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Fender Highway One Stratocaster Review - Great Deal!

The USA-made Fender Highway One Stratocaster is located between Fender's American Standard and the Made-in-Mexico Standard series. Rather than just being a "budget" American-made guitar, the Highway One Stratocaster has a vibe all its own.

The Highway One Stratocaster we examined came in a Flat Black finish. One of the cost-cutting steps of this series is Fender's choice of a light nitro satin finish. It's a personal preference, but we liked it, and the light finish will surely allow the alder body to breathe better over time.

The guitar features a large 70's style headstock with big frets, a vintage-style tremolo bridge, C-shaped maple neck (with choice of rosewood or maple fingerboard), 3 single-coil pickups with Alnico 3 magnets, and a special "Greasebucket" tone circuit. The guitar also ships with a gig-bag rather than the SKB Hardshell Case that comes with the Fender American series.

Upon playing the Highway One Stratocaster, it becomes immediately clear that the guitar is a quality, USA-made Six String, even if it's got some major differences that set it apart from the American Standard series. As we've already stated, we dug the nitro finish and value the result it has on the guitar's tone (yes, finish does affect tone). Individual notes and chords just seemed to resonate better than with glossy finishes.

We decidedly loved the pickups, which had a little more "punch" and dirt than American Standard pickups do. We especially dug the Greasebucket circuit, allowing you to diminish the highs without simultaneously increasing the bass. This instrument is especially suited for blues and classic rock tones.

The neck might not be for everyone, but we really liked it. The 70's headstock is purely an aesthetic decision, but the large frets and satin finished C-shape neck just felt right in our hands. Strings bent like "buttah" and the neck really helps sweep arpeggios and fast runs. It requires the right touch, but we felt like the neck was really well done (we opted for the maple fretboard, by the way).

If you're not a fan of larger frets, you probably won't dig the feel, but we thought it was quite comfortable and gave the Highway One Stratocaster a feeling all its own.

With a street price of around $700, the Fender Highway One Stratocaster is a first-class USA-made instrument at a price that won't break your piggy-bank. From its classy satin finish to its lovely C-shaped neck, the Highway One Stratocaster is an instrument that we highly recommend to Strat devotees who want an instrument just a little bit different.

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