Whats With Highway1 Guitars?

[bigrockshow]

How's that the pricing is so much lower compared to the american cousins...people seem to wanna sell it more readily? does it really lack in quality and feel becos of the pricing? or is it really 2nd grade to the original fenders from USA. (yes i know feel is individual)

Is the highway 1 series worth a look and worth a keep? or is it gonna just take up space and look like a fender squier no matter what?

 

[popeye]

there are several discussion on this highway1 previously. Do a search.

I have 2 of it, and I have no regret 8)
But then... I'm not a pro, so you can't judge from my point of view, hahaha

 

[hofner]

Great value for money , i read from a tele forum that the highway teles are flawless.

 

[spikes]

just get an am standard, price's dropping...

 

[subversion]

i've been advocating for the H1 series since day 1, simply because it's a fantastic guitar in terms of playability, tone & value-for-money. there's nothing wrong with these models despite their quirky body finish, it was conceived to be this way & Fender isn't the only manufacturer to have done it, Gibson's Faded series & Ernie Ball's SUB series sport a similar satin finish, which is basically lacquerless.

the H1 are hot in the after-market because they were offered for a 2-for-1 deal recently, people who are hoping to make easy money out of the H1 models are selling it for a $900+/- tag when they actually bought it for less from the aforementioned offer.

in s'pore, there are less fans of the H1 because players largely go for looks, which is a different situation in the US for instance, where tone & playability are the overriding factors. there, the H1 tele gets loads of accolades because they sound very close to the original '50 teles which are prized models.

search the forum for: 'Fender Highway1- would you buy one?' to know more 8)

 

[calibre2001]

I should inform Tele-lovers that the HW1 Tele and 52 RI headstock are not exactly the same dimension wise. FYI

'52 RI

HW1 Tele

 

[subversion]

I should inform Tele-lovers that the HW1 Tele and 52 RI headstock are not exactly the same dimension wise. FYI[/img]

of course they are not. the H1 neck on both tele & strat are the modern manifestations, very close to the American Series profile, it's very removed from a vintage make. if you wish to acquire the H1 tele in the hope of getting an affordable 'vintage' tele, you are on the wrong track. the H1 has a certain vintage tone emulation, not the physiques.

 

[calibre2001]

Yes I'm very well aware of that. It's just the different headstock shape that never gets mentioned!!

 

[subversion]

oh really? what's the difference you are trying to highlight? i'm getting old, can't really tell...

 

[bigrockshow]

riht i see..thanks sub for the info and thanks guys for your inputs. looks like the h1 is a good playable deal. now its just simply making the diff between the jap teles and the h1 teles. i dunno which is better!~ do they both have diff necks? i'm looking at honeyblonde finish or something close to that...very "EAGLES" looking ..haha

den again the jap teles dun really have much price diff from the h1 in the aftermarket...hmm..

 

[subversion]

it's a personal preference at the end of the day. i'd advice you to try both makes & get the one you like playing/ give you what you wanna hear, ignore the country of origin. good luck...

 

[calibre2001]

oh really? what's the difference you are trying to highlight? i'm getting old, can't really tell...

Just look in the pics. The vintage ones are more lengthy. the space between the tuner heads are wider.

People usually cite flat radius necks, different number of screws on the pickguard, diff types of screw on pickguard, different volume and tone knob, bodywood, body shape?

 

[subversion]

i see, it's about the dimensions & spacing...

the early Teles conformed to the Broadcaster Dimensions, especially the neck & headstock. the reason why there were dimensional differences is more about engineering rather than equipment attributes. Fender believes that shorter headstocks are stronger, less susceptible to snappings but then again, we seldom read cases where Teles were notorious for such incidences. closer machine heads also translates into a sharper break angle from the nut to the head shafts, hence increasing the tension at the nut which is crucial in holding the strings down.

however, if we look closely, the washers for the base of the machine head shafts in the later/ newer models are bigger compared to the older models thus creating an illusion that they are closer together.

 

[calibre2001]

Yeah that's true. Well it's probably like that in order to be proportional to the headstock size, thus leaving the acoustic tone intact as it is on a traditional Tele? Oh well that's another can of worms not for opening.