Dealer: Fender Ultra to replace Elite

[Deleted member 271037]

Ultra... very negative vibe for me. Makes me think of Ultras, as in violent, racist, extreme-political, fanatic football supporters (or soccer as you Americans call it...). And even without the violent racist vibe I still think it's a stupid name. Sound like the meaningless marketing blurb Behringer used to come up with for their "tube with a LED behind it"-series. Was it Tube Ultragain they called it? Very sterile name, no soul.

 

[woody357]

Ultra... very negative vibe for me. Makes me think of Ultras, as in violent, racist, extreme-political, fanatic football supporters (or soccer as you Americans call it...). And even without the violent racist vibe I still think it's a stupid name. Sound like the meaningless marketing blurb Behringer used to come up with for their "tube with a LED behind it"-series. Was it Tube Ultragain they called it? Very sterile name, no soul.

Make me think of this guy

 

[Christcr]

The title of this thread implies that something called "Ulta" already exists- which it does not. You can't go by what some random dealer or salesperson says or thinks he or she knows. This is how falsehoods spread.

I got to play one the other day. Yes, the name for the new model is "Ultra." It does exist. The dealer was having a huge Fender sale and there was a Fender rep there who had several unreleased guitar and bass models available to play. First I messed with a strat. Nice. Then the Ultra Jazz. First thing that struck me about it was the REALLY vivid blue metal flake color. It was beautiful. Next thing that struck me was the lack of a gloss fingerboard (the specimen was maple fingerboard). That was bad--it's the one thing I've never liked about Music Man Stingrays with maple boards--the satin finish on the fingerboard. Get's dirty quick and looks cheap. Okay, so I got over that and then noticed the electronics were pretty much identical looking and acting to the Elite Jazz. The neck did feel good as I played it. I couldn't really hear it very well because the store was WAY too noisy with folks playing annoying renditions of Smoke on the Water and Cat Scratch Fever on the various Strats and Teles with amps turned to 11. I honestly didn't even notice if the truss wheel was there or not. If Fender dropped it, that was a stupid idea. I love the wheel on my Elite Jazz and it makes it easy as pie to adjust the neck relief which I do about every time I change strings (yeah, I'm finicky and anal about techie stuff like that).

Ultimately, I wouldn't mind having one just for that awesome vivid metallic blue color. But the satin finish on the fingerboard is a downer and if there is no truss wheel, that is likely a deal breaker. Oh well... at least I got to play one long before any of the rest of you did. So, na-na-na-na-na-NA.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I got to play one the other day. Yes, the name for the new model is "Ultra." It does exist. The dealer was having a huge Fender sale and there was a Fender rep there who had several unreleased guitar and bass models available to play. First I messed with a strat. Nice. Then the Ultra Jazz. First thing that struck me about it was the REALLY vivid blue metal flake color. It was beautiful. Next thing that struck me was the lack of a gloss fingerboard (the specimen was maple fingerboard). That was bad--it's the one thing I've never liked about Music Man Stingrays with maple boards--the satin finish on the fingerboard. Get's dirty quick and looks cheap. Okay, so I got over that and then noticed the electronics were pretty much identical looking and acting to the Elite Jazz. The neck did feel good as I played it. I couldn't really hear it very well because the store was WAY too noisy with folks playing annoying renditions of Smoke on the Water and Cat Scratch Fever on the various Strats and Teles with amps turned to 11. I honestly didn't even notice if the truss wheel was there or not. If Fender dropped it, that was a stupid idea. I love the wheel on my Elite Jazz and it makes it easy as pie to adjust the neck relief which I do about every time I change strings (yeah, I'm finicky and anal about techie stuff like that).

Ultimately, I wouldn't mind having one just for that awesome vivid metallic blue color. But the satin finish on the fingerboard is a downer and if there is no truss wheel, that is likely a deal breaker. Oh well... at least I got to play one long before any of the rest of you did. So, na-na-na-na-na-NA.

I’m content with my Elite but I’m curious as to how much more expensive these so called Ultra models will be over the Elites.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

...That was bad--it's the one thing I've never liked about Music Man Stingrays with maple boards--the satin finish on the fingerboard. Get's dirty quick and looks cheap. ...

Ernie Ball uses a gunstock was finish on their maple boards (just like the back of the neck), not any kind of satin finish...
I don’t think it looks cheap, it just looks...natural...
But to each their own...
I’d prefer a gloss urethane over a satin urethane, but probably wax/oil finish over urethane as a whole...

 

[dbddlr]

With the maple neck being unfinished, this seems likely that the new maple necks will be baked. Especially since they are now offering Baked maple necks on the Fender Mod Shop. I wonder if they will be replacing the Ebony boards and going back to Rosewood now that CITES is now allowing rosewood for musical instruments again?!

 

[Christcr]

Ernie Ball uses a gunstock was finish on their maple boards (just like the back of the neck), not any kind of satin finish...
I don’t think it looks cheap, it just looks...natural...
But to each their own...
I’d prefer a gloss urethane over a satin urethane, but probably wax/oil finish over urethane as a whole...

Yeah, that oil finish is fine on the back of the neck (for me), but on the face of the fretboard it always gets grimy pretty quick for some reason on my basses. Which is weird because I'm almost obsessive about washing my hands before each set and obsessive about keeping my basses clean and polished. None of my other maple fretboard basses ever get dirty (for whatever reason it's only those oiled Music Man basses). And it is a pain to clean under the strings (I never take all strings off when changing them, just one at a time).

But beyond that, I like a gloss finish anyway. This recent trend toward satin finishes (and oiled finishes, which MM has been doing for years), I've never liked. They just look cheap to me. They are cheap from an economic standpoint--it's always cheaper to spray satin and flat finishes (oiling is another matter). Flat finish cars have never appealed to me either (or... oxidized paint). Maybe it's just those years I spent working in an auto body shop coming back to haunt me. A flat finish, aka "cloudout" (among other finish defects--orange peel, runs, etc), would have gotten me fired.

 

[Christcr]

With the maple neck being unfinished, this seems likely that the new maple necks will be baked. Especially since they are now offering Baked maple necks on the Fender Mod Shop. I wonder if they will be replacing the Ebony boards and going back to Rosewood now that CITES is now allowing rosewood for musical instruments again?!

Come to think of it, yes, that neck did look like it could have been "roasted maple."

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Come to think of it, yes, that neck did look like it could have been "roasted maple."

That might be a price increase.

 

[KleineMerel]

First thing that struck me about it was the REALLY vivid blue metal flake color.

This one?

 

[Christcr]

This one?

Yes. It reminded me of the Steve Harris P bass from a few years back, except the metal flake wasn't as large and the new color was even more vibrant. Very pretty in person.

 

[sleddogn]

yeah, my first thought on that small pic, was whoa, what a great blue color....

 

[Silvio Dante]

 

[selowitch]

Could be just about anything. I guess we'll see!

 

[MobileHolmes]

I somehow havent' gotten around to trying an elite yet, and now they are being discontinued. My feeling has generally been that this is sort of the price point where fender typically fares the worst. I've never been a fan of their active electronics or noiseless pickups (I like both of these things, just generally not fender's take on them). And they are at a price point where you see some pretty good stuff from other makers

 

[MobileHolmes]

Ernie Ball uses a gunstock was finish on their maple boards (just like the back of the neck), not any kind of satin finish...
I don’t think it looks cheap, it just looks...natural...
But to each their own...
I’d prefer a gloss urethane over a satin urethane, but probably wax/oil finish over urethane as a whole...

And mine is 22 years old and looks fine

 

[ahc]

Fender's new product spokesman. That's John Hall in the costume.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[dayzbass]

Hey guys, l had the chance today to see and try the new Fender Ultra active jazz bass ash body maple neck with the rosewood fingerboard !!! I was surprised it was already in store before the official announcement

I actually have the Elite 5 strings natural ash and l love it !!!

Here some pictures of the New ULTRA

I took my time to look at every details on the bass and l must say in overall that l’m disappointed!!!

First thing that turned me off is the weight !!!! Alot heavier than the Elite ash (there was an elite ash maple neck 4 strings next to it so l was able to compare)

Secondly, the battery compartment (they installed the same part that is on the Mexican active jazz bass !!! Some of you may like it but not me!!!

Next, the bridge hardware is the same as the one on the Mexican Active jazz bass !! Come on Fender !!!! Is that serious ??!!!!

Then l plugged it in a Markbass combo cmd 151 !!! The bass sounds pretty good !! The preamp seems to be better than the one on the elite !! The Bass, mid, and treble cut and Boost feel more musical to my ears !!! It’s 10db -/+ instead of 18db on the Elite. The the pickups look exacly the same as those one the elite !! They might be the fender noiseless G5 !! Comparing to the elite, the elite has more bite on the mid !!

The neck feels great too !! Nothing bad to say about it. But l won’t say it feels better than the Elite.

They removed the wheel truss rod !!!

Overall l just wanted to share my impressions with you guys !!!

I’ll definitely keep my Elite !!!

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I think the name-change progression should go from Fender Elite to Fender Populist.

 

[LBS-bass]

The one thing to like about that is the upgraded battery compartments.