Fender Ultra Jazz - simple yet effective mods

[Kerem Koseoglu]

(Serious) problems with the stock bridge:

• Too heavy
• Forced me to shim for a decent action
• Hard to fit strings through (especially B)
• Strings don't align over pickups
• G string falls off the neck

It felt like the stock bridge was made for another bass, but found its way to the Ultra Jazz by mistake. It was an unfitting component of an otherwise great bass. The Hipshot bridge made the bass feel & play corresponding to its price segment.

(Trivial) problems with stock knobs:

• Too many similar knobs
• Risk of turning the wrong knob on stage

Following the tradition of Marcus Miller, I simply replaced the first two plastic knobs with P bass knobs. Now I see exactly where the basic controls end and EQ controls start. Much less room for mistakes.

I recommend those mods (especially the bridge) to all Ultra Jazz owners. They really made a difference for me. Now I enjoy the bass much more.

 

[Marko 1]

I got chicken head knobs, put them on everything, all basses and both heads. Color coded on the head so at a glance I can see where everything is.

 

[phillipkregg]

Was the bridge a direct drop-in replacement or was drilling required?

I’ve got the Ultra II and don’t have any issues with the bridge yet but would like to swap out the chrome hardware with black

 

[DrBnz]

Did you happen to weigh the OEM vs the HIPSHOT bridge? How much weight are we talking here?

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Did you happen to weigh the OEM vs the HIPSHOT bridge? How much weight are we talking here?

There was a huge weight difference. New bridge was significantly lighter.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Was the bridge a direct drop-in replacement or was drilling required?

I’ve got the Ultra II and don’t have any issues with the bridge yet but would like to swap out the chrome hardware with black

Bridge replacement was a drop-in, but this was a vanilla Ultra, not an Ultra II.

 

[atquinn]

As a hater of the Badass, I approve of the bridge mod!

 

[phillipkregg]

Bridge replacement was a drop-in, but this was a vanilla Ultra, not an Ultra II.

Thanks for the info!

From Hipshots website, it looks like their bridge has been around since the Fender American Deluxe series. So if it still fits the Ultra model, I'm assuming it will also fit the Ultra II.

It's hard to get detailed specs from Fender about the exact measurements, but Fenders description doesn't say anything about the bridge being redesigned.

Did you also swap out your tuners? I'm assuming the Fender tuners are also proprietary.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Thanks for the info!

From Hipshots website, it looks like their bridge has been around since the Fender American Deluxe series. So if it still fits the Ultra model, I'm assuming it will also fit the Ultra II.

It's hard to get detailed specs from Fender about the exact measurements, but Fenders description doesn't say anything about the bridge being redesigned.

Did you also swap out your tuners? I'm assuming the Fender tuners are also proprietary.

As far as I know, the Ultra II series has a string-through option, which was not the case in the Ultra series. This might change your bridge choice for a drop-in replacement. I didn't swap my tuners; they seemed to work fine.

 

[phillipkregg]

Ah gotcha, I owned an Ultra 1 for a very short time when they first came out, but I couldn't remember if it was string through or not.

Hipshot offers a string-through version of that bridge for Fender basses - I'll have to get in touch with them. I don't have any issues with the tuners on mine, just feel the need to have all black hardware - we'll see how it goes!

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Ah gotcha, I owned an Ultra 1 for a very short time when they first came out, but I couldn't remember if it was string through or not.

Hipshot offers a string-through version of that bridge for Fender basses - I'll have to get in touch with them. I don't have any issues with the tuners on mine, just feel the need to have all black hardware - we'll see how it goes!

Preamp of my Ultra 1 was extremely noisy - to the point where I had to let it go. How is the preamp of Ultra II, in your experience?

 

[Z-Bass]

It felt like the stock bridge was made for another bass, but found its way to the Ultra Jazz by mistake. It was an unfitting component of an otherwise great bass. The Hipshot bridge made the bass feel & play corresponding to its price segment.

I think this was actually the case for the early batches of 5-strings. The bridge was the wrong size, positioning the G-string way too close to the edge of the fingerboard. If I remember correctly, this was acknowledged by Fender and you could get a correct replacement bridge. That being said, I actually like way the Hipshot bridge looks on the Ultra compared to the massive stock bridge.

I'm curious to hear about the pre-amp on the Ultra II as well. The pre-amp seems to have been an issue going all the way back to the Elite and even the updated deluxe series. Certain environments really caused the pre-amp to buzz particularly if you were around any fluorescent lighting.

Oh and I also like the knob layout you incorporated.

 

[phillipkregg]

Preamp of my Ultra 1 was extremely noisy - to the point where I had to let it go. How is the preamp of Ultra II, in your experience?

I have historically hated Fender preamps, but so far I don't really have any complaints about the one on the Ultra II. On the Elite that I owned, I swapped out the preamp for a Sadowsky that made a world of difference.


There are some basses that I have that exhibit noise when around certain lighting, but so far this one has been dead quiet. As far as the sound goes, I think the saving grace is the global tone knob - it allows you to really dial in the tone you want and prevent harshness. If it didn't have that built into it I probably wouldn't have gotten the bass.

 

[Kingofrock43]

I think this was actually the case for the early batches of 5-strings. The bridge was the wrong size, positioning the G-string way too close to the edge of the fingerboard. If I remember correctly, this was acknowledged by Fender and you could get a correct replacement bridge. That being said, I actually like way the Hipshot bridge looks on the Ultra compared to the massive stock bridge.

I'm curious to hear about the pre-amp on the Ultra II as well. The pre-amp seems to have been an issue going all the way back to the Elite and even the updated deluxe series. Certain environments really caused the pre-amp to buzz particularly if you were around any fluorescent lighting.

Oh and I also like the knob layout you incorporated.

I’ve owned 3 Ultra 1s, and the pre-amp on my Ultra II sounds soooo much better. In fact, I took the neck from one of my 1’s and put it on my II body. That’s now my favorite bass in my arsenal