The Ultra II Meteora Bass: Taking the Low End Far Out

With its otherworldly body shape and supermassive sound, the American Ultra II Meteora Bass represents the apex of modern Fender design, performance and craftsmanship. Inspired by Fender engineer Josh Hurst’s original drawings for the Meteora guitar, the Meteora bass has the same innovative, Jazzmaster-esque shape as its six-string counterpart with a sound and vibe all its own. Featuring a host of upgrades designed for the most demanding players, our newest iteration takes this left-of-the-dial model to a whole new level.

It starts with the pickups. “Because this is a high-performance series, and we don’t have any humbuckers on the other Ultra II Basses, we thought this would be a perfect platform,” says Allen Abbassi, Director of Product. “We could have used P Bass or Jazz Bass pickups, but we wanted to give this bass its own identity.” The team set out to create something completely new. The specially designed Haymaker™ Humbuckers feature an array of Alnico V mod magnets under the low strings for serious punch and crisp, deep lows and Alnico II rods under the top two strings for a sweet and complex character that cuts and snaps while never getting harsh. “They’re huge and fat-sounding – much different than a P Bass or J Bass,” notes Joey Brasler, VP of Product. “It’s more of a modern sound, designed for modern players.”

And that’s just the beginning. Redesigned for unprecedented control, an 18-volt preamp features S-1™ switching for active/passive operation so you can change modes on the fly – plus a global passive tone control to easily shape your sounds for authentically deep vintage timbres. The precise and powerful 3-band active EQ offers shimmering musical highs, satisfyingly punchy lows and a switchable midrange frequency that lets players choose which mid-frequency they want to boost – 325 hertz or 750 hertz. “That’s the sweet spot that really helps you dial in the tone and cut through in the mix,” notes Abbassi.

Another important feature on the Ultra II Meteora Bass is the S-1™ switch. “None of the basses in Ultra I had an S-1™ switch; they had a small toggle switch that allowed you to go between active and passive. The Meteora uses the S-1™ switch to switch between active and passive, which is faster and easier to use on the gig and cleans up the look of the bass." The team also added a passive tone control that works in both active and passive mode and reconfigured the location of some of the controls, so it’s easier for players to access the most-used tones.

And that’s just under the hood. The Ultra II Meteora Bass also features a quartersawn Modern “D”-shaped neck (“the goldilocks of necks,” Abbassi says, “not too thick, not too thin”) premium ebony or maple fingerboards, Ultra rolled edges and Luminlay® side dots – high-quality fluorescent fret markers that glow on a dark stage.

“If you look back to the 60s and 70s, Leo was always creating new shapes. He made the Jaguar, then he made the Coronado and the Starcaster, that’s part of the Fender ethos – pushing the boundaries of instrument design. We’re not afraid to try new shapes and see what sticks, but we always make sure it has the Fender DNA.” It may be modern in sound and design, but the Ultra II Meteora Bass was designed with versatility in mind. “People are going to be just as comfortable slapping and playing R&B as they are metal. We want musicians of all genres to be inspired.”

Check out the American Ultra II Meteora bass here.