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Fender American Ultra II series is here
- Thread starter JenderBazzFass
- Start date
Love:
- there’s now a MIA Meteora, and it’s an Ultra II
- string through is back
- ebony!!! My favourite.
- ultra rolled fretboard edges
- compound radius board
- Texas Tea now on a P bass
Meh or ?:
- need a P5 ffs!!!!!
- Texas Tea looks more brown in these pics than previous pics I’ve seen of it
- no Sinister Red for the P bass
- Solar Flare looks like electric vomit
Mostly, it’s heart reacts all around. Probably won’t be buying one, I already own 2 P5’s and three P 4’s, but if there were an active P5 in a cool colour, I probably would.
- there’s now a MIA Meteora, and it’s an Ultra II
- string through is back
- ebony!!! My favourite.
- ultra rolled fretboard edges
- compound radius board
- Texas Tea now on a P bass
Meh or ?:
- need a P5 ffs!!!!!
- Texas Tea looks more brown in these pics than previous pics I’ve seen of it
- no Sinister Red for the P bass
- Solar Flare looks like electric vomit
Mostly, it’s heart reacts all around. Probably won’t be buying one, I already own 2 P5’s and three P 4’s, but if there were an active P5 in a cool colour, I probably would.
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I was ready to jump on a jazz bass, but no blocks and binding is a deal breaker for me. My wallet is safe now, unfortunately
Does anybody know if Fender was doing anything new with the Professional ii series or maybe a different line considering they have all the Professional ii series basses on sale?
The white maple with brushed metal scratch plate looks cool.
Surprised they moved truss rod access to headstock. Didn’t the previous Ultra series have the MM style truss rod wheel at the heel for easier access?
Not sure why they would downgrade from that to what’s considered “inferior” access to the headstock
Not sure why they would downgrade from that to what’s considered “inferior” access to the headstock
There were no rumors and/or leaks regarding this topic, but I have a feeling that they will probably introduce the new basic American basses/guitars at the NAMM 2025 in January.
The American Deluxe was hex adjust at the headstock
The American Elite was wheel at the heel
The American Ultra was hex adjust at the heel
Now the American Ultra II is hex adjust at the headstock again
What do you mean by this? How do you know it in the wrong place?
I got an Ultra Jazz V in the last month, Arctic Pearl and Maple (as in my avatar), but I had to order it from Fender because they were out of stock everywhere. (I suppose now we know why)
I am glad I didn't wait, because I wanted the Arctic Pearl / Maple neck with blocks combo specifically. The new Jazz Bass V in white ("Avalanche") will have a nice finish I'm sure, but I would have been disappointed to not be able to get a bound and blocked neck any longer.
If they call them Professional III, they should close the company...
The lack of innovation and progression at Fender lately reminds me of Hollywood and Marvel movies
I had an Ultra and I measured it against my Professional II. The Elite, Ultra and Ultra 2s all have the precision pickup closer to the neck than standard. I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why I couldn't get my Ultra to sound like my other Precisions and that was why. The last "advanced" series to have the precision pickup in the correct place was the American Deluxes IIRC.
Take a page from the streaming services and go for Professional+ Plus?
I dig that Fender on your profileInvalid Link Removed
There's an updated Ultra Precision and Jazz Bass, along with a new Ultra Meteora Bass.
From what I can see, the differences vs the Ultra are
-Truss rod adjustment moved back to the headstock
-Necks are now quarter sawn
-Fender HiMass bridge remains, but can now be either top load or string-through body
-Preamp changes (below)
It appears now that active/passive mode is controlled via the S-1 switch integrated into the master volume knob, and the switch on the control plate now controls a midrange frequency range selection.
The website also describes the passive tone control as now being global; on the Ultra I the traditional tone knob affected the passive mode only, now it's described as working in both active and passive modes.
(More colors available)
Not sure about the Ultra II, but I have a Precision Elite and a Precision Professional. The pickup is in the same location. The Elite has a 21 fret neck though, while the Professional has a 20 fret neck.
