Fender American Ultra Series - ???

[BergerHead]

None of this new series which i would like, ugly colors, repetitive "improvements" in config & layouts which are far off the real needs (French would call it chni = useless). Get you a '62 J or P, or similar at least and thats all one really needs.

 

[firetec05]

Shame they didn't offer it on a bass. They decided to have 3 versions of basically the same thing, another that has the same vibe as those 3, and one solid color.... white.

Sweetwater has it on the Jazz version, why not on the Precision?

 

[Coolidge]

Absolutely disgusting advertisements?

Fender, "American Ultra have truly been decades in the making" that's used car salesman territory, owned by an old lady only driven on Sundays.

 

[HardNHeavy]

[QUOTE=" 5 color choices, and 3 of them are bursts. You get Natural, Sunburst, Ultra burst? (dark sunburst), Cherry Burst or something like that, and Olympic White. So they released it in 5 finishes, and all but one are a wood grain finish. No interesting colors at all. Poorly chosen IMO.[/QUOTE]

you got that right.........sunburst is one of my least fav colors........their designers need to go to art school ffs!

 

[howlin]

...do you feel that Fender has moved marketing towards enticing first time buyers, and sort of abandoned repeat buyers?

Of course. You can't maintain a market base with a target group that's aging out and either has what they aspire to or knows enough about what they want to build it or have it built for them. My P bass is built from parts that I put together after years of playing both P's & J's with a P body & a J neck - something Fender has yet to fully embrace (I'm not talking about a P/J configuration). To be honest I've yet to play any MIA Fender bass in the past 20 years that inspires me enough to want to pay the kind of $ they're asking.

Besides, the saying is, "Get 'em while they're young" for a reason.

 

[gln1955]

And why keep renaming them? Just make changes and keep the model name constant.

Apple learned that. Back in the 90's apple put out a bunch of different computers with changing and confusing model names and numbers. When Jobs came back he, rectified that mess. Now, an iPhone is an iPhone with generation numbers as needed. Pretty straightforward for a casual consumer.

 

[Luke_94]

What I can't understand is the "You'll never play a Fender the same way again" baloney. Sure, I realize they're trying to reel buyers in, but shouldn't they actually try using a good lure?

Lol they'll say "You'll never play a Fender the same way again" until next year when they release the "American Ultra Epic Elite Series" or the "Spend your cash on the same bass you bought last year Series". Then they'll have to come up with new marketing jargon. Also, Ultraburst? come on man... what's the difference between this and sunburst?

 

[BobKos]

Have to say I like the Cobra Blue color scheme on the Jazz Bass. Has me wondering what my Stingray Classic would look like in those colors....

 

[flojob]

That mocha burst is pretty. Almost looks slightly metallic tobacco. It ain't 2 grand pretty but still

 

[Rib 13]

Apple learned that. Back in the 90's apple put out a bunch of different computers with changing and confusing model names and numbers. When Jobs came back he, rectified that mess. Now, an iPhone is an iPhone with generation numbers as needed. Pretty straightforward for a casual consumer.

Fender has apparently adopted the iPhone marketing strategy: getting their predominant customer base excited about the newest and latest, even if the newest and latest are only negligible/slight improvements on the earlier version

 

[Chrisk-K]

I’m a Fender fan boy, but Sandbergs look more and more attractive.

 

[selowitch]

My 2018 MIJ Midnight 60s FSR Telecaster and my 2009 American Deluxe Precision Bass fulfill all my Fender desires right now; therefore, I do not need to cough up two grand for an Ultra anytime soon.

 

[lizardking837]

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....

Idk, for that money I'd save up an extra $4-500 and buy a Spector Euro

 

[Deleted member 271037]

American Standard 2012 thru 2016 was the pinnacle of Fender classic styled basses IMO.

Ye

I’m a Fender fan boy, but Sandbergs look more and more attractive.

The only thing holding me back was that I didn't realise Sandberg would make passive versions of their basses with different pickups on request. I've never been a big fan of active (at least not on P-style basses) and the stock Sandberg pickup is far too bright for me. The moment I realised Sandberg was FAR more customizable than their online configurator I ordered a passive VS with a Kloppmann PB63 pickup. It's basically Fender Custom Shop quality at a fraction of the cost. The similarly priced Fender production models are nowhere near Sandberg quality. A custom built Sandberg will make you realise how much extra you pay for the Fender logo on the headstock.

Still, I'm not saying all Fenders are junk. My '57 AVRI is one of my favourite basses EVER (except that the finish started peeling off within days and that the pickup covers are made from a highly resonant material, unlike any other Fender pickups covers I've owned, that makes a loud PING sound at certain notes... after all it's Fender so it would be asking too much to get EVERYTHING right I suppose...)

 

[Polish Thunder]

I agree with a previous post about no lefty basses being offered. The good news it helps me fight off GAS.

I have a 2018 Fender Precision P bass with LaBella flats on it. Right now I am extremely happy with it and do NOT plan on picking up any additional basses.

For the price range of the new Fender American Ultras, why not just purchase a custom Fender to your preferred specs and colors?

 

[scottm]

I agree with a previous post about no lefty basses being offered. The good news it helps me fight off GAS.

I have a 2018 Fender Precision P bass with LaBella flats on it. Right now I am extremely happy with it and do NOT plan on picking up any additional basses.

For the price range of the new Fender American Ultras, why not just purchase a custom Fender to your preferred specs and colors?

I was thinking the same for that price.

-ScottM

 

[gln1955]

I agree with a previous post about no lefty basses being offered. The good news it helps me fight off GAS.

I have a 2018 Fender Precision P bass with LaBella flats on it. Right now I am extremely happy with it and do NOT plan on picking up any additional basses.

For the price range of the new Fender American Ultras, why not just purchase a custom Fender to your preferred specs and colors?

I assume the price of special order CS basses has gone up in proportion to the top of the line MIA basses. That really opens up the possibilities with other builders.

 

[Bassic Needs]

I also agree that Fender might be inadvertently causing more people to look elsewhere to buy an instrument. So many great choices and builders out there that people will more likely spend a few extra bucks to get exactly what they want instead of compromising.

 

[dayzbass]

The Ultras have done one thing exceptionally well; make the Elites look that much better.

+1 !!! AGREEE

 

[CryingBass]

I was hoping for this, but got that...