A place to talk about the music of the Grateful Dead
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By mkaufmanRe: Last night's show: the National Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jerry Garcia Tue Sep 08, 2026 9:41 am -
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By Jon S.Last night's show: the National Symphony Orchestra plays the music of Jerry Garcia Sat Sep 05, 2026 8:39 am -
By Darkstar860Re: Searching for a JBL K-120 Fri Aug 14, 2026 7:41 pm
I dont know, I played it for a bit and it just isnt my style. This was the case with this particular one though (It was a weird, rare, unique, not-a-lot-made 80's Les Paul) I can say that I absolutely love a friends Les Paul Studio. I'm also just not at a Les Paul point in my guitar playing. I'm more of a strat man like I said before.
Feel free to give me some meaning.
Sorry to hit an older thread, but I'm new here and the Highway One series is one of my favorites. Not knowing if you got an answer yet, I thought I'd chime in.
First, my .02 on the whole MIM vs MIA thing: overrated. There are some great MIA guitars, and some really mediocre ones. Ditto for MIM. Just for the record, I have 2 MIMs (Strat and Tele) 1 Indonesian (Jazz Bass) 1 CIJ (Aerodyne Tele) 1 Korea (Gretsch Pro-Jet) and 8 MIAs (3 Teles, 1 Toronado, 3 Strats, 1 CS Showmaster).
So, I can say with utmost sincerity that it ain't the sticker on the headstock that makes the guitar.
Now, The Highway One is near and dear to me, as it was the first electric guitar I ever purchased (in 2002 when they first came out: Crimson Red Transparent Stratocaster with a maple neck). The satin finish, by most accounts, helps with the tone of the axe and I'd go along with that. It sustains for days. The flatness of the finish in and of itself doesn't do much for me, but after a while of wiping it down after playing, it becomes more of a semi-gloss which looks really cool. But they are prone to nicks and scraps.
The first Hwy 1's (version 1) were great players. Real comfortable and nicely carved bodies. The pups, however, seemed a little anemic to me. I've since pulled the pups out of my version 1 and put in Texas Specials. Man.
The new Highway 1's are a different animal. The finish is essentially the same, but they've beefed up the pick-ups, added a larger block to the trem-unit on the Strat, and generally "took it up a notch". The necks play real fast, as they're not "sticky" like some of the guitars when you first get them (my '52 RI Tele and American Deluxe "V" neck come to mind). I just got a Highway 1 tele, and the neck on that is also super comfortable and super fast. On the other hand, they've gone to larger frets. This is sort of a mixed bag: It makes fretting, on the whole, easier; but it also makes it easy to fret too hard and pull the note sharp.
Like most things musical, it's really up to the individual. But, generally, one does get what one pays for when buying musical equipment. Shop around. I've seen MIM Baja Tele's that simply smoked, and Baja Tele's I wouldn't touch with a 10' pole. Each axe is different. But I personally think the Highway 1 series is a "great bang for the buck".
First, my .02 on the whole MIM vs MIA thing: overrated. There are some great MIA guitars, and some really mediocre ones. Ditto for MIM. Just for the record, I have 2 MIMs (Strat and Tele) 1 Indonesian (Jazz Bass) 1 CIJ (Aerodyne Tele) 1 Korea (Gretsch Pro-Jet) and 8 MIAs (3 Teles, 1 Toronado, 3 Strats, 1 CS Showmaster).
So, I can say with utmost sincerity that it ain't the sticker on the headstock that makes the guitar.
Now, The Highway One is near and dear to me, as it was the first electric guitar I ever purchased (in 2002 when they first came out: Crimson Red Transparent Stratocaster with a maple neck). The satin finish, by most accounts, helps with the tone of the axe and I'd go along with that. It sustains for days. The flatness of the finish in and of itself doesn't do much for me, but after a while of wiping it down after playing, it becomes more of a semi-gloss which looks really cool. But they are prone to nicks and scraps.
The first Hwy 1's (version 1) were great players. Real comfortable and nicely carved bodies. The pups, however, seemed a little anemic to me. I've since pulled the pups out of my version 1 and put in Texas Specials. Man.
The new Highway 1's are a different animal. The finish is essentially the same, but they've beefed up the pick-ups, added a larger block to the trem-unit on the Strat, and generally "took it up a notch". The necks play real fast, as they're not "sticky" like some of the guitars when you first get them (my '52 RI Tele and American Deluxe "V" neck come to mind). I just got a Highway 1 tele, and the neck on that is also super comfortable and super fast. On the other hand, they've gone to larger frets. This is sort of a mixed bag: It makes fretting, on the whole, easier; but it also makes it easy to fret too hard and pull the note sharp.
Like most things musical, it's really up to the individual. But, generally, one does get what one pays for when buying musical equipment. Shop around. I've seen MIM Baja Tele's that simply smoked, and Baja Tele's I wouldn't touch with a 10' pole. Each axe is different. But I personally think the Highway 1 series is a "great bang for the buck".
Welcome aboard Gr8tfulEd. Good catch for one of your first posts. I totally agree...
Last April when I was shopping around for a Telecaster I checked out a Highway 1 at a music store. It looked nice with it's '70s style headstock decal and all, but something didn't feel right, it also sounded way too bright for my taste. Shortly therafter I met a hardcore Tele freak who told me to stay away from them. I decided to spend a little more and bought an original '77 which is truly the nicest Telecaster I've ever owned and I'm a happy camper ever since.
