highway 1 satin finish, opinions?

[sleepykeith]

i'm going to buy a tele body off ebay very soon, and i'm seeing a lot of highway 1 bodies for sale with their satin finishes.
i've never seen one in person, but i like the look of vintage tele's and i've heard thinner finishes sound better than the thick glossy ones... so i think they'd work for me, but i was just wondering what the concesus was on these finishes. is it an apples/oranges thing? or are these thinner, satin finishes more preferred?

thanks!

[Tele56]

I have a Hwy 1 Texas tele (blonde) and a MIM standard (sunburst). To be honest, I prefer the thinner finish on the Hwy 1. Although both guitars are obviously different, I prefer the overall sound of the Hwy 1. The MIM standard finish is durable, but the thinner Hwy 1 finish is only a thin top coat. I've heard others (more experienced owners) mention that there is a substantial poly finish under the thin Hwy 1.

[paintguy]

I was just going to say a satin finish doesn't mean the finish is thin. A satin finish appears thin because of the lack of reflection and imperfections. No reflection makes it appear thin. A satin finish may be applied over any thick material and would appear somewhat thin.

I sell satin clear to quite a few guitar builders/painters that apply it over polyester all the time. Some finishes are probably very thick. They just don't appear that way.

Fwiw,

Larry

[Teleman]

I have a texas tele with the highway 1 satin finish. I really like it. It hs a little sheen to it but it is not high gloss by any means. That tele has been my go to tele for the last several months. it just has the tone.

[sleepykeith]

okay,
it just looks like the finish is easier to "break in".
i have a 93 USA standard tele and it would seem no amount of playing would ever get that cool "worn out" top edge. the finish is so thick and glossy.
but there is an '03 hwy1 on ebay right now that already has some of that wear on it.

just wondering if anyone knew for sure one way or the other if the HWY1 really was a thin finish, or just as thick as the standards only satin.
thanks!

[esoteric pete]

just an FYI guys...the next gen. highway 1's will be satin nitro....dont know when that starts though....but i though that was pretty cool and worth mentioning..

[jazzandmetal?]

I just ordered one for my store here in VA....they also have the big 70s headstock...it may come home with me

[vampwizzard]

I played a few Highway 1's in the shop when searching out a new guitar. To be honest I didnt like the way the body felt. The resonance didnt seem as good to me as an american body. Although they are both made in the USA, I still prefer the American body with the standard finish.


I would have to say the best bet would be to get a body off warmoth or somewhere else and have them nitro it.

[sleepykeith]

just an FYI guys...the next gen. highway 1's will be satin nitro....dont know when that starts though....but i though that was pretty cool and worth mentioning..


right... the fender site lists it as a "thin nitro lacquer finish". it says it's for '06. i went to guitar center today, the only hwy1 they had was of a jazz bazz in what i assume was their honey blonde maple color. the finish was really really dull... more matte than satin.
could they already be out?

[esoteric pete]

i dont think there out yet...or at least not everywhere...i just got the memo from fender on this past thurs....so maybe not yet, but soon....im sure there will be an additional tag for the headstock to point this out...

[aleclee]

could they already be out?My pusher indicated that they'd be out in September. He hasn't called me yet... :)

[sunysideup]

i'm going to buy a tele body off ebay very soon, and i'm seeing a lot of highway 1 bodies for sale with their satin finishes.
i've never seen one in person, but i like the look of vintage tele's and i've heard thinner finishes sound better than the thick glossy ones... so i think they'd work for me, but i was just wondering what the concesus was on these finishes. is it an apples/oranges thing? or are these thinner, satin finishes more preferred?

thanks!

since when the finish affect the tone?

[homerayvaughan]

since when the finish affect the tone?
Since they started making guitars:rolleyes:

Everything on a guitar will impact the tone to some degree I personally feel that the finish is one of the biggest contributing factors. Not to say that poly or nitro is good or bad, as there have been good and bad examples of both made.

I have a Strat with a blonde highway 1 body - it is very light and resonant, and it is a lot thinner IMO than the finishes on the American Standards. It's not going to wear like a nitro body, but it sounds good.

Do yourself a favor and do a search hear on how much the finish on a guitar affects the tone. There have been many debates on this.

[Hard2Hear]

The store I work at has 4 new ones so theyre out there already.

[homerayvaughan]

Call me over-sensitive but it's gotten so bad that I have to turn off the radio when I hear poly-finished strats.
:AOK

[AdmiralB]

The old series was VERY thin lacquer. I had a (red) Strat body mated to a YJM neck, and I also owned a (blonde) Texas Tele. I buffed them both out; they looked GREAT but I went through an edge on the Tele.

I think they sound and feel great. Not durable at all though.