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Dealer: Fender Ultra to replace Elite

#121
Hmmm... battery compartment easy-access lid--good. Plus two points.

Truss wheel gone... bad. Minus ten points.

Fingerboard flat finish (on the one I played)... bad. Minus ten points.

That brilliant blue finish... good. Plus five points.

Thirteen points in the hole. A no-go for me.

(I loved that paint, but getting a paint job like that on another bass is not a big deal. Is it Marty Bell that does the kick-butt refins?)
 
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#122
I’ll reserve final judgment until I’ve played a 5 string model, but so far this doesn’t look like much of an upgrade. I’m very happy with my pair of Elite J 5’s. I don’t see anything on these that would make me want to trade for one (the battery doors is very meh to me, for the one or two times a year I change batteries, I can handle taking out two screws...)
 
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#124
dayzbass said:
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 !!!
Click to expand...

That's the most excitable post I've ever read !!! :D
 
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#125
dayzbass said:
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 !!!
Click to expand...

It seems like being the greatest scoop of the year at TalkBass for 2019! Thanks.

Personally the coming back to the Am. Std./Pro. truss rod adjustment system is welcome as this system is able to exert a stronger action onto the truss rod’s nut (the device on my Elite P-bass got slightly damaged almost immediately) and it is of a sturdier construction .. the device on the Elite had surely to be redesigned in this regard, utilising different materials and resizing the holes on the wheel .. Fender probably established that it would have been cheaper to revert to the previous solution, which is effective.
I also like pairing the rosewood or ebony fretboard with a natural finish, which is something not very common and that I personally prefer over those maple fretboards with black inlays which aren’t quite nice to look at (for me).

I agree on the fact that the battery box looks very bad (OMG! what a shame :thumbsdown:) whereas the pickups seems the same as those on the Elites .. I also don’t know why they decided to use that horrible block-like bridge on a jazz bass .. it’s not my cup of tea .. waiting to see the colour combos (no, please, avoid 3TS) I think I’ll snag an Elite when the prices will be cut down!
 
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#126
wyleeboxer said:
They should’ve just given the Elite a passive only option with the best vintage pickups Fender could ever build... I pulled the pre and pups out of mine in favor of some Fralin 5% overwound, just an awesome sounding jazz in a modern high quality chassis, and it’s slightly lighter now too.
Click to expand...

+1 for me .. unfortunately it doesn’t cope with the general marketing idea behind the Elites/Am. Deluxe series, active basses supposed to compete in the Sadowsky ballpark .. the fact is that the preamp and pickups sound dull .. my AO ‘60s jazz bass’ tone is much stronger than that of an Am. Elite one but .. it’s passive
 
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#127
Whatever the Ultra series turns out to be, there will be a better P or J for less money out there. Fenders are a complete ripoff nowadays, unbelieveable that some people pay upwards of $2000 for them, they aren't worth nearly that much. The last one I played with a price tag like that didn't feel much better than a Squier. They seem to be pretty hit or miss, I got lucky with my MIM Cabronita P, was around $600 and I've only play a couple Fenders that were as good. Jaco sig Jazz, and a couple custom shops.

If you can get over having a different name on the headstock, Sire makes much better basses than Fender for far less money.
 
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#128
The three Sires I've heard/played so far did not impress me at all. Squiers actually impress me more (some Squier models are very good for the money). The only non-Fender "jazz bass" I've heard lately that really impressed me, besides 5000 plus dollar boutiques, is the Ibanez Adam Nitti bass. They definitely got that one right. If I could get past the fact that I'm not a huge fan of the Ibanez "look," I'd buy one. The thing sounded killer. Then again, the Adam Nitti bass is $2000, so we are getting into the big bucks again. That's really steep for an Ibanez.
 
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#129
Cessna Ultra.jpg


Don't forget the Cessna Ultra.
 
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#135
iunno said:
Whatever the Ultra series turns out to be, there will be a better P or J for less money out there. Fenders are a complete ripoff nowadays, unbelieveable that some people pay upwards of $2000 for them, they aren't worth nearly that much. The last one I played with a price tag like that didn't feel much better than a Squier. They seem to be pretty hit or miss, I got lucky with my MIM Cabronita P, was around $600 and I've only play a couple Fenders that were as good. Jaco sig Jazz, and a couple custom shops.

If you can get over having a different name on the headstock, Sire makes much better basses than Fender for far less money.
Click to expand...
I loved those Cabronitas, I wish they'd bring them back and make them standard instead of limited edition.

Have to disagree on the Sires - I don't have a lot of experience, but the 3-4 I've played in store have been universally really heavy, I didn't like the feel of the necks or the sound of the preamp, and I wouldn't personally pay any money for one. I'm not saying anybody who has bought one has wasted their money or that they're a bad buy, just that they in no way would ever work for me. The American Pro's and the Players are IMO are both good values - because they deliver what I want and nothing else, their necks feel good, and they don't weigh a ton.
 
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