Fender American Ultra II Meteora Bass Guitar, Maple Fingerboard, Solar Flare

As part of Fender's most elite series of instruments yet, the Fender American Ultra II Meteora Bass is a knockout of an instrument ready for the cutting edge of musicality. With a dynamic and eye-catching aesthetic and masterful electronics, this entry to the American Ultra II series is an expressway to inspiration and imagination.

This American Ultra II model starts out easily with Fender's Meteora offset bass body crafted from a cut of select alder. The specially-selected pick of wood moves comfortably and plays seamlessly. Cut with the American Ultra II's Ultra body contours, this Meteora Bass body is streamlined for handling under the arm and across a stage. Playability is enhanced by a deeply sculpted neck heel that allows access to the highest registers and frets available – unlocking new levels of playing comfort and reach.

The experience of the Meteora Bass continues on with a graphite and Posiflex support rod reinforced quartersawn maple neck. This high-quality selection of maple is effortlessly smooth across its full length thanks to its Ultra Satin finish. Silky and smooth, the finish compounds on comfort with the added consideration of a Modern "D" neck profile. As it fills the playing hand, this neck is effortlessly played and easily handled across all angles and positions – perfect for dynamic music.

A compound fingerboard radius lands on this Meteora Bass to build upon the comfort and playing experience of it all. The neck's quartersawn maple fills to its board and measures with – and already speedy and modern – 10" radius near its headstock. This radius flattens further to a 14" radius as it moves toward the body, making the whole experience in hand and on the fingers even faster and more modern. Twenty-one Medium Jumbo frets line the board for a familiar and comfortable feel on the fingertips. Ultra rolled edges smooth out the fingerboard while Luminlay side dots appear to make for a bright set of fret markers.

On the Meteora Bass, the American Ultra II series drops in two Fender Haymaker bass humbucker pickups. These powerful and punchy electronics roll through a wide spectrum of expressive tonality to deliver thunderous sounds – all without any hum. A redesigned Ultra II active preamp comes fitted with an S-1 switching system for active/passive operation while a three-band EQ offers a switchable midrange frequency, widening the field of sounds possible. Electronically, the American Ultra II Meteora Bass is massively expressive and inspirational for dynamic musicmaking.

Like its American Ultra II brethren, the Meteora Bass comes equipped with a robust hardware setup to tie everything together. An adjustable HiMass bridge offers the options of top-loading or through-body stringing while a Graph Tech TUSQ nut acts as a bridge for strings between the body and tuners. Fender's "F" lightweight tuning machines feature tapered shafts for sturdy intonation and quick string changes. Across this whole offset bass, Fender took every opportunity to make a complete knockout of an instrument.

Players seeking the fast lane to a new kind of Fender experience need look no further than the American Ultra II series. This Meteora Bass model comes ready for the most dynamic of sounds at the cutting edge of innovation.