Fender American Ultra II Telecaster review – a beautifully designed instrument that’s impossible to put down
£2,109/$2,199, fender.com
In October, Fender’s pro-level American Ultra series enjoyed a significant revamp. The introduction of the American Ultra II line brought an assortment of fresh features and modern appointments, ensuring the Big F’s classic guitar blueprints continue to cater to the needs of today’s serious players.
READ MORE: Fender American Ultra II Meteora – is this Fender’s most impressive guitar of 2024?
While the original American Ultra line offered Fender’s classic Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazzmaster designs with some serious horsepower, the American Ultra II series is even more souped-up. Indeed, these American Ultra II guitars are billed, quite rightly, as the “sports cars” of Fender’s current lineup, in the words of Justin Norvell, the company’s EVP of Product.
Here at Guitar.com, we’ve had the distinct pleasure of having several of these top-spec’d beauties across our desks. We gave the line’s triple-single-coil Strat a solid 8/10, highlighting its supreme playability and posing the question, “is this shreddiest Strat ever?” And the Ultra II Meteora – an offset favourite that came as a new addition to the Ultra lineup – also called us to wonder whether it was Fender’s most impressive guitar of 2024.
Today, however, the Guitar.com spotlight shines on the American Ultra II Telecaster, a gloriously modern interpretation of one of the most classic guitar designs in history.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender American Ultra II Telecaster – what is it?
To be real, while there’s a healthy serving of new features and upgrades, the spec sheet of Fender’s Ultra II series doesn’t deviate a great deal from that of the original Ultra line.
Heading up those new updates, though, is the introduction of quartersawn maple necks, where the necks of the first Ultras were not quartersawn. For a brief lesson on woodworking, a piece of wood that has been quartersawn has been cut from the outside of the log right to the centre, meaning the tree’s annual growth rings run perpendicular to the broad face of the resulting fretboard. This results in a tighter grain, with the added benefit of giving straight parallel lines that run the length of the ‘board. Aside from its visual perks, Fender describes its quartersawn necks as “unusually strong”.
The Ultra II range also introduces Luminlay side dots, an increasingly common feature in modern guitar design which enables players to see clearly in darker environments like stages and dimly lit recording studios via glow-in-the-dark fretboard markers.
What’s the same? The Ultra II Telecaster retains 10-14” compound radius fingerboard of its predecessor, as well as its medium jumbo frets, locking tuners, six-saddle bridge, a similar set of Fender-designed Noiseless pickups and the same enhanced rear body contours, this time dubbed “Ultra Contours”.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender American Ultra II Telecaster – playability
Considering its quartersawn maple neck is chief among its list of upgrades, I’m immediately curious as to whether Fender’s claim that its Ultra II necks are its fastest ever holds true. With its modern “D” neck profile, compound-radius fingerboard and Ultra Satin Urethane neck, the Ultra II Tele’s neck provides an effortless playing experience the length of the fretboard. The narrower profile in the lower registers makes riffing particularly fun.
That modern “D” profile means the back of the neck is slightly flattened, and whilst my thumb tends to glide above the fretboard in most cases – even when soloing – there are those faster licks that require a thumb placed on the back of the neck, and the Ultra II neck facilitates this very well. Couple these features with its seamless back body contours and you’ve got a guitar that’s truly hard to put down.
Being a new addition to the Ultra line, those glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots are begging to be taken for a spin. It should be said that they seem to require quite intense light to charge effectively, and don’t always charge in a uniform manner, so you might get a brighter 9th fret side dot than the 5th fret, for example, depending on where you’re standing in relation to the light source.
While guitarists in the market for an Ultra II instrument will generally be seasoned players able to navigate the fretboard without much guidance, I was hoping for the Luminlays to be a little stronger, regardless.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender American Ultra II Telecaster – sounds
While the Fender American Ultra II Telecaster scores highly in the playability department, its tonal palette, in my view, is where it really shines. There’s something about a burst-finished Tele which compels me to dig into my rockabilly and bluesy lick repertoire. And doing so while plugged into a Marshall combo is a pleasure I haven’t felt in playing a new guitar for quite some time.
In clean, crunchy and high-gain applications, the bridge pickup offers a satisfying bite, while the neck pickup offers a luxurious warmth that’s properly glorious in the upper registers of the fretboard. And the noiseless design means even plugged into a cranked amp, the floor of your dynamic range is there to be explored fully without background noise.
The guitar’s S-1 switch – engaged via a button on the volume knob – bypasses the selector switch to put the two pickups in series. It’s nice to have that extra tonal shade, but it’s hard to see when you’d opt to use this over either of the pickups alone or the pair in parallel, but perhaps that’s just me.
Of course, running a guitar through a responsive valve amp is hella fun but not always practical, particularly if you live in an environment where cranking said amp might prompt your neighbours to call the fuzz. So while test-driving the Ultra II Tele, I made sure to run it through a range of amp scenarios to really get a feel for its versatility. And I’m pleased to report that both through a small practice amp – in this case a Positive Grid Spark 2 – and plugged directly into my DAW via a plugin amp simulator – the guitar’s Noiseless pickups retain their vintage-voiced twang and dynamics nicely.
Image: Adam Gasson
Fender American Ultra II Telecaster – should I buy one?
Right now, the American Ultra II range is Fender’s most souped-up line of electric guitars, and is very much marketed towards pro-level guitarists. That said, if you’re not quite a professional, but someone with deeper pockets who simply enjoys the feel of a brilliantly made guitar, we promise you won’t go wrong with the American Ultra II Telecaster.
Fender American Ultra II Telecaster – alternatives
The American Ultra II Telecaster is the top-dog Telecaster of Fender’s current lineup outside of its Custom Shop, so most alternatives present themselves at lower price points.
That said, if you’re lucky enough to have a little extra budget to play with past the Ultra II Tele’s £2,109 price point, why not spring for an American Ultra Luxe version? Launched in 2021 and a couple hundred quid more expensive than the newer Ultra II model, an American Ultra Luxe Telecaster is billed by Fender as “Ultra – elevated”, and gets you an augmented “D” profile neck, stainless steel frets, an ash body and a choice between 2-colour Sunburst and Transparent Surf Green finishes.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
