Back in July we covered the release of Fender’s newly upgraded Highway One line of guitars, but now that some time has passed I thought it might be nice to take a deeper look at what is easily the most popular of the bunch – the Highway One Stratocaster.
Now, the Highway Ones have always offered a lot of bang for the buck – they’re the most affordable American Made Strats you can buy today – but the new upgrades for 2006 only make them that much more attractive.
Perhaps the top new features are a trio of hot single-coils – including a reverse wound & reverse polarity pickup in the middle position – and a Greasebucket tone circuit, which when paired with the new pickups provides for a rounder tone all around by rolling back that piercing high-end; all without unduly boosting the bass response.
Also new to the Highway One Stratocaster are a set of 22 jumbo frets, vintage-style synchronized tremolo, a highly playable satin-finish modern C-shaped neck (in maple,) and a new satin nitrocellulose lacquer body finish.
Like their predecessors, the Highway One still sports an alder body, rosewood or maple fretboard, and that cool over-sized 1970s headstock, but perhaps the one big downside (there had to be one for this price range, right?) is that unlike the more expensive Stratocaster models you don’t get Fender’s incredibly versatile S1-switching system.
But hey, if the lack of the S1 really bothers you that much just try to remind yourself that the traditional Strat pickup set-up was good enough for generations of guitarists before you, and hey–if you really want to save a few hundred bucks or more, well, it’s probably a very small trade-off in the long run.
The New Fender Highway One Stratocaster Features–
- Solid Alder Body
- Maple Neck (Satin Finish/Modern C-Shaped)
- 25.5-Inch Scale Length
- Rosewood or Maple Fretboard With 22 Jumbo Frets
- Over-Size 1970s Headstock & Original Body Shape
- Three Hot Single-Coil Strat® Pickups
- Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity Middle Pickup
- Master Volume, And Two Greasebucket™ Tone Controls
- 5-Way Pickup Switching
- Vintage-Styled Synchronized Tremolo Unit
- Standard Cast/Sealed Tuners
Comes with a gig bag (yawn!) and is available in a plethora of cool new finishes including my two favorites, 3-Color Sunburst and Daphne Blue, plus Honey Blonde, Wine Transparent, and of course good old Flat Black.
- Sustain For Days… Fender’s Highway One Stratocaster
- Prototype For Fender’s Highway One Strat Is Now Up For Grabs
- Fender Unveils New Highway One Strats, Teles, And Basses
- Price Drop! Fender’s Deluxe Player’s Stratocaster & More
- My Quest For The Perfect Strat
- REVIEW: Fender Highway One Stratocaster (’06 Upgrade)
- One Red-Hot Rig: Fender’s Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster
- New For 2006: Fender’s Deluxe Power Stratocaster
- American-Made Quality At A Reasonable Price: Fender’s American Stratocaster HH
- Sneak Preview Of Fender’s Upcoming Yngwie Malmsteen Tribute Series Stratocaster
- A Quick Look At Fender’s Master Built ‘61 John Cruz Stratocaster
- Child’s Play: Squier Introduces Hello Kitty Mini Strat
October 9th, 2006 at 10:46 am
Pretty cool. Sounds like a nice axe. When I first heard about it I almost went out to buy one, I might get one yet. I wouldnt call the lack of an S1-switch a “big” downside, though. Theres one on my 50th anniversary deluxe Strat and I never use it. Dont like the sound it give me that much, frankly. Of course, if you wanted one you could always mod a Highway 1. Modding can be fun!
October 11th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
I’m looking for a new strat as I’m writing this, and it looks like it might just be a 2006 Highway One. I popped into my local store and really gave everything they had there a go - American standards, Artist series, American deluxes, etc. etc. When I thought I had made up my mind, one of the sales guys directed me to the “other” section where the less expensive models were. He had me plug in a honey blonde model with maple neck, and the sound was EXACTLY what I was looking for. This model just seemed much more responsive than anything else I tried, and the clarity was unbelievable - probably a combination of the hotter pickups, thin finish and maple neck. Regardless, the jumbo frets make bending and playing a dream, and the way I see it, if you can plug straight into an amp and LOVE the sound even when 100% dry, then that’s a guitar you should want in your collection.
November 15th, 2006 at 11:02 am
Just got mine after reading countless reviews (yours included): Good Lord, what a hot axe!! All the tone you want and sustain out the wazoo! I’ve had 4 strats over the past 30 years, American and Mexican. NONE of them come close to the tone and value Fender’s blended into this puppy. If you’re jonesin’ for Strat tone and don’t want to spend a grand (like me), this is one ax worth looking into! Rick Vail Crash Landing Central Texas
November 15th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Hey, thanks for the comment Rick : ) I continue to hear nothing but good feedback from readers who are playing the new Highway Ones… I’m starting to think seriously about picking one up myself. For the last year or so I’ve had my eye on the Ash American Deluxe, but I think I may be changing my mind.
Why pay all that money when you can get the Highway One for half the price?
Have fun with your new axe!
August 31st, 2007 at 10:01 am
For some reason, the pups on this were too noisy for my setup. I still wanted to keep it though, so I replaced the pups with the Jeff beck Noiseless. BINGO! That was exactly what I needed! I can dial in a clean bluesy/jazz sound or a vengeful metal crunch, with bites. I have the honey blonde with a maple fretboard. The jumbo frets are super-sweet (also available on the MIM strats, which I highly endorse). This guitar is just a joy to play every day. The oversized headstock just adds to the joy. Setup/intonation was amazingly dead on, right at the point of purchase. Do yourself a favor, save some money and buy it.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
It is now January 29, 2008 and I got the 3-tone/maple neck. I wanted a ash deluxe, I wanted the 50’s MIM, but when I found Sam Ash with the clearance price of $500.00 with set-up, I grabbed it! Holy cow, the hand of God was upon me and I can’t believe my luck. A lot of reviews stated that the neck was sticky and too thick, so I had stopped even thinking about, especially with my small fingers. But the price said play me and I did and I bought it with a huge smile on my face. The neck is slick and fits in my hand and the fat frets really help me navigate the board. I have low action and no fret buzz and she roars in high gain. I added a simple digitech blues screamer and it has the cats crying in the yard! lol. If you love blues and boucey jazz this will do it. Keep your eyes out for the pricing. Buying guitars is a lot like buying cars, they got to clear the lot to make way for the new models! The neck is not too big and body is like walking down “tobacco road” on a sunny day!
March 12th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Cool!
July 21st, 2008 at 7:23 pm
i have a few of the upgraded late 2006 and 2007’s i alo own a new 2008 - 2002 - 1998 american standards and i’ll tell ya my highway ones strats kick the standards around. the highway one in my opinion has the american standards beat by a mile when it comes to tone, very versatile in tone/feel love the neck very fast and easy to play/playability. nothing like the highway one strat i recomend this strat to every strat player out there you cant go wrong.