Fender Am Ultra II Strat HSS EB UBST

I’ve had my Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster HSS (Ebony fingerboard, Ultraburst) for just a couple of days now, and even in that short time, it’s clear this guitar is built with performance in mind. Straight out of the case, everything felt dialed in—clean setup, low action, and no rough edges anywhere. The ebony board gives it a slightly snappier response compared to rosewood, and visually it pairs really well with the darker Ultraburst finish.From a technical standpoint, the biggest strength so far is versatility. The HSS configuration combines the Ultra II humbucker in the bridge with noiseless single-coils in the neck and middle, and it covers a lot of ground. The humbucker is tight and articulate, handling gain better than a traditional Strat bridge pickup—it feels closer to a modern rock or fusion tone without getting muddy. Switching to positions 2 and 4 still gives you that classic “quack,” but with reduced hum thanks to the noiseless design. Compared to a traditional American Professional II Strat, this feels more refined and quieter, though maybe a bit less raw or vintage in character.The neck is another highlight. Fender’s modern “D” profile with rolled edges and a compound radius (10–14 inches) makes it feel fast up high while still comfortable for chords lower down. Bending is easier than on vintage-radius Strats, and there’s less choking on higher frets. The sculpted neck heel also makes upper fret access noticeably smoother compared to older Strat designs. Hardware-wise, the 2-point tremolo feels stable, and tuning has held up well even after moderate use of the bar.If I compare it briefly to other models: it feels more modern and polished than the American Professional II, less “boutique quirky” than something like a Suhr, and more feature-packed than a standard Player series. The trade-off is that if you’re chasing strictly vintage Strat tones and feel, this leans more toward precision and flexibility than nostalgia.After just a couple of days, it already feels like a reliable, high-performance instrument rather than something you need to fight with or “break in.” It may not replace a vintage-style Strat for purists, but as a do-it-all guitar with modern refinements, it’s extremely convincing so far.

Globalement, Fender frappe fort avec ce modèle !

Le manche est fin et ressemble presque a ceux des Charvel (fins, plutôt plat au dos et incurvé sur les bords) et confère un grand confort de jeu. L’accès au aigus est aussi bien pensé.
La touche en ébène est belle mais rien de vraiment significatif comparé aux touches en érable habituelle (je compare avec ma strat mexicaine signature Jimmie Vaughn de 2008).

Concernant le son, les micros simple bobinages noiseless sont très convaincants et on retrouve le son des strats américaines sans souffle.
Le switch S1 permet surtout de splitter le humbucker avec les autres micros, c’est plutôt sympa mais pas révolutionnaire.
Le humbucker déçoit un peu cependant. Sans être mauvais, il n’excelle nulle part et on aura vite fait de le remplacer pour un DiMarzio ou un Seymour Duncan. (J’aurais préféré un meilleur humbucker et l’absence du switch S1 par exemple)

Conclusion: une super guitare, légère, bien pensée et bien finie !
Livrée en étui rigide je n’ai eu aucun soucis de transport, la guitare est arrivée sans accroc.
Je rachèterais sans hésiter.

Velocità ed imballo perfetto, Thomann è sempre una certezza.
Da appassionato di lunga data Fender non nascondo di aver avuto una delusione, e dopo aver visto tanti video demo che la sovra stimano. Al tatto è molto piacevole, poi.... si collega all'amplificatore e... per me è uno strumento che necessità già in partenza di liutaio e cambio pick-up.
Pregi:
1- Ottime meccaniche, ottimo manico D
2 - Buone finiture, bella custodia
2- Bellissime e pratiche le smussature della ultra
3- Bello l'interruttore S-1
Difetti:
1- Suono non Fender, lo definirei opaco e senza spina dorsale. E' indispensabile sostituire i pick-up.
2 - Confrontata con altre fender volume di uscita molto più basso. Scomodo se si usano più strumenti nello stesso concerto. Non è un difetto che si elimina spostando i pick-up
3- Molta differenza di volume dalle posizioni 1 e 5. Nell'insieme appare sbilanciata.

Verarbeitung sehr sauber, die verwendeten Materialien sind alle sehr hochwertig. Was auch zu erwarten ist bei dem Preis.
Einige Kleinigkeiten musste ich noch einstellen, aber das mag auch persönlicher Geschmack sein, zb. die Höhe der Tonabnehmer oder die Federspannung des Tremolos. Der Klang ist sehr klar und sauber, manchmal aber etwas dumpf, als hätte man die Höhen etwas rausgedreht. Insgesamt bin ich aber sehr zufrieden und würde die Gitarre nochmal kaufen.
Sehr angenehm ist auch der abgeschrägte Übergang von Hals/Korpus.