The Ultra II Strat—all models in the line feature new noiseless pickups.
Today, Fender launches their Ultra II line, an update to their modern Ultra Series, released in 2019. The new line was previewed at a media event in New York’s Lower East Side last week, where attendees got their hands on demo models of the Ultra II Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazz Bass, and Meteora guitar and bass. Session and sideman guitarist Isaiah Sharkey and touring bassist and vocalist Annie Clements were on hand to give an impromptu performance on the new Stratocaster and Jazz Bass models.
If there’s one instrument that feels more representative of the forward-leaning line as a whole, it’s the Meteora. This high-end, high-performance take on the sleek, futuristic Meteora design is the only offset guitar in the Ultra II series, replacing the Jazzmaster, and features the company’s new Haymaker humbuckers. Fender Executive Vice President of Product Justin Norvell tells PG that when the team asked themselves, “What is an Ultra-level Jazzmaster?,” The Meteora was the answer.
The Ultra II Meteora also features the new Haymaker humbuckers.
Across the line, the Ultra II models feature aesthetic changes, including new body contours, smoother finishes on their anodized pickguards, updated tints and satin finishes on their compound-radius necks, and Luminlay side dots. The basses feature new preamps, and all Ultra II models also feature all-new noiseless pickups that Norvell says are “totally different from the Ultra I. We’re trying to get back to more of an alnico sound that feels more warm.”
The new Ultra II Meteora bass.
“For an 80-year-old company, we could just be doing reproductions,” Norvell says. “Leo didn’t: A 1954 Strat was different by ’57—it had a V neck, it was alder, it had a different burst, you get into 3-tone guards, you get into rosewood. It was always moving. That is what we keep doing.”
All Ultra II models, including this Tele, feature updated body contours.
The Ultra II Jazz Bass in demonstration.
Last August, metalcore giants Poison the Well gave the world a gift: They announced they were working on their first studio album in 15 years. They unleashed the first taste, single “Trembling Level,” back in January, and set off on a spring North American tour during which they played their debut record, The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, in full every night.
PG’s Perry Bean caught up with guitarists Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver, and bassist Noah Harmon, ahead of the band’s show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl for this new Rig Rundown.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Not-So-Quiet As a Mouse
Primack started his playing career on Telecasters, then switched to Les Pauls, but when his prized LPs were stolen, he jumped back to Teles, and now owns nine of them.
His No. 1 is this white one (left). Seymour Duncan made him a JB Model pickup in a single-coil size for the bridge position, while the neck is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Staggered. He ripped out all the electronics, added a Gibson-style toggle switch, flipped the control plate orientation thanks to an obsession with Danny Gatton, and included just one steel knob to control tone. Primack also installed string trees with foam to control extra noise.
This one has Ernie Ball Papa Het’s Hardwired strings, .011–.050.
Here, Kitty, Kitty
Primack runs both a PRS Archon and a Bad Cat Lynx at the same time, covering both 6L6 and EL34 territories. The Lynx goes into a Friedman 4x12 cab that’s been rebadged in honor of its nickname, “Donkey,” while the Archon, which is like a “refined 5150,” runs through an Orange 4x12.
Ryan Primack’s Pedalboard
Primack’s board sports a Saturnworks True Bypass Multi Looper, plus two Saturnworks boost pedals. The rest includes a Boss TU-3w, DOD Bifet Boost 410, Caroline Electronics Hawaiian Pizza, Fortin ZUUL +, MXR Phase 100, JHS Series 3 Tremolo, Boss DM-2w, DOD Rubberneck, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Walrus Slo, and SolidGoldFX Surf Rider III.
Taver’s Teles
Vadim Taver’s go-to is this cherryburst Fender Telecaster, which he scored in the early 2000s and has been upgraded to Seymour Duncan pickups on Primack’s recommendation. His white Balaguer T-style has been treated to the same upgrade. The Balaguer is tuned to drop C, and the Fender stays in D standard. Both have D’Addario strings, with a slightly heavier gauge on the Balaguer.
Dual-Channel Chugger
Taver loves his 2-channel Orange Rockerverb 100s, one of which lives in a case made right in Nashville.
Vadim Taver’s Pedalboard
Taver’s board includes an MXR Joshua, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Empress Tremolo, Walrus ARP-87, Old Blood Noise Endeavors Reflector, MXR Phase 90, Boss CE-2w, and Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200, all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Big Duff
Harmon’s favorite these days is this Fender Duff McKagan Deluxe Precision Bass, which he’s outfitted with a Leo Quan Badass bridge. His backup is a Mexico-made Fender Classic Series ’70s Jazz Bass. This one also sports Primack-picked pickups.
Rental Rockers
Harmon rented this Orange AD200B MK III head, which runs through a 1x15 cab on top and a 4x10 on the bottom.
Noah Harmon’s Pedalboard
Harmon’s board carries a Boss TU-2, Boss ODB-3, MXR Dyna Comp, Darkglass Electronics Vintage Ultra, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus. His signal from the Vintage Ultra runs right to the front-of-house, and Harmon estimates that that signal accounts for about half of what people hear on any given night.
