« Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster »

I bought mine at a local dealer for around six hundred out the door.

I own three strats. Two are American Standards and one Highway 1. The Hwy 1 has the best sustain and tone of all three. I much rather prefer it's vintage style trem
over the new style because it feels lively and bouncy in comparison. (which is good because I really pound the strings.)I think I'll try to trade one of my Americans in on a cheaper Hwy 1.
I dont believe the Americans are worth the extra $300 - $400.

All three of my strats have severe cracks in the same place...that piece of wood that seperates the neck joint and the front pickup routing (under the pickgaurd). I can understand it on my Hwy 1 because I really abuse it on the road, but my Americans hardly leave the cases. Oh well, thats why there Elmers wood glue...

I actually stripped the finish off exposing the natural wood and it looks great. The neck joint is really tight too. The neck and frets are awesome. The Hwy 1 feels a little lighter than my Americans, which is good after 4 sets.

I believe the Highway 1 strat is the best buy in there line-up. It's great for blues, country and classic rock.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com