Highway One Tele Weight?

[johnnywizzo]

I have an American Standard 60th Anniversary Blackguard Tele made of ash. It has a weight of 8.4#. I also have a 2006 Highway One Tele which weighs 7.8#.

I'm guessing that ash is a heavier wood, but what I was wondering is whether Highway One Teles are normally lighter in weight than American Standards? What would the average weight of a Tele be? Is a heavier guitar generally considered more desirable? Thanks!

 

[LKB3rd]

It varies guitar to guitar pretty wildly even in the same model so you can't generalize about which will weigh what, except maybe in high end custom shop models where they might hand pick bodies for weight.
Most people seem to like light ones, which I would consider to be around 7 lbs or less. 7 1/2 is pretty light. But I don't think it matters except for comfort in any way you could measure and generalize about.
Average is probably 7 1/2 to 8, but that's just a guess.

 

[Jake Brake]

My 2005 Highway One Tele is 7.4 lbs.

 

[telex76]

It varies guitar to guitar pretty wildly even in the same model so you can't generalize about which will weigh what, except maybe in high end custom shop models where they might hand pick bodies for weight.
Most people seem to like light ones, which I would consider to be around 7 lbs or less. 7 1/2 is pretty light. But I don't think it matters except for comfort in any way you could measure and generalize about.
Average is probably 7 1/2 to 8, but that's just a guess.

+1, this. Getting any particular model doesn't mean you will get a light Tele.

 

[radiocaster]

Is a heavier guitar generally considered more desirable? Thanks!

Seems nowadays lighter guitars are fashionable, supposedly in the 1970s people wanted heavier guitars.

But it's up to you if you prefer lighter or heavier. The difference between those two is not that much really.

Ash probably varies more in weight than basswood, it can be really heavy or really light.

 

[Twang Tone]

Getting any particular model doesn't mean you will get a light Tele.

+1. Tele weights are notoriously all over the place. I had 2 identical Squier CV50s Teles when they came out - one was 9lbs, the other 6.8lbs.

I know the Custom Shop sorts for weight, but Fender should also sort factory models for weight, and charge a premium to people like me, who like lighter Teles. I'd be happy to pay extra to get a lighter Tele. Plus, it would save me the hunting!

 

[AlexEP]

My Hwy 1 is 3,8 kg

 

[rebelwoclue]

In the 70's when heavy Les Pauls were considered the "sustain" guitar, Fender had a lot of heavy ash bodies done- no specs went out to the suppliers for lighter wood then as the heavy wood was thought to contribute to sustain anyway.(We're talking 9-10 lb. teles)
Times have changed and Fender began requiring certain specs on the ash to keep the weight reasonable and lately over the last 20 years people have really wanted the lighter bodies. Now you see light ash and heavy ash- depends on the specie and growing conditions. I have a swamp ash custom tele that is over 9 lbs.

 

[boris bubbanov]

First, the fundamentals.

All wood varies in weight, but variations in alder seem quite narrow and variations in ash are mind boggling. Thus, we tend to see alder Tele bodies all clustered in a fairly narrow range from say 4 pounds two ounces to 6 pounds. Meanwhile, an ash Tele body can be 3 pounds or it can be 9 pounds. Obviously Fender tries to avoid the extreme weights, but if you examine enough Fender Telecasters, you will see wider variations in the weight of the ash ones, in general, than in the alder ones.

Certain models, usual premium models with ash bodies, sometimes have ash bodies hand selected for weight. You have the alder bodied Highway One (die cast tuners, 9.5 board) but there was a special sub-order of Highway One called the Texas Tele (split shaft tuners, 12.0 radius board, 6105 fretwire, etc.) with consistently lightweight hand selected ash bodies. Also, Fender Custom Shop ash bodied Teles tend to be amongst the lighter ones. But for most Fender models they just used what was available.

Both of your guitars are within the range those models were built in, with the Highway One (alder) a little on the light side and the 60th ash body a little on the heavy side. The weights could easily have been inverted, with the ash one being lighter.

It would be incorrect to assume ash bodied guitars will be either lighter or heavier. If you find the weight important, you just have to observe that too, carefully, when buying along with all the other priorities like correct balance, fitting, nice feel and sound and setup.

 

[johnnywizzo]

Thanks for the information and all of the responses. I was wondering if Fender used inferior quality wood for the Highway One bodies compared to the American Standard bodies, due to the cost difference?

I like both of my Teles, but the 60th Anniversary Blackguard is way louder and has a lot more sustain. I have a set of 1962 AVRI Fender pickups that I am planning to install in the Highway One, but have been considering selling it stock and buying another model instead. Indecision is a terrible thing. I like the old-school bridge and barrel saddles of the Highway One, but I'm not in love with the super-jumbo frets or the rather Spartan paint job. I had a '52 reissue for awhile, but couldn't get used to the fretboard radius and the tiny frets. I should probably build one to my desires, but question the wisdom of a Partscaster as much as I like to trade.

What's the popular consensus on modding a Highway One? Are there better models to mod that have an ashtray bridge?

 

[KevinB]

...What's the popular consensus on modding a Highway One? Are there better models to mod that have an ashtray bridge?

Although personally I was never a big fan of them, Highway Ones - especially the "Texas" model - have held their value surprisingly well and are now selling for pretty decent money.

Swapping out pickups is hardly a huge mod though, and of course if you keep the originals you can always easily put it back to stock.

 

[jpjr50]

My FSR Tele weighs 9.6 pounds. Luckily I don't gig or I'd have shoulder problems. My Black Beauty weighs 9.9 pounds. For some reason I buy the heaviest guitars.

 

[shred]

My '91 tele weighs 12 lbs.

It is the heaviest guitar I have ever picked up.

It has "solid ash" written in pencil in the neck pocket.

Sustain for days...

 

[crossroader]

I'm guessing that ash is a heavier wood...

Depends entirely on the individual piece of wood.
I have a "lightweight ash" Strat body from Warmoth that is a real featherweight.
And it's a great sounding guitar.

I also have an ash-body Esquire (MIM reissue) that is pretty hefty (never weighed it, but I know it's considerably heavier than that Strat).
Also a great sounding guitar.

They're all the sum of their parts.

 

[PCollen]

I have an American Standard 60th Anniversary Blackguard Tele made of ash. It has a weight of 8.4#. I also have a 2006 Highway One Tele which weighs 7.8#.

I'm guessing that ash is a heavier wood, but what I was wondering is whether Highway One Teles are normally lighter in weight than American Standards? What would the average weight of a Tele be? Is a heavier guitar generally considered more desirable? Thanks!

Many tend to think only of the body of the guitar accounting for additional weight when, considering ALL of the guitars hardware components (tuners, pickups, pots, bridge assembly, etc) it is easy to see how they could cumulatively add additional weight over another guitars similar components. In your case, it's only an 8 oz difference. The Am Std bridge assy alone might weigh 3-4 oz. more than the vintage bridge assy on the Hwy 1.

 

[johnnywizzo]

Good point about considering all of the components contributing to the overall weight. So, is there any love out there for the Highway Ones? It just doesn't seem to stack up quality-wise against my American Standard 60th Anniversary...

 

[boris bubbanov]

Thanks for the information and all of the responses. I was wondering if Fender used inferior quality wood for the Highway One bodies compared to the American Standard bodies, due to the cost difference?

I like both of my Teles, but the 60th Anniversary Blackguard is way louder and has a lot more sustain. I have a set of 1962 AVRI Fender pickups that I am planning to install in the Highway One, but have been considering selling it stock and buying another model instead. Indecision is a terrible thing. I like the old-school bridge and barrel saddles of the Highway One, but I'm not in love with the super-jumbo frets or the rather Spartan paint job. I had a '52 reissue for awhile, but couldn't get used to the fretboard radius and the tiny frets. I should probably build one to my desires, but question the wisdom of a Partscaster as much as I like to trade.

What's the popular consensus on modding a Highway One? Are there better models to mod that have an ashtray bridge?

The alder bodies on the Highways need only be sound, not super sexy in appearance. The big savings for Fender on the Highway is the Finishing process costs a small fraction of the finishing costs on the nicer USA Teles.

The main bleah issue with the Highways are the pickups. They're in need of help. Perhaps you or whoever set up these guitars found the Highway pickups sounded less bad when set low, while the pickups on that 60th sounded great set a lot higher. That's a better explanation IMO.

 

[Tele 2K]

I just got an '11 60th Anniv. USA Standard, 2 pc. Ash body, no contour, and was surprised that it weighs 8.5 Lbs. I thought it was less. Has great sustain and plays and sounds great. I was hoping for 8 Lbs or less, but 8.5 is fine. I have friends that prefer heavier electrics, so YMMV...

VW

 

[boris bubbanov]

VW, we've watched the "ideal weight" of guitars go up and down over the decades. I know some people are infatuated with featherweight guitars, or are just "too far down the road" and can't tolerate a 10 pound guitar through shows anymore, but my sense is someday, maybe not too far in the future, people will pay big premiums the closer a guitar is to 8.5 pounds. Ain't nothin' wrong with an 8.5'er. Played many, many of them and own a lot in that range. Maybe 7 pounds 14 ounces will be "perfect" at some point. But based on all the ones I've played, I'd actually rather 8.5 pounds than something under 6.5 in a Tele or Esquire.