My Highway One convertable

[ShortBuSX]

I bought this Highway One Tele bout a month ago, it came with a Roadrunner Tweed case. I picked it up on Craigslist for $500...you may have seen it then.


I tried to adjust the neck pickup, but with the 22 fret board overhanging the pickguard...you gotta remove the neck and then the pickguard to adjust it:


I made my adjustment, buttoned it all back up and found my pup was a lil crooked...Im somewhat of a perfectionist, so it drove me nuts!!! Thats when I do decided to get an American Standard pickguard!
(you may be able to see what Im talkin bout) *shrug*

If it was vintage(spec) Id give a crap...but its not so I get some freedom to do whats convenient vs what looks right for the era.

The saddles were chromed steel, nothing fancy


So I ordered all my parts, Am Std pickguard(parchment), Callaham compensated saddles, Kluson tuners(and bushings), and then adjustment screws for the pickup conversion. BTW those pickup screws held me back...it took me awhile to find those, and I didnt wanna attempt any mods without having all my parts on hand.


The tuners were the hardest part, required some minor drilling, but I think I did quite well...theyre nice and lined up straight.



Before buttoning it all back up I waxed the body with my buffer...I think it all turned out nicely!


I tuned her up, roughed the string height and then radiused the strings(Im a tad low)...but she sounds great with the new saddles! Id played this guitar for the last two weeks as my main just so I could compare...and they are really nice, notes ring out, and sustain better/longer...its really noticeable unplugged.

Just thought Id share.

[Guitar-Chris]

Just thought Id share.

Wonderful guitar. When looking at the pictures, I can almost hear it "twang".

[ShortBuSX]

Wonderful guitar. When looking at the pictures, I can almost hear it "twang".

Thank you sir!:

I wanted to add that those neck pickups screws were the hardest thing about this project. There isnt much reference as to which screws would work for this or even how itd work with my stock pickups.
Id ordered some "Fender pickup screws" from one source...but they shipped me "Fender pickguard screws": They fixed the order and sent me "Fender pickup/switch screws"...these would work for a Strat or Tele bridge(but not the neck). I even drove around all the hardware stores looking for something thatd work(without really knowing) but everything I found was stainless at best(certain to be obviously out of place).
I finally decided to check out Angela Instruments(duh) I found what I thought was the right ones, but when I called they were very helpful and guided me to their ebay store and a "kit" for doing the job.(who knew they had an ebay store?)
The kit showed up 3 days later(weekend included)...I was a lil surprised to find all the different springs, 4 different styles(Im assuming to be correct for different eras) and 4(instead of just2) screws.
After my minor headache, I figured Id share and maybe help somebody else out in the process.


Fender American Tele Neck Pickup Mounting Kit!


note: my kit came with 4 sets of springs...and those nuts are for "just in case".

[marnold***]

Cool project! I agree that not being able to adjust the neck pickup is a pain--even moreso when you have to remove the neck too!

[peachhead***]

Wow that's gorgeous. Excellent work! :

[Jimi75]

Beautiful Tele! The recent Highways I have tested sounded great.

[ShortBuSX]

Cool project! I agree that not being able to adjust the neck pickup is a pain--even moreso when you have to remove the neck too!

Even moreso when youve got 2 Teles like that...my Squier Standard is the same way, its driven me nuts for a couple of years, with this one I just couldnt live with the lack of adjustability and the hoops you gotta jump through for the sake of it.

Thanks for all the comments everybody
It wasnt that big of a project or as involved as some, just thought Id share...so the comments are a bonus, thanks!: