Fender Highway 1 HB Reviews 5

Bought this from a locally owned music shop and paid $549 which I thought was a pretty good price considering the owner threw in a custom black pearlized pick guard.

The sound on this guitar is incredible! I compared it with the American version which I think started at around $799 and found that it had better resonance and the pickups are identical to that of the American version with the exception of the humbucker in the lower position. The finish will probably wear a little quicker as it is not a heavy lacquer but I think that the semi-gloss finish looks a little classier and as if it has been around awhile. I have received numerous compliments on the looks of the guitar, including a "Nice axe dude" so it can't look all bad. Besides, if the high gloss is what you want, you can easily get a guitar with that finish for under 100 dollars. I was told by the store owner that less lacquer would give this model a richer sound and he was not kidding, when you strike a note it's like the sound will never end. Especially when compared to the Standard or even the American model.

There is honestly nothing that I do not like about this guitar, it's a keeper. Knowing what I know now about it,if I could not buy another for less than 1000 dollars, I would not hesitate to pay the price.

Very solid guitar and best of all, very easy to play. Also, very easy to make adjustments as it was very easy to adjust the action on the neck. (Just a personal preference)

What's great about this guitar is that if you are a beginner it might be a little spendy but you can rest assured that you will not want to trade it in 6 months down the road for a better model. What is my background? I am a 41 year old male that has been playing guitar for about a year now and has spent many hours comparing guitars trying to find the best axe for the money. Give this one a try!

Larry E. rated this unit 5 on 2004-03-29.

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