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Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I received my Fender Ultra II on 5/26/26. I purchased the Noble Blue with the ebony fret board, and I'm extremely happy with the bass itself. I like the feel of the ebony better than maple, and I think the tone is warmer with the ebony fretboard. The day after the bass came in, I took it to my luthier, and had him go through it, and I changed the original strings it was shipped with to D'Addario EXL165 Nickel Wounds which feel a lot better to me, and don't have the string noise like the original strings. I usually play in passive mode with the pan control either in the center, or moved more toward the neck pickup. The bass has 3 pickups, and the noiseless pickups make a huge difference in that there is no noise, or hum at all that I can hear. There are 6 controls with 1 for volume, and 1 for pan control. The third and fourth knobs both have inner and outer rings on them. The third knobs outer ring controls tone, and the inner ring controls midrange. The fourth knobs outer ring controls bass tone, and the inner ring controls the treble tone. Just after the fourth knob is a midrange frequency switch that can changes frequency from 325 Hz, with the switch to the front and 750 Hz to the back. I didn't notice much of a change when flipping the switch but that's me. Maybe someone else's ears can pick a bigger difference. In active mode, the bass really comes alive. The volume immediately jumps, and the tonal ranges are a lot more noticeable. I play mostly country & blues so I don't use the active mode a whole lot but when I do, this bass really stands out. The one problem I have with this bass, and it may be nit-picking but I think it's really something that Fender could have done a much better job on. The control layout plate under the 4 controls, and frequency switch is made of thin plastic, and sits up on top of the pick guard. The only thing holding this cheap plastic piece down is the fact that they cut slots in the plastic to slip it under the control knobs. There are 2 places where screw holes are made in the plastic but the holes are bigger than the screw heads so they are useless. In my opinion, and having spent $2400.00 for this bass guitar, and with it being an American made bass, I would think that they could have done something a lot better than they did with this. This piece of plastic moves around under the controls, and it's just a very poorly done, and very cheap piece that Fender really dropped the ball on. They could have had it printed onto the lower part of the pick guard instead of what they did. I can't post a picture here but if your interested in this bass, take a real good look at the control layout panel under the controls. If you're okay with this, then the bass itself is really nice. The bass plays like butter, and out of the box, it plays great. It was slightly high on the D & G strings but really not bad. I really wanted an American made bass, and my choice was Fender. I played a Precision, and a Telecaster back in the 70's, and wanted another Precision. The balance is really nice on this bass, and the weight isn't bad at all. If you're playing long sessions, you'll probably want a wider strap. I use a 4" strap, and have no problems, and no neck dive at all. If it wasn't for the loose plastic under the controls, I would give this bass a 5 star rating but that piece has really got me upset with Fender's quality control, and design people. None of this reflects on zZounds. These folks are great, and I have purchased several pieces through them, and only ever had one problem that was taken care of immediately. Fender should take lessons.

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