American guitar maker Fender continues to manage its 21st century with aplomb. Despite producing a line-up of guitars and basses that have remained fundamentally the same since the 1950s, the company can still transform this raw material into something new and desirable. In the recent past, that’s been taken care of by innovations like the Acoustasonic series of electro-acoustic guitars and the Tone Master Pro effects system. There have also been partnerships with Saint Laurent and Bulgari.
Alongside all the tech, there’s still an art and craft to guitar making, something that collectors will always indulge in, as well as the important work of acknowledging, indulging, collaborating and accentuating the skills of players and artists who are still making waves in the modern music scene.
That’s the thinking behind the company’s latest drop, the Fender American Ultra II series. Describing the four new guitars and basses now added to the line-up as the ‘most advanced series of electric guitars’ it has ever made, the secret sauce here is a combination of craft, new materials and new electronics, all put together at the company’s spiritual nerve centre, its Californian factory.
The new range covers both acknowledged classic models and more contemporary designs, starting with two versions of the classic Stratocaster (one with humbuckers, one without). The first of these has three of Fender’s Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat zero-hum pickups (the HSS swaps a pickup out for a Haymaker Humbucker) and both Strats have a tremelo and maple neck.
The necks across the Ultra II series are all maple, topped with either ebony or maple fingerboards. As well as the Stratocasters, there’s an Ultra II Telecaster and space age Meteora 6-string and bass.
Bass offerings continue with the American Ultra II Precision Bass, Ultra II Jazz Bass and American Ultra II Jazz Bass V for those who like to bring another string to their low end sound. All eight models are available in a wide range of new body colours, including Ultraburst, Solar Flare, Avalanche, Noble Blue, Sinister Red and Texas Tea.
The pandemic saw one of the largest spurts in guitar ownership on record, and although the market has cooled slightly, Fender cites projections that show the guitar market is still in line to grow by $1.45bn in the next four years. With collectors forming an orderly queue to acquire this new series, it comes as no surprise.
The Fender American Ultra II series consists of:
American Ultra II Stratocaster, £2,259
American Ultra II Stratocaster HSS, £2,299
American Ultra II Telecaster, £2,259
American Ultra II Meteora, £2,339
American Ultra II Precision Bass, £2,339
American Ultra II Jazz Bass, £2,339
American Ultra II Jazz Bass V, £2,429
American Ultra II Meteora Bass, £2,339
Available from Fender.com, @Fender, Andertons.co.uk
