Fender American Ultra Series - ???

[Clark W]

No "Ultra" for me.

For $1100 I have had my eye on a new MIJ FSR Aerodyne Jazz in a passive P/J pup configuration. And it's available through one of the country's most reputable dealers who has been around for over 25 years.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

You'll never play a Fender the same way again

When I saw this I knew it was just inflated hype. That's a pretty bold statement that I doubted (correctly, as it seems) they could deliver on. Why, Fender?

To me the Parallel Universe and Alternate Reality lines were much more ground breaking and innovative. What we would call a Franken-Fender they released for production!

 

[Madhouse27]

So are all the Ultra Precisions actually a PJ configuration?

 

[DWBass]

1999.99 for Artic White and Burst Jazz
2099.99 for Natural Jazz
1899.99 for Color and Burst P/J
1999.99 for Natural P/J
Preorder....

$2k for a Fender? Nope.

 

[SirSparkz]

Just sitting over here with a couple variants of MusicMan basses and enjoying the show.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

Idk what Fender is going to do to appeal to newer generations. They market their classic and vintage models for sure, but I only hear older generations (boomers and gen x) talk about Fender. All I hear newer generations talk about is PRS and Ibanez.

 

[Josh Kneisel]

I dunno I tend to buy burst finish fenders anyway so maybe they are just catering to boring old fogeys like me.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Idk what Fender is going to do to appeal to newer generations. They market their classic and vintage models for sure, but I only hear older generations (boomers and gen x) talk about Fender. All I hear newer generations talk about is PRS and Ibanez.

Something tells me younger generations won't be as brand loyal or have the hive-mindset that *cough* a lot of us have. They grew up in an era that rock (read: playing instruments) is not in the Top 40 (yes, I know....Tool). This means they don't have rock gods like past generations and won't run out the door at the sight of some Jimmy Page type sporting a new guitar or effect pedal.

 

[moreblues]

To me it looks like Fender has been going backwards not forward..
I am curious to try one but I highly doubt that they will be nearly as good as the Selects that were released in 2012-2013, the pros and elites are not nearly as good I.M.H.O. Seriously how many times can you re-invent the wheel?
The neck stain and neck joint on the Ultras look so much like my EBMM Caprice and Cultlass
At this price point I would much rather spend for a used Fender custom shop, AVRI or an American Standard .
I own several of all the Above and they are just really sweet instruments and I am brand loyal to Fender..even more so to G&L! heck I still have my 1973 fender jazz that I bought brand new..Anyway I hope I go play one and absolutely love it and buy it

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

Brand loyalty is mostly gone in younger generations. If people want a Hollowbody sound out of a guit*r, they're not going to use a Jackson. Younger guys like me want something that will get what we need done, not necessarily the industry standard. Most of my friends like Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but prefer the styles of Periphery and Mesuggah. Twangy single coils and belly cuts aren't going to captivate a generation that prefers EMG's and Floyd Roses.

 

[Matt R.]

The worst part is that there are no lefties.

 

[SimonSays32]

I like the look of the Jazzmaster - but I don’t know, if I’m spending over $2000 on a guitar I’m likely looking for something vintage.

 

[Chad Michael]

Saw something on the Ultra Jazz Aged Natural with blocked maple. It was very attractive.

 

[diegom]

After seeing the color options, I’ll be keeping my Elite in this killer finish:

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One of Fender's strengths is their ability to make good metallic finishes.
It's a shame they didn't introduce any with this new series.

That's beautiful!! Like the 25th Anniversary Strat, with the advantage that this one WILL NOT turn green!!!

Love it!

Diego

 

[eastcoasteddie]

Check out the weight on them.


View attachment 3586269

Perfect...for me...

 

[eastcoasteddie]

$2k for a Fender? Nope.

There have been $2k Fenders around for quite some time...and people have purchased them.

 

[alack]

After seeing the color options, I’ll be keeping my Elite in this killer finish:

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One of Fender's strengths is their ability to make good metallic finishes.

It's a shame they didn't introduce any with this new series.

Full disclaimer: Fender should do nothing based on my feedback since I’m not (and probably won’t be) in the market for a $2000 bass. But based on that pic, they’re taking a step backwards. And why switch to the high-mass bridge? Is it me, or do they have a tendency to fix things that aren’t broke?

 

[Huw Phillips]

I believe the metro Sadowsky’s to be a far better buy, as above the truss rod wheel seemed to be awesome, maybe it was too expensive to do for mass market

 

[phillipkregg]

Full disclaimer: Fender should do nothing based on my feedback since I’m not (and probably won’t be) in the market for a $2000 bass. But based on that pic, they’re taking a step backwards. And why switch to the high-mass bridge? Is it me, or do they have a tendency to fix things that aren’t broke?

Speaking of bridges... the Elite has bridge saddles that have slots (similar to what you see on the Road Worn and more vintage Custom Shop basses) so that you can easily adjust string spacing without any tools.

You can see the slots from this photo:

I LOVE that and actually use those to modify my string spacing. If they removed those with the new bridge, it really would be taking a step back as far as I'm concerned.

The one thing that interests me is that they have apparently re-engineered the preamp. That was the one weak point with my Elite and I swapped it out with a Sadowsky and it made a huge difference. The stock pickups sound great and I have no need to change those, but the preamp change made a world of difference and just emphasizes the way the pickups naturally sound. I hope they voiced the preamp to be warmer like the Sadowsky is.

 

[Ulf Buck]

Underwhelming.