software

Got it the other day. Watched the store unbox it. Not even one fingerprint, and almost in tune! My first brand new guitar. Nice blonde, slightly see-the-wood. Rosewood neck, which was a little pale and dry looking. But a nice interesting looking grain, with no knots or oddities. Frets nicely finished. Absolutely no build-quality problems. Once again, (it's been said many times)
the resonance and sustain is really really surprising. Played it acoustically for a long time. It sings. It's loud. It vibrates alot, and long.

I plugged it in and was bowled-over by the sound. Very sweet.

Then i put on my preferred strings, 11's. And installed a black scratchplate (the white is a bit naff, whereas the black gives it much more authority, cosmetically)

A tiny touch of lemon oil to the fretboard helped the dryness, and it drank it up real quick.

Had to tweak the truss-rod to welcome the 11's
Adjusted the action. Ashtray bridge will take getting used to.

Will let things settle for a few days and do the intonation, which might be tricky as i've never done the duo-saddle thing...

All in all i am very very, very pleased with my spanking new tele. The sound sustain and resonance cannot be overstated. No lust for new pups now. Nice twang in the bridge. More mellowness in the neck and a very good middle-position. They are perfectly good for the duration of credit-card recovery. Then some sweet SD will probably come to mind. Played it on the clean channel of my Roland Cube 30 and the Black Face simulator

Nut might need cutting to take on the fatter low E.

Mine's a late 2004 and i'm very pleased indeed. I paid about 720 US$
(which is alot, but all imported things here are) The butterscotch Ash American series is about double from the same dealer. This dealer is the biggest and cheapest in South Africa (or the entire continent actually)

I got some freebies. A nice fat Fender guitar cable, a fender strap, the new 11's strings (blue steels) and of course the quot;with the guitarquot; gig bag. And a good deal on the Gator case (safe travels)

Hereby, i conclude my little review of an instrument that i really didn't need, but surely had to have. Still, it blows my samick tele out the water.

Happy Highway 1 customer...



Sounds like a winner, which of corse means we will be needing pic's...

Cool guitar and nice review. Congrats!

I would like to see some pics of that beauty.

Sounds nice. My Tele GAS is at critical level again since I just got a nice bonus at work.


Originally Posted by Simon_FSounds nice. My Tele GAS is at critical level again since I just got a nice bonus at work.

Do it Simon, Do it!!!

Glad to here you like it man!

Luke

great review!!! sounds like you've got yourself a good guitar there!? if they hwy 1's in surf green...it'll be hard for me to pass one up!

Wooooomph, there it is! Not a fab pic, but its mine...
Did i mention the singing resonation of this guitar.

I put on a set of Elixir NanoWeb strings, 11 gauge. The wound strings are glossy and smooth and retain their new vibe (no problems there) But i do NOT like the plain strings at all. I wore through the coating in just one day of playing. Now i can see the copper-look metal under their skin. There was a hour or so of stickiness on the wearing spots. Not so nice. Then another issue i have with the Elixirs is that when i'm on the wounds, i'm touching them, but not electrically making a connection to the guitar (as i do normally). So i hear noises as i pass the frets. And smooth sometimes feels snotty and slippery for me. No more coated strings for me..

Back to good old Blue Steels

Those Hwy 1 are absolutely the best bang for the buck in a fender today (IMO of course). The MIMs are really the next best if you don't like the hwy 1 finish.

I was very quick to put in new pups in mine, but I'm just a Duncan Ho. I went out and played mine again last night for several hours. Just a great little tele.

I can't wait for the finish to start wearing off. That ought to look pretty cool, especially since it won't be contrived.


Originally Posted by More-Gear-Than-SkillWill let things settle for a few days and do the intonation, which might be tricky as i've never done the duo-saddle thing...

The first item on the SD quot;techquot; page tells how Jerry Donohue sets his up.

from : localhost//website...techtips.shtml

Scott, same finish feeling for me. True and honest wear is character. Yet concious relicing, abuse, scratching, discolouring seems a mildly sad act. But then again being a fairly sad type, i would love to do a project guitar in the vibe of the Rory Gallagher Tribute Strat. Super ruined.

SD pups will cometh...


Originally Posted by ArtieTooThe first item on the SD quot;techquot; page tells how Jerry Donohue sets his up.

from : localhost//website...techtips.shtml

YAY! I was worried that i'd have to trawl the web for realiable info on this setup issue. And it 's right under me nose. Thanks man!

kick ass.. .I love mine too!

do this...get a sweet set of DUncan's for it and get rid of those damn steel saddles...you will thank your self!

I like the steel saddles.

it's good to read an honest, Highway1 appreciation. the community i am in, do not revere the Highway1 models by virtue of its 'unbecoming' finish amp; electronics. i also noticed that seasoned players are more likely to appreciate the satin finish as it propels tone tranparency. i already own a Highway1 strat, wondering if i should invest in the tele too... *GAS*

it looks really cool man! I do havemy moments where i gas for a tele. But then i see a les paul and then it changes that. I personally like the vintage 52 tele ive never tired the highway 1 tele sounds like its worth giving it a go! Cheers and enjoy your new axe!

I've had a Highway 1 Tele (blonde with maple neck) for nearly a year and a half. Still stock, it does everything I want amp; need.


DAMN these pics are piss-poor quality