Fender American Ultra II Meteora Electric Guitar, Maple Fingerboard, Avalanche

Clocking in as part of one of Fender's most advanced series yet, the Fender American Ultra II Meteora is a dynamic offset readymade for the most boundary-breaking musicality imaginable. Highly outfitted with high-quality materials and electronics, this American Ultra II entry checks so many boxes to make for an overall knockout offset experience.

The Fender American Ultra II Meteora lays its base out with a stellar offset body shape formed from select alder. This specially-selected cut of alder comes together with a respectable yet mobile weight for a maneuverable feel with a strap over the shoulder. Decked out in Fender's Ultra body contours, the alder of this Meteora is carefully crafted for a seamless feel in the arms. In addition, a finely sculped neck heel offers the highest access to frets possible to enhance playability.

Blazing on, this American Ultra II model brings a quartersawn maple neck into the formula. Done up in a silky Ultra Satin finish, this neck is effortlessly held and played across the palm. This specification doubles up on comfort with the Meteora's Modern "D"-shaped profile that forms a solid grip in hand. As it fills the playing hands, this neck assists across its full length from any to play from any angle or position.

A compound radius fingerboard lands on this model to enhance the modernity and speed of this offset. The quartersawn maple fills out to its fingerboard and measures up with a compound radius. Starting at an already very modern 10" near the headstock, this fingerboard flattens out further to 14" near the body, facilitating more speedy solos and note bends. Twenty-two Medium Jumbo frets punctuate this board for a familiar and comfortable fretting experience on the fingertips. Ultra rolled fingerboard edges streamline playing to an even greater degree, making this whole neck and board a breeze. Luminlay side dots appear for a bright set of fret markers.

For this Meteora, Fender went in and loaded two Haymaker humbucker pickups. These two humbuckers, wired to deliver on a varied spectrum of sounds from sweet crystalline cleans to modern heat, play with versatility and expression. The experience expands further from there with Fender's patented S-1 switching system that coil splits the Haymakers to widen the field of sounds even further. A master tone control joins in with a bass cut knob to sculpt sounds more closely. Electronically, the Meteora is a marvel of exciting sounds and versatility.

The hardware setup on this American Ultra II packs in quite a bit of flair on its own. Onboard, this Meteora's six-saddle strings-through-body hardtail bridge with polished stainless steel block saddles grounds strings to the offset body and ensures tight and sturdy intonation. At the guitar's opposite end, a Graph Tech TUSQ nut and Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking tuning machines tie the experience together for a stable experience closer to the headstock. Across this whole guitar, Fender took every opportunity to make a precise hardware experience and assure every aspect of this offset shines.

As part of Fender's most advanced series of instruments yet, this American Ultra II Meteora has just about everything an offset fan could ask for. The dynamic angles from which it takes on musical challenges are intriguing and definitely worth a spin alongside its series brethren.