For me, this is good, because I find that Stratocasters - especially in the bridge pickup - can be ear-piercingly shrill. There is a bit less of a "twang" than the vintage Strat sound and a bit more midrange. They seem a bit biased toward a rock sound, so to speak. Overall I would say the Highway One pickups give a well-rounded sound that covers a lot of Strat bases. They're not noiseless, but they are not noisy at all. I find the stock pickups a lot less noisy than the Stratocasters I've had in the past - significantly less noisy, actually. They are not ear-piercingly shrill, and they get a classic Strat sound. The Highway One has darker pickups than most other Strats. The Highway One is not a Custom Shop model, but it does not deserve the merciless ragging it gets from so-called Strat enthusiasts. I'm here to remedy this and tell you the truth. From the way some people talk, you would think that the Highway Ones are only marginally better than buying an Agile Strat copy. To play it safe, I could find another 2002 - 2005 HW1 strat and replace the pickguard to accomodate an H-S-S configuration.The number of horrendous reviews for the Highway One is disconcerting. I am not a fan of narrow string spacing so was it in 2005 that they started using the narrower spacing?Īlso not sure if the later Highway One strats sound and feel as resonant and alive as my 2003.
I really want a Highway One next, within the next couple months with a humbucker bridge pickup. So the Highways are my favorite strat, but I don't like the ones after about 2005, because the necks are narrow like the imports - narrow nut. How do I identify the early Highway strats to make sure I am getting one like the 2003 I already have? With this next one, I want to replace the pickguard with a HB-S-S configuration, maybe for an Andy Timmons type set up, even though I play more like Jerry Cantrell than Andy Timmons. I believe the early period was 2002 - 2005? Mine has the neck width and depth or thickness of the American Standards and the 6 point trem which I block anyway.
#2003 fender highway one stratocaster series#
The early Highway One series work for me. I have owned American Standards, Japanese strats, a Squire and played some other imports. It finally happened last year when I bought a used 2003 Highway One strat. I have tried for years to find a strat that works for me, sounds right and feels right, a strat to which I have a reall connection. Although I don't care for the color (I wanted the chocolate brown or Daphne Blue), the feel of the neck and the satin finish of the body are what I love most about this guitar. The neck was so sweet and the price was so surprising that I bought it without even plugging it in at the shop. It was a display guitar with a rivet scar around the trem plate. I bought this from a local Sam Ash in 2007 for less than $400. The guitar also has the Greasebucket circuit, which I like. I've never cared for the Atomic humbucker, which sounds blah to me, but the singles both sound nice. I eventually pulled the entire bridge out and replaced it with a Wilkinson, which is a big improvement all around. I don't know why Fender chose to do that, but it made the bridge setup feel very strange. It finally made sense after another Highway One owner pointed out that the bridge is a standard US size, but the saddles are narrow-spaced. I grew to dislike the gaps between the saddles, and how I could yaw the saddles from side to side. I have not seen any similar Highway Ones with serials earlier than 2004. To the best of my knowledge, 2005 is the first model year for large headstocks on the HSS Highway Ones.
#2003 fender highway one stratocaster serial#
The serial on my amber HSS Highway One is 2004, and I believe this is for the 2005 model year. I'm no expert, but I can tell you about mine, at least.
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