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Highway 1 or Highway One
- Thread starter rudy2010
- Start date
Great information, thank you, i see your point, if your going to invest in a new highway one jazz bass which is running $799 maybe take the time to find a used American Standard or even pay the difference because in the long run the American Standard is a better built bass? Is the American Standard Alder or Ash body? Weight is a concern.
American Standard = Alder
And I can honestly say, my '08 American Standard Jazz bass is the best made bass I've ever played. Period.
Not my most favorite to play, (a matter of personal taste, not a qualitative judgment) but definitely the best made bass.
And I can honestly say, my '08 American Standard Jazz bass is the best made bass I've ever played. Period.
Not my most favorite to play, (a matter of personal taste, not a qualitative judgment) but definitely the best made bass.
I have a Highway 1 P-bass, not one of the earliest ones but one from just before the 2006 changeover to the closely similar but slightly different Highway One model. Based on my instrument, I think that some of the other comments posted here may not be entirely accurate.
Both the Highway 1 and Highway One models are assembled-in-USA P-basses which Fender offers as a "made in USA" model at a somewhat lower price point than the American Standard models by having the bodies painted in Mexico (where environmental regulations are less stringent) and selling them with a gig bag instead of a hard case. Both the Highway 1 and the Highway One are, in my view, somewhat better instruments than the Squier P-bass or Fender's MIM "Standard" P-bass, which is assembled in Mexico using slightly different components than the American models.
The pre-2006 Highway 1 P-bass I have came with a graphite truss rod in the neck, a very nice satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, a vintage-style Fender P-bass bridge, stock Fender P-bass alnico pickups, Fender's "greasebucket" tone control, roundwound strings, and a Fender gig bag. From what I understand, the main change made in 2006 from the Highway 1 to the Highway One model was to replace the vintage-style Fender P-bass bridge with a Leo Quan BadAss II bridge, which has somewhat higher mass and gives a bit more low bass and sustain. Other than that, the pre-2006 Highway 1 and the post-2006 Highway One appear to be nearly identical in terms of truss rod, finish, pickup, tone circuit, strings, etc. It's possible that the very earliest Highway 1 models might have slightly different specs, but I can't speak to that.
The design goal of using a graphite truss rod appears to be to have a somewhat lighter neck, so that it balances well and musicians don't have to keep supporting it while playing. As with all design choices, there may be a bit of tradeoff involved, in that the graphite truss rod has more than adequate strength to deal with standard light-gauge bass strings (.045/.065/.080/.100 or so), but may not be designed to handle the higher stresses generated by using thicker strings. There's nothing wrong with having a graphite truss rod; it balances well, keeps the instrument light and comfortable to play, and works fine with light-gauge strings. Just don't put heavy-gauge strings on a graphite neck which is not designed to handle them.
Like many other P-bass owners, I couldn't resist tinkering with the instrument, so I had a Gotoh 201 bridge, a Bartolini 8S pickup, a mock-tortoise pickguard and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat strings installed. There was nothing wrong with the stock components, and I didn't consider them deficient in any way. I just liked the new components a bit better, and I thought they made a modest and incremental but noticeable improvement in the low bass, sustain, tone and playability of the instrument -- nothing dramatic, but I liked the changes.
The Gotoh bridge is a fully-adjustable bridge, made in Japan, with somewhat higher mass than the stock vintage-style bridge. It provides a bit more low bass and sustain than the stock bridge, but is not as expensive as the BadAss II, which is made in the US. I like the Gotoh bridge, but for what it's worth, the BadAss II bridge also has a very good reputation.
The Bartolini 8S pickup has a nice, deep tone. The Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats are more expensive than most bass strings, but they don't stress the neck, feel much easier to play than standard roundwounds or other flatwounds, and produce a really nice tone that includes a hint of double-bass tone.
From what I can tell, Fender's new American Special P-bass is closely similar to a Highway 1 or Highway One P-bass except for just two things: it returns to the less expensive, low-mass Fender vintage bridge instead of the BadAss II bridge; and it has a gloss urethane finish rather than a satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Other than that, the American Special appears to be just like the Highway One, down to the greasebucket tone circuit and the gig bag it comes with.
Whether the formal model designation is Highway 1, Highway One or American Special, these instruments are pretty close in specifications and general characteristics. After playing my Highway 1 P-bass for a couple of years now, I really like it. It is light and comfortable to play, balances well, sounds great with the mods I had installed, and looks good too. It appears to be a somewhat better-playing instrument than the Squier or MIM models, and is more affordable than the American Standard models. The post-2006 Highway One P-bass is closely similar, with the exception of coming with a high-mass BadAss II bridge stock. The American Special now comes with the old, low-mass vintage bridge, but you can always buy a Gotoh or BadAss bridge if you want.
As always, there is a basic truth here: the musician, and musicianship, are more important than the instrument, and more important than relatively minor differences in specifications between closely similar models. It's interesting to discuss such things, but put an average bass in the hands of a top-notch musician, and an excellent bass in the hands of an average musician, and the top-notch musician will still sound better. For those of us who are average musicians, though, it's still nice to have a good instrument to play, and Fender's Highway 1, Highway One and American Special P-basses are definitely good instruments.
Both the Highway 1 and Highway One models are assembled-in-USA P-basses which Fender offers as a "made in USA" model at a somewhat lower price point than the American Standard models by having the bodies painted in Mexico (where environmental regulations are less stringent) and selling them with a gig bag instead of a hard case. Both the Highway 1 and the Highway One are, in my view, somewhat better instruments than the Squier P-bass or Fender's MIM "Standard" P-bass, which is assembled in Mexico using slightly different components than the American models.
The pre-2006 Highway 1 P-bass I have came with a graphite truss rod in the neck, a very nice satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, a vintage-style Fender P-bass bridge, stock Fender P-bass alnico pickups, Fender's "greasebucket" tone control, roundwound strings, and a Fender gig bag. From what I understand, the main change made in 2006 from the Highway 1 to the Highway One model was to replace the vintage-style Fender P-bass bridge with a Leo Quan BadAss II bridge, which has somewhat higher mass and gives a bit more low bass and sustain. Other than that, the pre-2006 Highway 1 and the post-2006 Highway One appear to be nearly identical in terms of truss rod, finish, pickup, tone circuit, strings, etc. It's possible that the very earliest Highway 1 models might have slightly different specs, but I can't speak to that.
The design goal of using a graphite truss rod appears to be to have a somewhat lighter neck, so that it balances well and musicians don't have to keep supporting it while playing. As with all design choices, there may be a bit of tradeoff involved, in that the graphite truss rod has more than adequate strength to deal with standard light-gauge bass strings (.045/.065/.080/.100 or so), but may not be designed to handle the higher stresses generated by using thicker strings. There's nothing wrong with having a graphite truss rod; it balances well, keeps the instrument light and comfortable to play, and works fine with light-gauge strings. Just don't put heavy-gauge strings on a graphite neck which is not designed to handle them.
Like many other P-bass owners, I couldn't resist tinkering with the instrument, so I had a Gotoh 201 bridge, a Bartolini 8S pickup, a mock-tortoise pickguard and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat strings installed. There was nothing wrong with the stock components, and I didn't consider them deficient in any way. I just liked the new components a bit better, and I thought they made a modest and incremental but noticeable improvement in the low bass, sustain, tone and playability of the instrument -- nothing dramatic, but I liked the changes.
The Gotoh bridge is a fully-adjustable bridge, made in Japan, with somewhat higher mass than the stock vintage-style bridge. It provides a bit more low bass and sustain than the stock bridge, but is not as expensive as the BadAss II, which is made in the US. I like the Gotoh bridge, but for what it's worth, the BadAss II bridge also has a very good reputation.
The Bartolini 8S pickup has a nice, deep tone. The Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats are more expensive than most bass strings, but they don't stress the neck, feel much easier to play than standard roundwounds or other flatwounds, and produce a really nice tone that includes a hint of double-bass tone.
From what I can tell, Fender's new American Special P-bass is closely similar to a Highway 1 or Highway One P-bass except for just two things: it returns to the less expensive, low-mass Fender vintage bridge instead of the BadAss II bridge; and it has a gloss urethane finish rather than a satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Other than that, the American Special appears to be just like the Highway One, down to the greasebucket tone circuit and the gig bag it comes with.
Whether the formal model designation is Highway 1, Highway One or American Special, these instruments are pretty close in specifications and general characteristics. After playing my Highway 1 P-bass for a couple of years now, I really like it. It is light and comfortable to play, balances well, sounds great with the mods I had installed, and looks good too. It appears to be a somewhat better-playing instrument than the Squier or MIM models, and is more affordable than the American Standard models. The post-2006 Highway One P-bass is closely similar, with the exception of coming with a high-mass BadAss II bridge stock. The American Special now comes with the old, low-mass vintage bridge, but you can always buy a Gotoh or BadAss bridge if you want.
As always, there is a basic truth here: the musician, and musicianship, are more important than the instrument, and more important than relatively minor differences in specifications between closely similar models. It's interesting to discuss such things, but put an average bass in the hands of a top-notch musician, and an excellent bass in the hands of an average musician, and the top-notch musician will still sound better. For those of us who are average musicians, though, it's still nice to have a good instrument to play, and Fender's Highway 1, Highway One and American Special P-basses are definitely good instruments.
"From what I understand, the main change made in 2006 from the Highway 1 to the Highway One model was to replace the vintage-style Fender P-bass bridge with a Leo Quan BadAss II bridge, which has somewhat higher mass and gives a bit more low bass and sustain. Other than that, the pre-2006 Highway 1 and the post-2006 Highway One appear to be nearly identical in terms of truss rod, finish, pickup, tone circuit, strings, etc. It's possible that the very earliest Highway 1 models might have slightly different specs, but I can't speak to that."
Pete, very informative post, thank you ... however, the neck is completely different on the upgraded Hwy One than the Hwy 1 though ... it went from a headstock truss rod adjust, to a heel adjust, and from non-graphite support rods, to graphite support rods, to align itself with the American Standard necks ... the finish was also changed to nitrocellulose, and the flat black was added as a color option also ... the tuners stayed the same (same as MIM Standard) ... and the price took a major jump ... the only difference between the very first Hwy 1's (early 2003) and the entire rest of the run of Hwy 1's up to the change over to Hwy One DURING the 2006 year, was that a very small number of them did not utilize the Greasebucket circuitry ... that, and they did offer a powder blue color option at this time if I remember correctly ...
The current American Specials have returned to a 'vintage' style bridge vs the BAII, but it is not the same as what came on the Hwy 1 ... the Hwy 1 bridge utilized threaded saddles, and the Specials just use the single slot saddles (as MIM Standard) ...
thanks again for the post ...
Edit to add: I should add, that the Hwy 1 to Hwy One transition did appear to not be the most clean-cut of transitions ... on another site that I frequent, around the time of the anticipated transition, there were reports of Hwy Series basses being put out with the upgraded neck, and no BAII, and even vice-versa ... so if a Hwy appears with an 05/06 serial number, especially if it is a late 05, or an early 06, it could fall into the category of it NOT being a full transition piece ... Fender was known for doing that over the years as well, way back into the mid-60's, where it almost seemed to make no sense as to what basses got oval tuners, which had dots w/binding, dots w/no binding, blocks w/binding, etc ...
Pete, very informative post, thank you ... however, the neck is completely different on the upgraded Hwy One than the Hwy 1 though ... it went from a headstock truss rod adjust, to a heel adjust, and from non-graphite support rods, to graphite support rods, to align itself with the American Standard necks ... the finish was also changed to nitrocellulose, and the flat black was added as a color option also ... the tuners stayed the same (same as MIM Standard) ... and the price took a major jump ... the only difference between the very first Hwy 1's (early 2003) and the entire rest of the run of Hwy 1's up to the change over to Hwy One DURING the 2006 year, was that a very small number of them did not utilize the Greasebucket circuitry ... that, and they did offer a powder blue color option at this time if I remember correctly ...
The current American Specials have returned to a 'vintage' style bridge vs the BAII, but it is not the same as what came on the Hwy 1 ... the Hwy 1 bridge utilized threaded saddles, and the Specials just use the single slot saddles (as MIM Standard) ...
thanks again for the post ...
Edit to add: I should add, that the Hwy 1 to Hwy One transition did appear to not be the most clean-cut of transitions ... on another site that I frequent, around the time of the anticipated transition, there were reports of Hwy Series basses being put out with the upgraded neck, and no BAII, and even vice-versa ... so if a Hwy appears with an 05/06 serial number, especially if it is a late 05, or an early 06, it could fall into the category of it NOT being a full transition piece ... Fender was known for doing that over the years as well, way back into the mid-60's, where it almost seemed to make no sense as to what basses got oval tuners, which had dots w/binding, dots w/no binding, blocks w/binding, etc ...
Boy, you are testing an old guys memory now ... but to the best of my recolection, the finish on the original Hwy Series (Hwy 1) was being touted as a "lacquer' finish, which was pushing the ability of the wood to 'breath' more than with a poly ...
But with the introduction of the 'upgraded' Hwy ONE series, the word "NITRO" definitely made an appearance ... but, for me to tell you the difference chemically, not a chance ... my feelings though are Hwy 1=Lacquer finish and Hwy One=nitrocellulose lacquer finish ... and from beyond that, I will let you do your own homework and deciding ... JMHO
I had an '02 American Deluxe Jazz that was simply gorgeous in every way except the suck-@ss tuners. Man, I hated those things, they just felt gritty and jerky, and I tried to fix 'em. Every other bass I've ever owned, and there have been some cheapos, has had better tuners.
Lots of misinformation in this thread, but it's not surprising as at this moment, even FMIC is not certain about some details of 2011 H1 bass production. They've been through an amazing number of documented and undocumented changes.
Me, I easily would have traded that moronic BAII bridge for better machines.
My 2011 P will supposedly ship tomorrow, my 2011 J at the end of February.
Me, I easily would have traded that moronic BAII bridge for better machines.
My 2011 P will supposedly ship tomorrow, my 2011 J at the end of February.
No, they were acrylic lacquer.
Contrary to many enduring myths, there is nothing magical about nitrocellulose finishes, except that consumers believe in the myths -- and FMIC unfortunately seems to be listening to focus groups these days.
No, they were acrylic lacquer.
Contrary to many enduring myths, there is nothing magical about nitrocellulose finishes, except that consumers believe in the myths -- and FMIC unfortunately seems to be listening to focus groups these days.
I suppose the real question is....do the HW1s and the HWONEs wear the same way (relatively quickly)? Do they have the same matte look to them?
not sure if I disagree with you but ,what is different ? what I said was the early models had alot in common with mexi standards, compared to the newer ones, are you talking about colors? an extra cap and resistor? acrylic laquer vs. poly? were the pickups different? threaded saddles, vs single groove ? the decal on the headstock?
Regarding the Hwy 1 and the MIM Standard ... I would say that the only things the same, would have been the neck with the skunk stripe ... and the tuners, but then they are the same tuners that are used on the Hwy One also...
what would be different, would be body (routing on J, type of wood and source no one knows), body finish, pups, bridge, tone control circuitry, and then as you mentioned colors, or headstock logo, which dont mean much ...
how we doing? on the same page yet? feel free to correct me if I am in error in my findings ... I am never opposed to learning if inaccurate ..
"Lots of misinformation in this thread, but it's not surprising as at this moment, even FMIC is not certain about some details of 2011 H1 bass production. They've been through an amazing number of documented and undocumented changes."
Bongo, would love to hear what all you find as misinformation ... I have always felt informed is armed when it comes to being a consumer, so if you have clarification or a different understanding, I have never been too proud to admit an error and be corrected ... care to share>?
Bongo, would love to hear what all you find as misinformation ... I have always felt informed is armed when it comes to being a consumer, so if you have clarification or a different understanding, I have never been too proud to admit an error and be corrected ... care to share>?
My apologies for cutting down the post with the above quotes, but the parts I cut out look to be pretty spot on, while AFAIK, the parts I quoted are a little off...
First off, I don't think there is a "graphite truss rod", rather a pair of graphite reinforcement rods, one on each side of a steel truss rod... Futhermore, there is definitely a difference in pre-'06 improved necks: that's obvious by the truss rod adjuster at the headstock for earlier HWY 1's, at the heel of the neck for later HWY One's...
I have also never heard of putting heavy strings on a Fender 4 string as being a no-no...
I could be wrong about the above, but I don't think so...
- georgestrings
Yes, cheap, nasty matte finishes that fall apart quickly, though I think the current ones may be a bit more durable and less likely to peel.
I was just polishing one out last night. If you are EXTREMELY careful, you can wet-sand out most of the orange peel on the clearcoat with 2000 wet/dry and hand-polish it out with swirl remover without penetrating the topcoat and have a pretty nice finish (I was doing this last night), but I would guess at least 80% of the people who try it will blow it. It is super-thin...which contrary to undying popular fallacy does absolutely nothing for tone on a solid-body instrument.
