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Fender American Ultra II series is here
- Thread starter JenderBazzFass
- Start date
The last decent affordable thing Fender did was the Highway series of instruments, and how does a quarter sawn neck make me sound or play better? . They were basic, well built, felt good and sounded grt. Why they keep messing with the plan?
As you wishedNo worries! Take your time
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To my ear, the quarter sawn neck seems to add some amount of evenness to the tone regardless of fretboard material. Up and down the entire neck notes are full, resonant, and punchy. Maybe I just lucked out, but it definitely seems different than your run of the mill Fenders (including other US models).
I had a chance to try the Jazz V today at guitar center. The preamp is definitely a lot better and more usable than the one on the ultra I. The global tone control also made a world of difference, especially with taming some of the string noise with the highs boosted. It also seemed to have less overall boost so it wasn't distorting even with everything boosted all the way. The mid frequency selector also worked great to dial in some punch with the bridge pickup soloed.
The neck felt really nice. I liked the satin finish and all the fretwork on the bass I tried was nice and smooth.
The B string was great, it was nice and punchy and felt tighter than the ultra I.
On the bass that I tried were that there was a pretty pronounced dead spot on C# on the G String which surprised me since it was a 5 string and had the graphite truss rod but this might vary bass to bass.
I also have to say I really did not like the white with the silver pickguard. I thought it looked kinda cheap but with a different pickguard and some black knobs I think it would look great. The white finish itself was nice.
I also found that the global tone control cut a lot of volume from the active sound which wasn't a huge deal but it would be annoying if you were changing it song to song.
Overall I thought the II was a big improvement on the I, the preamp was just so much better sounding and more usable.
The neck felt really nice. I liked the satin finish and all the fretwork on the bass I tried was nice and smooth.
The B string was great, it was nice and punchy and felt tighter than the ultra I.
On the bass that I tried were that there was a pretty pronounced dead spot on C# on the G String which surprised me since it was a 5 string and had the graphite truss rod but this might vary bass to bass.
I also have to say I really did not like the white with the silver pickguard. I thought it looked kinda cheap but with a different pickguard and some black knobs I think it would look great. The white finish itself was nice.
I also found that the global tone control cut a lot of volume from the active sound which wasn't a huge deal but it would be annoying if you were changing it song to song.
Overall I thought the II was a big improvement on the I, the preamp was just so much better sounding and more usable.
I had a chance to play an Ultra II Jazz today. I’ve got to say I was impressed! After playing them for so long I really don’t care for jazz basses of any iteration. They pretty much off my radar. I saw this one and thought I’d give it a try. It was really great. Lots of useful tones. I really enjoy the pre that fender uses. It’s not obnoxious and is really good at making subtle changes that go a long way. The only thing I didn’t really care for were the new knobs. No big deal. The Texas Tea color is awesome. If I were to ever get another Jazz bass this would be the one.
Been away from basses a while but this got my attention. Evening up outputs from passive and active modes is a good move if you're going to have a push/pull knob - those things are easily knocked. Quarter sawn is a pricey addition but the lack of blocks is a shame. Mid switch sounds okay and the day-glow dots I do envy but not enough to make me let go of my Ultra I.
I don’t see it mentioned, but the dots are mother of pearl (or appear to be). Sure, it’s not blocks, but it is nicer than the usual acrylic/plastic you see.
The Fender site says "pearloid" which is a celluloid plastic laminate.
Gotcha. Either way, it looks nicer than the usual dots you see.
Back when Fender was putting "S-1" switches on those American Series basses, I was constantly seeing them in music stores with broken switches. Between that and the headstock -access truss rod, I'm skeptical about the Ultra IIs.
I hope this is not too off topic...
I'm no connoisseur of bass guitars, I only started playing during COVID and I used to play the guitar before. I really wonder why some people moan about Fender (or any other brand for that matter) reissuing the same guitars with minor tweaks again and again... IMHO that is exactly what people want!
I started playing an American P bass, then bought an American Deluxe Dimension V to try a 5 string one and finally got my Elite V. I have sold both the P and Dimension guitars because I didn't play them at all and it didn't feel right having such nice instruments just sitting around. Well, it took me just one week to sell the P and more than 3 months to sell the Dimension. And I sold it to someone who already knew the guitar because they had a MiM before...
The Dimension is a great bass, but people just don't know it very well and there aren't so many around. As a matter of fact, I have been having second thoughts about selling it up to the very last minute... I prefer the Jazz because I play Jazz/Blues and with flatwounds on. It just suits my misic style better... But the Dimension is way lighter, with a nice tone and I found it was very versatile
I am thinking of buying a 4 string Jazz too but I cannot make up my mind get another Elite/Ultra or just a passive one (with the same neck which I love).
Anyway... Two photos here of the Dimension and the Elite
I'm no connoisseur of bass guitars, I only started playing during COVID and I used to play the guitar before. I really wonder why some people moan about Fender (or any other brand for that matter) reissuing the same guitars with minor tweaks again and again... IMHO that is exactly what people want!
I started playing an American P bass, then bought an American Deluxe Dimension V to try a 5 string one and finally got my Elite V. I have sold both the P and Dimension guitars because I didn't play them at all and it didn't feel right having such nice instruments just sitting around. Well, it took me just one week to sell the P and more than 3 months to sell the Dimension. And I sold it to someone who already knew the guitar because they had a MiM before...
The Dimension is a great bass, but people just don't know it very well and there aren't so many around. As a matter of fact, I have been having second thoughts about selling it up to the very last minute... I prefer the Jazz because I play Jazz/Blues and with flatwounds on. It just suits my misic style better... But the Dimension is way lighter, with a nice tone and I found it was very versatile
I am thinking of buying a 4 string Jazz too but I cannot make up my mind get another Elite/Ultra or just a passive one (with the same neck which I love).
Anyway... Two photos here of the Dimension and the Elite
Until I saw the Avalanche V jazz in person and played it, i was a bit indifferent. In person I was very impressed by everything about it (sound, playability, looks, feel). Aesthetically I prefer the dots to the block inlays, so good there...I also love the metallic pickguard. I played the 4 string version with ebony FB too and liked it but couldn't stop thinking about the 5 string. One surprise for me on the 5 string was moving between active and passive mode via the S1 switch, I didn't notice a volume drop or raise and kept looking at the button diagram because I felt at times with the button engaged it was in active mode but the diagram shows the button "up" is active mode (active the default setting). I was playing at a fairly low volume so I assume at higher volumes the active characteristics are more noticeable. I really want this bass but the price tag is holding me back. It felt incredibly solid and the quality is top-notch. Tones were easy to shape ...I didn't do too much sculpting but found nice growly and smooth tones quickly...and no noise at all from the electronics. To me the bass leans a little more toward classic tones than modern. Unfortunately the strings were a bit dead so I'd like to play again with some fresh strings. Anyway, that was my impression of this bass for what it's worth.
These are killer and probably the best I’ve seen from Fender yet. So many improvements. I have a new one in Avalanche 5 and put it up in the classified because I have another one. Otherwise it wouldn’t go anywhere.
https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/fender-american-ultra-ii-jazz-bass-v-5-2024-mint.1662522/
https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/fender-american-ultra-ii-jazz-bass-v-5-2024-mint.1662522/
So.....
After saying I wasn't going to get one, I ended up getting the jazz bass that I played at GC haha
Sorry had to sneak my Nash PB-63 in there too.
I actually went into Guitar Center on black friday and made them an offer and, to my complete surprise, they accepted it!
Ever since I first played this, I kept going back about once or twice a week and it kept calling out to me and I would keep pulling it down and playing it - you all know how that dangerous game goes.
For me, it really came down to the great playability of the neck, and the sound is just right - the added global passive tone makes such a huge difference. I owned an Elite for a few years and ended up selling it. When the first Ultra series came out, I got one of those but I wasn't blown away by it and felt the Elite was the better bass.
The improvements they made on the Ultra II are very noticable. I now think this is a better bass than my Elite was.
Just like on the Elite, I ended up getting a matte black pickguard for it (I always like black pickguards) and I think that looks sharper than the anodized silver one.
Thinking about swapping out the hardware for all black as well, but we'll see - that's a lot of silver that would need to come off lol.
Here's a recent social media post I made with it if you wanna hear it - no effects or anything, just the sound of the bass:
After saying I wasn't going to get one, I ended up getting the jazz bass that I played at GC haha
Sorry had to sneak my Nash PB-63 in there too.
I actually went into Guitar Center on black friday and made them an offer and, to my complete surprise, they accepted it!
Ever since I first played this, I kept going back about once or twice a week and it kept calling out to me and I would keep pulling it down and playing it - you all know how that dangerous game goes.
For me, it really came down to the great playability of the neck, and the sound is just right - the added global passive tone makes such a huge difference. I owned an Elite for a few years and ended up selling it. When the first Ultra series came out, I got one of those but I wasn't blown away by it and felt the Elite was the better bass.
The improvements they made on the Ultra II are very noticable. I now think this is a better bass than my Elite was.
Just like on the Elite, I ended up getting a matte black pickguard for it (I always like black pickguards) and I think that looks sharper than the anodized silver one.
Thinking about swapping out the hardware for all black as well, but we'll see - that's a lot of silver that would need to come off lol.
Here's a recent social media post I made with it if you wanna hear it - no effects or anything, just the sound of the bass:
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I was able to play an Ultra II 5-string jazz at a local shop. They had one in Avalanche. It played great and looked/felt like a high quality instrument. I don't mind the lack of blocks/binding as I never equated those as features as must haves. I'm probably in the minority but I like the control knobs. I thought the neck finish was smooth and the pickups and voicing of the pre-amp sounded great and provides a lot of useful flexibility. That being said, I didn't feel the need to boost or cut much as I found the passive tone control to give me what I needed most of the time.
The above is what I observed as well. Very consistent note integrity all over the neck and the B-string sounded solid.
The only thing that I struggled a bit with was the neck profile. The Ultra IIs have this flatter D profile which made me notice the necks "shoulders" more than say a traditional C shape neck. But that could just be me and probably something I could get used to over time. All in all, I dug it!
The above is what I observed as well. Very consistent note integrity all over the neck and the B-string sounded solid.
The only thing that I struggled a bit with was the neck profile. The Ultra IIs have this flatter D profile which made me notice the necks "shoulders" more than say a traditional C shape neck. But that could just be me and probably something I could get used to over time. All in all, I dug it!
As I said earlier, you can only make a component bass so good or dumb it down so much. Any bass with "good bones" can be made to be fabulous- and you don't have to spend $2300 to get there.
The problem is that Fender has a "lane" but a lane that everyone and his brother have knocked off. When you get into that price range there are a ton of options. Actually, once you hit the $600 mark there are a ton of options that play and sound great. But then again, Fender might just have the instrument that speaks to us and the price becomes secondary. Each instrument is unique unto itself and each person is the same. It's good to have options.
I just picked up my Texas Tea Ultra 2 Jazz. I was hesitent as the reviews here were kinda crap, but if you get one you may trouble playing anything else. Is it expensive sure but if it does everything you need or ever need and you can just focus on playing the poopie it's worth every penny. The Texas Tea is nuts, different colors pop in different light pics can not capture the beauty.
