them

I love Fender guitars, especially the American, vintage, and custom series. I really wanted to like these new ones that just came out. All the specs looked good on them -- vintage vibe with modern neck, etc. What a disappointment! For $599, it's just too much for what you get. For $550, the Mexican reissues and the Vaughn series are just a better guitar. If you really want to go with American made, the $200 you need to add to get an American Strat is money well spent. And, that $200 gets you better pickups, hardware, finish (major improvement), hard case, strap locks, strap, cable, etc.... The Highway 1 guitar idea would have been great had Fender just did a decent finish job,

2002 US Series "Hwy 1" Stratocaster:

22 beautifully dressed and polished med/large frets on maple "rolled edge" board; Ping sealed tuners; two Elite/Deluxe style string retainers on headstock. This neck is the same as all the modern American Series, American Standard, etc., Fenders; satin poly finished; C shape; but standard truss rod (not "Bi-flex").
Four screw plain chrome steel neck plate (not Micro-Tilt).

Solid alder (four pieces on mine) with blue LACQUER matt see-through finish body.

Original style Strat control set up (no "TBX," "Delta," etc).

Vintage series trem w polished, stamped, saddles; six anchor screws in front bevel; three springs in back; solid thick steel inertia block.

Came with Fender gig bag; two Allen wrenches (for neck and bridge saddles); and assorted papers and pamphlets (warranty reply, dealer network), etc.

Classic Strat sound: AlNiCo pickups; staggered pole pieces; #42 wire; no RMRW middle pu for "humbucking" in pu switch pos #2 & #4.
Like a Vintage set up and sound.
Good body vibration.

Perfectly set up with factory Fender 250's (0.009" - 0.042").
Neck perfect, and trem also perfectly set-up, as well as the pickups.

Beautiful job!

Matt lacquer body finish is a bit different. At first I thought it looked sorta cheap, but once I realized it was lacquer, just not rubbed out and polished, it grew on me a LOT!
Acoustic guitars do it, why not electric?

It's classy (and Classic) in its own workingman way!

Gig worthy and Pro level, all the way.

Strap buttons are solid, but not locking. The locking buttons sell at the dealer for $3.95.

I mistakenly said on the Fender Forum, that I thought the trem was die cast inertia block. Fender "GTRD" offered to replace it, as it is spec'd "Vintage syncromatic" style.
When I removed the plastic back panel, I discovered it already WAS a vintage style full thick steel inertia block trem. My mistake. Sorry Fender. Thanks though!

Standard Fender Lifetime warranty

42+ years experience. All styles.
I use this with a Budda Twinmaster 1 X 12" combo for Classic early R&B, Rock, Gospel, and Blues sounds (some Jazz and Country too). For all my electric work, actually.

I was actually looking to replace a Fender Jimmie Vaughan Strat I had sold to a friend who wanted it badly, but they were out.
It reminded me very much of a '97 California Strat I had, except that one was gloss Candy Apple Red and two-point trem.

I love the modern Fender necks, especially "rolled edge" maple!

It would be nice to have a RMRW middle pickup for hum-cancelling in combined positions, but I'll live as-is.

Nice blend of vintage and modern features. I'm looking forward to the lacquer body finish "maturing," appearence-wise and sonically, though I love it right now, too.

Its grown on me, and I would replace it with exactly the same thing. I'd hoard them!