HW1 construction compared to MIA.

[spencer]

Im not intrested in the compareison of the electronics, tuners, or bridge. All I care about is the build of the body and neck..

Put all else aside, only compareing the Body and Neck of a HW1 and MIA, what are the diffrences, besides the string through body, and finish.

Im considering takeing a HW1 and replaceing the Electronics, Bridge [I just don't like BA] and Tuners.

Are the Body and Neck built the Exact same?

 

[joelb79]

I believe the HW1 Neck has graphite re-enforcement rods in the neck, and the MIM does not.

That being said, if you like the HW1 bridge and electronics, you might end up spending the same as the HW1 in the end.

 

[SuperSnake2012]

Depending on how much work you do, you might as well just get a MIA

 

[spencer]

I believe the HW1 Neck has graphite re-enforcement rods in the neck, and the MIM does not.

That being said, if you like the HW1 bridge and electronics, you might end up spending the same as the HW1 in the end.

I was compareing it to the MIA, not MIM. And I don't like the HW1 bridge or electronics......

Depending on how much work you do, you might as well just get a MIA

I have a MIA and im not worried about the work/money I put into it because I much rather have the nitro finish. The MIA nitro finished basses are SUPER expensive as they are reissues.

 

[MikeBass]

Im not intrested in the compareison of the electronics, tuners, or bridge. All I care about is the build of the body and neck..

Put all else aside, only compareing the Body and Neck of a HW1 and MIA, what are the diffrences, besides the string through body, and finish.

Im considering takeing a HW1 and replaceing the Electronics, Bridge [I just don't like BA] and Tuners.

Are the Body and Neck built the Exact same?

This is a great question.
I'm thinking the same thing.
It's USA built correct?
Passive and it comes with a BadAss installed (which for me saves the trouble of having to do it myself).
Nitro finish.
Alder body.
So what is the diff?
Anyone??

Alder body, rosewood neck, BadAss, drop in a Sadowsky pre & pickups and I'm off to work!!!

 

[spencer]

Good thing someone else is intrested. I e-mailed fender ... I think... they make it really hard to find their e-mail address lol. Im not sure if its the right one but Im gonna try it. Anyways if this the HW1 is built the same I will sell my MIA buy a HW1 replace the tuners and bridge, MIGHT keep the electronics or just put some Bassline 1/4's in there and tada sexy easy to get that worn look P bass but plays as good as a MIA.

 

[tjh]

for starters, if you dont want the BA bridge, buy a pre upgrade ... I like the threaded saddles they used on them anyhow ... as far as bodies, the Hwy series is not channel routed under p/g, the MIA is ... the finish is a preference thing, both have unique colors, pick away ... the neck on a MIA is usually a gloss finish, Hwy is satin ... frett edges on my MIA are finished better than any of the Hwy's I have had or played ... body contours seem the same, Hwy is usually lighter, if for no other reason than less finish ... skunk stripe on pre upgrade Hwy, none on MIA ... pre upgrade Hwy had truss adjust at nut, MIA will be at body ... personally I would take used MIA (550-750) over new Hwy (@799) all day long but USED pre upgrade Hwy (400+) range is tough to go wrong ... the neck profiles are going to be a crapshoot, but I have found that the non truss rod neck of the early pre-upgrade Hwy's to be thinner (F to B) than the MIA with graphite ... also, Hwy neck only comes in rosewood, MIA rose and maple ... off the top of my head, those are the differences that jump out at me ...

 

[spencer]

HW1's go on ebay for 500$ brand new all the time. Well if the neck pocket isn't routed as good as a MIA then I guess I will stick with my MIA. But as for the neck ahh I could replace that too lol.. So basicly its all about the body construction.

 

[gkbass13]

if you are going to buy sadowsky pickups and elctronics, why not just get a sadowsky metro on the used market? so many ifs in the world of GAS.

 

[tjh]

HW1's go on ebay for 500$ brand new all the time. Well if the neck pocket isn't routed as good as a MIA then I guess I will stick with my MIA. But as for the neck ahh I could replace that too lol.. So basicly its all about the body construction.

You misunderstood me ... channel routing is the cut between the pup and control panel ... non existent on Hwy series (you can take p/gaurd off, and no exposed routing) ... neck pockets the same ... also, I have not seen UPGRADED Hwy series on ebay for $500 brand new all the time (but then I am not looking specificly either), so that would probably be the pre upgrades that you are seeing for that price, I believe ... which isnt a bad thing, I happen to prefer the pre upgrades, but I would tend to think that vein is going to shortly dry up, there are only so many NEW pre upgrades hanging on walls around ...

 

[spencer]

I understood what you said. You just mentioned neck pockets and it got me thinking. As for upgraded you mean the new ones? The new ones with the new finish and the new graphite neck +ba bridge do sell for 500$.. The internet and all its confusion..

 

[savit260]

The new upgraded (Fenders opinion, not mine) Higway one basses are $799 everywhere I've seen them, be it in person or on line. I've played a bunch of the new ones, and just don't like them as much as the first version.

They were never specific on the old version about what the finish was other than some kind of satin, low gloss. The new finish doesn't look any different, and having heard of older Highway ones having reactions with rubber stand, leads me to believe it's been some sort of nitro all along. I remember a pretty inconclusive debate here on talkbass about this a while back. No idea what the finish actually is, but I will say the usually sound very good, so what ever it is, I'm cool with it. The old version could be had under $600 new. Build quality is on par wtih the MIA's in my opinion. The American Series may have a little more attention payed to the neck/fingerboard. The American Series P's feel a little better finished right out of the box. If I were in the market for a new Fender P, the pre upgraded Highway one would be the one I'd buy, and I'm a hardcore Precision guy. Last week I played a pre upgraded, upgraded, and American Series P basses back to back, and the best one was def. the early version Highway one. As to the finish wearing. It will age faster than the poly, but it isn't going to happen over night.
I personally thing Fender screwed up with this upgraded model. They took a great bass with at a great price point, and moved it upscale, and added a bunch to the price, by adding stuff I personally don't want on a P bass. Badass and Graphite. This may be to make room for the higher end MIM stuff now that resides in the same price range as the old Higway one. The old pre upgrade, reminded me a lot of the old "American Standard" pre "American Series" P with a different less expensive to apply/finsih satin finish on the body. Two of my favorite parts are now missing. The old style bridge, and the non graphite reinforced neck.

If you can find a new upgraded one for $500 I'd buy it if I were you. That's a great price. Willing to bet it's the old version, which is still a decent price, and the one I'd rather have anyway.

 

[Juniorkimbrough]

^^^Agreed.

I love my old version! The fretends are the ONLY thing I could think of that need improvement...other than that it plays just as good as my USA 62RI Jazz.

 

[remo]

HW1's go on ebay for 500$ brand new all the time. Well if the neck pocket isn't routed as good as a MIA then I guess I will stick with my MIA. But as for the neck ahh I could replace that too lol.. So basicly its all about the body construction.

Fender couldn't cut a tight neck pocket to save their lives!!

the HW1 nitro finish is DESIGNED to age fast, chip and generally show abuse much faster than a MIA Poly.. it's so your HW1 looks old and rugged quicker...

 

[savit260]

Fender couldn't cut a tight neck pocket to save their lives!!

the HW1 nitro finish is DESIGNED to age fast, chip and generally show abuse much faster than a MIA Poly.. it's so your HW1 looks old and rugged quicker...

I'm sure that's why people pay a premium or upcharge for Nitro on their high end customs. Yeah, so it will show abuse, and look old faster

Take a look at how many fine acoustic guitars, and Jazz boxes are finished in Nitro vs. poly. I'm sure that's why Martin uses Nitro, so it will look rugged quicker.

 

[spencer]

well walking into guitar center you can already see wear on the HW1 basses just from being played in the store.. Yes they do wear much faster the finish is soo friggen thin..

 

[tjh]

I tried to tell the OP that if it was 500 bucks new, it was pre upgrade ... BTW, there is burst pre-up P on ebay right now for 500 bucks ... they try not to mention that it is a pre, but it is ... somebody snap it up ... somewhere on this forum there is a post that I almost word for word stated as savit260 did, my exact same feelings and preference of the early versions ... except I took it a step further and advocated a very early 01/02 to get the conventional tone pot instead of the greasebucket ... but the gb is a simple change from what I understand ... as I mentioned in my earlier post on this thread, a used Hwy 1 Series in 400+ plus range it is tough to go wrong ... I recently sold a '04 Hwy 1 Jazz with the plastic still on the p/guard for 440 shipped with a Fender bag ... very nice bass, at a very nice price ...

 

[The_Owl]

I've tried 3 different HW1:s (jazz) in the same store yesterday.

One had faulty tuning heads, the other had a non-functional tone control, and the third had reversed polarity, i.e. when both pickups were turned up max, they canceled each other out, causing a thin, awful sound.

The MIA:s on the other hand, had no issues like that, neither did the MIJ:s.

All the HW1:s I've tried must've slipped by the Quality Control somehow, because they were all awful.

I think that QC is the biggest difference between the two series.