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Fender American Ultra Jazz 5 - Pros/Cons

Treblefree

Treblefree

Apr 8, 2016
1,270
3,871
53
Upstate, SC
#1
I'm very seriously thinking about buying this bass very soon. I played one about a month ago at a local shop and bonded a bit, but I didn't plug it in, so don't have a lot of knowledge yet.

Please let me know what you love or hate about this bass. I haven't owned a FSO for quite a few years and the one I did own was a P Bass. How's the B string on these? Reviews seem to be pretty good.

TIA
 
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#2
I had one for a bit. Only sold it when I left the band I was in and went on a bit of a hiatus from playing. Now I regret it and want another one. It was the best all round bass I’ve ever had, and I’ve had more than a few high end basses in my time. Alembic, Pedulla, Warwick, Fender, etc.. The Arctic Pearl finish was glorious, as was the tone. It was a keeper I foolishly did not keep. The only possible negative was the weight, which I would expect for an active Jazz fiver and was not at all a deal breaker for me. Again, awesome tone, looks and build quality.
 
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#3
Funky Flunky said:
I had one for a bit. Only sold it when I left the band I was in and went on a bit of a hiatus from playing. Now I regret it and want another one. It was the best all round bass I’ve ever had, and I’ve had more than a few high end basses in my time. Alembic, Pedulla, Warwick, Fender, etc.. The Arctic Pearl finish was glorious, as was the tone. It was a keeper I foolishly did not keep. The only possible negative was the weight, which I would expect for an active Jazz fiver and was not at all a deal breaker for me. Again, awesome tone, looks and build quality.
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Thanks, I had to run an errand and just stopped by there on my way home and played it through an amp. I was actually a little let down at first because the pups are supposed to be noiseless and when I went active it immediately was humming, but then I turned sideways to say something to the salesguy and it went away. I realized I was sitting directly in front of the amp and facing it, it made noise, but not when turned and I'm sure then if I wasn't directly in front of the amp it would also be noiseless. Anyway, then I really enjoyed playing it. Pulled some nice tones both active and passive out of it in short order on amps I'm not familiar with, so I can imagine if I tweaked in on my own gear, I'd love it even more. I love the binder on the neck. Such smooth edges. I'm really jonesing now!
 
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#4
Treblefree said:
Thanks, I had to run an errand and just stopped by there on my way home and played it through an amp. I was actually a little let down at first because the pups are supposed to be noiseless and when I went active it immediately was humming, but then I turned sideways to say something to the salesguy and it went away. I realized I was sitting directly in front of the amp and facing it, it made noise, but not when turned and I'm sure then if I wasn't directly in front of the amp it would also be noiseless. Anyway, then I really enjoyed playing it. Pulled some nice tones both active and passive out of it in short order on amps I'm not familiar with, so I can imagine if I tweaked in on my own gear, I'd love it even more. I love the binder on the neck. Such smooth edges. I'm really jonesing now!
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So your local shop actually has one in stock? You may want to grab it while you can!

I actually went to my local shop about 2 weeks ago to order one (knowing they didn't have one in stock). I was told that it would possibly arrive before the end of the year, but they probably couldn't get one until early 2023. Apparently, Fender is having problems sourcing parts (at least that's what I was told).

I left the shop disappointed, but I later ordered an EBMM Stingray5 Special H from an online retailer. No regrets.

Good luck!
 
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#13
filwitheneff said:
So your local shop actually has one in stock? You may want to grab it while you can!

I actually went to my local shop about 2 weeks ago to order one (knowing they didn't have one in stock). I was told that it would possibly arrive before the end of the year, but they probably couldn't get one until early 2023. Apparently, Fender is having problems sourcing parts (at least that's what I was told).

I left the shop disappointed, but I later ordered an EBMM Stingray5 Special H from an online retailer. No regrets.

Good luck!
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Yes, and even in the color I love and want (mocha burst). I may try to get it before someone else does. I just hate to rush into something.
 
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#14
Treblefree said:
Only when I was directly facing the amp I was plugged into.
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NO noise at all with mine in any position or proximity to any amp. I tend to believe Fender intended for this Ultra line to be as near defect free as possible. Especially considering the crap pre-amps in some earlier models of active basses.
I would be wary of purchasing a noisy Ultra without first playing it through as many amps as you can. I am a fan of the Ultra line. Mine has been defect free.
 
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#15
Dr. Cheese said:




This is an Ultra I played a shop before and after a trussrod adjustment. Like Steve C said, it is not light, but I think it is a fine instrument. I say check it out because you may really love it.:bassist:
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Great videos Doc!! Thanks. Sounds great. What amps did you run through? The 2nd video looked like it was a lot more comfortable. I was also wondering if that one was in passive?
 
#16
bassinflorida said:
NO noise at all with mine in any position or proximity to any amp. I tend to believe Fender intended for this Ultra line to be as near defect free as possible. Especially considering the crap pre-amps in some earlier models of active basses.
I would be wary of purchasing a noisy Ultra without first playing it through as many amps as you can. I am a fan of the Ultra line. Mine has been defect free.
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Thanks for the caution; I will definitely check it out on some other amps there. I only played it for a couple minutes because I needed to get back home and I never even looked at the amp settings. The tech plugged me into a fender amp that was up higher on the rack and I couldn't even see it's settings because the controls were in the back of the amp on the top and I'm short, so I don't know if it was trebled out or high gain or whatever either. But I am leary now with your advice.
 
#19
I have a Mocha Ultra 5. I think its outstanding. Initially I didn't like the B string at all. It was just a low freq rumble and I couldn't really tell which note that was. I've since changed it out to a Dunlop super bright .125 and its much better. But its a great bass, very good looking, I kinda like the white binding especially in dim lighting. Mine is a little chunky too at 10.2lbs (I don't really notice it till I pick up something lighter). And "no" they shouldn't make noise. Mine doesn't. But don't rush just cause they have one. For that price they need to be perfect.
 
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#20
I am wondering if Ultra owners can chime in on the reliability of the preamp. reason I ask is that I ran across 2 Elites that were burning through batteries at light speed and necessitated an entire preamp change as the problem remained a mystery.
 
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