Fender Highway 1 Telecaster

Brand spankin Highway 1 Tele. You know the story it has frets (22 Jumbos of) Great new High-Octane Alnico Tele Pickups (2 of), satin finish in black, modern locking machines and hole to plug into. If i was after tons of features i would have bought a Swiss army knife, or anything but a Tele. But I was after a guitar. Its got everything I needed so I gotta give it a 10 here. I know this is going to sound like an add for Fender but I really love this guitar. I compared this guitar to a range of more and less expensive guitars in the shop, Luckily they had a large range, and this one was my first choice, price did not come into it.

I went with a friend who plays way better than anyone I know to try this axe out. We played every Strat, Tele and G&L in the shop. I just handed them to him without telling him exactly what they were and this was the one we both loved the sound and feel of. Wow those strats were noisey too. Single coil hum like you would not believe, you couldn't really put up with the noise some of them made. This Tele is almost silent when not being played, no matter where the selector is set. It has a powerful sound and a huge array of flavours available from only 2 pickups. I love the middle position as I play mainly country and blues but the neck pickup also offers a wide range of colour. the bridge is pure Tele , a real chicken picker. I would have given it a 10 for sound, but I've heard my friends Deluxe B Bender and it is even nicer.

The factory setup was ok but luckily the store I purchased from, Haworths Guitars, has a master luthier and a few guys he's trained. It took them only 10 minutes to get it to what i would describe as beautiful. No buzz and low and fast. i love the feel of the neck too, wide enough for my fat fingers and smooth and fast. Its Rosewood btw. Pickups factory set - fantastic. I've been all over this baby with a fine tooth comb and have found absolutely no flaws. Also love the satin black finish, makes it look sort of vintage but modern, I dunno what it looks like, but i like it.

Can't really comment here because its so new. But i will say it is lighter than some of the other Fenders i tried out and for my back that is a real plus. My friend has a 1980s strat that requires a second man to carry it for you it is so dammed heavy.

Having had a little bit of dealing with the manufacturer i would not ever bother to contact them if I had a problem. Fortunately, however, the retailer, Haworths Guitars, is a top noth dealer with fantastic staff and I'm sure any problems that may arise will be sorted out for me.

I've been playing professionally since i was about 15 and Im now 45. Most of my career I've been an acoustic man and a singer but bI've moved over to the3 electric side of things about 5 years ago. I have a 1969 Guild acoustic - the nicest Acoustic I've ever played, A couple more acoustics , a banjo, Ukelele, A profile Vintage Strat and A line 6 Variax. I mainly record and play for love now days having semi retired from the game 12 months ago. The Tele has been a dream for a while and it lives up to expectations. Now that music is my hobby rather than my profession it is more important somehow that I have the best toys I can get. It leaves all the rest in its wake.

2006 60th anniversary. It has the standard tele features and Alnico magnets. Only extra: the greasebucket tonecircuit.

I'm using it with a 70's Silverface Fender Vibro Champ. This guitar makes it sing in a way I've never heard before. It's a match made in heaven. The sound has everything: it's bright, rich and warm. I can't stop playing!

The finish is great. The neck is as soft as the skin of a baby. Once you oick it up, you will never want to put it down. It's a masterpiece, especially when you look at the price.

It's a tele, it's American. It will be around for the next 50 years.

I give this a 10 because it has everything I need on a Tele without any other junk....I like it simple and this is perfect in that regard..I have the sunburst with maple neck...

This suits my style PERFECTLY...I use a Peavey Bandit (once again a no frills product)....Very little noise, a bit more with mild distortion which is normal for single coils..The sound is what I have been looking for in a tele...Nice mid-rangy bark and a good warm neck pickup which compliment each other very well. I normally remove the chrome cover from the neck on any other tele I have owned (lots of them) but will leave this one as is. I like it....a lot

I bought it used, the strings were changed to 10's which I use anyway but it did need a complete set-up due to the previous owner and really can't comment on the factory set-up. I will say the fret work is superb, I really like the jumbo frets. The finish reminds me of a very nice vintage instrument. The only thing I found that wasn't perfect was the routing for the bridge is visible on the bass side indicating a miss-aligned bridge. This really doesn't bother me but would be unacceptable to most people..Otherwise everything else is perfect.

You could probably use this guitar as a pogo stick with no problem. Fender guitars are solid and this is no exception. Drop a Les Paul and snap goes the headstock. I'm sure the finish won't stand up to a lot of rough playing but I look at this as a plus as I expect some character marks and checking due to the nitro finish and expect it to age gracefully...I like....a lot.

I work on my own stuff....

I've been playing 35 years or so. I own maybe 25 other guitars, haven't counted lately and this is one sweet tele...If it were stolen I would cry then go get another one. I like the simplicity mainly, and the simple nitro finish, it lets the wood sound come through. As far as I am concerned there is not a better tele for any price. It has everything I need and no more which makes it perfect.

2006 HIghway 1 Tele. Daphne blue (WOW, GORGEOUS) with black pick guard, and some non-standard humbucker in the bridge position. Typical tele features elsewise... it has really big thick frets on it, which maybe is standard for this guitar, but my last tele was a 50's reissue with teeny little ones that made it difficult to intonate. My last tele had a bigsby installed after-market, which was novel and very cool looking, but a huge hassle to work with.

It's a tele, with a humbucker! Wahoo. I always use the neck position pickups (or, for some clean stuff, a mix of bridge and neck), and now I can do it without using a noise suppressor. Not sure what the pickup in there is (as it's covered) but whoever put it in made a good choice. It's very dark sounding, but works well for heavier sounds. For clean stuff, esp. with the humbucker, I find myself mixing the bridge and the neck pickup a lot more.

Mine was used, and whoever owned it before didn't hesitate to wear belt buckles with it... there's a decent amount of scratching on the back, but the front looks great. I love the sorta satin-feel and look of it (pus the Daphne Blue is a really cool grayish bluish blend).

Action was great (and the main reason I traded my previous mexican tele for it), although when I picked it up on the shop, there was some weird issue where the G string sunk all the way through the nut at the top of the neck (which caused it to fret at the first fret)... they fixed it up right on the spot though, and I ended up walking out with it, so that's a pretty good testament to how well it played.

Other than the stuff mentioned above, I think it'll suit me just fine. I don't blast my gear, but I don't baby it either... I imagine it'll show some decent wear in a few years, but I'd prefer it that way. Just my opinion.

Good guitar, decent price (esp. used), and one that'll really suit a variety of needs.

2007, USA. Yer basic stripped down USA Telecaster. Comes with wiping cloth, wrenches, and a good quality gigbag. Features are well known, all you need and nothing you don't. Number of features is irrelevant, quality of features is what I look for.

Like everybody else says, great!

Top quality construction. Satin finish just fine, it'll wear and that's OK. Setup wasn't to my taste out of the box, but I always expect to fiddle with any new or used guitar.

Like a rock.

No experience.

You want a basic USA Telecaster? Here's your guitar. You want bells and whistles, look elsewhere..

2006 Highway One Telecaster in whatever brown burst they call it.

Nothing flashy, just what you'd expect.

Quite frankly the sound is gorgeous. Straight off the bat it's been a guitar I've fallen in love with. Very very versatile (which is kind of the point of buying a tele).

I'm currently playing lead in a local rock band, and it just has great tone and is extremely easy to adjust on the fly. Currently running it through a Laney Lionheart combo and the range of sounds is just fantastic. Easy to switch from warm jazzy tones, to something more twangy.

I can't recommend this guitar enough.

Like everyone else, I've never had to fiddle with it. The setup is spot on, the action nice and low, and the quality is superb.

I have had issues with detuning after string bends with the G string (stop sniggering), but I'm not so anal as to be that bothered. That's why I bought a tuning pedal.

The only gripe I would have with it (and I have to stress it's a very minor gripe) is the rather thin laquer that chips quite easily.

It hasn't taken long to give it a "worn" look, for the reasons given above. But to be honest I like that in a guitar, the scratches and dings remind you of some awesome gigs :D

Aside from the finish it's very tough. It's been knocked off its stand a couple of times, but it's still 100% fine. It didn't even go out of tune either.

It isn't drum stick proof though, as I found out.... drummers eh? There's now a sizeable dent beneath the p/up selector switch which makes me laugh everytime I see it. Just be sure to duck any flying drumsticks and your tele will be fine. hah.

Never had to deal with them. My baby has never been ill.

Been playing for about 20 years, owned several guitars (low end squires and such), played many many more, and this is my absolute favourite.

I've played all those expensive Ibanez', and Gibson's, and they're great and all.... they just dont have the character that my Telecaster has. It's just so easy to flip from Jazz, to funk, to Rock, to Death Metal (or whatever you kerrazy kids listen to nowadays) with a quick fiddle of the amp and the tone switch.

Anyone gigging should seriously consider owning one of these. If not as a main guitar, certainly as a backup. I guarantee it will serve you as well as it has me.

I've recently played the light ash telecaster, and the highway one is certainly much better quality. The neck is thinner, and the weighting of the guitar is very balanced. When it's across your shoulder it just becomes a part of you.

Anyone looking for a step up from a cheapy guitar would love this too. At ??400 it really is a fantastic bargain.

Oh, and as my songwriting guitar it's spot on.

You all know the details but I'll just point out that mine is the Honey Blonde, maple fretboard, 2007. This model has the Greasebucket tone circuit which works quite well. I have a 2002 Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster, which doesn't have this feature. I wouldn't say that it's better because of it; it's just different. Other than that it's a fairly standard run of the mill tele. The way a Tele should be.

Awsome. The bridge and neck pups are extremely distinctive; the neck sounds that little milder, the bridge quite a lot brighter. It's very easy to get classic tele tones from this guitar.

The guitar was finished extremely well; the only exception being the output jack was slightly loose. The action is perfect. The setup is perfect. The only change I made was to put 10s on instead of 9s.

It's a Tele. It's a Fender. It's a Tank.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing about 11 years or so. I also own a Fender HWY1 strat, a Gretsch DuoJet Firebird, an Eastwood Airline Town & Country, a Tanglewood TWST28, a Tanglewood TW39, a Fender Frontman 25R, an ENGL Screamer 50 combo, and lots of other stuff like pedals...

If this was stolen, I butcher the person who stole it; I'd eat his eyes and then buy another one. I might actually buy another as it stands. I just love the neck on this guitar... I might also add that in 11 years of playing I've owned quite a few guitars - currently own six and have never instantly bonded with a guitar, until now. The guitar is light as a feather and plays beautifully. I can't believe it's as good as it is - and all for a lousy $640.

My '06 Highway 1 Telecaster is a Crimson Red 60th anniversary model, made in the good ol' USA. Alder body with transparent satin nitro finish. Solid maple, satin polyurethane 'C' neck with 9.5" radius and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Fender-Ping tuners. Vintage Tele bridge with 3 saddles. 3 ply pick guard and Grease Bucket tone circuit.

After-market changes include Fender Vintage Noiseless Tele pickups and the Fender Tele four-position blade switch.

Got a decent Fender gig bag with it. No other fancy features, 'cause it's a Highway 1.

After installing the Vintage Noiseless pickups and four-way switch, this Tele is as Tele as you can get, with a little extra Tele thrown in. The original pickups were by no means 'bad,' it's just that the Noiseless pickups are that much better. And no noise. As far as this guitar sounds, it sounds like a Tele should, you know, wonderful.

Adding the 4-way switch provides the series configuration (in the fourth position) for a better snarl, a better punchiness, a more growly sound as it were, especially if you use high gain amplifier circuitry. A very nice sounding guitar overall, with a lot of sonic capability.

Right out of the box, it needed NO setup or adjustment. I am thoroughly happy with Fender's high quality quality control. There were no flaws, imperfections, buggers, dents, dings, scratches or anything else wrong with this guitar. As it should be.

Since I like a shiny finish, and since the Highway 1 has a satin lacquer finish, I gently, hand-rubbed it with a very fine automotive polishing compound to produce a lustrous, gleaming and shiny surface in no time at all. It now looks like a very expensive glossy finish. Cool.

Fender Telecaster: See; Tough. See; Rock. See; Reliable. See; Impervious. See; Dependable. See; What is a cool electric guitar and why did everybody else copy it and why you want one.

I'd give it an 11.

Fender uses dealers as our personal link to its products and service. My particular dealer is stellar when it comes to helping me. Though I've had no problems with my guitar needing any service or repair, if I needed any, it would be a breeze.

I started playing acoustic guitar way, way long ago. I always wanted an electric, a Telecaster to be specific, 'cause they look retro and cool. So I finally ups and gets me one. I did look at lots of other guitars first (too numerous to mention here), but no other is a Tele, 'cept maybe other Teles. That was the hard part, deciding which of the many Tele models to choose from. The great price, superb quality, nitro finish and no-nonsense, basic basic-ness of the Highway 1 finally won me over in the end, as a true Telecaster should be a pretty basic, straight-forward and reliable instrument and shouldn't cost tons o' dough, dontcha know.
This guitar is wonderfully easy to play and maintain. Musicians I ALLOW to touch it, to play it, are pleasantly surprised and agree it's as good as any they've ever played before. Then it becomes an ordeal to pry it out of their clutching hands. That says a lot for the quality of this Highway 1 . This is no second-string guitar. First class. There is nothing I don't like about this Highway 1 Telecaster.

It is a classic Tele!! Everything you'd expect.

Solid, versatile, responsive, detailed. Simply put, if you know what you are doing... this guitar will make you VERY happy.

I love the finish. Matte, soft... it just wears so well. Feels like it's old and worn in already. Each tiny scratch or bump, or rub mark just makes me love it more and more.

Action was nice right away. Minor adjustments on the g string and it was GOOD to go.

Everything is just solid and well-made feeling.

One of my favorite things about this guitar is how rock solid the tuning is... easy to get in tune... and takes a lot to knock it out. Just awesome.

I am a professional musician. This guitar is played 30 hours or more a week between practices and shows... it has been on the road for extended periods and i've had no problems, no concerns.

I have a Les Paul with p90's that just sits in it's case as a back up that i NEVER need.

I haven't dealt with them on this guitar, but have on other stuff in the past and found them to be your typical customer service experience... I got what I needed and all was well.

I've been playing guitar since 1988... as a 16 year old.

I own a previously mentioned 1996 Gibson Les Paul RUBY w/p90's, a Gretsch BST 1500, a mid 90's reissue Fender Mustang, and about a dozen 60's and 70's japanese weirdo's.

I play through a black face modded 1979 Fender Twin a/b'd with a Musicman HD165 head into a Roccaforte 2x12 open back with redcoats.
I use a tubescreamer when I need a bit of gain.

I love this guitar. It just always sounds good. It is fun to play. It looks awesome and gets better looking with each day.

I was originally looking at mexican tele's but after I played this one, and looked at the price difference... a couple of hundred bucks more for a guitar I would keep 'til I die waws more than worth it.

I am absolutely going to go ahead and get a highway one strat now too.

This is a 2005 Upgraded Highway 1 Telecaster. It is everything you would expect from a Telecaster to be..

This guitar sounds like a classic Telecaster with a hot bridge pickup.
I'm using it with a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 401 and a Fender Blues Junior loaded with a Greenback speaker, and it sounds amazing through both amps.
The pickups produces the hum you would expect from a single coil vintage pickup when using an overdrive/distortion - nothing surprising.

The range of sounds you can produce with this Telecaster is huge. The tone controls are very useful.
The neck pickup sounds similar to a Stratocaster neck pickup - very pleasant...
The bridge pickup is very bright, and when used with overdrive it produces those screams you would hear on led zep early recordings... that pickup is significantly hotter than the neck pickup.

The factory setup was perfect.

I compared the Highway 1 to other American models and this guitar is a pure American Telecaster!

I had and still have the money to buy any Telecaster I want, but I don't see why I should do that? The woods are right for me and the sound is there, and that what counts! this guitar is a pure sound machine!

If you want to buy a Telecaster and this one sounds too modern for you, buy it and replace the pickups!