The parts I consider to be cheap but can be upgraded. The guitars are painted in Mexico to avoid environmental laws in the US. One could argue California is Mexico but that's another story for another day. It was my understanding that the Highway one guitars are made in Mexico and assembled in the USA.
I'm just saying that you're getting burned at the going "everyday" H1 prices. Remember, it's all about the deal - any axe is fine at the right price. Of course, if you can get a long deal on a good one - a price that more accurately reflects the relative production cost - by all means get an H1. FMIC sells the "Standard" for as little as they can as an "entry" buy, and they sell the H1 (and other intermediate instruments like the "Classic") for as much as they can to make up for it. This is my main beef against the H1, that it's only a minor improvement over the "Standard" in terms of production costs, but you get soaked for hundreds of bucks for almost nothing but a largely fictive "MADE IN USA" decal. Some H1 instruments are virtually identical to the "Standard (Upgrade)" except for slightly better Mexican pickups and a couple of other extremely minor touches that amount to only a dollar or two difference in manufacturing cost.
#2004 FENDER HIGHWAY ONE STRATOCASTER SERIES#
Legal "MIA-ness" is not based on the amount of labor, but the cost of the labor, though with about 90% of the work now done robotically, I wonder how the beancounters assess value based on the location of the machines.Ģ: The H1 series is a poor value at market price, as it is only slightly more expensive to produce than a MIM "Standard" - there is no "chasm" between the H1 and the "Standard." There is a chasm between the H1 and the "American" series.
I've discussed this at length with a production manager at FMIC. The raw US materials (wood, paints, adhesives, etc.) and a small amount of expensive US labor for quick, crude matte finishing and final assembly have enough net value to make a legal majority of the production cost attributable on paper to "American" materials and labor. Most of the work is done in Mexico and virtually all the parts are import. That's been my entire point since these models were introduced.ġ: They're not "American" in any sense except a legal fiction based on the huge differential in labor wage value between Corona and Ensenada. Personally, I now only buy Asian Fenders as I can't live with MIM/MIA finish and workmanship.Ĭlick to expand.No - absolutely, categorically not. The best MIM/MIA values are the "Standard" and the "American" and anything in between tends to be less so. I was possibly the first to really get into it with Fender over the initial gross misrepresentation of the H1 line to consumers by retailers when it was first introduced. The MIA-ness is wildly exaggerated as is the "value" of the H1 line. What I said originally is still correct, give or take a few very minor changes, the H1s are extremely close to the MIM "Classic" line, except for the cheaper finishes and fret size. Fender uses many incrementally different grades and sources for its instruments, according to price. The blanks are not of the same grade as the "American" series, however, and that's what counts. Not that it matters where the CNT machine is that does the blank.
I believe the bodies at least, and possibly the necks, are now made in Mexico, as the Ensenada plant was gearing up to produce necks over a year ago, and started doing their own bodies after the H1 line was introduced. Originally, the MIM bodies and necks were all produced in Corona and finished in Ensenada.įender changes so many things so fast in terms of production, assembly, etc. There have been both documented and undocumented changes in the H1 line, but some instruments in the H1 line are using the MIM Standard "Upgrade" necks with different decals. The neck is not the same, nor is it that similar, as it initially lacked the biflex rod (and may still - it doesn't say in the specs). They are not the same American parts, however, nor even the same grade wood. and they are American parts)ġ 0060083000 Neck, Highway 1 Telecaster, R/WĠ060082000 Neck, Highway 1 Telecaster, M/Nĩ 0060817000 Pickguard, Highway 1 Tele., White/ Black/Whiteġ0 0053678000 Pickup, Neck, Mexico Vintage Teleġ1 0055216000 Pickup, Bridge, Mexico 50's Tele (note that, of course, a body and neck are not considered hardware. All the other hardware can be found on various MIM models, too. notice the pickup descriptions from Fender especially. And here's the HWY1 Tele parts list (since thats really what this thread was about).
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