Fender Highway 1 Strat

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.

MY 2ND REVIEW 1ST ON MY HONEY BLONDE 02. THIS IS ON MY 07 DAPHNE BLUE HWY 1 STRAT. NOT BEING A STRAT FANATIC AND ALWAYS OPTED FOR GIBSONS I AM STARTING TO CHANGE MY MIND. 22 FRETS, ALDER WOOD, SATIN NITRO FINISH, OLD STYLE TREM, 9.5" RADIUS ( I STATED 9" IN PREVIOUS REVIEWS JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY TO NOT CONFUSE ANYONE), FAT FRETS, SUPER FAST C SHAPED MAPLE NECK, OVER SIZED HEADSTOCK, SCHALLER TUNERS, 25.5 SCALE AND GIG BAG. IF LOOKS LIKE A STRAT, SOUNDS LIKE A STRAT, PLAYS LIKE A STRAT, MUST BE A STRAT? NOT SURE WHAT THE FEATURES A GUITAR SHOULD HAVE, STRINGS, P/U'S, TUNERS, NECK, WOOD, KNOBS AND TREM. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED? MAYBE A HARDSHELL CASE.

I PLAY ALL TYPES OF MUSIC, WHOEVER IS PAYING. I HAVE ALWAYS USED GIBSONS BUT HAVE SWITCHED TO FENDERS AS OF THE PAST FEW YRS. I USE A PAIR OF PRO JR'S AND A DIGITECH RP 14, BUT HAVE USED VARIOUS AMPS ( TWINS, DELUXE REVERB, PRINCETON, CHAMPS, PEAVEY CLASSICS AND STRAIGHT INTO THE BOARD WITH A SIMULATOR. THIS GUITAR SOUNDS GREAT ON ALL OF THEM. P/U THICKER AND DEEPER THAN ANY OTHER STYLE OF STRAT I HAVE PLAYED. WHILE IT STILL RETAINS THE FENDER CLEAN BELL TONE IT REALLY SOUNDS GOOD PUSHED. NOT OVERLY BRIGHT OR TINNY LIKE MOST I HAVE PLAYED. STRAT-O-FANS MAY NOT LIKE IT BUT IT WORKS FOR ME. VERY BLUESY. I WILL BE CHANGEING OUT THE P/U TO HOT RAILS BECAUSE I AM NOT A SINGLE COIL GUY BUT IF I WAS THESE WOULD BE FINE. HAD A US STANDARD AND THIS ONE SOUNDS BETTER TO ME. HOTTER, MORE SUSTAIN AND MORE CONTROLABLE. THEY SAY THEIR THE SAME P/U'S AS THE MEXICAN STRATS BUT THEY DON'T SOUND EVEN CLOSE TO ME. THESE ARE LOUDER, WITH MUCH MORE UMPH. WOOD? FINISH?

FACTORY SET UP OK I GUESS, BUT I NEVER LIKE A FACTORY JOB AND SET UP MY OWN. I USE 10'S SO A STRING CHANGE WAS IN ORDER, I LIKE A FLAT NECK WITH NO RELIEF, SO A QUICK TURN OF THE TRUS ROD AND "VIOLA". NEXT A FEW MINUTES WITH THE HIEGHT ADJUSTMENTS AND YOUR IN BUSINESS. NEVER CARED FOR P/U'S SET BY FACTORY EITHER. I LIKE 'EM REAL CLOSE. MANY SAY IT PULLS YOU OUT OF TUNE OR YOU GET HARMONIC OVERTONES. I HAVE NEVER HAD THAT ISSUE BUT I DON'T PUT EM RIGHT AGAINST THE STRINGS EITHER, JUST CLOSER. MANY MAY SAY YOU SHOULD HAVE TO DO THIS OR THAT. I HAVE BEEN PLAYING OVER 20 YR AND HAVE OWNED EVERY BRAND YOU CAN THINK OF AND THEY ALL NEED SOME TWEAKING TO GET THEM TO OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE. I PLAYED LES PAUL CUSTOMS FOR MOST OF MY CAREER AND THEY HAD TO BE TWEAKED AS WELL. NECK POCKET NICE AND TIGHT JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER HIGHER END STRATS I HAVE PLAYED. FINISH IS THIN AND NOT GOING TO BE REAL DURABLE, ( CHIPS AND DINGS EASY ) BUT THATS THE IDEA RIGHT? SUPER THIN PAINT TO ALLOW THE WOOD TO BREATH? YEAH, I DIDN'T BUY THAT AT 1ST EITHER BUT AFTER OWNING A US STANDARD AND MY FREIND HAS A US STANDARD STRAT AND TELE AND MY HWY 1 BLEW THEM AWAY. MAYBE THE P/U'S? WELL, NO BECAUSE I CHANGED THE P/U'S IN MY US STANDARD TO HOT RAIL IN BACK AND COOL RAIL UP FRONT LIKE MY OTHER HWY 1 AND THE HWY 1 STILL PRODUCED A BETTER TONE, SOUND, SUSTAIN, CONTROL AND MORE VOL. I READ OTHER REVIEWS ABOUT THEM BEING 4 SEPARATE PIECES OF ALDER, WELL I COULDN'T TELL ON MY STRATS BUT I COULD UNDER THE PERFECT LIGHTING, AND I MEAN PERFECT LIGHTING NOT TOO MUCH AND NOT TOO DARK AND RIGHT ANGLE, ON 1 OF MY TELES. I LOOK AT IT THIS WAY, IF SOMEONE IS UP THAT CLOSE WHILE YOUR PLAYING AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT YOUR GUITAR TO FIND WOOD GRAIN DIFFERENCES OR FLAWS, YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE SOME LESSONS. ALSO IF YOU GO UP TO 10'S OR FOR YOU BEASTS 11'S TAKE SOME 1000 GRIT SANDPAPER AND CLEAN THE STRING SLOT SO THEY WON'T HANG UP AND GIVE YOU TUNING PROBLEMS. AGAIN A TWEAK YOU WOULD MOST LIKELY NEED TO DO ON ANY GUITAR WHEN GOING UP IN GAUGE AS MOST ARE SET UP FOR 9'S. EVERY STRAT I HAVE PLAYED STILL NEEDED THIS DONE TO PREVENT HANG UP WHEN HEAVY TREM USE IS EMPLOYED

A STRAT IS A VERY TOUGH UNIT AND NO REASON WHY THIS ONE WON'T BE. MANY GUITAR BODIES AS WELL AS NECKS AND HEADSTOCKS ARE AND HAVE BEEN GLUED TOGETHER. WOOD IS STRONGER AT A GLUE JOINT THAN THE WOOD ITSELF. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T BELEIVE IT BREAK A PIECE OF PLYWOOD AND THE WOOD SPLINTERS NOT THE GLUE JOINT. I HAVE HAD GUITARS WITH 3 AND 4 PEICE NECKS FALL AND TAKE A DECAPITATION NEVER AT A GLUE JOINT. WHILE WE ARE ON THE GLUE ISSUE, SET NECKS AND NECKS SUCH AS IBANEZ, KRAMER, BC RICH, JACKSON, CHARVEL, ESP ECT. THAT HAVE THE HEADSTOCKS GLUED ON AT AN INCREDIBLE ANGLE THINK OF THE TENSION AND STRESS AT THESE SITES, NOW THINK OF THE BODY WITH BOOK MATCHING OR JUST HAVING THE "WINGS" GLUED ON. WHICH DO YOU THINK HAS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PRESSURE? THIS TYPE OF HARDWARE HAS BEEN AROUND FOREVER NO REASON TO THINK IT WON'T LAST. TUNERS ARE FINE HOLDS GREAT AS WELL AS THE STRAP BUTTONS, BUT I CHANGED FOR LOCK TUNERS FOR EASY STRING CHANGE AND STRAP LOCKS FOR MY OWN SECURITY. FINISH WILL DEFINETLY CHIP AND RUB NO BIGGY FOR ME I PLAY 'EM, NOT JUST LOOK AT MY REFLECTION IN 'EM. FENDER HAS ALWAYS MADE TOUGH ROAD WORTHY INSTRUMENTS

NEVER DEALT WITH THEM OVER GEAR. TALKED TO THEM ONCE ON DATING AN AMP AND THEY VERY HELPFUL.

20+ YR VET. ALWAYS GIBSONS AND ALWAYS A TUBE AMP. WELL MY MIND HAS CHANGED ON THE BRAND OF GUITAR BUT NOT THE TUBE AMP. I REALLY LOVE THE NECK, FRETS AND RADIUS OF THE NECK, ALTHOUGH I CAN SEE WHERE A STRAT-O-PHOBIC MAY HAVE ISSUES. THE EARLIER VERSIONS HAD A 7.5" RADIUS WHICH CHORDS OK BUT SUX FOR BENDING. STRINGS FRET OUT UNLESS ITS REALLY, REALLY BROKE IN AND THE ACTION IS HIGH, THE 9.5 IS A NICE VERY FAMILAR FEELING RADIUS BETWEEN THE FENDER 7.5" AND THE 12" GIBSON RADIUS. ALREADY HAS THAT BROKE IN FEEL. 22 FRETS AS OPPOSED TO 21. TO ME THE BEST THING FENDER EVER DID. I ALSO LOVE THE BIGGER FRETS AS WELL. MUCH, MUCH EASIER FOR FLYING, BENDING, TAPPING, HARMONICS AND JUST PLAYING. THE C SHAPE NECK IS ANOTHER FEATURE I LOVE. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A CLASSIC FENDER AND A GIBSON,(NOT THAT ROUNDED 59 JUNK GIBSON IS PUSHING) VERY, VERY COMFORTABLE. THOSE THIN NECKS GIVE ME HAND CRAMPS AND I CAN'T TRAVEL AS FAST ON THOSE BASEBALL BAT NECKS. VERY CLOSE TO A 60'S SLIM TAPER NECK ON A GIBSON. I SAID CLOSE! I PAID A LITTLE MORE FOR THIS ONE BUT I AM STILL GLAD I GOT IT WHEN I DID SINCE THEY HAVE GONE UP A FEW HUNDRED BUCKS. GREAT GUITAR FOR THE PRICE, BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK BUT I WOULD NOT PAY OVER $700 FOR IT OR ANY OTHER FENDER. NOT KNOCKING THEM ITS JUST ME, I WON'T SPEND OVER $1500 ON A LES PAUL EITHER AND A PRS CRACKS ME UP WHAT THEY ARE PULLING DOWN FOR THEM. HELLO PEOPLE ITS A GUITAR!!! ITS WOOD AND STRINGS! YOU PLAY IT, YOU USE IT FOR WORK, AND FUN. IT IS GOONA GET DINGED, PINGED, BUMPED AND BRUISED. I WOULDN'T FEEL NEARLY AS BAD IF IT GETS DINGED AS I WOULD A $3000 OR $4000 UNIT WHICH I THINK IS RIDICULAS. ITS EVERY BIT AS NICE AND SOUNDS BETTER THAN THE US STANDARD. WISH IT CAME WITH A HARDSHELL INSTEAD OF A GIG BAG WHICH I HAVE NO USE FOR. MIGHT AS WELL PUT IT IN A TRASHBAG OR A BLANKET WHICH WOULD BE BETTER. I OWN 4 HWY 1'S, 2 TELES AND 2 STRATS NO COMPLAINTS, ONLY COMPLIMENTS HERE. WOULD BE DEVASTATED IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO IT, AS THEY WILL BE GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE. I ONLY BUY USED AND THESE HAVE BEEN HOLDING THEIR VALUE I HAVE HAD TO LOOK FAR AND WIDE AND BE QUICK ON THE DRAW TO GET MINE FOR WHAT I GOT THEM FOR. COULD SELL THEM FOR ALMOST TWICE WHAT A GAVE FOR THE OTHER 3 AND COULD STILL PROFIT A FEW $100 BUCKS ON THIS ONE! THEY ARE ALSO MADE IN THE USA!!!!!!!! REMEMBER WHEN THAT MATTERED? DOES IT STILL? IT DOES TO ME. TOE-JOE MODELS NEVER HOLD THIER VALUE VERY WELL, ALTHOUGH THE JAPANESE MAKE SOME VERY FINE INSTRUMENTS I WOULD NOT PAY WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR THEM. KOREAN STUFF IS OK SAME AS THE TACO MODELS FOR A BEGINNER AND THIS INDO- CHINA CRAP IS GOOD FOR A SLIDE RIG AND THATS ABOUT IT! I WOULD NOT USE IT LIVE AND TALK ABOUT NEEDING TWEAKING. YOU CAN GET THESE SOMETIMES USED FOR THE SAME PRICE AS THE IMPORT STUFF NEW! DO YOU REALLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT? I REMEMBER WHEN JAPANESE STUFF WAS JUNK, THEN IT WAS KOREAN, THEN MEXICO, THEN CHINA, AND NOW INDONESIA THE USA STUFF HAS ALWAYS STAYED TOPS AND HOLD VALUE. BE SMART MANY SAY I DON'T EVER PLAN ON SELLING IT, BUT YOU PROBABLY WILL EVENTUALLY OR TRADE FOR SOMETHING ELSE LATER. REMEMBER IT IS A TOOL, AN INSTRUMENT BUT ALSO CAN BE A WISE INVESTMENT IF YOU PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT. WHAT HOLDS BETTER VALUE A HARLEY OR A HONDA?

it is a strat. has all the features needed to play strings p/u's trem everything a strat is supposed to. i have a blue 07 with a large headstock and this honey blonde 02 i believe, with the smaller standard headstock. i had an american standard and sold it after i got my 02. i have owned several strats but never got into the strat seen was always a les paul guy. now that has changed fender has really come around. the stuff coming out blows most of the new gibson stuff out of the water. they are made like tanks and now with 22 frets which was always my biggest complaint on the older 21 fretters since i hit the 22 fret quite a bit during soloing. also love the new 9" radius neck very very smooth and fast. not too bulky or narrow. can't stand the 59 rounded neck gibson is pushing and the necks on ibanez are too thin, i get cramps after a while. weight is great maybe a little light for me since i am used to pauls but its not flimsy feeing very solid. the finish is thin which may or may not contribute to the sound, they claim it does and it definetly sounds better than my us standard did. bridge is old school which is fine with me the pivot point type was fine too but after heavy use i suspect you may have to sharpen the edges like on the floyd rose type trems. i'm not as aggressive with one as i was back in the 80's so i think its fine. this type has been around for ages so why re-invent the wheel. neck is plenty fast and it sets up great. i am running 10's and if the acton was dropped any lower you would not be able to grab the strings for bends, no buzzing at all, although i don't mind some faint buzz this one has none! could come with a case since i think gig bags are only good for tossing in a closet never to use. all my fenders hav maple necks whic i find super smooth and extremly fast and warm sounding.

like i said it is a strat. never cared for any fender p/u's but these were the best ones i have heard. plenty grit and bell tone for ddays. very clean, deeper and fuller sounding than usa standard p/u's. had some reissues and some custom shop 1950's as well as the texas specials. to me they fit some where between the us standard and a texas special. they still have the bell tone of the 50's model but much hotter and deeper. i liked them way better than the p/u's in the us standard. great for country, blues and classic rock they breath very wel and lots of sustain for a single coil. still i changed them out for a hot rail in back and a cool rail up front. perfect have not decided on the center. i us only tube amps (pair of pro jr in stereo) and it is perfect combo. it has plenty umph and growl before but i just needed something a little heavier. i play from classic country to modern rock so the change was needed for me.

i always set up my own guitars and do my own work. this comes with as good a set up as the other strats i have played. neck fit is tight as it should be the trem tension is perfect for 9's which fender seems to put on all thier stuff. some minor adjustment need for 10's. l like my neck totally flat no back bow. quick truss rod tweak, 2 to 3 turns of trem spring claw screws and a few minutes on the saddles with an allen wrench on the hieght adjustment and your good to go. the intonation on both my strats (hwy 1, as well as the american standard i sold, and the 2 hwy 1 teles i have) pretty much on.

this guitar will take plenty of abuse fender has always made very road worthy guitars. will take a fall, and lots of bumps and bangs. the hardware is typical fender no reason why it won't last as long as the vintage stuff. finish will definetly chip and flake but thats the idea i guess with nitro type finish. its an instrument ment to be played not a fashion show statement. strap buttons are standard but i changed them out with schaller strap locks (cheap insurance, i do it on all my guitars). changed the tuners to lockers for quick string changes. i have used this guitar as my main since selling my paul several years back and have had no issues period.

never had to deal with them on gear issues. did call them on dating some amps and they were very very helpful.

i have been playing for over 20yr and most of that professional. i have played them all and this stacks up higher than any for the price as well as most that were much much higher. best strat i have ever owned. only guitar i liked better was my 86 les pul custom which i had for over 20 yr. this is definetly a tougher guitar and now with the p/u change i would put it up against anything out there. like i said was so impressed i sold my usa standard and bought 2 hwy 1 teles and recently another hwy1 strat in blue. i wish it came wit a new style case which i thnk are the greatest thing since sliced bread. they take up much less space believe it or not. if it was lost or stolen i would be devastated and would look for another.

The Highway One is Fender's cheapest USA made Stratocaster.

I didn't like the trebley tone from the low-end pickups.

Very bad action with major string buzz.

The thin paint finish was already chipping off.

As stated in my last post . .

Ok .. I was in two minds with the sound , sounded good for a while till I played an American std , I then spent a week getting stressed and trying to get it sounding like a std ... tut . .

So I now have to say that it does fall short , and the pickups are really not something to shout about..

As mentioned in last post , , but I did finally decide that I didn't like the super huge frets, I even looked at getting it re fretted . this was a real turn off..

Didn't own it long enough , as I took it back after a week..

never used them..

Ok ,, the old friend that I thought I had found , turned out to be the local bunny boiler ..lol..

After owning this guitar for a week and I played it every day , I found that I liked it less and less , till the point that I had to take it back..

I ended up really not liking this , I wanted to like it as I loved the finish , except the over sized 70s head stock , ( 70s was a rubbish and cheap time for fender why go bk)

For me I really wanted another strat , and this didn't have a strat sound or did it feel like a strat, , I think this guitar is running on the name.


I added to the money and got a American standard . .

This is a 2008 Highway One Stratocaster, which as 2 alnico pickups, 5 position toggle, thin laquer finish, and a maple neck with jumbo frets. Also has the "Greasebucket" circuitry that is one if the nicest features - see Sound category for more on this. All the traditional goodies in a Stratocaster are included.

All I can say about the sound is "Wow!" The alnico pickups really like distortion much more than my American Standard strat! The greasebucket circuitry allows me to roll off treble without adding more bass - and I must day I love that! I run it mainly though a Traynor Custom Special 100 Head and Traynor 4 x 12 cabinet and this combination gives me all the sounds I need.

Action is ok, a little high for me but i haven't changed it yet. Some small nibs of dust in the finish but because it is a nitocellulose laquer finish the factory could not denib and polish as it would made the area polished glossy. It's on the back of the guitar so who cares. Fretwire is satisfactory as well is the bridge and tuners.

I use this guitar as my #1 at gigs. I bring a backup but have never needed it and am sure I could do without a backup. Should last a while as it seems to be relatively good quality. The finish won't last as it is a thin coat of laquer - something that was done intentionally for tone and to give this guitar the classic "aged" look very quickly. It will wear, scratch easily and check - I can't wait for that to happen!

No opinion.

Been playing over 22 years and have an American Standard Strat, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Paul Reed Smith SE Soapbar and an Ibanez RG350DX besides this Highway One. I LOVE the jumbo headstock and maple neck with the jumbo frets. The sound of this guitar is great and if it were stolen I would immediately replace it. I will never sell this guitar. Don't overlook this guitar if you are in the market for a new guitar.

2007 MIA, flat black Nitro finish with maple fretboard. SSS, Alnico 3 pick ups. C-shape comfortable maple neck, jumbo frets,... Very basic guitar, just what you need, no thrills, As a matter of fact, I can't think of any features you'd need more!

I play some blues, some rock and a variety of styles in between, and this is exactly what this guitar is made for. It's so versatile, with the tone turned down you can even produce a very jazzy sound. For the moment I'm playing through a Roland Cube, but maybe in the future I'm looking to purchase a Fender tube amp. I really like the position switch in 5th and 6th position (neck and neck & middle) clean, dirty, or my favourite, with the tube screamer. This guitar sounds a bit warmer then the US Standard and that is exactly what I like about it!
Can't give a 10, not for any guitar. Whatever this guitar can't produce, a good amp and some pedals can!

The guitar is nearly flawless, though I'm considering lowering the bridge and putting some extra springs in the back for more tension. I guess this will be necessary if I'm going to try some heavier strings (0.10 in stead of the 0.09 superbullets that came with the guitar. The neck is perfect curved, nice rolled fretboard edges and dito frets!

If this isn't a reliable axe, no guitar is! It feels, and it is, real solid. The nitro finish is thin and could wear off easily, but for me that's no problem, on the contrary. It feels like I could depend on it during life gigs though I don't do gigs (I'm a guitarhero in my own living room).

I depend on the goodwill of my own GC, I never buy online. If there's a problem with my guitar I like to bring it to the person who sold me the guitar. I had a problem with a previous guitar and mailed several times to Fender California .... no request! So I decided to phone them, and they were very friendly and helpfull, so I think they just can't handle all the mails coming in. Help and information is more then suffici??nt available on the Fender website ( manuals, forums,...)

I admit it, I'm a rookie, I play for little over a year now but I'm very devoted (h??h??h??). My son started playing guitar and he infected me with the "virus". We've got an Epi LP and some kind of patched up strat (bought on ebay as a Mex strat, but it was a fraud, broken trusrod, squier body,....)BUT when I decided I was going to buy a brandnew strat, I drove hundreds of kilometres to all kind of guitar centers to try all the strats that were available in Belgium (and a piece of Germany and the Netherlands) So I almost tried them all, I guess there is no strat (except for the very expensive ones which I can't afford anyway) that I haven't tried thoroughly. This HWY 1 is, for me, a better sounding, better playing axe then the US standard! I really love this guitar, I can't look at it without picking it up and playing for a while, it feels and sounds so good, I can't put it down!
It might be psycologically but I feel that I'm becoming a better player much faster then with previous guitars. If you feel you're improving fast, you get highly motivated, so this axe is very very important to me! try one, you won't regret it

USA S/S/S Stratocaster-2006 model. USA Alnico III pickups- tone controls are for neck and BRIDGE pups only (better anyway), Alder body, maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard- big 70's style headstock and logo, 22 frets. Satin Nitro semi transparent blonde finish- almost beige. Traditional strat tremelo with big, resonant trem block. Mexican style fender "ping" tuners. Huge frets. features are just great for us that really like to beat up a guitar. Not a display piece (though maybe a cool relic 30 years from now), 100% tool/player.

This is not your father's stratocaster. When clean, you do not get that really quiet boingy quack or light bite, you get huge chimey sustainful single coil sound that is just very well balanced. Great for more modern types of rock or indie rock/pop. It can do surf, 50's/60's/70's rock & R&B too, but chimey delay and reverb laden alternative rock is where this Strat shines the most. Light overdrive and high gain are also very very nice. Like I said, very full and well balanced with musical tone, not just the boinks pops and twangs that traditional strats are known and cherished for.
Output is actually quite hot, not sure of exact values.
I used a 71 Twin reverb and a tweed blues Jr with it with a TS9DX for distortion/overdrive exclusively and the BOSS DD 3 and DD 6 with plenty of reverb going.

Baught it used (stupidly don't have it anymore). First owner had 10s on it, switched it to 9's- worked better for me, tiny bit of fret buzz however if you hit it just right- I think most guitars do this any way. when I bought it, it had some substantial wear on the armwrest (you know where I mean) even after only a year of use. fret ends did have a tad bit of sharpness to them- can be fixed. Everything else seemed very very solid, actually the best strat I ever had or played (I've had many).

Stayed in tune very very very well. The finish will come off very soon, but this actually is a good thing as a player's guitar- you want the least amount of finish between you and the wood anyway- better resonance. I did gig with it without a backup twice and it withstood my crazyness. All hardware seemed extremely solid performance grade- just like a great tool.

again, i am stupid for not having it anymore.

90% of all merch I have ever had from FMIC has been awful, they really need to overhaul that company and make things much much simpler and of higher quality- like Gibson USA. The Highway one series seems to encapsulate that notion a bit for those of us that actually view these guitars as tools and not some shiny Icon to be worshiped.

Playing for close to 16 years. I have a very nice 2003 SG Faded- my #1- that is getting better and better with use (Gibson's answer to the highway one series), a Gibson SG Classic (p-90s), 72 Fender Telecaster Custom RI MIJ. Have owned many many guitars over the years including several other strats. I just recently scaled back my gear quite a bit and in the process discovered how indespensable this HWY 1 Strat was. I AM getting a brand new one after Christmas- a sunburst S/S/S with rosewood fretboard. That's also another good thing about these guitars- lots of color/ configuration options.

Favorite features: the more you play it, the better it gets- the best guitars have this soulful quality. You won't find this on a MIM standard. It's just in this whole other category of Strats, there is no theme to it- like "standard" or "custom" or "signature" or "limited edition", they just make them all the same, just like the old days in Fullerton. Almost like the workingman's Standard Strat.

This review is for a Fender 2008 Highway One Stratocaster. Features are pretty typical strat stuff with some nice differences. . . 22 frets, 9.5 inch radius on the fretboard. . . tone roll off for bridge (treble) pickup. Pickups are darker sounding and designed to better handle distortion. . . No case included, just a cheap gig bag (which I'm not a fan of). The finish is thin and low gloss, which I really like. It has a moderately worn in look, which I love. I'll probably change out the pickguard, b/c I'm not a fan of white pickguards with the sunburst finish. I got a really nice dark rosewood fingerboard. After looking at some in stores, I notices quite a few that had a very anemic light brown fretboard, which I was weary of.

I'm a blues guy and love playing Hendrix and SRV type stuff. I played this guitar for about 10 hours through a friends early 60's brownface princeton before posting this review. The pickups are ok, but like other reviewers mentioned they are a bit noisey (even for fender pickups). They don't have that strat sparkle that I love and they react a bit differently than other strat pickups I've played (texas specials, vintage 57's and 62's, John Suhr pickups and some misc. Dimarzio pickups). They aren't necessarily bad, but if you're looking for classic strat sounds, I'd look at replacing them, or going for a different guitar. I will definitely change them out once I get some more cash.

Here is where I was pleasantly surprised, typically fender guitars come set up pretty badly, but mine was great! The action wasn't overly low, but it allowed my hands to dig in really nicely under the strings. The large frets took a couple of hours to get used to, but now that I more comfortable with them I barely notice them. The neck contour was fantastic (I'd say a "c" style contour). With the nut width being the 1 and 11/16th width, I found it really comfortable for rhythm, chording, etc. and when playing my hands didn't get too crowded on the upper frets. After I blocked the trem, the action seemed to be a little lower now its perfect! Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the 60s necks, this isn't one of them, and I don't find it as fast as those necks, but it played well and with the satin finish feels really comfortable in your hand.

I'm pretty sure the finish will check and scratch pretty easily (I'm noticing some light nicks in mine already). Fender definitely tried to cut corners by applying a lighter finish and not adding a glossy top coat. I'm not overly thrilled with that, but since i already new that was the case going into the purchase I'm not really upset about the product at all. It has a really cool vintage vibe, which I'm a big fan of. It will definitely wear over a year or two, but since you can buy a custom reliced strat for three times as much, It will be kinda cool to have a guitar that reliced from my own use. Other than the finish of the guitar everything else seems solid. Buying a case will definitely help in protection (I don't trust gig bags. . I had a bad experience with my first guitar and a gig bag), but the hardware all seems like it will hold up just fine. I'd trust gigging with it w/out a back up, but since I break strings semifrequently, I always like to have a back up.

N/A

I've been playing for 10 years now and owned several fender guitars (American strat, telecaster, jazz bass) and several acoustics (taylor 710, larrivee d9) This is a fine guitar and will last for a long time. The finish will check and fade, but that is fine by me. I'm planning on replacing the pickups and pickguard in a few months and buying a sturdy case. This is by no means the end all of strats, but with a few upgrades it should last me until I can save enough cash to get another fender. I'm still hoping to add a few more to my collection over the next few years (57 and 62 hot rod) and maybe a custom shop strat sometime in my 50's. . . its a cheaper mid-life crisis than a harley or boat). As I'm in my mid 20s now I think it will be a fine guitar for me for a few years and then I can keep on upgrading my gear as time, money and the economy allows.

Highway one upgrade , sunburst with rosewood on maple neck . All the other features are as is ..

ok , i have been playing since I was 8 years old and now 30 , In that time I have owned something of every thing . I currently own Mia 52 tele (my all time fav) , 65 reissue jaguar, 98 jagstang . .and now this

I am playing through a vox ac15 with grovetubes . .

the sound is not a vintage strat , nor a standard but is not far from them either , has a slightly darker side which I think makes for a nice setup . I have owned 3 strats 2 mia and 1 mim and this is like a old friend but with a bit of attitude ..

When I played this in the shop I look through the action , it was a fair and standard set-up , but not to my liking ..
Once I got home , I locked down the bridge as I dont use the trem , I set the action fairly low but not the lowest I have seen , tweaked the truss rod as there was a little too much relief for my tastes . fitted some regular slinkys , the alternation was all good ..
Once I got this set up for me I was happy. .

The finish was good nothing to complain about, could not see the join in the wood, and I really did look hard, if I didn't know better I would say it was one peace , I like the nitro finish , if I didn't I would not of bought it . It had a dusty/chalky fret board ,which I cleaned off .. the fixing on the jack plug was loose , but have found that on many guitars..

I think that some of these will age better than others , I think the more naturals ( sun burst , honey blond ) will age better and the blue and reds will be the worst..

I think the sun burst will deff look like a modern classic with out being reliced ( I really dont like relic-ed guitars I would not take my new car and smash it up so it look old.. ) Think some of the coloured highway may have the danger of just looking tatty.. ( there is a diff )

I would gig with this with out a back up , in fact I have and do ..

It is a very personal preference on the finish ..

have no probs

Ok when I got this guitar , I was in two minds I wanted a strat I really like retro stuff and I could not make up my mind over this and a classic player 60s mim strat.

I played them back to back and they both had good points , I could not fault the highway , it is as it is made for just that it is not trying to be something else , It does every thing what it sets out to do.

The 60s mim classic player looked nice but I was let down on the finish , the neck was way out and I felt it was poor more like the Mexico's of the past. was just rough work, not even close to a jap..

The highway one seemed well built as do all the Mia fenders I have played and owned.

I love the finish and the fact it is not a standard or a vintage or trying hard to be a vintage but falling short. it is only trying to be a highway one and it does this very well.. lol..

I am getting used to the huge frets .. still unsure about these .

as I mentioned before I love retro guitars and sounds but found this a refreshing change.

I really wish it had a hard shell case rather than a gig bag , but I will prob buy one ..

2007 US HWY1 SSS Strat, flat black nitro finish w/rosewood fretboard and stock p-ups. Check the Fender webpage for more details on the upgraded HWY1 models.

Likes: Jumbo frets which allow a looser grip on the fretboard and make bending notes easier. 2 hum-cancelling positions due to the RW/RP middle pickup. Nice build quality with no rough fret ends etc. I've read that a few people out there have been less than satisifed but mine's fine.

The fretboard was a bit dry and chalky but some GHS Fast Fret solved that problem in a matter of minutes.

No real dislikes except where noted otherwise. No frills, but I don't need them.

I play 70's rock/heavy rock thru a JCM900 4500 (50W Dual Reverb Head) and a JCM800 4x12 cab w/ G12T-75s and Celestion Vintage speakers (older version of V30). As with any non-noiseless equipped Strat there's quite a bit of hum when the amp is moderately to heavily overdriven. With the HWY1 I have a choice between 2 hum-cancelling positions and 3 regular ones. The hum-cancelling works fine and reduces the hum to that of my humbucker equipped Gibson SG.

The sound is a bit too bright with the tone knobs on 10. My JCM900 amp is bright in itself though and the speakers in the cab are too (especially the G12T-75s). If you run the p-ups too hot (close to the strings) the low end sounds a bit boomy. The "Greasebucket" tone circuit works very nicely and doesn't add low end. The stock p-ups have a more modern voicing than I'm used to and to me the p-ups are the main flaw of this model. They're not bad but they only come close to the "vintage" Strat tones. If you're looking for a true vintage tone you might be disappointed - I use the tone controls and that works fairly well. A new set of p-ups could also be the way to go and that would virtually eliminate any flaw on this guitar IMO. I already have an EQ in the loop, so I can tweak a lot of parameters and get a good bell like sound.

What I like about single coils and Strats in general is the variety you can get from using different p-up combos. This is true for the HWY1 aswell - stock p-ups or otherwise.

Bought my guitar used so no opinion on the factory setup. I didn't tinker excessively with it but obviously I needed to adjust some things to suit my preferences. Way better workmanship than on my '95 MIM Strat which has quite a bit of fretboard finish on the frets. No paint smears, no f**k-ups.

I put some pencil graphite in the nut slot (G string) to eliminate the string "grabbing" I experienced. A nice and cheap solution. Since the guitar is flat black I really can't see the wood but it feels slightly stiffer than on my MIM Strat. The finish is nice and it'll be interesting to see how it will age.

I don't see why this guitar wouldn't work fine in a live setting. The standard tuning machines could be less trustworthy than the ones available on the after market though. I recently changed strings so that could be why I need to check my tuning more often. Other than that, no problem so far. The finish will age and wear sooner than a PU finish but that is to be expected and since Fender never made that a secret that's all good and fair. Besides, guitars should be played instead of DISplayed! The strap buttons are good and I've never had a problem. I'd gig this guitar without a backup, but since I have two guitars I'd still bring a backup just to make things easier.

I'll knock off two points for the possibly less than great tuning machines.

Dunno 'bout warranty. No contact with Fender so far.

Been playing for 13 years. I also own a Gibson SG Special w/f which is a good guitar once you get it setup properly - like any guitar. I also have a vintage Selmer amp head ('64 50W Treble n Bass) which I haven't used with the HWY1 yet. I got the HWY1 at a good price but I wish I'd paid more attention to the p-ups. I still would've bought it though, since I love the 70's headstock, the finish and the build quality. A new set of p-ups would be the only thing I'd probably ever change.

I don't like the look of Jackson, Schecter, PRS and other guitars. Too damn glossy - they look like modern plastic cars. I'm a Gibson, Fender and possibly Gretsch and Hagstrom kinda guy so it was an easy choice for me. I wanted a US Fender and that's why I bought it.

I wish it had 5 springs on the vibrato/trem block instead of 3. Just a minor thing. I don't use the trem arm anyway.

All in all a good quality guitar with minor issues. If you like the stock p-ups it's a GREAT guitar. Pick up a used guitar - you'll save money and still have a good guitar if you've taken the time to play it and check the overall condition.

Mine is a blue transparent finish (i can see the wood grain), it's from 2005, so it's the older version, obviously made in USA, it have 22 frets, a solid alder boby and a maple neck with maple fretboard.*
the finish is very, VERY thin, it make the wood resonate better, but it cracks easy, i bought mine used from a 12 year old boy, so it's a lot of damage in the finish, (things that i sacrifice for sound), tipical strat body, 3 single coil pickups, vintage 6 point tremolo, 25.5 scale, fender american tuners, and mine come with the nicest case i have ever seen

it doesn't suit my style a lot, so i need a few mods, but it is also nice, i play metal and progressive music, and the stratocaster is the more versatile axe, it's noisy as any strat. And the * in the part of the neck stand because, this isn't your typical 1 piece maple neck, the fretboard and the neck are glued, because for the 22 frets you need about 3 more mm so they need a fretboard that is longer than the actual neck, so it sound warmer than the one piece maple neck.
the sound is bright and in the second position there is a sound that i love for the clean soloing
Very versatile axe

i don't know because i bought it used 3 months ago, but the boy who sent my the guitar send it with, and unaligned neck, 1 string missing, completely awfull action, awful intonation, and the finish was so destroyed that in the look department i'm regreting buying this guitar, only because of that boy

the strap buttoms are really nice, after a complety setup it feels so solid that i can smash it on the ground, i gig whiout a backup, but the finish is so thin that if the guitar fall, it cracks instantly
also i think the finish is nitro, because it (no one warn me that this happens to this guitars) have marks (barely noticeable) of where the stand was (and i only leave it there 5 hours in 3 months)

i love it exept for the finnish issue, i'm planing on buying the "air norton s" and "tone zone s" because i want to make it more suitable for metal

i own 3 highway ones upgrade late 2006 and 07's
and there built like tanks.the craftman ship and quality
is top of the line.i compare the craftmanship of the highway one
to the custom shop strats thats how well there built.

i have been playing fender strats since age 11 (1973)
and the highway one is the most versatile strat to date.
classic/modern and everything in between the tones it
produces are unbeatable.the highway one walks all over the
2008 american american standards in the tone department.
the highway one strat is a tone monster.

it was set up perfect right out of the box.
the custom shop designd alnico 3's pick ups
are genius period.no fret buzz the neck smooth and fast
simply no flaws BRILLIANT!the nitro finish also BRILLIANT!

one of the best built strats i have ever come across.
the hardware on this strat will out last me. yes
i would and i have used the highway one strat with out a back up
and its never faild me.thats more than i can say for the
2008 american standard strat it has faild twice already.

35 years of strat playing and the highway one
upgrade strats just simply walk all over the new
american standards and most strats period. the highway one
is a legend all ready in my book.everthing on this guitar
it just BRILLIANT! THIS STRAT IS ALSO WAY UNDER PRICED.

Bought in 2008, this is a 2006 upgrade model Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster. It's got a 25.5" scale maple bolt-on neck, 22 jumbo fretts, Three Fender Special Alnico 3 pickups, two tone knobs, one volume knob and a vintage-style syncronized tremolo. Basically, it's a strat, which already makes it one of the most versatile guitars on the planet. Add to that Fender's custom shop designed Greasebucket tone circuitry, whiich rolls off the high end without adding more bass, and you've got some really clear and warm Gibson style tones too, which is especially impressive for a strat.

First and foremost I should make it clear that this is not your average strat tone-wise. The Alnico 3 pickups are hotter and darker sounding than an American Standard, and were specifically designed to handle distortion far better than regular strat pickups. That said, it's no Ibanez or Jackson, so you can still get a good amound of clean sparkle from it. Overall I'd say that the Highway 1 is more versatile than an American Standard, especially for warmer, darker and distorted sounds and is good for just about any style of music, from clean Blues guitar all the way up to Hard Rock and even Metal. If you want a REALLY clean sparkley sound or full-on death metal crunch, than get an American Standard or an Ibanez RG. Otherwise, the Highway one should suit you just fine.

The action was nice and low out of the box with no frett buzz, the neck was bolted on tight and perfectly straight, The bridge and trem cavities were routed perfectly, the nut was smooth and fitted well, the tuners are smooth and the guitar stays in tune very well. Basically, it's made to full American Strat quality standards. I'd also like to point out that my guitar has a one-piece maple neck, i.e. the fretts are set directly into the neck rather than a seperate glued-on frettboard, which is very odd as I have not seen this advertised as a feature anywhere. I'm knocking off a point because of the thinner matte nitrocellulose finish, which even though I personally quite like it, I understand that most people probably won't be too keen on it.

It's very solidly built and I would use it without a backup, but I'm marking it down because it doesn't come with a hardshell case.

Never dealt with them, although Fender does give a lifetime warrenty on their electronics.

I've been playing on and off for the better part of ten years, and I have to say that this is my favorite guitar. While I currently own only one other guitar (a Gibson Melody Maker) I have played plenty, Including my dad's American Standard Strat, and overall I actually perfer my Highway 1. It's a fantastic guitar in every way, and for the price it's easily one of the best. I'd recomend it to just about anyone looking for a high quality and versatile guitar.

Fender US Special Highway 1

Alder body with Honey Blonde thin nitro lacquer finish
Maple neck with polyurethane finish
Maple fretboard
9-1/2" fretboard radius
22 Jumbo (custom shop) frets
25-1/2" scale length
3 vintage-style single-coil Strat?? pickups with staggered pole pieces and alnico magnets
5-position blade selector
Master volume control
Tone control for neck pickup
Tone control for middle pickup
White plastic parts
Original headstock shape
Original body shape
H/S/H pickup routing

Unbelievable. My Deluxe 57 Reissue with that stupid S-1 switching tone killing circut on its best day dosent have 1/10 the balls or tone that this HW-1 has! I picked up a used custom shop model (pre-grease bucket), and love it. I paid $650 for it and it feels like i stole it. The guitar is already relicing nicely. Also the light weight is a nice add.

I played it along side my friends '66 Strat (worth about $25K), and it kills it with respect to tone.

Great; i have jumbo frets but it comes standard with med-jumbo. A great blues guitar.

Built just like the original standards. Trem bar makes it go out of tune from time to time; but a quick upward snap puts it right back in.

Didnt need it.

I plan on buying a few of these. Maple neck, Rosewood, and various colors. Mark my words, this model will have collector value someday.

This is a 2006 Fender Highway 1. There are a lot of negative reviews on here about the Hwy series, and I'm not questioning previous reviewers. I'm not a professional, but I've been playing for a really long time and I've owned a LOT of guitars. I have to say that the 2006 and later Hwy Strat is my favorite production Strat post-CBS. I've got a couple of these, and I may have just been lucky. But, I think the features are everything a Strat should be. The frets are huge (for a Strat), which I love, the trem block is solid steel (I can tell a difference in sustain), and the nitro finish is awesome. It wears perfectly and relics just like a Strat should. I love the feel, and I'm sure it's acoustically more resonant. Big fan of the pickups. Yeah, they're noisy, but at least the middle is RW/RP (the one thing CBS got right). They're ballsy, but I think they retain a classic Strat quality. I know the trem unit is a downgrade, but I've always preferred the old-school trem. The tuners are standard. No neck adjustment, but how often is that really needed anyway? Too good to shim??? :-) Also, these things are insanely light, just like the classic Strats. I don't like to play a Strat that's over 8 pounds, and it's hard to find one of these that heavy. Most of the bodies are 3-piece to save cash, but I don't really mind. The only thing I don't like is the satin finish on the neck, but that's a matter of preference. I prefer a little traction. But, that's clearly what most folks want, so I can't fault them for that.

I like the sound. It's not a classic Strat tone, but it's not a 180 degree turn either. I replaced the stock pickups with gold lace sensors (hard to go back), and this thing is just a tone machine.

Here's where everybody rails on the Hwy. Like I said, I believe all the other posters. But, the Highways I've had have been setup perfectly. Great action, no dead spots, good fretwork, good intonation. I may have just gotten lucky here.

As I said above, I love the nitro. I don't think that anything else should ever be on a Strat, and it's awesome that you can get it here for so cheap.

It's a Strat. People say that over and over, for a reason. It's really hard to hurt it. As for the body, the nitro finish was made to take a beating and show the battle scars. If you want to keep a perfect finish, and actually play the guitar, then get an Am. Std.

Some will call me crazy, but this is my favorite production Strat that's been produced in my lifetime. I'd say the Fender Plus models owned that award before this, but I love the classic simplicity of this instrument, as well as the well-thought-out modern refinements. Big fan. You can grab these on eBay for 5 hudo becuase everybody else hates them. Pick one up, spend a hundred on a great setup, and you're good to go.

you know the features by now.
this is well equipped as most Strats are. alnico III single coils and vintage trem with steel block. and the late 60's headstock which i used to hate but it is super sexy to me now.
nice alder body with a satin nitro finish that shows the sunburst well.
super comfy maple neck and fretboard. big frets but c'mon they are not that huge as some may claim. the neck is one of the best playing necks i have ever felt.
i really like how the pickups can cover sweet bell tones and crunch in my Tiny Terror. a Strat is possibly the best designed guitar ever. and yeah single coils hum, get over it. i would take these over the sterile noiseless pickups Fender offers on other models.

i play a lot of styles from country to metal and this covers the ground well. sure it isn't as fat as a humbucker equipped LP but it can do metal. use amp gain for that. this is far from thin sounding. i prefer a Fender scale for hard music anyway, less flab on the low notes.
i use an Orange Tiny Terror into an Epi valve junior cab, with occasional Rat2 boost.the sound is big bell tone and can get skanky in the 2 and 4 pos and crunchy in the bridge. this guitar is a winner. the sounds i look for are always a selector switch away or achieved with a volume adjustment. no stomping on effects just do it all from the guitar, providing i have the amp cranked to drive.
single coils do hum and i have never had an issue with this. there is a lot of classic music done with humming strats. this is by no means a bad guitar. if you don't like hum don't buy a real single coil equipped Strat, duh.

it was set up well as most Strats. i prefer my trem flat on the body so i tightened the springs abit. this lowered my action but that is easily changed. don't expect a guitar to pleae everyone. some like high action and some like low. i am familiar with Fender's standard setup. this was well setup. better than Gibson does thier guitars.
i was suprised when i removed the rear plate to adjust the springs and seen super clean routing and finish. good job Fender, no runny finish or goop, just super tight workmanship. the fret ends are nicely polished and have no sharp edges. the fret tops are not quite as polished as on the Am Std, but close. everything is tight and in it's place. the neck is awesome.
the finish is starting to polish where my ar rests, i may polish the guitar to a shine eventually.
tuners do a good job. the nut is cut well and the proper height, but slightly binding the g. an easy fix. some people need to learn about their guitars. Strats are the easiest guitars to tweak, all you need is a screwdriver and brains.
it is a vintage trem and not a floyd rose, it isn't going to stay in tune for heavy whammy use but it can be optimized for that with a few tricks. i would have no problems gigging without a back up. i know enough to keep this thing in top shape and i don't break strings. really. my guitar stays in it's case and i change strings regularly. most people break strings because of corrosion. take care of you axe and it will be dependable.

no problems here

don't know, i do my own work. don't really need their help right now. but i will say they set this up as well as they do most of their guitars. i think any claims of Fender being slack in quality control are a bit much.
sure there may be the occasional dog as there will be in any factory. some workers are bound to be lazy. but generally speaking i believe Fender is doing great in their quality control.

i have been playing 25 yrs and have owned a pile of guitars, i returned a Gibson Lp BFG to get this. the BFG was nice but not as sweet a player as this is.
i wish it had a bridge bucker, but i love the single coils so much i am not sure i could remove one just for a bit more crunch.
i will eventually put locking tuners on this.
this guitar is quite possibly the sleeper of the fender lineup. 750.00 for a solid kickass Strat. American made and quality parts, what is not to like. to top it all off it has great tone that covers many styles.

2006 grease bucket. New as all my Fenders. made in USA. Neck is 9.5 radius. Rosewood fretboard. Gig bag.

Very poor sound. Very noisy pickups. Use a Vox 30 watt tube amp. 3 useless single coil pickups.

Terrible set up. Saddle screws stripped. Strings buzzed. Had a tiny chip in the black part of the 3 tone color. Use the trem arm instantly goes out of tune. Fender has poor quality control, you have been warned.

Once you change the pick ups and get rid of the cheap mexican parts should last a long time.

Useless. Fender has poor quality control. All 3 of my fenders bought new had problems and support was useless.

I wish someone would steal it. Lousy resale value, cant give it away.

Black vintage 60's color, 22 frets, large vintage headstock, strong C shape neck rosewood, vintage six point bridge, great hot fender pickups, Made in USA

Great tone!!! bought this guitar 2 months ago. So far I love it, and have come across several things. I play blues, blues rock, classic rock and this guitar is great for playing blues, as it has the perfect tone for it. I am playing it with Fender Twin 40 watts. With the sound I have one problem. On the clean channel it sound is very good to me. this guitar has tons of tones, especially with the amp clean, I'm playing it with..

The guitar was set up perfectly at the factory, This strat came with absolutely no flaws, and is amazing.

The guitar is solid, the strap buttons are solid, and never have they came off unless I loosened it to much by flipping it around. the finish wears off really easily, but I'm doing my best to reserve it, and if it does.

None

I play blues rock and classic rock, this Fender Strat is great for all sounds, and once my pickups get changed I think this guitar will sound great on lead. I chose this one because I preferred the look, and sound, the tone is great ilov this guitar... Everything is great.

I traded one of my guitars in for a natural-creme-color, maple neck HWY 1 and replaced the pickguard with an aftermarket white pearl. Looks absolutely sharp! It is the a 2007 model so the new pickups were used as well as the "grease bucket" tone pots.

I used to own a 64 strat once and exchanged the pickups because they were totally unbalanced due to the staggered magnets they used back then. The HWY 1 hits the happy medium here, it is very well balanced (due to NON staggered alnicos), bites if you want it to - or is Knopfler glassy if you like that. Very round earthy strat like tone! If you are shopping for an original USA strat, this is a good one!

Amazingly, it was factory-adjusted perfectly and in flawless condition overall. The dealer actually had 3 on display and they were all perfectly adjusted. I do not know if Fender will provide this great work forever (this is usually rare) but my compliment to the Fender guys here.

I own it too short to tell. The nirto finish will sure not be as durable as a high gloss, but what the heck, don't we all want a nicely broken-in strat rather sooner than later?

no need for customer support yet but I dealt with Fender in some other issues and it was fine.

I play since 40 years, went through 50 or 60 guitars in my live (lost count to be honest) and I really think that this is a good one if you are looking for a USA strat at a reasonable price.
I am convinced that it will be worth a lot more 20 years from now.

MODEL NAME: Fender Highway One Stratocaster (Upgrade)

MADE: USA

COLOURS: 3-Colour Sunburst, Daphne Blue, Flat Black, Honey Blonde, Wine Transparent (all with Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish)

BODY: Alder

NECK: Maple, Modern "C" Shape (Satin Polyurethane Finish)

FRETBOARD: Maple / Rosewood - 9.5" Radius (241 mm)

FRETS: 22 Jumbo Frets

PICKUPS: 3 Hot Single-Coil Strat Pickups with Alnico 3 Magnets and Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity Middle Pickup

CONTROLS: Master Volume. Tone 1 (Neck Pickup), Tone 2 (Bridge Pickup) Greasebucket Tone Circuits, (Rolls off highs without adding bass).

PICKUP SWITCHING: 5-position blade. Bridge / Bridge & Middle / Middle / Middle & Neck / Neck.

BRIDGE: Vintage Style Synchronised Tremolo

MACHINE HEADS: Fender Ping Standard Cast / Sealed Tuning Machines

HARDWARE: Chrome

PICKGUARD: 3-Ply Parchment

SCALE LENGTH: 25.5" (648 mm)

WIDTH AT NUT: 1.6875" (43 mm)

UNIQUE FEATURES: Satin Nitrocellulose Lacquer Body Finish
Parchment Plastic Parts
Large '70s Style Headstock Shape
Large '70s Style Headstock Logo
Original Body Shape
"Original Contour Body" Decal on Headstock
H/S/H Pickup Routing
Reverse Wound / Reverse Polarity Middle Pickup

STRINGS: Fender Super Bullets, Nickel Plated Steel (.009 to .042)

ACCESSORIES: Deluxe Gig Bag

INTRODUCED: July 2006


Basically just your standard Stratocaster design with a few changes, most notably the jumbo frets and the lacquer finish. For me, the taller frets are a great bonus, because the last guitar I owned was a Jackson Dinky MG series which came with jumbo frets as standard; so I'm just naturally more at home with higher frets...but it's all personal preference in the end. Try this one before you buy it, I love these frets, but others may not.

The lacquer finish on the body is again just down to your own preference. Looks-wise, it's just a matte finish instead of a shiny finish. I actually prefer the matte, it's much nicer looking in my opinion. Because it's such a thin finish it lets the wood vibrate more freely, therefore giving amazing sustain and body to your tone, but it also needs more maintenance...if you accidentally hit the guitar off something it's much easier to dent or chip. Just take care of it and you'll be fine.

Another feature which either you'll love or you'll hate will be the large '70s style headstock with the more flamboyant logo design. Again, all down to your own preference; I love it.

In the end I would give this guitar a perfect 10 for features, since it perfectly supports my playing style; but someone else may complain about the lack of a Floyd Rose, tuning locks, gain booster switch or even the guitar modelling capabilities of say the VG strat. So, to keep it impartial I'll happily give the Highway One a high 8 for features.

I can only describe my playing style as a hybrid of progressive, blues, rock, jazz fusion, country and metal... and, more than any of the other guitars I've owned, I have to say the Highway One has an absolutely fantastic tone for any of these styles.

Right after I got the guitar, I immediately restrung it with D'Addario .011 to .049 XLs. I find light strings feel too clumsy and just compromise the overall tone of the instrument, therefore I prefer the sturdy feel and fuller sound that comes with heavier gauge strings.

I play straight into a Marshall VS2000 AVT100, usually with no effects, although occasionally I'll wire up a Cry Baby in between. The amp itself doesn't have that good a clean channel to be honest, but this guitar makes it chime as good as I've ever heard it. When you turn it to overdrive it's just mouth-watering. Every nuance of your playing style comes through, it's just such a responsive guitar. I normally just set the amp to quite a medium to heavy overdrive, so I have enough gain in reserve if I need it, but then I turn the volume control on the guitar itself down until it's just a light crunchy overdrive. ('Volume control' is a misnomer, it's really a gain control) Many guitars lose much of the original tone when you do this, but the Highway One preserves it very well; still such a dynamic sound. Now for heavier styles. Set the amp to an extremely high-gain overdrive and the guitar sounds simply amazing. It has such an incendiary tone especially during solos, it just soars and rips right through the mix while sounding as full as ever. Absolutely airtight wall of sound, still so toneful even at really high gain settings.

Note: If you are used to playing with high output pickups such as EMGs, then you may be thrown at first by how much less gain the single coils give. This is easily remedied by just turning the gain up on your amp though.

Like all Strats, the Highway One has a sharp but very full tone from it's bridge pickup... a glassy subtle treble with more body on the bridge and middle... a very full all round tone on the middle pickup... again a very glassy yet creamy tone from middle and neck pickups... and such a beautifully creamy full airtight sound from it's neck pickup. The tone controls do exactly what they say on the tin, rolling off the highs without adding bass, and no complaints there.

The only thing that stops me from giving the Highway One a 10 for sound quality is the inevitable hum that comes with any guitar wired with single coils. To be honest, it's so quiet you really don't notice it at all, and it's virtually non-existent when the pickup selector's set to positions 2 or 4. Personally I think when you're buying a Stratocaster, the hum of the single coils is as much a part of the classic guitar as any other aspect of it, but then again, opinions may differ.

At the end of the day this guitar will provide you with beautiful tones for any kind of music. You can perfectly replicate the glassy sounds of Rory Gallagher, the creaminess of David Gilmour and Mark Knopfler, and the fullness of Jeff Beck or the many tones of the Eagles. For metal fans, a great sounding Iron Maiden or Megadeth tone is right there; just up the gain. Scoop the mids and with enough gain you can even get this Stratocaster to emit the sounds of Pantera. These are such versatile and beautiful sounding guitars.

To be honest, out of the box, the setup could have been better, but after some tweaking it's almost completely sorted.

It had .009s on when it arrived, and even though I was going to change them to .011s immediately, naturally I plugged my new guitar in right away to test it out. There was quite a bit of fret buzz, but this poor setup didn't bother me too much as I knew I'd need to set it up again after putting heavier strings on it.

I removed the plastic plate on the underside of the guitar (I just keep it off, it's much handier that way) I put the .011s on. I then tightened the springs and adjusted the action, and the fret-buzz was non-existent, apart from when I struck a chord really heavily; but that's only natural to have a little buzzing when the strings are vibrating to the extreme. An absolute veteran once told me he prefers a little fretbuzz even in his normal playing, as he feels it adds to his tone, so it's all personal preference. But I fixed the fretbuzz with minimal effort, so it's not a problem anymore.

The tuning was a problem for the first day or so, but it could have been caused by the heavier strings. For example, I'd be tuning the G string up and sometimes instead of hearing the sound gradually rise in pitch, I'd hear a "ping" from the nut and the pitch would jump up half a semitone. This was initially a tuning nightmare for me, but I've completely fixed it now with the use of Vaseline. Just lubricate the strings at the point where they pass over the nut and they won't ever get stuck. The only tuning problems I could foresee people having is when they do divebombs with the whammy bar (I don't usually incorporate these into my playing so it doesn't affect me) I tried it about twice to see how the tuning would hold up without locks, but the strings all came back up slightly off pitch. However, I'm no guitar tech, and I'm sure that maybe even through something as simple as tightening the springs at the back to create more tension on the tremolo, it might keep more control over the tuning of the strings. I know this solved my Jackson's tuning problems. Another tuning "problem" is just the fact that the bridge acts almost like a Floyd Rose in that you can't just tune the low E to perfect pitch and tune the rest of the strings in turn and still expect the low E to remain exactly how it was. Compensate for increased or decreased tension, it goes with the territory with these guitars, and it's really not a problem.

Beautiful neck, so comfortable to play, smoothest wood finish I've ever felt on any guitar, and I just adore the jumbo frets. Perfect intonation and the maple fretboard looks great too.

Absolutely stunning 3-colour sunburst, matte finish (satin nitrocellulose lacquer) but like I said, take good care of it. It'll chip twice as easily as your other shiny guitars.

Perfect weight, perfectly balanced.

Pickups were adjusted perfectly, haven't tweaked with them at all. They sound fantastic just the way they are.

One problem I had recently was that the jack port was coming a bit loose, but this can happen any guitar at any time. Pair of pliers and it's fixed in ten seconds.

So overall, you might have to tweak with it a little, but this is mandatory with nearly every guitar you buy. You're not going to find any inoperable flaws with the Highway One. You can fix it to your exact playing specifications in no time.

You'll have to take care not to chip the lacquer finish but other than that this guitar's as sturdy and durable as any of them, and I see no reason why it won't last me a lifetime. I just know it's going to be the workhorse of the rest of my guitar career.

I've only owned it two months, but it's a rock solid sturdy instrument and I can't see myself needing to complain to Fender anytime soon.

85% of this guitar was made in America, so you know the quality is there. The fact that it doesn't fall under the "American Series" category just means that you're paying a fraction of the price for a stunningly good instrument. $437 for a USA Stratocaster that's as good as if not better than any other USA Stratocaster I've played. Brilliant value for money.

I've been playing since September 2002. I taught myself on a Yamaha Pacifica 012, then upgraded a year later to an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. I played that for a year and a half and moved onto a Jackson DKMG. The reason I moved from guitar to guitar so much was because no matter how much I loved the guitar, there would always be something about it that wasn't quite up to scratch. But the Fender Highway One Stratocaster is the first guitar I have owned that I completely endorse to anyone and everyone, no matter what their style of playing. Perfect sound, perfect feel, sturdy workmanship and beautiful finish. I can still see this being my main guitar in 30 years' time

I like the features on this guitar, the body finish is great, it can be polished to a nice vintage vibe. I have the honey blonde model with a RW board. It is an "Upgrade" with a '70's headstock and the biggests frets this side of a Jackson Dinky (really the frets are retardedly huge). Nice full block trem, nice satin neck finish. Many people trash these guitars in thier rating on Harmony which is how I managed to get one for $650 brand new.

Th

This is subjective, the pick-ups are hot but not crazy hot. I replaced the pick-ups with a set of Texas specials - which are also a bit hot (vintage medium hot).

The original pick-ups have a lot of mids for a strat and I must say that the neck pick up did Richie Blackmore bang on.

Yes I agree - these guitars come from the factory set up like crap. Having said that a pro set up does wonders, WONDERS. Once it is set up you will love this guitar - it rocks huge. I needed to get everything set up, action, truss rod adjustment, intonation and a complete fret dressing (don't worry you can dress these frets ten times, they are so big).

I use .011 - .049. When I bought the guitar it had .009's on it, the big frets combined with the medium radius (9.5") and small strings are a bad combination.

Somebody told me that one of the cost saving meassures they use is to skimp on the set-up when they exit the factory - I agree.

Once this guitar was set up, I was impressed - it was better than I expected it would be.

The only reason I rated it as a one was because of the factory set-up.

No problems, tough like my other strats.

I really like this strat, I know you are going to say "you're whacked" when you read this next statement but: this guitar is every bit as good as my '98 American Standard, unfortunatly it comes out of the box like a pice of crap - in addition I hate gig bags, I bouth a belly button case for $58 when I bought the guitar. Yes the pick-ups are a little "racer boy" but they are nothing like a hot humbucker.

As a note, in 2006 Fender made some big changes to the Highway 1, including a bridge with narrower string spacing (2 1/16 string spacing - similar to the MIM Standard and American Series Strats), large 70s headstock, and new darker-sounding Alnico 3 pickups. The newer guitars also have jumbo frets.

The finish is on my 2005 Highway 1 is transparent red, the alder grain is noticeable through the finish. The clearcoat is almost non-existent, it's very thin and wasn't polished to a glossy shine like on most other standard production Strats. It can be polished to a semi-gloss shine using polishing cream and lots of elbow grease.

The body shape is an "Original Contour Body", it looks just like the American Vintage Strats and MIM Classic Strats. The horns are correctly shaped. It is made of 4 pieces of Alder. The wood matching was very nicely done. If you look closely at the MIM Standards and some of the earlier American models the body edges aren't rounded as much as the Strats with the "Original Contour Body" decal on the headstock.

Since it's a pre-2006 Highway 1, it's got the 6-screw vintage-style tremelo bridge with the wide 2 7/32 string spacing. It looks like the same bridge Fender puts on the MIM Classic Series Strats. I needed a guitar with wide string spacing since I play fingerstyle some of the time.

It has the Ping, Fender labeled tuners.

Standard 25.5" scale with 22 medium-jumbo frets on a 1-piece maple neck. 9.5" radius fretboard.

Standard Strat setup - Master Volume with 2 tone controls, one for the neck pickup, the other for the middle. The newer 2006 and later Highway 1's use the 2nd tone control for the bridge instead of the middle pickup.

The pickups are the same as the ones used on the MIM Classic series - they use Alnico 5 magnets and are bright sounding.

This is a back-to-basics Stratocaster.

It has the classic Strat tone - bright, clear, twangy, and a little thin-sounding. The pickups don't have as much detail and shimmer as the Custom Shop '54's I have in a Warmoth Strat.

I use it with a newer model '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, a PodXT, Lexicon MPX-1 Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Tubeman and Tubeworks Blue Tube pedals. Several analog delay pedals, a Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator pedal, and a Boss AD-8 Acoustic pedal.

It is noisier than most other Strats I've used in the past. The middle pickup isn't reverse wound, reverse polarity, so it's not hum-canceling in the 2 and 4 positions like on the post-2006 Highway 1's.

All the pickup positions sound very good if you're looking for a classic Strat sound. Even though it's noisier, I find the 2 and 4 positions sound better compared to Strats with the reverse wound, reverse polarity, middle pickup.

It was set up reasonable well at the factory. The neck is straight with no unusual bumps, the frets are smooth and even across the fretboard, and the neck-to-body fit is tight. Only problems were the rear of the bridge was sitting about 1/4" off the body of the guitar, and the bridge saddles needed adjusting. Plus the saddle's allen screws are way too long.

The clearcoat finish is very thin and scratches easily.

Everything else seems tough like the way most Strats are.

I've never had to contact Fender.

Limited Lifetime warranty.

I've been playing for around 17 years.

I use it with a newer model '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, a PodXT, Lexicon MPX-1 Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Tubeman and Tubeworks Blue Tube pedals. Several analog delay pedals, a Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator pedal, and a Boss AD-8 Acoustic pedal.

As far as electric guitars - a Warmoth Strat with a mahogany body with quilted maple top and multiple sound chambers routed from the mahogany body. It has Fender Custom Shop '54 pickups and an original Wilkinson VS-100 tremolo bridge. This Warmoth sounds beautiful in the neck position but not so great in the other positions.
I also have an Ibanez small-bodied hollowbody guitar with humbuckers that I don't use too much. I also have a Squier Standard Stratocaster which is a decent guitar for the money. The Squier is quite a bit heavier than the other Strats I own and it has a very thin sound.

As far as acoustics, I have a Taylor 414, Martin OM-16 and an Ibanez. I like the smaller acoustics.

I basically needed a lightweight electric guitar with a tremelo bridge with wide string spacing since I play mostly with my fingers and I'm used to the wide string spacing on the acoustics.

I was also looking at the Korean Fender Lite Ash Stratocaster. It had a nice birdseye maple neck with an ash body along with Seymour Duncan pickups. Problems were that it was pretty heavy and the bridge is similar to the American Series Strats' bridge with it's narrow string spacing. Biggest problem was the neck was not straight and a truss rod adjustment didn't help. Buzzing frets up and down the neck. It did look nice though. The Highway 1 looked very plain next to the Lite Ash Strat.

I'm happy with my purchase, it met all of my requirements and was pretty inexpensive for an American made guitar. I really like the neck, it's one of the best I've ever played and the body is very lightweight and comfortable. The sound is better than average but with a little more hum than usual.

Again, this is a back-to-basics Stratocaster.

I played the upgraded model at my local Fender dealer. Most features have been covered by previous reviewers. For me, the following set this guitar apart from others:

Large headstock

Nitrocellulose finish

Hotter pickups

Larger frets

Those are the differences I noticed between the Highway One and a standard strat.

I should also say that some of the reviews of this guitar seem a little harsh. In all honestly, I didn't care for many of the features, but the qualms I had with this guitar were all rooted in personal preference. I don't care for the larger frets, the cheap looking finish, the loud pickups, or the goofy looking headstock. You, of course, might like some or even all of these features. My point is that even though I don't care for this instrument, the Highway One is still a well built guitar.

It seems a little noisey. More so than the Amercian standard and MIM strats I played. Compared to these other guitars the Highway One pickups are on the overwound side.

I played each guitar through the same amp and started with each guitar dialed into the same settings. The Highway One is much louder and more aggressive. Very suitable for modern, heavy rock.

Again, not my cup of tea, but this sound has it's uses for some.

This guitar seemed well built, although the finish looked a little generic and cheap. I had a serious aversion to the large frets, probably because I'm used to vintage sized frets. If I had to, I'm betting this is something I could get used to, however.

But overall, very solid. When holding this guitar, I could not decern a difference between it and an American Standard.

I can't say. I didn't purchase this guitar. Probably it would hold up quite well.

Again, I'm unsure. Dealer support would likely be the key.

I've owned several Fenders and a few G&Ls over the years. I prefer the stratocaster and it's incarnations. I don't care for the Highway One myself, but I think there's a market out there for a strat with it's features. It's a little more stripped down and harsher than other models.

I think Fender has really improved itself in the quality control department in recent years. I also think it's given consumers a lot of wonderful options. This guitar is just another options that some players will appreciate. Some won't.

I do however agree with another reviewer who said a guitar the price of the Highway One shouldn't have to be modified to be usable. If you're thinking of making multiple modifcations to the Highway One as soon as you purchase it, don't buy it. There's probably another guitar out there for you. If you're going to buy this guitar (or any other) I think you should leave it as is, at least for the time being.

I suppose what I'm saying is that I think this is a guitar meant for a specific audience and to achieve a certain sound. Don't waste your money turning it into a guitar it isn't. More importantly, don't upbraid fender or smear the Highway One because it's not the guitar you'd like it to be.

The Highway One series (???2006 upgrade??? )is the entry level into the ???Made in USA??? Stratocasters, but has some features (or parts, at least) in common with the Made in Mexico ???Standard??? models. There was an overhaul to the features in July, 2006 (mine was manufactured in August/September 2007). Note that the minimum advertised price of US $750 is two-hundred dollars less than the American Series, but the Highway One???s can be had on clearance for far less.

You spot these first off (aside from the ???Highway One??? and the American flag stickers on the pickguard) from the large 70's style headstock and decal. They did not go back to the bullet-trussrod or three-bolt tilt-neck design, however. These look like the CBS-era guitars that were in the shops back when I first started drooling over Fenders. The larger headstock has a certain charm, and is certainly the aesthetic effect is more important than adding mass to the headstock.

The body finish is matte or satin (dull) ???thin-skin nitrocellulose lacquer??? and you can read all the advertising hype about how it is supposed to age gracefully when thrown in the back of a van night after night of playing in smoky bars (do they allow smoking in bars anywhere anymore?). Plus or minus feature depending on my mood, but the hope is that all the vintage-o-philes will make the nitro a sough-after feature as the years go by. The three-piece ???non-veneered??? alder body had very nice grain figure visible with the sunburst finish.

???Parchment??? colored knobs, pickup covers, switch and trem arm tips, and three-ply pickguard are all a touch darker than traditional white, but not ivory like ???aged white.???

The tuning machines are Fender/Ping which look almost identical to the Fender/Schallers (except for a flat head screw instead of Phillips, and a slightly different angle to the base of the knob). The machines are not staggered in height so the headstock has two string trees (American Series Strats since 2000 have staggered machines and only one string tree).

The neck has 22 frets, instantly distinguishing it from Made In Mexico Stratocasters which have only 21. The neck profile is not noticeably different than the American Strats.

The fingerboard radius is 9-1/2", with a 1-11/16" nut width, like all the modern USA Strats.

The neck plate is blank (without the ???Fender??? engraving) and does not have a micro-tilt underneath (not an issue since the neck did not need shimming to get the action very low; just something to note that is on the American Series that is not on the Highway One). The trussrod, which is adjusted from the headstock, appears to be a bi-flex (two-way).

The frets are jumbo (real big, measuring .058" in height instead of something like .039" on medium-jumbo wire on the American Series or MIM) and will take some getting used to, but its a feature of this line that is quite noticeable. Actually the jumbo fret wire it makes it easier to get your fingers underneath the strings for bending notes. On the other hand, when fretting normal notes, if you press too hard it???s almost like a scalloped neck where you can stretch a note out of tune unintentionally.

The vintage style tremolo bridge has stamped saddles and six screws holding it to the body, as opposed to the rectangular block saddles and two-point trem operation of the American Standard bridge (OK I know it???s really a vibrato, but let???s give ole Leo a break on the terminology). The 2006 upgrade has a steel block instead of zinc which is supposed to add sustain. With a little adjustment of the original three springs the bridge works fine with .010 gauge strings.

The string spacing at the bridge is narrower for the ???06 upgrade, which Fender says is to accommodate the larger frets so the strings don???t slip off the edge (curiously, the new string spacing is the same as my ???97 American Standard two-point tremolo bridge).

The pickups are unique to this seri

I like to think that what I play is blues, but then again those tones have evolved over the years. The rosewood fingerboard colors the tone a lot, but an even bigger factor here is the pickups. The overwound Alnico III pickups are meant to be more high-gain friendly while still retaining the high end when played clean. I agree. Overwinding gives more midrange at the expense of highs, and at the same time the weaker Alnico III magnets help to retain high-end sparkle. The overall output is not weak at all, and the guitar is comparable in volume to my Texas-Special equipped Roadhouse Strat. The Highway One is still recognizable as a Strat even when played through the high-gain dual-rectifier patch on a modeling amp (without the brittle sizzle that you can get with single coils in that situation), and still puts out the rockabilly sparkle and snap on more traditional Tweed or Deluxe settings. For the tube-purists out there, I also note the guitar is lovely when played through a class-A thirty-watt EL84 combo with plenty of reverb, clean or dirty. Incidentally the Lindy Fralin Pickups Web site mentions that the ???54 Stratocasters had Alnico III, apparently the Alnico V magnets came later, so these are not far off from the Fender heritage.

The Greasebucket tone controls work nicely, rolling off treble a little sooner than stock tone knobs without getting mushy when turned all the way down (never understood why jazz guys do that...). Both tone knobs have the Greasebucket circuit (two capacitors and a resistor instead of just one capacitor) although Fender advertised it in the context of being added for the bridge pickup. What they???re talking about is the tone controls are connected to the neck and bridge pickups, not the middle pickup. The Eric Johnson signature model is wired the same way. This way you have a tone knob to control bright neck pickup (whereas the vintage layout would not have any tone control on the bridge pickup), and you never have to worry about both tone controls coming on at the same time (as you would in position 4 of a regular setup).

The body happens to be lighter than my ???97 American Standard Strat, which may have a greater factor in livening the tone so I really cannot verify the hype about the thin-skin finish letting the wood ???resonate??? or ???breathe??? (not that there isn???t some truth to this legend, but as a woodworking hobbyist it doesn???t make sense to me from a technical standpoint). At any rate the Highway One body seems to resonate when played un-plugged; you can feel the body vibrate against your ribs.

The matte lacquer finish on the body is nice but not what I dreamed of in a sunburst Strat. You can let it age on its own, where it probably will take on some shiny areas where you handle it more, but I opted to buff it out. There is a touch of orange-peel texture in the finish which is not an issue if you leave it matte, but then again the nitro did take well to being polished. I used dedicated woodworking compounds but I believe some people have had success with auto polishes. The grain of the alder body is very nice, showing through the amber and red parts of the sunburst. The neck finish is a clear satin polyurethane which feels great out of the box.

Construction is just about flawless. The neck is perfectly aligned (better than my ???97 American Standard) with good string spacing and plenty of room so you don???t pull the E strings off the edge. The factory setup was obviously done with attention, even though the truss rod needed to be tightened (which is to be expected on a new guitar).

The factory action tends to get a little high as the neck flexes in shipment and display, so the treble strings were higher off the neck than the base strings on this particular guitar. Also with the action so high, the pickups are a little far away from the strings and this makes it hard to imagine the true sound just by playing them in the store. Never met a guitar that didn???t need a little tweaking to bring out the full potential.

The frets (again, huge) were very nicely finished with a polished bevel and really no file marks to speak of. The action could easily be set as low as 3/64 treble and 4/64 bass after a little work on the trussrod and saddles, but of course out of the box the guitar needed a complete setup (not that it wasn???t playable in the store, its just the nature of the beast). The nut was surprisingly very nicely done, with fairly low slots but without a lot of excess material above the strings/in between the slots.

The rosewood fingerboard was dry and light (almost ashen or chalky in some spots) but this was instantly fixed by an application of boiled linseed oil (my dressing of choice, seems like it does not need renewing as often as the lemon-scented mineral oil that seems to be popular) and buffing with a rag a few hours later before putting the strings back on. Nice dark chocolate colored rosewood with a good feel (except the high frets put your fingers further away so you don???t feel the wood as much). The maple neck is finished in polyurethane apparently with no stain, so it is very light and bland when new. On the other hand, they avoided putting on the fake orange ???vintage??? tint found in some lacquers.

The vintage style trem works very smoothly and fairly reliably as far as coming back to pitch when the spring-claw screws are properly adjusted for your string gauge and action. You can dive-bomb almost until the strings are totally slacked (assuming you???d want to do that), and with the bridge floating the recommended 1/8" off the body you get a little more than a full step pull-up, or at least a more natural flutter when pushing the bar down and letting it float back up. Can???t say it sustains like a hard-tail but it???s very nice indeed.

I, too, did not like the Ping tuners which felt as if they were getting tighter or looser depending on where each post was rotating. In fact the A string tuner felt like a spot was grinding as if one of the gears was not cleanly machined. Replacing them with Fender/Schallers was an improvement.

Detractors who are afraid of what might or will happen to the finish should simply wait and check in with us after they???ve banged the guitar around for awhile (one reviewer criticized the durability and hadn???t even purchased one!). I have seen photos posted on bulletin boards of heavily used Highway One???s that wore or chipped here and there where you would expect an abused instrument to take some knocks after a year or two. All I can say is the nitrocellulose topcoat will show scratches but first the matte finish will show some gloss where your arm rests. I rubbed mine out with woodfinishing polishing compounds and the gloss and color of the finish are beautiful, as is the alder wood grain showing in the three-tone sunburst. With it in a glossy condition, it does show scratches more easily but the color and depth are wonderful.

Fender Customer Relations were very responsive and informative by email when I had a problem getting the correct trem arm and wrenches. They did pass the buck to the store for failing to keep track of the accessory kits when they unpacked the gig bags and hung up the guitars. They did, however, verify he correct part numbers for the trem arm (same as the Made In Mexico Strats), bridge saddle wrench (ditto), and truss rod wrench (same as the other USA models). Another email asking for .pdf???s of the parts lists and wiring diagram was answered within a day - with the information I requested.

I have not had any need for warranty work so cannot comment on support when it really counts.

My black Strat with a maple neck (???97 Roadhouse Strat, American Standard with stock Texas Special pickups) was my go-to guitar until I saw every Strat onstage at the Experience Hendrix show had a rosewood neck (except for Buddy Guy's blonde with a maple neck). Never saw so many Marshall half-stacks cranked up to eleven. That got me thinking a rosewood neck Strat would behave a bit more under high gain situations and the Higway One certainy fits the bill. Great sound, if you get the action and pickup height set properly before making a judgment about the tone. Great vibe. Two points off for the less than perfect tuning machines, which can be fixed in a matter of moments.

This is a review for a 2005 Highway 1 Stratocaster.

As a note, in 2006 Fender made some big changes to the Highway 1, including a bridge with narrower string spacing (2 1/16 string spacing - similar to the MIM Standard and American Series Strats), large 70s headstock, and new darker-sounding Alnico 3 pickups. The newer guitars also have jumbo frets.

The finish is on my 2005 Highway 1 is transparent red, the alder grain is noticeable through the finish. The clearcoat is almost non-existent, it's very thin and wasn't polished to a glossy shine like on most other standard production Strats. It can be polished to a semi-gloss shine using polishing cream and lots of elbow grease.

The body shape is an "Original Contour Body", it looks just like the American Vintage Strats and MIM Classic Strats. The horns are correctly shaped. It is made of 4 pieces of Alder. The wood matching was very nicely done. If you look closely at the MIM Standards and some of the earlier American models the body edges aren't rounded as much as the Strats with the "Original Contour Body" decal on the headstock.

Since it's a pre-2006 Highway 1, it's got the 6-screw vintage-style tremelo bridge with the wide 2 7/32 string spacing. It looks like the same bridge Fender puts on the MIM Classic Series Strats. I needed a guitar with wide string spacing since I play fingerstyle some of the time.

It has the Ping, Fender labeled tuners.

Standard 25.5" scale with 22 medium-jumbo frets on a 1-piece maple neck. 9.5" radius fretboard.

Standard Strat setup - Master Volume with 2 tone controls, one for the neck pickup, the other for the middle. The newer 2006 and later Highway 1's use the 2nd tone control for the bridge instead of the middle pickup.

The pickups are the same as the ones used on the MIM Classic series - they use Alnico 5 magnets and are bright sounding.

This is a back-to-basics Stratocaster.

It has the classic Strat tone - bright, clear, twangy, and a little thin-sounding. The pickups don't have as much detail and shimmer as the Custom Shop '54's I have in a Warmoth Strat.

I use it with a newer model '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, a PodXT, Lexicon MPX-1 Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Tubeman and Tubeworks Blue Tube pedals. Several analog delay pedals, a Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator pedal, and a Boss AD-8 Acoustic pedal.

It is noisier than most other Strats I've used in the past. The middle pickup isn't reverse wound, reverse polarity, so it's not hum-canceling in the 2 and 4 positions like on the post-2006 Highway 1's.

All the pickup positions sound very good except for the bridge pickup alone. Very thin sounding bridge. Even though it's noisier, I find the 2 and 4 positions sound better compared to Strats with the reverse wound, reverse polarity, middle pickup.

It was set up reasonable well at the factory. The neck is straight with no unusual bumps, the frets are smooth and even across the fretboard, and the neck-to-body fit is extremely tight. Only problems were the rear of the bridge was sitting about 1/4" off the body of the guitar, and the bridge saddles needed adjusting.

The clearcoat finish is very thin and scratches easily.

Everything else seems tough like the way most Strats are.

I've never had to contact Fender.

Limited Lifetime warranty.

I've been playing for around 17 years.

I use it with a newer model '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, a PodXT, Lexicon MPX-1 Reverb, Hughes & Kettner Tubeman and Tubeworks Blue Tube pedals. Several analog delay pedals, a Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator pedal, and a Boss AD-8 Acoustic pedal.

As far as electric guitars - a Warmoth Strat with a mahogany body with quilted maple top and multiple sound chambers routed from the mahogany body. It has Fender Custom Shop '54 pickups and an original Wilkinson VS-100 tremolo bridge. This Warmoth sounds beautiful in the neck position but not so great in the other positions.
I also have an Ibanez small-bodied hollowbody guitar with humbuckers that I don't use too much. I also have a Squier Standard Stratocaster which is a decent guitar for the money. The Squier is quite a bit heavier than the other Strats I own and it has a very thin sound.

As far as acoustics, I have a Taylor 414, Martin OM-16 and an Ibanez. I like the smaller acoustics.

I basically needed a lightweight electric guitar with a tremelo bridge with wide string spacing since I play mostly with my fingers and I'm used to the wide string spacing on the acoustics.

I was also looking at the Korean Fender Lite Ash Stratocaster. It had a nice birdseye maple neck with an ash body along with Seymour Duncan pickups. Problems were that it was pretty heavy and the bridge is similar to the American Series Strats' bridge with it's narrow string spacing. Biggest problem was the neck was not straight and a truss rod adjustment didn't help. Buzzing frets up and down the neck. It did look nice though. The Highway 1 looked very plain next to the Lite Ash Strat.

I'm happy with my purchase, it met all of my requirements and was pretty inexpensive for an American made guitar. I really like the neck, it's one of the best I've ever played and the body is very lightweight and comfortable. The sound is better than average but I may install a set of Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or 57/62s just to thicken the tone up a bit. Maybe a Callaham bridge block as well, though it doesn't need it.

Again, this is a back-to-basics Stratocaster.

I have the upgraded 2006 model, 3-tone sunburst, nitro finish. Jumbo frets, and they are JUMBO, 22 frets...etc you know the specs.

The pickups are allright, not your typical standard pickups, a little darker, but they can sound clean if you don't attack too hard. I was running it through my fender blues jr, and the pickups are just too sensitive to my playing at least. Tone is obviously subjective, but I really like a strat with noiseless pickups, I guess that's just my cup of tea...

Oh my, this is where it gets terrible. The guitar's action was actually too low at the store, had some bad buzzing. The pickups weren't adjusted correctly. I thought I'd tune it up myself, but guess what? The allan wrenches for the saddles weren't the correct sizes in the bag, seems the highway one has a different size that's not so standard. The cut on the nut was terrible, the low E wasn't set in correctly and had a small crack that I didn't notice until later on. Also I wanted to put some relief in the neck with the truss rod about 3 months later, and the truss rod is semi-stripped. I never touched it, so either it came from the factory or the store messed it up...

The tuners are absolutely horrible! Worst I've ever seen on a fender. Blocking the trem helped but still, they are terrible, end of story.

This guitar has been frustrating since the day I brought it home. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't quite figure it out since I was learning about electric guitars at the same time. (I'm an acoustic guy)

I think the Jumbo frets and the terrible tuners are it's weakest points in general. The finish is nice, the pickups are subjective, so they almost got it right. The neck is comfortable, but those frets are like road speed bumps, maybe I just got a huge lemon.

Well I'll have to revisit this question because I'm taking it under warranty this Friday to see how they'll fix the cracked nut, and stripped truss rod. The store I bought it from has a 2 year warranty on top of fender's. Really I hope they just give me in-store credit because I just don't want it anymore and want to wipe my hands clean of this mess of a guitar.

I've already picked up a Fender Deluxe Player's that is soooo much better than the highway one, it's not even funny. When I played the deluxe, I felt right at home with a guitar, it just took 6 months to find out how one's supposed to feel..

It's a strat 2002 teal

I play mostly Rock and blues 50s to today I use Fender solid state,Fender tube,Gibson tube and Marshall with mostly reverb and or tube screamers and wah pedals of different brands and qualitys sounds good to me and the people I play around.I have a American series, this guitar does not sound as loud as the American but make no mistake this is a good sounding insturment the pickups are just not quite as hot as the American seriies.The HIghway has a rosewood neck the American series has maple

I do not know how the guitar was set up from the factory as it was set up at the store I bought it from the thin finish had a couple of flaws in it from being handled at the store,you had to look closley to find,everything else was fine.I like the look of the guitar and like the idea that the finish will check in time.Feels good to the touch.

Its a Fender American made should outlive most coustermers.

Dont know

Been playing sence the mid 70s. If it were stolen I buy an other and would keep looking for this guitar for the rest of my life.I love her been playing her for 3 years now only bought the American series to round out my Strat sound and options. I also have a Gibson SG witch I also love and a Gib Les Paul also a fine insturment the thing is their tools for diferent jobs or platforms for diferent travels this is a good guitar If your looking for a strat and dont have a lot of cash try one strats are vrey versitle for most kinds of music.
I love the finish the sound the feel and the play ability. A hard case from the factory would have been nice, oh well.

2007 model (post-upgrade) USA-made Highway One Stratocaster, daphne blue nitro finish, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, alder body, three single-coil Alnico pickups, standard bridge, 9.5 radius neck with jumbo frets (and they are NOT kidding about that, they're big!). C-shaped neck with satin finish, a little chunky but not uncomfortable. Standard Strat controls with the exception of the second tone control, which is wired to the bridge pickup. The middle pickup is wide open. The Highway One includes the "Greasebucket" circuit which rolls off highs without beefing up the lows, and it does what it says on the package. Overall the standard Strat setup with a few exceptions.

The number of horrendous reviews for the Highway One is disconcerting. From the way some people talk, you would think that the Highway Ones are only marginally better than buying an Agile Strat copy. I'm here to remedy this and tell you the truth. The Highway One is not a Custom Shop model, but it does not deserve the merciless ragging it gets from so-called Strat enthusiasts.

The Highway One has darker pickups than most other Strats. For my money, I like this. They are not ear-piercingly shrill, and they get a classic Strat sound. I find the stock pickups a lot less noisy than the Stratocasters I've had in the past - significantly less noisy, actually. They're not noiseless, but they are not noisy at all.

Overall I would say the Highway One pickups give a well-rounded sound that covers a lot of Strat bases. They seem a bit biased toward a rock sound, so to speak. There is a bit less of a "twang" than the vintage Strat sound and a bit more midrange. For me, this is good, because I find that Stratocasters - especially in the bridge pickup - can be ear-piercingly shrill. This doesn't happen with the Highway One. If you are looking for a 1950's Strat sound, go elsewhere. But I do want to make it clear that for most players who are not fixated on having their Strat sound exactly like a vintage model, these pickups will do well. They have a medium output and to my ears, good tone - a bit more rounded off than the vintage sound, but still clearly a Stratocaster.

The complaints about lack of warmth and sterility that are in other reviews are simply not true. It is true that if you want the typical pingy, brittle, 1950s vintage Strat sound, these won't get it. If you want fullness, warmth, and a good Strat vibe, the Highway One will get you there.

The action took some tweaking. No guitar comes well set up from the factory, and everyone needs to adjust for their individual tastes. That being said the factory-set action was decent. I lowered it a little and did some setup for the 9-42's I like. I felt the need to bring the pickups up a little bit, but not much.

The body is finished in a non-glossy nitro blue, and if you look at it dead on you can see the wood through the finish. I don't mind this, but again, it's not a very "vintage" looking finish. The blue is less intense than it would be in a thicker finish, but I like it. The guitar is not at all heavy and compares well with my Gibson SG Special Faded, which is a very light guitar. It may be a few ounces heavier but not much. I'm skeptical about the idea that the lighter finish adds to the resonance of the guitar, but I have to admit that overall it seems to feel more resonant and the sound does seem to have a bit more air than on more heavily finished guitars. This is highly subjective, though.

The hardware, nut, etc. is all good solid stuff. The nut could use some lubrication but appears well cut.

The maple on the neck is not stained at all, which gives it a pale appearance. This doesn't bother me, but does freak some people out. I have read reviews of the Highway One where people complained about the rosewood fretboard. Mine did have a dusty feel, but an application of lemon oil cleared that off and revealed a nice dark piece of rosewood that plays well. The edges of the frets were well rounded.

There are some minor issues with the edges of the fretboard, which are rounded but not "rolled off." It's not the cleanest-looking work on very close inspection, but running your hand up and down the fretboard there are no snags and no protruding fret tangs. The fret height seems to be even all the way around.

One of the issues that many people seem to have is with the size of the frets. And they are huge, no joke. If you're used to vintage size frets, or even medium frets, you may find yourself pressing down too hard and sending the note sharp. A light touch goes very far in playing the Highway One. Remember that you're only trying to get the string to reach the top of the fret, not get your finger on the fretboard itself. The large frets do make bending quite easy.

The bridge is your standard 6-screw Strat bridge with a nice steel block underneath. Unfortunately, after many years of trying to use standard Strat trems and following the gurus' advice to the letter, I am still unable to find a regular Strat trem that will return in tune and the Highway One is no exception. This is a reflection on me, and not the guitar. After trying manfully, I gave up and blocked the trem. I guess I'm not cut out to use the Strat tremolo. Your mileage may vary!

The one real problem I had was the Ping tuning keys. I didn't like the way they felt and they didn't seem terribly stable on the G and B strings, so I replaced them with Fender/Schaller locking tuners, which slotted in with no modification at all. After this, and blocking the trem, I had no tuning problems. Again, your mileage may vary; many people find the Ping tuners to be quite adequate.

The sustain on this Highway One is quite good. A Strat will never sustain quite as well as a guitar with a hardtail bridge, but even without the block when I was trying to use the tremolo, I had no problem getting a good sustaining tone.

Overall the guitar has a workmanlike appearance and a workmanlike feel. That's not a put-down. It's not a custom shop job, but it is a clean, basic, well-made Stratocaster with a good sound and a good feel once you get adjusted to the very large frets.

The guitar will certainly withstand live playing. The thin finish will wear off eventually, which is what Fender intended according to their company info on the Highway One. They intend for you to "relic" it yourself. Personally I have never understood the "relic" thing, but if you take care of the guitar the finish should be fine. (Don't put it on a cheap rubber-coated guitar stand, though; that may react with the finish.) The hardware, strap buttons, etc. are solid and reliable.

This is certainly a dependable, solid guitar. I'd use it on a gig without a backup. Everything about the Highway One indicates it's a keeper and something you can play without worrying about.

I have never used Fender's warranty, so I can't comment on this. I've never had anything go so badly wrong with a Fender that I felt the need to send it back. Maybe I've been lucky!

I have been playing for 30 years and I own quite a lot of gear - Gibson SG, 1959 Fender Jazzmaster, Rickenbacker 330, and lots of other stuff. I really am amazed at the negative reviews the Highway One Strat gets, and I don't think they are fair reviews. I have played vintage Fenders. The Highway One is not a vintage-styled Strat. If that's what you're looking for, you would be better off buying one of the MIM 50's, 60s or 70s models, or paying more money for one of the American Standards or Hot Rod Vintage models.

That being said, the Highway One is not just for "modern" players, either. It covers a lot of bases sonically, and it's meant for people who don't have money to throw away but who want something that is American made, and is better than the standard MIM models. The reaction against it by some people is mystifying.

The satin finish on the neck may be throwing people off, perhaps; the more rounded pickup sound, the fact that the neck is not tinted and the body doesn't have a glossy finish may be throwing them off too. But the concentrated hate that gets thrown at the Highway One from some corners is entirely and completely justified. It's not a Custom Shop, and if you can afford one of those get it. But if you are a working player, and you don't have a lot of money, and you want a reliable, straightforward Strat that sounds good and plays well, and sounds like a Strat should, the Highway One is an excellent choice.

I should start by saying that I liked the description and the list of features that the Fender website lists, and that's why I sought out one of these guitars. I have a 1956 time machine Custom Shop strat that I absolutely love, but, to be honest, I get a little nervous anytime it's out of the case. I wantd a guitar I could take to gigs and play without obsessively worrying over a potential dent or scratch.

So I drove over a hundred miles to find a large Fender dealer so I could play a few of these (I also wanted to find a dealer who would sell me the guitar I happened to play in the store; what a concept, huh, Guitar Center?).

I don't know how Fender has marketed the Highway One, but this guitar seems to be a nice melding of modern features and vintage vibe. On the modern side, the Highway One has a reverse wound middle pickup to cancel hum, jumbo frets, and a tone control over the bridge pickup.

On the vintage side, the Highway One has a nitrocellulose lacquer finish and a classic 70's headstock and decal. Of course, maybe Fender hasn't realized that the 70's was the decade when they built a reputation for poor quality control and terrible customer service, so maybe the 70's throwback nature wasn't the best choice. But I digress.

Finally, the most notable feature of all, for better or for worse, is that the Highway One series are made in the USA.

I play blues and classic rock, and occaionally, when I feel like embarrassing myself, jazz.

I play through a Blues Junior at home occasionally, but mostly I use a forty watt Trayner tube amp. In the store, while I played the Highway Ones, I used a Blues Junior.

I made a bad joke about the poor reputation Fender built in the 1970's. I think that reputation is pretty well repaired by now, but if the goal of the Highway One was to bring that reputation back into the spotlight, then, let me say, mission accomplished. Highway One? I call it Highway Junk.

The four Highway Ones I played certainly weren't noisy. In fact, they were terribly thin and brittle sounding. Even when experimenting with the greasebucket tone controls, the pickups sounded extremely sterile. Some of the worst pickups I've ever heard.

I believe these pickups are particular to Highway One models, so it's possible I just have an aversion to them. I do love the single coil sound, however. I love the sound of american standard pickups, and even pickups from a good MIM strat.

I can't speak to the set up from the factory. I went to CA House Music because they do a fine job of setting up their guitars. I suppose it's possible that they forgot to set up every Highway One in the store (but not likely). I think I could have pressed two quarters together and slipped them between the neck to body joint. If you're looking for sustain, that isn't the way to get it.

Also, the nitro finish looked more cheap than vintage to me, something akin to heavy paint on an old barn. I didn't try it, but I had the feeling that if I pressed my palm into the body and made a few circles I would have had an instant relic job on my hands (literally; ba-ta-ding!). So if you're looking for a finish that'll begin chipping the day after you buy it, here you go. Maybe the poor finish is there to make it seem like you play a lot, since, if you're stuck with this guitar, you won't want to play at all. You might even contemplate quitting.

But here's the good news! It stayed in tune better than some of the MIM strats I played (but not most of them).

I can't comment on the reliability or durability since I didn't buy this instrument.

My guess is that it isn't reliable or durable. This guitar sounded cheap and felt even cheaper. Drop it three inches onto carpet and it might very well explode into dust.

Can't comment on the customer support aspect either. With this, Fender might be getting so many calls they're leaving the phones off the hook.

I can say that I had a American standard series years ago and Fender wasn't particularly helpful with a pickup problem I had. The dealer I bought it from eventually took care of it, however. When it comes to Fender, from what I've experienced and heard, dealer support is more likely than manufacturer support.

Overall, every Highway One I played was a piece of junk. I think many guitar players listen with their wallets as much as their ears. Sure these guitars are more expensive than those made in Mexico, but they certainly aren't better instruments. Unfortunately, the selling point I found for this guitar is that it's made in the USA, and that's a shame.

Another reviewer claimed this was a great guitar if you put in the necessary modifications. That's probably true of this guitar, but it's also true for any guitar with a decently playing neck. Call me crazy, but if I spend almost 800 dollars for a guitar, I shouldn't have to make modifications for it to be servicable.

This wasn't a wasted trip, however. I played two Classic Player strats, a 50's and 60's. They were both great and far superior to the Highway Ones and even the American Standard strats I played (not the American Deluxes, though). So at the end of the day I bought a Classic Player 60's strat. It cost fifty dollars more. It isn't made in the USA. But the pickups are the custom shop 69s, and the neck felt much better and smoother. It sustained and stayed in tune. And most importantly, it didn't feel like a piece of junk.

So if you really have to have a USA made strat, save a little more and grab an American Standard or American Deluxe. You'll end up saving a lot of money on upgrades and you'll have a much nicer piece of equipment.

Upgraded 2007 Highway One Stratocaster in 3-tone sunburst finish. Smooth and light satin finish shows the wood grain of the alder body. Vintage Synch Trem (6 screws) with a steel bridge block. 3-ply plain white pickguard. Alnico 3 hot pickups with tone controls wired to the neck and the bridge pickup. Reverse polarity for the middle pickup (no hum in 2 and 4 position) Maple neck and fretboard. Jumbo sized frets. 70's style large headstock and decal. Standard ping tuners. 22 Frets. American made. S/S/S pickup config.

The Alnico 3 pickups gives a very modern sound. It sounds great with high distortion, and it's not as noisy as many other single coils. Very versatile sound sacrifices hotter sounds as in Tex-Mex's. I'm running it through a Boss ME-50 guitar multiple effects processor, and a Marshall MG30DFX. Neck pickup is very clear and bell-like, and bridge pickup is twangy, just like a normal Strat should be. Great guitar for blues, classic rock, moder rock, jazz, pop, etc. Very, very versatile guitar. the lighter finish lets the wood breath which also contributes to the sound.

Minor adjustments were required to get the feel that I wanted. But other than that, it was set up great. The nut is giving troubles though. Strings stick or slip in the nut causes great inconveniences when using the tremolo. I suggest putting some lubricant (graphite) to help smooth it out.

Seems like a very durable guitar. I'm looking forward to the finish wearing off and making this guitar look vintage. The strap buttons are huge, and my frequent playing seems to have no effect in wearing anything off.

I've talked to Fender before, and they've been great in answering questions. They seem friendly.

I've had this guitar for a little over a month. It's been holding up great and it's still sounding great. I've always loved the 70's style decal and headstock and the light satin finish makes this guitar feel weightless. I love the versatility and the durability. I wouldn't necessarily exchange. I would mod it out maybe a bit, but I can settle with what it is now. Of course I wish it had locking tuners and a 2-point American trem with an LSR bridge, but that'd be asking too much for this cheaper in price guitar.

This is the upgrade model with large 70s headstock, steel block trem instead of zinc, jumbo frets, "grease bucket" tone pots, hot pups, mid pup RWRP.

This is totally subjective but I really like the sound. More authoritative and ballsy than my other strats. It sustains forever. The pups are not quite as chimey as traditionalists would like but I prefer darker than brighter. The pups are far more dynamic with more harmonic overtones than my new American Standard strat. It behaves very well during high gain and really driving the tubes. It also sounds really good clean.

OK this was a surprise. Everything on this guitar was excellent with the exception of a popping noise when going to the #2 position and that the trem arm doesn't mount/fit as smoothly as my other strats that have the modern trems. These are annouyances but only minor and easily fixed. These rosewood fretboard is not as dark as the more expensive strats. The shop where I got it must have strung it with 10s which is what I prefer and the action was just right for me. Stays in tune really well. The huge frets are strange to me but I find that I play this guitar the most now.

I am sure the hardware will last. The strap buttons seem to be a lighter metal. The finish well - I convinced myself it is for the acoustical properties of the instrument that wins out in this case because it is not durable although it does look nice.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I have been trying to learn how to play for way too long (35 yrs). For the money this is a good instrument. But I cannot stand the fact that it did not come with a hardshell case. Gig bags should be outlawed. I wish the trem arm mounted smoother - its like the threads are a little galled and its either in there too tight or too loose but it works. The jury is still out on the jumbo frets. If it were lost or stolen? Well I was looking for one when I found this one and I really enjoy this one. I hate ratings because they don't mean a thing. It does annoy me that I have to go to the shop and leave it for the tech to fix the popping in the pup selector when I could be using that time to do something like, maybe, play my guitar?

Well, features on a strat? Alder body, maple neck and a rosewood board. To me thats how a strat should be(maple boards are nice to)

Heres the thing. This is a decent guitar but it needs some work.
- The stock pickups seemed dull and lifeless ie unstratty. I changed those for some John Suhr V60lp:s (best singelcoils on the planet) wich made an enormous improvment.
- The crappy zink bridge-block is somewhat of a tone-killer and i would suggest to anyone to get a callaham steel block (60$) as soon as possible since it breaths new life into most strats.
- this is a personal thing but I really like sperzel locking tuners. To me they sound better than the klusons but alot of guys will tell you the opposite.
After these uppgrades you??ve got yourself a killer strat.

I don??t remember it beeing to bad but I always set my guitars up myself.
I kinda dig the finnish. Alot of guys hate it. The thing is that i??m not sentimental about guitars (unless my first one) and a bit of battery only looks cool if you ask me.

So far so good.

mailed fender once about an amp and they did??nt get back to me and from what i??ve heard it??s basically impossible to get hold of someone at fender.

Once "modded" its GREAT

Highway One (upgrade) model.

As the price indicates, the features on this guitar are somewhere between the standard stratocaster and the american standard stratocaster. They also have some vintage characteristics like a 70's style headstock and decal.

What initially attracted me to the Highway one, was the nitrocellulose lacquer finish, which, supposedly, allows the tonewood of the body to breath and resonate better.

In an effort to help alleviate hum, the middle pickup is reverse wound. Fender also claims all three pick ups are a little hotter than the previous version of the highway one.

Overall, lots of nice features for this guitar. I think fender is clearly trying to make this more than just a stripped-down version of the american stratocaster. It has it's own vibe, and some unique features.

Here's the catch, at least it was for me.

I use a fender blues junior amp, which I really like.

I didn't find the pick ups very noisy at all. Although, I have to admit, I don't have a problem with a little hum from my pick ups. After all, isn't that part of what single coils do?

The problem I had with these pick ups was that they were very lifeless to me. No quack, no glassy tones, no traditional strat tones whatsoever, especially in positions two and four. The pickups sounded terribly thin.

The store I went to had three highway one strats in stock, and I played every one. I had the same issues with every one of them.

On the other hand, I felt that the american strats and even a standard (MIM) I tried had more bite and sounded significantly better than these.

Maybe this particular music stosre does a particularly poor job (or no job at all) setting up their guitars. The neck pocket joints were not tight on any of these. The neck felt unfinished, and the nitro finish, instead of looking vintage, just looked cheap to me. Other strats like the Eric Johnson strat has a nitrocellulose finish, which look great, but these did not, in my opinion.

Maybe part of the problem is quality control on Fender's part, maybe the store, maybe it's me.

Needless to say, I did not buy this guitar. I can say that the sound and build definciences, notwithstanding, I thought this guitar felt cheap and quite fragile.

No idea, but from what I've heard, good luck.

I was extremely dissappointed with this guitar. A few days later I played two G&L tribute series guitars, and they really impressed me. They were three times the guitar for half the price of one of the highway ones.

If you're on a budget, and don't have to have a Fender, I'd look into them. Better finishes, the same pick ups and bridges as the top of the line G&L models, and all for half the price of a highway one!

In the end, I shelled out the extra money (say hello credit card and goodbye happy marriage!) and invested in an American Deluxe strat. For only three hundred dollars more, I feel I got a much better guitar. Better pick ups with traditional strat tones, a beautiful finish and a great feeling neck.

Of course, I don't have the vintage features or the nitro finish. If you must have these features and can't afford to go up to the custom shop level, my advice is to pick up this guitar and be prepared to invest another $300-400 in upgrades and guitar tech fees. You'll need it.

Its a bog standard strat with a great finish, smooth neck, pretty decent s/s/s pick-ups and vintage hardware. Mine is nice and light too.

This is a very clear, clean and rather powerful guitar. It is hard to hide sloppy playing on a good strat. I mainly play rock with some funk and blues edge and I always wander back to Strats for use on stage. I usually use just the neck or bridge pups into a Hartman bc108 fuzz, Fulltone FD2 Mosfet, Boss DD-3 and into either a Silverface Vibrolux Reverb or a Sovtek Mig-50 on a Marshall 2x12.

Everything was setup fairly well from the factory and played beautifully out of the box. I absolutely love the feel and look of the finish and the neck. After a few days of good playing I found 2 frets not leveled correctly that buzzed. I was not that upset and was contemplating not returning it because I just liked it so much when the middle pickup conked out. Between this episode and a Jaguar that had strings not grounded properly has made me wonder if Fender America is getting sloppy. I have a mexican Strat I love and have no problems with, but i have not been impressed by Fender's USA department.

As i mentioned, 2 frets were not leveled correctly and the middle pickup died after only a week. Everything else performs and feels excellent.

Always been good in the past and i will see about this Strat very soon.

This is a beautiful guitar and superb value for what it is, although it seems more like the 60's when you had to sort through a pile of gear to get a winner. These are not as cookie cutter as you would expect and each one had its own personality. Mine just had 2 flaws which should not have made it past quality control to a customer.

It's a Strat. Very familiar features for anyone who knows the Strat: 3 single-coil pickups, Volume/Tone/Tone, Wilkinson trem bridge, standard non-locking tuners and a Tusq (imitation bone) nut. You could call it an American-made Mexi, but it's really closer to a vintage reproduction with some modern touches, as if Fender were still making their standard guitars the same way as in the '60s. The biggest visual change is the satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish which was standard through the classic Strat years. The hardware is kind of a hybrid; the bridge is very Mexi-ish with stamped saddles and tailpiece, with a pretty hefty Wilkinson trem underneath. The neck hardware though is very American; the string trees are molded rather than stamped, and the tuning machines, though not vintage-style, are very good; no slop or binding, and far smoother than a Mexi's. The neck itself is semi-gloss; not a true thin satin finish that feels like bare wood, but not a highly-polished gloss finish like on some Fenders. Pickups are Alnico, but Alnico-3 rather than the true vintage Alnico-5.

One feature that players familiar with Mexi and American strats is that the pickups are true vintage configuration, with a middle pickup that is NOT RW/RP, so neck/mid and mid/bridge are not hum-cancelling as you're probably used to. This is something to be aware of, as I hadn't realized this in the store. This is not difficult to change if you like to tinker, and if you shield the control cavity properly (as I did) noise is drastically reduced. The body cavity is routed for HSS, so you can throw a humbucker in the bridge for a "Fat Strat" look and sound. All in all, a very versatile instrument as Strats tend to be.

The guitar came strung with 9-42s, which were very light for my tastes; I restrung it with 10-46s and the playability improved and the sound got tighter and beefier. The sound is VERY vintage; the nitro finish gives a woodier tone and a lot of body resonance (this thing can almost be played as an acoustic, and I'm not saying that glibly). Perfect for all your '60s idols from Clapton to SRV and everything in between. The bridge is a bit thin; again it's the vintage voicing, where more modern bridge pickups, even "classics", are slightly overwound. Very twangy (heaps of "Strat Quack") and it screams when overdriven. Neck, Neck/Mid, and Mid are all very beefy clean or driven; the mid pickup adds a lot of sparkle to the tone that works excellently either way in any of the middle 3 positions. I actually can't decide if I think it'd be better to have the middle pickup the way it is now or Rw/Rp, which would allow the noiseless combos but remove some of the middle pickup's sparkle. Noise notwithstanding, the sound of this guitar is excellent, and if you don't mind a noise gate, it'll give you everything you want when overdriven.

Here's where the downside of owning a trem-equipped Strat becomes very apparent. I've never had a trem-equipped axe before, and though I "knew" the issues it would give me in tuning, intonation and action, it was still a shock going through it. This guitar is very fiddly, and because the trem both increases the amount of vibration of the string and takes tension off of the neck, fretbuzz is a problem I'm still fighting when I play fingerstyle. The light-gauge strings don't bow the neck at all, so even with the truss rod completely slack I couldn't get even the slightest neck relief. Restringing it with 10s gave it a little relief, but required a slight adjustment of the trem to counterbalance it. Tuning this thing is a nightmare compared to a non-trem guitar; it currently takes me three passes to get the thing in tune after restringing or if one string is way off, because adjusting one string can have a significant change on the tension of the rest due to the trem.

All that said, fit and finish on this guitar is wonderful. No finish flaws in the nitro other than slight shop-wear (I wasn't the first to have played this guitar in the store). And, now that I have the lightly heavier strings, and have adjusted the neck and trem, the action is beautiful. It intonates perfectly (though the saddles are in rather odd positions compared to, say, how an LP's floating bridge might be), and the trem stays in tune when you dive-bomb and do other extreme trem moves. Neither the nut not the string trees bind strings, so other than the trem messing with string tensions, it's easy to tune a string exactly to pitch. The entire guitar is put together magnificently. I'm giving it a 7 for the setup hell, but you minimize this by keeping one string gauge (I'll probably use 10-46s on this for a LOOOONG time) and only ever changing one string at a time. Once it's tuned and the neck, trem and strings have all found their balance of tension, it stays in tune quite well and retunes very easily.

The nitro finish is thinner than poly, so a good knock will probably show through to the wood where poly would just be dented. If you use this guitar hard it will start looking like a vintage axe after a few years, and the finish will probably wear throuh after a few years of steady gigging, but it'll play like the day you bought it through the entire thing, and probably sound better for it. I have actually not replaced the strap buttons with locks yet, as I normally do before anything else; with a decent strap (this one has two layers of leather) the strap does not come off easily. I would still recommend straplocks though. Just as a general rule I bring a backup instrument to gigs, if for no other reason than when you break a string, it's easier to pick up the spare and tune it up than install a new string mid-set. Other than that I'd definitely depend on this axe; it's solidly constucted and should last many many years.

Never dealt with Fender; I do most of my own work on my guitars, and if there's something I can't solve I just take it to a local luthier.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this guitar. I've not been playing guitar very long, maybe a year now, but I've played bass for over 6 years, and so I know what I want in quality, playability, and sound, and this axe has them all. I compared it to Mexi Strats and found that though the Mexi has its own great character, this axe had better tone. Against Americans, I felt that this sounded better for what turned out to be just over half the cost. And of course it's blown ny clone I compared it to completely out of the water. This is THE strat; it's a faithful remake of the class of Strat that countless stars used to get to the top. And it can be had for under $600.

all the features of the highway one strat have been adequately described already.

I've been playing a strat since '74. wanted a good strat to play at gigs so i could leav2 my '72 home, where its safe.
i played blues and southern rock, thru a Marshall half stack. very very happy with this guitar. it isn't any noisier than any other strat with standard single pickups. the stock pickups sounded ok, but i put Fender custom shop Fat 50's pickups in , and like them very much. initially i didn't like the bridge saddles, but i've only broken 3 strings on this guitar in 2 1/2 years of hard playing...
i like the clear finish, i like that it doesn't have locking this and floating that, or active electronics. its a good, plain 'ol strat. it's just snobbery to look at this as anything other then a nice guitar. you don't have to pay 2 or 3 grand for a guitar. some guys do that for bragging rights.

was set up well from the factory, tho i did raise the action a bit, so you have more string to grab hold of
you always tweak it to your personal tastes
as already stated, i prefer this finish over the heavier finishes...
and the medium jumbo frets are what i prefer. thats what i alsways refretted my '72 with

everything is road worthy aboutt his guitar. i really do love it. i do use this on gigs without a back up, because i can yank on the straings all day without them breaking. my other guitar i keep tuned to open tunings for slide. my red highway one strat, with maple neck is my workhorse guitar. the thinner finish does wear thru faster, but come on people, who doesn't like that? a worn beat up looking strat. some guys pay extra for that look... gimme a break.

never needed to

I've been playing for 34 years, i own a 1972 strat , which i've had since '74, this highway 1 strat, a schecter tele, martin 12 string, and takamine acoustic/electric. assorted effects and Marshall amp, and peavey combo amp.
very happy with this guitar. i plan to buy another one, just cuz i like it so much. i love the finish, the feel of the neck, stays in tune, doesn't break strings, i love the fact that it has a standard bridge, no floating fulcrum crap. no locking tuners... just a regular strat. i chose it because it had all these basic features, it was a good guitar for the $$.

Features are fine for a strat. Not sure why they didn't reverse-wind the middle pickup.

This is good sounding guitar. Has a lot of the throaty, spanky, bell-like character a strat should have. Not as nice as the Deluxe with noiseless picups, though.

This rates a little below sound for me. I tried three of these guitars at Guitar Center, and none were smooth playing. The fretwork felt rough, and maybe the setups weren't so great.

I only tried three of these strats, all on the same day, and didn't buy one because when I tried the Deluxe strat I felt there was no comparison. The Deluxe I bought plays and sounds significantly better to me than any of the the Highway 1s I tried out. I guess it should since it costs more, too. But I found myself disagreeing with the salesperson's comment that it was "the same guitar" except for the finish, which made it more affordable. Definitely don't believe that.

Basically a cheap American Stratocaster which represents the entry-level for USA made ones. Mine is a 2002, Cocoa trans nitrocellulose finish severely abused by the preceeding owner, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 22 medium jumbo frets, 3 single coil pick-ups, 1 volume and two tone knobs wired the classic Strat way except for the mid p.u. which isn't reverse wound and polarized so that pos. 2&4 are not hum-cancelling (more a vintage choice, quite unusual on modern Strats). Anyway these are the features anyone could expect from a Stratocaster. Comes with a gig bag (certainly not a luxury item, but comfortable and useful anyway). It's all that I need.

The sound is amazing for the buck! The very thin (someone said "poor") laquer finish lets the body's wood (a very well matched 2-pieces alder) resonate even unplugged and this results in a very good sustain and a brilliant tone. The pick-ups are not that holy grail, but they sound good and articulate once you properly set their height. They're authentic single coil and that's what they sound like: bright, a little thin in the bridge pos especially when highly overdriven, but more than adequate for what they're meant to deal with (I mean Blues, Texas Boogie, Southern Rock, Classic Rock).
They are a little bit noisy, as any other single-coil, but this shouldn't be an issue as in Studio for recording you can get rid of it with a good gate and when playing live THAT noise is way lower than the crowd will ever produce ;).
Anyway, if you want your strat to be hum-free, you can swap the PU's and get Kinman's (I have a set of Woodstock 69 Regular on my main Strat and they're fantastic!).
The mid P.U. being not reverse wound and with the same polarity as bridge and neck ones make pos. 2&4 sound more clear than on modern Strats, I dare to say this adds a little vintage flavor to the sound.
I'm completely satisfied with it, though this will of course be my second guitar.
Just one more little remark: you can read 1,000,000+ reviews, but the quality of sound dipends on whose ear is listening; and, most of all, sound is in your fingers and YOU are supposed to make your guitar play!

I bought mine 2nd-hand, and I think the hands that played it were really heavy!!!! Anyway, the thin finish will relic pretty soon even if you take care of your guitar as it was a baby, but I think this can make it even more charming and most of all it's the main thing that make it sound well.
The neck is fine, with a good radius and a fine choice of woods but the frets...AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! It seems like Marty Feldman himself has fretted the board: frets' height and alignement are as randomic as the teeth in a 90 years old man's mouth!
I had it re-fretted by a luthier and now it's fabulous!

All Fenders are built to last and are not scared about (ab)using (think about Hendrix or SRV!) and, except for the finish, I believe this one will be dependable as any other even much more expensive strat.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 30+ years, a decade across late 80's and 90's as a pro in more Blues and Southern Rock bands than I can remember.
I owned lots gear, many Gibson's (2 SG's, LP's Std and custom, ES 335, 175 and 347 stereo) Fender's (many Strats, various Teles) Yamaha and Ibanez semiacoustics; mainly Marshall amps until 1999, then Engl and now two Fender Blues Jr MIM (wonderful amps!!!). My actual rig is: strat or tele > Marshall BB2 overdrive (occasionally substituted by a TS9) > Fender Blues Jr. I play now to satisfy my passion and gig mainly for charity purposes through Catholic Churches and occasinally in small clubs with other ex-pro's.
This guitar was bought to be my "stage mule" but its character is gonna let it win some more, I guess. All in all, a good Strat at a reasonable price. I suggest, where possible, to buy it used: you won't be disappointed about what you payed for!

Features as described very well already. The tremelo block is also an upgrade from my previous HWY 1.

The new pickups are a big improvement. Advertised to give a more modern sound, but I think they capture the vintage sound better than the previous pickups. No top end harshness at all, nice rich sound when overdriven as well.

Overall, the quality was excellent. The set up was excellent and the intonation was spot on. The fret work was very nice. My only complaint is that the string tees were not mounted where the tee is perpendicular to the nut. Since they have a alignment stud, you can't rotate them. It makes the strings screach when you are tuning, but amazingly enough, the guitar stays in tune extremely well. This very issue caused me to trade my last HWY 1 since the G string would not stay in tune due to the string tee alignemnt.

The finish is extremely thin so expect it to wear pretty fast especially since it is nitro. I normally change the tuners and bridge on these to locking tuners and a Callaham bridge, but it stays in tune so well, I'm going to leave it alone.

I have four strats and have owned many more. This is an excellent value in a strat that sounds great and is fun to play. I think it is much better than the previous HWY 1 offerings. It's a nice alternative to the American Standard and the addition of the jumbo frets with the new pickups actually make it a better buy in my opinion. However, a $700 guitar should come with a decent case, not a gig bag. Come on Fender, not everyone likes the relic look, and a nice hard case will actually make the nitro last longer.

This is the new 2006 upgrade Highway one. Thin nitrocelluose finish, large 70s headstock, JUMBO frets, vintage tremolo, alnico III pickups S/S/S/, alder original contour, rosewood fingerboard. I give it a 10 for having all the features that are important to ME.

This guitar sounds great. I play mostly Blues and Rock. I am using it through a Zvex Nano head with occasional Fuzz and Pickup Booster. Pickups are a little noisy, but not as bad as my American Series was. I think I will actually keep these pickups, something I have never done before. I had Kinmans in my American Series that I traded in for the Highway One, so far I do not miss them. The sounds the guitar makes are pure Fender, which sound great when overdriven. So far I like the Greasebucket Tones Control. There is nothing about the sound that I do not like.

The guitar seemed to be set-up well from the factory, but I put 10s on it as soon as I got home and did my own setup. I added two springs and tightened the claw screws to lock the bridge and of course had to adjust the truss rod to compensate for the heavier strings. No surprise that the intonaions was way off after the new strings. String height was perfect and bridge radius was spot on, no adjustments here. Just a couple flaws from the factory. The rosewood has 2 light gouges at about the 19th fret that appears to have been caused when the guitar was fretted at the factory. These run across the fret but do not hurt anything. No problem. The second flaw is in the finish. Looks like some dust got under the finish in a couple places, but I do not mind at all. Not noticeable unless you really look. I am completely happy with the quality of the build. The frets are well dressed and there is no problematic string buzz to speak of.

This guitar seems more durable to me than my American Series. The hardware is rugged and should stand up well. The finish is very thin, but hey... its NITROCELLUOSE. I don't expect the finish to handle abuse very well and will love every minute of it :)

I have no opinion on customer support.

I have been playing for 25 years. I have owned mostly Strats and this one is my favorite of all time. If it was lost or stolen I would find and punish the thief severely. I love everything about this guitar. My favorite feature is the jumbo frets. Bending strings is effortless. I also really like the Nitro finish. The Highway One (upgrade) is a no-nonsense tone machine. Easy playability and built like a tank.

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.