Fender Highway One Strat?

[subversion]

resale value, contrary to convenient beliefs, isn't pegged against the brand name- it's demand/ supply at work. there are some obscure brand name guitars which cost a bomb while some of the primary brand names don't quite hold their values in the after-market; it's also the individual consideration for the the guitar per se.

 

[subversion]

here are now my options

1. Fender 60's Classic Player MIM
2. Fender 50's Classic Player MIM
3. Highway One Strat MIA (?)

the Highway1 is MIA, definitely.

 

[Whitestrat]

Oh man... this is really killin me... :mrgreen: I'm getting confused everyday. I like both CP60s and HW1! lol!

Between the 2? My pick would be the Classic Players instead of the highway 1s. The classic players are lauded to be THE strats to get outside of the custom shop. The Classic players were also designed by the custom shop.

Having played both the 60s and the 50s, I personally prefer the 50s model. But YMMV.

 

[subversion]

my Highway 1s... loving them

 

[kernelspy]

my Highway 1s... loveing them

:shock: waaah... these nice colors make me really drool more with the Highway 1!!

Do you feel a lil bit awkward with the neck of the H1? compared with normal rounder curve with 7.25"?

 

[subversion]

nope- the H1's necks (Strat/ Tele) are still very FENDERish. the H1 is a fair representation of what a good, glamourless Fender should be/ sound like; absolutely for those of us who go for tone & feel, not looks.

 

[nysk]

i like the highway ones cuz of the 70s headstock, its hard to get an MIA strat with that without paying almost CS prices... would probably swap out the pickups, but are they that bad? since most of you ppl seem to be changing ur h1 pickups

 

[keithC]

haha sub, the h1 is perfect in terms of looks to me. the huge headstock, matt finish and light pastel colours are really what appeals to me. the problem is the inconsistent QC.. its still possible to get a lemon.
i'll be popping by sweelee to try it out, and ab it with a standard strat too.. hope it'll help when i post again..

 

[subversion]

QC issues- expected with any guitar for that matter. i initially was aiming for a red H1 Strat on purchase day but there was issues with the frets so the blonde you see above was my next pick- i'm not too particular when it comes to finishes, only trying to avoid blacke these days...

the default H1 pickups are not bad at all- these are wonderful pickups to begin with. many of us here replace them because we want a more specific tone for our guitars. i replace mine with Duncans...

 

[keithC]

and so i've tested both the guitars yesterday.. my take on the h1 strat.
it is quite a workhorse. the jumbo frets did make it feel a lot less "stratty", but what turned me off was that it didnt sound like a strat.
i think subversion is right on the pickups, they are great, but have no distinct character of its own. it really sounds like any other guitar.

the fender american strat i tried was different though, it sounded significantly clearer with the signature single coil sparkle on all 5 positions. the bridge pickup surprised me. usually strats' bridge pickup tend to sound a little harsh, but the american standard's bridge pickup wasnt like that.. i cant describe the sound exactly, but i liked it more

 

[kernelspy]

and so i've tested both the guitars yesterday.. my take on the h1 strat.
it is quite a workhorse. the jumbo frets did make it feel a lot less "stratty", but what turned me off was that it didnt sound like a strat.
i think subversion is right on the pickups, they are great, but have no distinct character of its own. it really sounds like any other guitar.

the fender american strat i tried was different though, it sounded significantly clearer with the signature single coil sparkle on all 5 positions. the bridge pickup surprised me. usually strats' bridge pickup tend to sound a little harsh, but the american standard's bridge pickup wasnt like that.. i cant describe the sound exactly, but i liked it more

Thanks a lot Keith for checking out the guitars I'm eyeing for. Yeah, I'm looking for just a traditional strat sound.

 

[subversion]

the H1 pickups are really acceptable, except that some of us have other specifics when it comes to the Strat tone. the current generation of pickups are of higher output so the tone is very contemporary