When Fender releases a new line of guitars…

[metropolis_4]

I just saw the new American Deluxe Elite Ultra Ultra II line for the first time

 

[paisleywookiee]

$2000 guitar, still no option for roasted maple. Lame.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I just saw the new American Deluxe Elite Ultra Ultra II line for the first time

II Ultra

 

[spawnofthesith]

I'm not bothered by them freshening up the lines every few years, new colors, small feature tweaks etc. How else are they gonna keep things fresh when the consumer has them shackled to the legacy designs?


I love this line of guitars though. I dearly miss my old American Deluxe Tele. That guitar was a monster

 

[the-trooper]

When Fender releases a new line of guitars…

... you can bet it's either a start or a tele. "New" line.

 

[Aelred]

GASing for a maple fingerboard Ultra II Strat (I'd even settle for a Tele!). The only 1 in my town is Ebony.

I like my rosewood Ultra a lot.

 

[Will Onyx]

FMIC has always been very image conscious. I think the Fender brand will always stay very traditional. The Charvel, Jackson and EVH lines are where they allow for more creativity. I’d bet it will stay that way until the money says otherwise.

 

[la szum]

I actually appreciate the general trends and direction FMIC has taken. Much more so than
that other Corporation has taken. They seem to have a better clue of what they are doing
and how to be diverse and still draw in new players across a lot of different budgets.

 

[CakeEater]

I'm not a fan of push/pull pots, volume knob buttons, cutaways in the fretboard for truss rods or the additional weight and balance of locking tuners. The only modern appointment I'd like on a strat is a contoured neck heel like many other brands offer. It would also be nice if the preimium ranges offered some variety in nut and saddle width. I much prefer 10.5mm saddles spacing and a 42mm nut.

 

[Eagle]

They should just copy the specs of a Suhr pro series .

 

[laxu]

FMIC has always been very image conscious. I think the Fender brand will always stay very traditional. The Charvel, Jackson and EVH lines are where they allow for more creativity. I’d bet it will stay that way until the money says otherwise.

Absolutely. The "shuffle a few specs and finishes every year" approach works well for them.

At the same time I hate the whole "this model has the finish you want, but has the fretboard radius or neck shape you don't like" thing where it's rare that all the stars align, like they did on my American Original 60s Jazzmaster in Ocean Turquoise. I tried literally every other Jazzmaster available at the time, and that guitar just had the right neck, sound and style.

 

[FuzzyAce]

They should just copy the specs of a Suhr pro series .

 

[CakeEater]

Absolutely. The "shuffle a few specs and finishes every year" approach works well for them.

At the same time I hate the whole "this model has the finish you want, but has the fretboard radius or neck shape you don't like" thing where it's rare that all the stars align, like they did on my American Original 60s Jazzmaster in Ocean Turquoise. I tried literally every other Jazzmaster available at the time, and that guitar just had the right neck, sound and style.

Also, Ocean Turquoise is a gorgeous colour.

 

[EOengineer]

I hate the whole "this model has the finish you want, but has the fretboard radius or neck shape you don't like" thing where it's rare that all the stars align, like they did on my American Original 60s Jazzmaster in Ocean Turquoise. I tried literally every other Jazzmaster available at the time, and that guitar just had the right neck, sound and style.

Similar frustrations with Fender here. Every couple years they revamp their line (see: change a color or two and swap the pickups) but never seem to offer something that isn’t a $2500 compromise right out of the gate.

It’s absurd that if I want a double bound telecaster in a classic 60s automotive color, I either need to throw $4k at the custom shop OR just waltz on by the Squier rack which has every classic color combination that’s ever existed.

I’ll grab a 60s AO tele in LPB if I ever see a mint one pop up but there’s a very low probability FMIC ever sees my money again. The value proposition just isn’t there.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

I'm not a fan of the Ultra series.
Overpriced, first off. But also it's s kind of an in between strat/superstrat that doesn't excel at either. Meaning, it neither feels like a proper strat nor it's as good a shredder as my Charvels.

It's just a compromise guitar for the price of 2 non-compromise guitars.

 

[metropolis_4]

I'm not a fan of the Ultra series.
Overpriced, first off. But also it's s kind of an in between strat/superstrat that doesn't excel at either. Meaning, it neither feels like a proper strat nor it's as good a shredder as my Charvels.

It's just a compromise guitar for the price of 2 non-compromise guitars.

Yeah, I can see that. If I was looking for one jack-of-all-trades guitar to handle everything I’d probably go with the Ultra, but if I were going for versatility I’d probably rather have a Charvel plus an American Vintage

 

[Aelred]

or the additional weight and balance of locking tuners.

Really? A quick search online seems to indicate that replacing standard tuners with locking can cause neck dive, but my guitars that came with locking tuners don't seem to have any balance issues I can notice (Ultra Strat, ESP LTD and Reverend Airsonic).

But my plan to upgrade my PRS SE to Locking may have to be re-thunk.

I suck at string changes without them and have become lazy about it with them.

(And I quite like the Neck + Bridge option...)

I am not trying to convince you of anything - more justifying my purchase to myself.

I looked at Suhr - and decided to buy a Fender Ultra and an ESP LTD along with a Strymon Deco for the same $$$.

 

[CakeEater]

Really? A quick search online seems to indicate that replacing standard tuners with locking can cause neck dive, but my guitars that came with locking tuners don't seem to have any balance issues I can notice (Ultra Strat, ESP LTD and Reverend Airsonic).

But my plan to upgrade my PRS SE to Locking may have to be re-thunk.

I suck at string changes without them and have become lazy about it with them.

(And I quite like the Neck + Bridge option...)

I am not trying to convince you of anything - more justifying my purchase to myself.

I looked at Suhr - and decided to buy a Fender Ultra and an ESP LTD along with a Strymon Deco for the same $$$.

It's not a major issue. My philosophy is if you're happy with your guitar's weight and balance and sound, then I just wouldn't risk modifying it with locking tuners.

On strats I like the Kluson-style tuners, they’re light and very easy to wrap once you start putting the string down the center hole. As for upgrading a PRS-SE, the locking tuners on PRS-Core are light and very discrete, I’m sure they cost a lot though.