Fender American Ultra II Meteora Electric Guitar, Ebony Fingerboard, Texas Tea

Rocketing in as part of Fender's most elite series of instruments yet, the Fender American Ultra II Meteora is an exciting innovation in offsets. Building on the dynamic offset, this American Ultra II model drops in to deliver a stunning experience for players seeking new, boundary-pushing musicality.

The Fender American Ultra II Meteora starts out easily with its 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. Outfitted with Fender's Ultra body contours, the alder of this Meteora is carefully crafted for a seamless feel in the arms. Additionally, a finely sculped neck heel offers the highest access to frets possible to enhance playability.

Moving on, this American Ultra II model brings a quartersawn maple neck into the equation. Decked 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 grip, this neck assists in playing across its full length 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 matches with an ebony fingerboard measured 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 speedy solos and note bends. Twenty-two Medium Jumbo frets punctuate this ebony 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.

On the Meteora, Fender equipped in two Haymaker humbucker pickups. These two humbuckers, wired to deliver a colorful 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. A 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 near 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.