Elite Vs Ultra Jazz bass

[RSmith]

I love my Elite! 8.2lbs plays very well. Prefer the neck and the tone to the I 3 Ultra’s I demoed at GC. I will say my preamp is very noisy. Better but not dead quiet in passive. Might just go all passive with some Fralin’s and be done. Considering replacing the pre too. There is plenty on shielding paint in the cavity. But it’s worth upgrading whichever way I go. I prefer the Elite to the Sadowsky Metro I had for 3 years, and that bass was great too.

 

[TrevorG]

I will say my preamp is very noisy. Better but not dead quiet in passive.

...just the electronics for me have not been reliable at all. This bass has now been relegated to home practice only (an extremely expensive practice bass) as I do not trust it to gig with.

Won't lie - Out of habit I took my Ultra to the Bass Gallery for a set up, some rewiring and to add some extra shielding. To be fair it's generally very, very quiet.

 

[Andy Nolen]

Won't lie - Out of habit I took my Ultra to the Bass Gallery for a set up, some rewiring and to add some extra shielding. To be fair it's generally very, very quiet.

It is a quiet pickup and preamp, but mine sounds like the batterys are dead even though I have put new in. Just not happy I expected a lot better quality out of fender. Fiy according to the fender tech, the peramp was designed and made over seas. You cannot find the schematic for it, because fender dosen't have it. I wanted to put a good output jack on it (stereo jack will not work) and the corprate tech did not have a schematic.

 

[JOME77]

Hmm. Well, I’ve gigged the hell out of the two Elites I currently own, and have never had a problem. Same with the ocean turquoise one I had, as well as the Elite P and Dimension basses I had.

Never once, on any of them, has the jack not held a cord. No dead spots, no issues at all.

+1
My Elite P-bass is one of my all time favorite basses. I will say that I wasn’t real crazy about the Fender pre and replaced it with a Nordstrand pre (sounds awesome with the noiseless Fender pickups) but other than that the bass just kills in every way. Totally love the neck.

 

[Andy Nolen]

+1
My Elite P-bass is one of my all time favorite basses. I will say that I wasn’t real crazy about the Fender pre and replaced it with a Nordstrand pre (sounds awesome with the noiseless Fender pickups) but other than that the bass just kills in every way. Totally love the neck.

New preamp and jack, if you got lucky with the neck it probably is a good bass. With that said why should I put another 400 in a 2,000 bass that is new? For that price it shouldn't need a new preamp and a neck job. Just saying.

 

[JOME77]

New preamp and jack, if you got lucky with the neck it probably is a good bass. With that said why should I put another 400 in a 2,000 bass that is new? For that price it shouldn't need a new preamp and a neck job. Just saying.

I hear what you’re saying on the pre. Truth be known I bought it in spite of the preamp because I loved the sound of the bass passive. I A/B’d it against a Pro P-bass and preferred the Elite because it had the Jazz bridge p/u and the because the compound radius neck felt so good.
The Fender preamp just didn’t appeal to me. Even with the treble fully off and the bass dimed the bass was just too bright. Installing the Nord preamp totally transformed this bass into an incredible sounding active bass.
Not sure why but Fender just don’t seem to be able to design good sounding on board pres.

 

[Geri O]

New preamp and jack, if you got lucky with the neck it probably is a good bass. With that said why should I put another 400 in a 2,000 bass that is new? For that price it shouldn't need a new preamp and a neck job. Just saying.

The reason that one would put another $400 (not near what I paid for the Nord 2-band I put in my Elite at the time, but I digress, I suppose) is that while I thought the OEM Elite preamp sounded pretty good, I found myself wanting a different tone than what the OEM preamp was giving me. Can't speak to the needed neck work. And a few months into the Elite, I discovered that I needed more thorough shielding in it. Took an hour one night, added some shield foil, much easier and cheaper than trading basses (although I will proclaim loudly that Fender's shielding work sucks)

Some of us can build parts basses to our tastes and specs. I could and maybe I should, but at my age, I just don't wanna. At the time, I found the Elite Jazz 5-strings to be great-playing basses and a preamp swap (and later, hold onto yer hat, pickups) was worth the trouble and expense. Then I discovered Mike Lull basses....

This thing of "just sayin' doesn't work too well with me. We all have different tastes and needs in basses and if we have the means, who should care if I want to spend more money on an expensive bass to tailor it to my wants and needs?

And if that sort of thing bothers, you don't EVEN want to know what I did with the OEM pups and preamp in my
Mike Lulls....

 

[Andy Nolen]

The reason that one would put another $400 (not near what I paid for the Nord 2-band I put in my Elite at the time, but I digress, I suppose) is that while I thought the OEM Elite preamp sounded pretty good, I found myself wanting a different tone than what the OEM preamp was giving me. Can't speak to the needed neck work. And a few months into the Elite, I discovered that I needed more thorough shielding in it. Took an hour one night, added some shield foil, much easier and cheaper than trading basses (although I will proclaim loudly that Fender's shielding work sucks)

Some of us can build parts basses to our tastes and specs. I could and maybe I should, but at my age, I just don't wanna. At the time, I found the Elite Jazz 5-strings to be great-playing basses and a preamp swap (and later, hold onto yer hat, pickups) was worth the trouble and expense. Then I discovered Mike Lull basses....

This thing of "just sayin' doesn't work too well with me. We all have different tastes and needs in basses and if we have the means, who should care if I want to spend more money on an expensive bass to tailor it to my wants and needs?

And if that sort of thing bothers, you don't EVEN want to know what I did with the OEM pups and preamp in my
Mike Lulls....

To make it your own dosen't bother me at all. I modified my p bass into a PJ bass in 1976. Everyone should make it there own. For Fender to create a bass the best other then custom shop ( at that time) with the issues that I have. Is simply not acceptable. Perhaps the fact mine is a 4 string accounts for the dead spots. I'm glad others are having reasonable satisfaction with the elite. For me it is a disappointment. My Ibanez has none of the issues my Fender has.
Thanks for your insight, guess I'm just deeply disappointed with Fender. I like the feel of the neck, the balance, but with dead notes and a preamp with a proprietary jack that is loose, I'm simply not happy with it.

 

[BassComa]

I have a 2018 P-bass Elite and a 2019 Jazz Ultra, so this it not a comparison jazz to jazz.

The first thing i noticed with the Elite was that the preamp had a sterile touch to it, it was hard/impossible to get a warm low tone out of the bass. When i bought the Ultra the first thing i noticed that the bass knob added some nice deep low end compared to the muddy low end that i got from the Elite. I used the same brand of strings on both basses.

It´s like night and day and the Ultra wins all days over the Elite. I ended up convering the Elite to a passive bass and removed the preamp after i bought the Ultra after having heard the difference.

So for me there was a significant difference between the two. I don´t know how much difference it would have been if i had an Elite Jazz and an Ultra Jazz.

Both basses are four string basses.

 

[Les Fret]

Now that some time had passed and the Ultra series basses are getting into players' hands, I'd like to revive this conversation. Has anybody A/B'd the Elite and Ultra models? Do you hear distinct tonal differences? Other observations?

Would like to know this as well. Someone compared the Elite and Ultra Jazz basses? Is there much difference in sound? And is the preamp really different?

 

[Wambemando]

I prefer the Ultra based off of the (lack of a) notch in the neck. That really bugs me when I see an Elite. I can't imagine a truss rod wheel is worth that unsightly-ness.

 

[JOME77]

I prefer the Ultra based off of the (lack of a) notch in the neck. That really bugs me when I see an Elite. I can't imagine a truss rod wheel is worth that unsightly-ness.

To each his own. I love the truss rod wheel on both my Fender Elite and MM Stingray.
I guess that it's true. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

[jpeck02]

Interesting thread. I have a Fender Jazz Elite and 3 Sadowsky’s. I think the Elite is great. I love the neck and those medium jumbo frets. The compound radius is great. Adjustable string spacing at the bridge is a real special touch. Need to adjust the truss rod occasionally just like any other instrument. The truss rod wheel is fantastic. I did upgrade the preamp and pickups cuz I found the original electronics a little sterile. But for $2,000 who else makes a similar quality bass in America?

 

[TrevorG]

I prefer the Ultra based off of the (lack of a) notch in the neck. That really bugs me when I see an Elite. I can't imagine a truss rod wheel is worth that unsightly-ness.

Totally agree. Haven't had to touch the truss rod once since I had it set up. Heard about some wheels breaking too so glad not to have the worry. All the adjustments from the Elite are quite subtle but make a big difference to me. I love the active circuit but the passive is amazing too and the only bass I have where I spend most of the time in passive mode. I usually only switch to active when the strings are getting a little dull.

 

[hands5]

Totally agree. Haven't had to touch the truss rod once since I had it set up. Heard about some wheels breaking too so glad not to have the worry. All the adjustments from the Elite are quite subtle but make a big difference to me. I love the active circuit but the passive is amazing too and the only bass I have where I spend most of the time in passive mode. I usually only switch to active when the strings are getting a little dull.

I've had the Deluxe, the Elite, and now I have the Ultra...in all honesty I really did love my Elite but I had to sell it because I came into some financial issues that i had to straighten out.. Well now I have the Ultra Natural ash/MFB and I think the Preamp is fine. it's not as refined as a Sadowsky or Mike Pope but it's more than serviceable IMO, What I will say is that the Passive tone in this bass is amazing especially through my old Eden WT 500 and Eden 4x10 Cabinet ( I chose to go back to simple plug in and play SS amps ).. I'm Kinda at that age that if it's serviceable then it'll do, with that being said I can cover any type of gig with this bass .

 

[TrevorG]

No mr right with the elite. I hope your ultra is better, but imo probably not. Fender got rid of the truss rod wheel, and claims to up grade the preamp, but all indications say it did not happen. Best of luck with your ultra. Let us know how it works out for you in the future.

Just read this again and thought I'd let you know my opinion hasn't changed. In fact I bought the Jazz two years later and am very happy with that too! The precision now has La Bella flats and sounds even better and with the price of guitars these days I feel I got lucky getting them when I did!

 

[Geri O]

To make it your own dosen't bother me at all. I modified my p bass into a PJ bass in 1976. Everyone should make it there own. For Fender to create a bass the best other then custom shop ( at that time) with the issues that I have. Is simply not acceptable. Perhaps the fact mine is a 4 string accounts for the dead spots. I'm glad others are having reasonable satisfaction with the elite. For me it is a disappointment. My Ibanez has none of the issues my Fender has.
Thanks for your insight, guess I'm just deeply disappointed with Fender. I like the feel of the neck, the balance, but with dead notes and a preamp with a proprietary jack that is loose, I'm simply not happy with it.

1. It’s been a little while since we talked, but I picked up on the most recent post, so I thought I’d comment on my experience with a friend’s Elite Jazz 5. He has been through 2 OEM preamps and both of them have had bad channels! The first one was when the bass arrived new. Neck pickup channel didn’t work. I opened the bass and troubleshot down to the preamp. Both pups good. Unfortunately, GC kinda jerked him around on the warranty. They wanted to exchange the bass and not repair. He liked the bass enough that he told GC to jump in the lake and ordered a replacement OEM preamp. This time, the other channel (bridge pup) was bad! What the heck??
   So i troubleshot everything again with the same conclusion. And just as the owner was about to order an Audere preamp, Covid hit and this fellow is an LPN with a wife and 2 small children. So he really went through the wringer for a year.
   We talked a week ago and he’s wanting to get his Elite up and running and soon. He’s ordered the Audere and once it’s here, I’ll have the pleasure of installing this preamp and seeing my buddy finally enjoy his bass. It plays great and it’s time it was played and used.
   
   Won’t be long now….
   
   And I’ll post back once we have it going.
2. No idea about the funny formatting….
   

 

[madjazzbass]

Hmm. Well, I’ve gigged the hell out of the two Elites I currently own, and have never had a problem. Same with the ocean turquoise one I had, as well as the Elite P and Dimension basses I had.

Never once, on any of them, has the jack not held a cord. No dead spots, no issues at all.

Hey, Sorry, I know this is a bit of an older post, but I had to ask; Have you ever played one of the Ultra Jazz Basses? If so, What's your opinion of them? How do they compare to the Elites? ... something tells me the Elites are the better sounding and just overall Better Basses altogether.

 

[Ryan L.]

Hey, Sorry, I know this is a bit of an older post, but I had to ask; Have you ever played one of the Ultra Jazz Basses? If so, What's your opinion of them? How do they compare to the Elites? ... something tells me the Elites are the better sounding and just overall Better Basses altogether.

I’ve played a couple, but only unplugged in a store. They felt very similar to my Elites. There was nothing about them that made me think they’d be “better” than mine in any way. I’m still of the mindset that they’re almost a downgrade in a way (no truss wheel, no string thru body).

I usually swap out pickups and preamp in all my jazz basses, so I’m more concerned about feel and playability than anything else.

 

[faulknersj]

I was interested in this thread and read through it. It makes me sad that people had unfortunate experiences with the Elite series.

The 3 I own have been absolutely incredible in every way and while I do play them in passive often (a testament to their great natural tone imo), I do use the preamps for certain gigs and absolutely love where the frequencies are centered. IMO, they sound organic even with some big knob twists. The playability and feel of the Elite series basses is the best I have ever found, but of course this is very subjective for each player. They all set up with effortlessly low action, are so stable, and weeks later will still be perfectly in tune. I just bought my 4th one and am waiting for it to be delivered. My only complaint is that there isn’t a 5 string version of the Elite P bass. I am thinking about building one, using and Elite P preamp, and trying to find a 5 string P pup as close to the 4 string version as possible. The bridge pup can just be the same Jazz pup found on a 5 string Elite Jazz.

My least favorite change to the Ultra is that the bridge only has 1 slot for each string so you can’t fine tune string spacing like you can on Elite’s. I also do not like that it can’t be strung body through mainly because a lot of my favorite strings are tapered at the tuning peg at a length that fits body through bodies, and with the Ultra, the big fat part of the B string goes all the way to the tuning machine and makes tight witness points more challenging.

Please feel free to hit me up if you want to sell pickups or pre-amps from your Elites!

Here’s mine in live action recently:

Cheers Ya’ll!