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Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass

Emanuel Apascaritei

Emanuel Apascaritei

Sep 12, 2009
2,549
871
Madrid, Spain
#1
Hi, If I´m not mistaken this is my 2nd post here.

I want to buy a Fender Highway 1 Jazz Bass and wanted your opinion on this bass.

I already did a search and read good things about it. Though its price its not bad at all and it´s all made in USA and it´s practicaly an american jazz bass.

My question is, is it cheaper becouse only for the finish work or is it something else?

Thanks a lot in advance!
 
#3
overall i think there cheaper to make and have some differences that make them cheaper. There tuners are just open geared and look like MIM fender tuners. The paint is cheaper. They also are not string though body. They arent bad basses, one local to me is for sale at 350$ with a case i want it bad but no cash.
 
#4
TheRockinRoadie said:
I personally think you should save for an Am. standard - you'll appreciate it more!

I didnt like the Highway 1 series (IMHO), but the best way is just to go out and try the bass yourself!
Click to expand...

I played it in the store and it felt good in my hands, it sounded good too in comparison with the mexiacan jazz

I can see in your bottom note that you have precision,

What didn´t you like about it?

Thanks!
 
#5
LCW said:
overall i think there cheaper to make and have some differences that make them cheaper. There tuners are just open geared and look like MIM fender tuners. The paint is cheaper. They also are not string though body. They arent bad basses, one local to me is for sale at 350$ with a case i want it bad but no cash.
Click to expand...

only 350$, it must be 2nd hand and 1st edition

Can you explain me please the string though body thing??

Sorry for my poor english
 
#6
I liked the HWY 1's especially the changes made in 06' to them. For the $ they are great basses. The tuners are not as good as the Am STND's, but they still hold there own. I like the Nitro finish, so it will wear and resonate better to age.
 
#9
The post upgrade models are great bang for the buck.Graphite reinforced neck,badass bridge and decent electronics.I ve played some of them and I own one that is a great alternative to my american standard with its brighter tone.I d like to add that one highway one jazz I ve played(unfortunatelly not mine) is probably the liveliest and most resonant bass I ve ever played.
The main cause of their lower cost hasgot to do with their cheaper fininsh.Do not underestimate the cost of finishing an instrument.
 
#11
I have one and it's my faithful go to 4 string bass. I have the upgraded version with the BadAss bridge and that alone is fantastic, great sustain and really easy to set up. The HW1's also have a slightly different neck with no skunk stripe and graphite reinforcement bars in them, it's solid and doesn't need adjusting very much if at all once you've set it up.

They're designed to be a cheap(er) USA jazz with a retro feel hence the alnico pickups for a slightly warmer tone instead of the USA jazz's ceramics, they also have nitro finish which is thinner, matt and apparently lets the bass tones through easier, it wears really quick so you get a nice worn in vibe pretty fast if you use the bass often. The tone pot is a "grease bucket" pot while rolls off the highs but leaves the mids and bass alone so you can't quite get the vintage all the way off tone pot sound but I added a push/pull to switch capacitors and now I have even more versatility and tones at my finger tips.

All in all it's my perfect work horse bass, it sounds like a usa fender, plays like a usa fender and is that much cheaper that I'm not scared of using it for fear of damage. I know people complain about the tuners and yes they are very similar to MIM tuners (if not identical but don't quote me on it) however they work fine for me, don't cause neck dive and keep my bass in tune so what's there to complain about? worst comes to worst, change em out, it'll still be an affordable bass and cost less than a USA jazz.

Try before you buy is good advice, enjoy it if you get one, esp if it's a good deal too :)

BarkerBass
 
#12
BarkerBass said:
The HW1's also have a slightly different neck with no skunk stripe and graphite reinforcement bars in them, it's solid and doesn't need adjusting very much if at all once you've set it up.
Click to expand...
Are you sure?The neck of my 08' has got a skunk stripe.All the post upgrade models are graphite reinforced

BarkerBass said:
They're designed to be a cheap(er) USA jazz with a retro feel hence the alnico pickups for a slightly warmer tone instead of the USA jazz's ceramics
Click to expand...
It is quite a suprise to me that usa standard's pickups are ceramics I didnt know that.
 
#13
I filled up my profile so now you can have more info about me.

About the thread. I´m really glad that the neck is reinforced. I already tryed it in the store and liked it a lot. Don´t know about the sonics in the studio, but for me it´s more important its playability than the sound.

Can somebody of you tell me your expirience in the studio with this bass??

Thanks a lot to everyone here, I have the same feeling in this forum as in Gearslutz. Great forum

Emi,
 
#14
Not totally relevent but thought i would post anyway.
Ive got one of the original HW1 Jazz's (the newer ones are called HW-one by the way) and I choose this over three MIA and a MIM Jazz basses that the shop had.
I'd not heard of the HW1 series before and hadnt played a jazz before either but the neck felt so nice that i brought it.
The older ones had the skunk stripe but not the reinforced neck. Ive had the neck on a few basses now, its the one reason i keep the bass.
I also had a HW-One P and loved that. It felt very nice and i loved the finish. I put the HW1 Jazz neck on it and it felt and sounded perfect.
I think the upgrades they did to the original series we good ones other than the grease bucket tone control on the P.
when i joined my current band i did a demo with the HW1 Jazz with flats on it and it was the nicest studio tone ive ever had. Even the engineer commented on it being so easy to work with. I guess thats more down to the flats though but the bass has given me no trouble at all.

same goes for the HW-one P. The weight seemed perfect for me and it also felt very easy to play. But thats with the Jazz neck on it.
 
#16
Thanks a lot for your answers, you´re helping me a lot, and with every answer, I want that bass more and more. I played two HW-one till now in different stores and really liked the playability.

The only thing I can´t try is the tone in the studio but all you here camed at the same conclusion that the bass really sounds great.

I want it, I want it :bassist::hyper::hiding:

P.S: Don´t know if it does matter but in the studio I have: Avalon U5, UA LA-610, Amek Pure Path D.I´s so I hope it will sound good
 
#18
Emibass said:
Thanks a lot for your answer, you´re helping me a lot, and with every answer, I want that bass more and more. I played two HW-one till now in different stores and really liked the playability.

The only thing I can´t try is the tone in the studio but all you here camed at the same conclusion that the bass really sounds great.

I want it, I want it :bassist::hyper::hiding:
Click to expand...

We'll be expecting pics.:)
 

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