Special single

When you don't have funds for new gear, you butcher what you own to make it 'new'. 

Jokes aside, I have planned for this to happen for a while really, just lacking the motivation. I get turned off by the sunburst finish so turning it into a single pickup guitar - which is absolutely my thing - makes it more likeable. Just sharing something interesting here - this guitar is an American Special Stratocaster but it is using a Highway 1 neck. The next time you acquire an American Special guitar / bass & discovers a Highway 1 neck in use, be informed that it's a legit instrument. The American Special is basically a Highway 1 with a glossed over body. 

To be continued... 

Limited biege

Fender Japan recently released this blonde Strat in limited edition satin finish (SGD1,460).

Flashback 2001 - Fender USA released the Highway 1 Strat in satin blonde (SGD1,040). Hmm... 😜

Pics: Fender Japan / Shelton

Highway re-string

Gloomy weather, bogged down indoors so it's re-string therapy: Fender H1 Strat. FYI, this is the first gen Highway 1 Strat sporting the traditional headstock. A little later, it sports the big, 70s version before evolving into the American Special. Looks rather pristine, yes? This pic was taken after a wipe down.

Before that happened, this was how the body looked like. I am repeatedly betrayed by the hard case. If you touched the stained surface, it felt sticky. One more time - the lining's adhesive had seeped through over time & caused this to happen.

The strap button at the horn end was affected & the rust travelled into the thread. No point salvaging these.

I am happy with Dunlop buttons & this Strat deserves a fresh pair.

Today's string of choice - GHS 9s

Seen that somewhere

 After spending time with the Fender Highway 1 Showmaster...

.... and re-looking at the Charvel Pro-Mod DK, suddenly things begin to make sense. No surprises here as we know who owns the Charvel brand name. However, the current DK design has a more refined bass side cutaway / sharper horn. 

Pics: Charvel / Audiofanzine

Re-string Sunday

Re-string Sunday - Fender Highway 1 Showmaster HH. Not mine, belongs to a friend. I remember accompanying him to the Swee Lee showroom for a look-see which ended up in this purchase. He requested for a set of Elixir 10s.

I'm the type who does not just re-string, I will look into the guitar's well-being to make sure it's in optimum condition, if not fantastic, for the owner / player. This guitar, due to its age, is fighting a fresh set of strings which was traced to a tension issue. If you look at the springs here, notice that some of them (3 to be precise) are sagging; these are the older ones. I had to initially tighten the trem claw screws to balance the tension but the older springs simply couldn't keep up. The screws were driven excessively into the cavity & it ran out of room. So I added two fresh springs in there to keep things in check, these are the straight ones you see above, slightly shinier as well. There are other parts of this guitar that needed upgrading / replacement. Will deal with this during its next re-string episode.

Club single: The Highway entry

This is my original Fender Highway 1 (H1) pickguard. The last modification done was to have a humbucker in the bridge position because that's what I play the most. The other pair of single coils are functional but ignored. Since this had been the case, I've decided to remove this pickguard.

The new pickguard accommodates only 1 humbucker. I also have the push-pull coil split in there to activate some single coil tones on, well, some playing days. All wiring done by Beez in under 15min.

Before putting everything back in place, there were some misaligned screw holes despite the pickguard being an American product & the promise to fit an American Fender Strat perfectly. Nothing too adverse, a simple fill did the job. After an hour of drying, the new pickguard is ready for mounting.

There we go- something functional that serves me (not pleasing what others think a Fender Strat should be). By the way, the pickup in question is a Seymour Duncan JB Trembucker.

X: You've just destroyed a Fender Strat.

Me: I've destroyed nothing, it's my guitar. It's reversible anyway.

X: You have only one tone to work with.

Me: Rubbish. The amp channels, EQ section, effects & the coil split switch in there would provide much other tones to work with, it's a matter of knowing what to use, when to use them.

X: You've de-valued your Fender.

Me: If it's meant to be mine, it's not the case. I don't intend to re-sell it. A well taken care Fender will retain much of its value so no worries there. Even an old, battered, historical Fender fetches good money. That's what the whole relic thing is all about.

X: Would you recommend this mod to others?

Me: Depends on their intentions. If they wish for only a humbucking tone to help them focus, this is it. It should serve a personal need, not to imitate others' fashion statement. I have other Strats to work with should I wish for a more authentic Fender single coil tones so this one is worth the hassle. It makes me happy, that's important.

Fender... oops?

Just hours ago, my friend, Rosli, was at my residence. He was here for me to try & figure out why his high E string kept popping out of the retainer every time he whammies his bridge. This happened even after the nut of his Floyd Rose equipped Fender Highway 1 Showmaster Strat, was locked tight. He is also baffled by the fact the bridge itself suffers from over-projection every time he tried to tune his guitar.

After a closer look, the string-popping mystery was an easy problem to deal with; Fender actually equipped the guitar with a retainer of the wrong length as depicted above (A). I compared it to the spare I bought for my Ibanez RG guitar (B) & the difference was rather obvious. Easy solution for an easy problem.

Moving on to the bridge over-projection issue, I tuned the guitar accordingly & indeed saw the anomaly myself. So I thought a quick tightening of the whammy spring screws at the rear body cavity would do the trick but even after doing so, the problem persisted. This was when I decided to feel the strings & that's the cause of it all- the strings in there were a set of .010s. So the quick string replacement (the guitar now has a set of Fender .009s in it) & corrective tuning took place. Rosli wanted a slightly higher action to rid the guitar of that shred-action buzzing & he got his wish. But while at it, the rosewood fretboard got re-moisturized as well; the upper fret vicinity was rather dry. I expected it to be so because this guitar could be in storage for years; the reason it looks untouched & in splendid physical condition. 

I simply like how the guitar's default humbuckers reacted to high distortion settings; it's rather obvious they were conceived to rock. The instrument's build is also solid & blemish-free; how that wrong retainer bar got through was quite a mystery.

Fender: Highway1 Showmaster

This is a largely forgotten Fender offering, namely due to its unpopular Highway 1 manifestations- the satin body finish is the chief dislike. However, the Showmasters (both versions shown above) feature an original Floyd Rose unit which is the highlight of this guitar. The 24 frets on board is also a rare feature in a Fender make. The pickups are above average when it comes to distortion applications, the cleans are acceptable but not as immaculate as the typical Fender single coils. Nevertheless, I feel the Highway1s are under-appreciated models, with the American Special now being the highlight affordable offering (affordable American Fender that is...), the Highway 1s will soon bow out of the catalogue altogether. In fact, I have a feeling they won't be there come 2011...

My friend, Rosli, recently bought this guitar & I could see him beaming with satisfaction. It's really a good model to invest in if you have the typical shred features in mind. But when it comes to shredability, the typical shredder won't look at 'Fender', highly likely, he'll go with 'Ibanez' but it's anything & everything that works for us; there shouldn't be any firm restrictions.

Floating it

To many players out there, a floating bridge is equivalent to the Floyd Rose locking unit as it allows one to raise & lower the played notes. The fallacy here is that a floating bridge need not be a Floyd Rose model & the Floyd Rose bridge itself comes in a version which doesn't 'float' (ala Van Halen's).

A floating bridge is common reference for a bridge unit which allows the whammy action to lower & raise notes as previously mentioned. The pic above shows my Fender Highway 1 bridge which is neither a Floyd Rose unit nor a locking variant; it's Fender's traditional Strat bridge. I've set it up to such an extent it rests in an overhanging position, not levelled against the body surface. This way, I can lower the notes & raise them as the need arises. This is how a non-Floyd Rose bridge floats, just as preferred by Stevie Ray Vaughan in his belated 'Number 1' Strat.

So the term 'floating' refers to how the bridge rests to allow a dual-whammy application, regardless if it's a Floyd Rose unit or otherwise.

Harmonic highway minor

It's been a wet Friday with hardly anywhere to go. The exciting indoor places would probably be full of people who would wanna get away from the rain so the best place to be is home...

Lots of coffee & many harmonic minor runs later, I still find my Fender Highway 1 Strat to be one of the best guitar I own. Depite its pariah tag, the H1 model is a fantastic instrument that would only appease the non-snob players who aren't critical of what an ideal guitar should be because this instrument per se is crafted with components which would get the job done, nothing excessive. Anyway, some productive time was spent with my H1 today, particularly the exploration of the harmonic minor scale. I dislike this scale because it sounds too Malmsteen-ish (no disrespect for Mr. Malmsteen, of course), a chock full of classical sounding notes & nothing happy-sounding unless one gets creative with some additional notes in the mix. Ironically, it's the omission of a few notes which made me play quite extensively, forgoing a routine visit to the latrine, to say the least. I discovered this omission manifested a very Japanese sounding lick. Through another phrasing, it then sounded like what a Javanese gamelan player would churn out. It's slightly past midnight now & I'm finally retiring for the day. No, I'm not interested in the World Cup in the mean time.

I'm also glad I have a humbucker in the bridge position- Duncan's Hot Rails. I somehow knew I would have something going fusing the H1's midrange-rich body with this rather boomy pickup (but there's much clarity on board, mind you). Someone who witnessed this pickup swap said I'm desecrating the Fender tone which should be an all single coil affair but I have my ST-72 & 50th Anniversary Strat to handle that hallowed tone.

Corroded/deteriarated electronics

The above pots & 5-way switch were recently removed from my Highway1 Strat after 4 years of service. The 5-way switch was affected the most as this was the item most handled by me during play. No, I did not touch the entire switch per se during play but I keep flicking it so my sweat evidently seeped into the innards & deterioration occurred.

If you look closely, the pots are CTS units.

Fender H1: Duncanized! (Part 2)

Another Highway 1 of mine getting Seymour Duncan pickups: Classic Stack for Tele. I've decided to install a stacked set because I play with drive/distortion all the time, some noise elimination would be useful. The Classic Stack (neck & bridge) give off a brittle sounding midrange which isn't too quacky/ nasal, this is the preferred Tele single coil tone for me.

Fender: Parts swap

I recently did a neck bolt plate swap as depicted above; the Fender spare's a Japanese product (under licence, of course...). Just a caution to you chaps out there who'd like to spruce up your instruments cosmetically (hardware-wise, especially); some of the Japanese spares don't fit into Mexican Fenders/ most makes of Squiers. Aparently, the Americans & Japanese wares are more compatible.

Fender H1: Duncanized! (Part 1)

Hot Rails! That's the new Seymour Duncan resident in my H1 Strat; another great installation by Master Beez!

Did I desecrate my Fender tone? Not really- despite being a humbucker, there's still some twang in there but the overall tone's fatter in the lower frequencies, great for metal-type distortion. I have 2 other Strats with an all single coil line-up so this did not go to waste.

Fender: Highway 1

The Fender Highway 1 guitars are good instruments per se. My Strat you see above is the first generation H1 model, the Tele is the current 2008 make which features a thicker satin finish & larger frets. However, people tend to put them down on accounts of 'purity' & cost.

• The H1s are American by make but the manufacturer includes hardware & electronics from non-American sources. By virtue of this consideration, people feel they are duped because an American product isn't actually 100% American.
• On accounts of cost, the H1s are priced rather closely to the Japanese Fenders. If you've owned/ played one, you'd attest to the superb build & tone of these instruments. There'd be heretics out there advocating the worthiness of buying the Japanese model (no offence, I own one) instead

I simply regard these Fenders as good contemporary offerings by the manufacturer. The older, more historically appealing Fenders always get the accolades when it comes to tone & craftsmanship refinements but I'd say the H1 Fenders aren't bad at all.

Generic body

Was preparing my Highway1 Telecaster for a pickup swap today, saw this under the pickguard: There is a cavity above the neck pickup slot despite the neck not having truss rod access there (it's over at the headstock). It implies that Fender is using a generic body for their guitars.

New Fender @ Swee Lee

I didn't know the Highway1 Texas Tele's available here (@ Swee Lee), otherwise I would have just bought this one instead of modding my H1 Tele (i'm after the very sensible brass string saddles...). Anyway, this guitar also features an ash body (regular H1 models sport an alder body) & a '52 profile neck. Neat.

• Promo price: $1,388
• Product availability: Swee Lee Co.
  

Tonal bliss...

This was last weekend's tonal bliss = Marshall + Fender + overdrive pedal

A well set-up guitar can do wonders to one's playing in terms of inspiration. My advice to everyone out there- make your gear slave for you (mod it, upgrade it, etc...).

The F-plate

The default H1 Telecaster bolt plate is a markless version...

I have no idea why there's a spare F-plate in the house but it made itself useful.

Shimming the neck (Part 1)

Today I shimmed the neck of my H1 Tele not that it's in a dire need of one but it's my attempt to enjoy a uniformed (lower) string action along the neck of the guitar. In reality, this is nigh on impossible because the nature of the instrument is such that the lower fret register would manifest a lower action (once the strings are fretted) compared to the upper upper part. If action is uniformed throughout, there will be fret buzzing.

What in guitardom is a shim? It's a wedge inserted in the guitar body's neck pocket to raise the neck placement.

The neck of the H1 Tele is first removed. If your body's neck pocket contain some dirt/ dust, it's best removed/ swept away before proceeding. As you can see here, Fender still stamps some assembly detail in their neck pockets as it was done in the past. My H1 tele is indeed a fresh product, assembled in July this year.

Create a simple shim out of a piece of paper. The recommended thickness is one similar to that of a cigarette box. If you don't smoke & having fag boxes in the house would get you into grave trouble, use a food container box (eg: cereal box/ granola bar box/ etc) or your string pack (the one I used here) for that matter. The length of the shim should match that of the pocket (duh!) but the width need only be 2cm or lesser. The objective is to raise the tip of the neck, nothing excessive.

You need not create any holes on the shim (because as you screw the bolts back in, they would easily penetrate the paper, yes?) but I did that to ease insertions.

Righty! It's done! My H1 tele needs a fresh set of string & I'm using EHX's set of .009 this time...