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.
2 comments:
i used to have one of these. it was pretty good, but kind of let down by the block heel and classic fender neck profile.
the block heel is a signature Fender feature, as you can see, even in this shred-type guitar, the manufacturer refuses to do away with it. well, at least the heel's given a minor bevel for that extra reach- for those of us who tried, of course :-)
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