• American made Strat at this price...no brainer!!!

  
  As reviewed by Blind Lemon Orange on 7/11/2009

  Here's the trade off for the $500 you save compared to the American Standard (next step-up USA made Strat) - no microtilt neck adjustment, gig bag instead of the hardshell case...ahh...that's it. Here are the benefits to the Highway One: hot alnico pickups (so much better sounding than the American Standard pups) and jumbo frets (not medium jumbo). You can't go wrong at this price - it's the best deal out there from Fender...I'm shocked they're not completely sold out. Actually, I think I'll buy another today!

  18 of 18 people found this review helpful.
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• This Guitar Does not have a 2 point trem

  
  As reviewed by Bubbanov on 11/12/2007

  The nitro topcoat body will shine up real nice given a little time and attention, and the alder body, generally three pieces, will look pretty nice. The guitar has a vintage style 6 screw trem with a steel block, and the trem works far better than any of the asian strat types. I don't personally like the jumbo frets, rather 6150 or smaller, nor do I like the big headstock aesthetically. But these pickups I like, much more than the Highway One Upgrade Tele Alnico 3s, and this tone on the neck pickup, second tone on the bridge pickup, open middle pup ala Jimmie Vaughan works great. I think I'll have the frets milled down a bit or go down to 9.5-44 diameter strings, an extra trem spring and I'll be doing right. Make sure the one you buy has a sunburst or one with a somewhat transparent finish so you can inspect the alder. A few are made of pieces parts bodies, won't effect the use of the guitar but worth avoiding.

  9 of 9 people found this review helpful.
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• Absolutely the Best Deal on an American Strat

  
  As reviewed by paul johnston on 11/7/2011

  This is the best American strat you can start with. Even stock as is, it's a great guitar. With a little bit of money I was able to get a vintage looking/sounding/feeling American strat. My guitar technician did some fret work on it (in a process I call 'butterization'), and the neck plays like butter, like its been played for many years. I'm very satisfied with this guitar, and I play it more than my Gibson SG or other guitars. The gig bag is silly; put this baby in a hardshell case. Finish: The satin nitrocellulose finish is absolutely beautiful. I've got a 2011 3-tone sunburst, and I put a black pickguard, knobs, etc., on it for that 70's look. The depth of the color seems to be light-sensitive: in direct light or sunlight, this thing shines and each tone is more brilliant. But it seems darker in less light (in contrast to the American Standard 3-tone, which seems to be always 'locked in' as darker because of its urethane finish). Neck: The satin maple neck is super smooth and feels great (much better than the glossy front on the American Standard), though you will want to get a fret dress to lower those jumbo frets. Pickups: the stock pickups are not bad, but they seem to be geared toward high-gain applications. I prefer a more vintage sound so I put Custom Shop Texas Specials in it, and it sounds great, like what I expected. Greasebucket Tone Control: this is a great feature to decrease the bite of the bridge pickup when necessary, without adding bass or muffling the tone. Overall great quality for the price, but I was a little disappointed in the tremolo spring tension the way it comes. When you do a cliche blues bend of one string while plucking another string, the non-bended string will go noticeably flat. This was because the bridge/tailpiece was too loose (the 3 tremolo springs in the back were not strong enough). So my guitar technician added 2 more Fender springs, and also adjusted the tremolo to make it stiffer (I don't use the tremolo bar any way), so that fixed it. Other than that, very solid American quality.

  1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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