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Fender American Ultra II series is here

#43
ics1974 said:
Good to know. Now I definitely don’t want one
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I have never read anywhere that Fender moved the location of the P pickup on any of their standard models, and the Elite series came round about 10 years ago. It seems hard to believe that this would escape the notice of everyone in the industry and everyone in the bass world.

Apart from this, there are many things that could account for tonal differences between an Ultra and an American Pro.
 
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#44
I revisited the video with the Ultra II Red V and the sound is good (fantastic I will say!), better for me in comparation with the old Ultra. The 750hz mid boost is killer! The push switch active/passive is a good addition. Better controls.
I will try the new model (the bloks on the neck are aestetic features and I miss them!), but I want the new sound. Better passive mod, better mids, more stable neck. I'm all in!
 
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#47
Wander Guzman said:
No blocks inlays no binding, no matching headstock options, no buy. honestly I was on hold to see what they were about to do with the new ultras but nothing exciting from the look of it Id rather buy the Ultra I or keep looking a MIJ one.
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Exactly!
The MIJ Hybrid II offers quite a few bassss with matching headstocks, some truly interesting finishes, too.
Screenshot_20241012_140455_eBay.jpg

jonartimus said:
I like the Sinister Red with black guard and maple board. The button switching is interesting, too, wonder if that will catch on with other manufacturers.
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Yes, the Sinister Red looks good. Never saw any red quite like it from Fender
JenderBazzFass said:
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
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Obviously quite a lot of thought went into this decision.

Seriously though, I definitely like this.
Screenshot_20241015_180855_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
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#49
I dunno. You can only go to fine or dumb down so much on any of these basses. Nothing is so earth-shatteringly better on this model than on previous MIA models, seemingly $200 more than the original Ultras. In this past year I got acquired a new Professional II 5 string and it is everything I could have wanted. No, it's not active, but with my Fishman Platinum Pro EQ/DI box I have way more than I than in a built-in active system.
 
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#52
JenderBazzFass said:
I have never read anywhere that Fender moved the location of the P pickup on any of their standard models, and the Elite series came round about 10 years ago. It seems hard to believe that this would escape the notice of everyone in the industry and everyone in the bass world.

Apart from this, there are many things that could account for tonal differences between an Ultra and an American Pro.
Click to expand...

There are posts about in on TB that you can find and search if you'd like. Essentially, for standard Precision bodies, J pickup is conventionally in the 70s position and the split P is in the regular position (for example, the Tony Franklin bass). For the Ultras (and Elites as well I assume), the Jazz pickup is in the 60s position and the split P is shifted towards the neck the same amount to keep the distance between the two pickups that same as it would be on a regular-Precision body PJ bass.

Most people don't care about small details like that I guess (we're talking a difference of .4 inches all). But I could hear it and it was very annoying to me (when playing; anything sounds fine to me when someone else is playing it lol). The Ultras (and Ultra IIs I would assume) also have Split P's with a non-conventional construction, but that's not anyone ever talks about either.
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-marketing-propaganda.1611030/page-4#post-27598353
It's possible the difference is due somewhat to that, but I tried a regular split P in my Ultra and it still sounded a bit off to me.
 
#54
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I believe the designers of the Ultra II are the same team that designed the Squier Contemporary line.
...... and the ultra II has no roasted neck but quad sawn .

I know it's an unfair comparison or seems rude, but the Ultra II could still entertain fender enthusiasts if it had a truss rod wheel at the heel and replaced the himass bridge with a Hipshot A style bridge.
 
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#58
Full disclosure...regardless of how they're made or what goes into them, they exist beyond my price threshold and will never be in my "big picture". In other words, I really don't have much say there.

That being said, the fact that Fender's top-of-the-line, off-the-shelf Jazzes have no binding and blocks seem somehow wrong to me.

f70ssj.gif
 
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#59
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I'm glad to see these so I know I can safely ignore them. The only real improvement is the quartersawn neck, but other features seem like a step backwards. Most of the colors are really ugly to me, also. At best a lateral move from the Ultra.
 
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