HowieJams
Well-known member
Last year I got rid of all of my Fenders (Strats and Teles), PRS, and Ibanez guitars and cut down to only Gibsons, 4 Les Pauls and 1 SG.
Every time I buy Fenders I move on from them, I have never had a Fender that does it for me.
I love the sound of a Fender Strat neck pickup and the 2 and 4 positions, but I also need a Humbucker in the bridge.
The problem is, the humbucker with the middle pickup doesn't get that authentic quack I like, so a coil tap is necessary.
Also, my amps are high gain, so noiseless pickups are nice to have, but they don't always sound as good as regular single coils.
I bought the Player II Modified HSS first to see if I really want a Fender, it was around $1000 new.
I bought the Yellow with Rosewood fretboard.
It arrived from Sweetewater and after quite a few hours tweaking the action it plays great, except for a slight fretting out on the 17th fret on the E and B string, I think it is a slight high fret.
Sound from the Noiseless pickups is very autthentic Strat tines, nice snap, twang, and quack. I love the guitar.
It wowed me so much I decided to buy the American Ultra II HSS.
I went with the Solar Flare color with a Maple Fretboard, I considered the Ebony board, but Maple is more Strat like, if they would have offered Rosewood as an option I would have grabbed it.
It arrived and out of the box the playaility was very good, but I tweked the action and now it has amazing low action and plays great with no fretting out.
The Compound Radius neck is much thicker than the Player II 9.5" Radius Modern C, but it feels great.
Keep in mind I love the Player II Modified, but the Ultra II just feels like super high quality, the Player II feels great also, but there is a difference.
As for tone, this is where it gets tricky.
The Player II Modified HSS sounds like a Strat, the noiseless pickups are very responsive, but definitely low output like a regular single coil pickups.
Splitting the humbucker gets you a very convincing single coil sound.
I trulty love the sound of the Player II Modified.
The Ultra II HSS took me a little time, lowering the action helped get more Fender like tones out of it.
The Cleans are definitely more smooth and Hi Fi sounding than the Player II pickups, the are Strat like, but not as Strat like as the Player II Modified pickups.
With distortion the Ultra II pickups sound great, still not as Strat like as the Player II, but definitely sounds like a Strat and they sound great in their pown way, just not a Traditional Strat sound, a more Modern Strat sound.
I am going to keep both Strats, the American Ultra II HSS is the best built Strat I have ever owned and it plays better than any Fender I have ever owned.
The Player II Modified HSS is just so fun to play, it feels so light and easy to play. The Player II Modified feels like a nimble Sports car and the Ultra II HSS feels like a solid High end Sports car.
It took me a while to get used to the tone of the Ultra II HSS, but it definitely grew on me.
I have posted many videos of the Player II HSS Modified on YouTube, I will do some vids of the Ultra II HSS when I get a chance.
I was also considering a American Professional II HSS with a Rosewood Board, I bet that would have authentic Strat tones, but also with 60 cycle hum.
Every time I buy Fenders I move on from them, I have never had a Fender that does it for me.
I love the sound of a Fender Strat neck pickup and the 2 and 4 positions, but I also need a Humbucker in the bridge.
The problem is, the humbucker with the middle pickup doesn't get that authentic quack I like, so a coil tap is necessary.
Also, my amps are high gain, so noiseless pickups are nice to have, but they don't always sound as good as regular single coils.
I bought the Player II Modified HSS first to see if I really want a Fender, it was around $1000 new.
I bought the Yellow with Rosewood fretboard.
It arrived from Sweetewater and after quite a few hours tweaking the action it plays great, except for a slight fretting out on the 17th fret on the E and B string, I think it is a slight high fret.
Sound from the Noiseless pickups is very autthentic Strat tines, nice snap, twang, and quack. I love the guitar.
It wowed me so much I decided to buy the American Ultra II HSS.
I went with the Solar Flare color with a Maple Fretboard, I considered the Ebony board, but Maple is more Strat like, if they would have offered Rosewood as an option I would have grabbed it.
It arrived and out of the box the playaility was very good, but I tweked the action and now it has amazing low action and plays great with no fretting out.
The Compound Radius neck is much thicker than the Player II 9.5" Radius Modern C, but it feels great.
Keep in mind I love the Player II Modified, but the Ultra II just feels like super high quality, the Player II feels great also, but there is a difference.
As for tone, this is where it gets tricky.
The Player II Modified HSS sounds like a Strat, the noiseless pickups are very responsive, but definitely low output like a regular single coil pickups.
Splitting the humbucker gets you a very convincing single coil sound.
I trulty love the sound of the Player II Modified.
The Ultra II HSS took me a little time, lowering the action helped get more Fender like tones out of it.
The Cleans are definitely more smooth and Hi Fi sounding than the Player II pickups, the are Strat like, but not as Strat like as the Player II Modified pickups.
With distortion the Ultra II pickups sound great, still not as Strat like as the Player II, but definitely sounds like a Strat and they sound great in their pown way, just not a Traditional Strat sound, a more Modern Strat sound.
I am going to keep both Strats, the American Ultra II HSS is the best built Strat I have ever owned and it plays better than any Fender I have ever owned.
The Player II Modified HSS is just so fun to play, it feels so light and easy to play. The Player II Modified feels like a nimble Sports car and the Ultra II HSS feels like a solid High end Sports car.
It took me a while to get used to the tone of the Ultra II HSS, but it definitely grew on me.
I have posted many videos of the Player II HSS Modified on YouTube, I will do some vids of the Ultra II HSS when I get a chance.
I was also considering a American Professional II HSS with a Rosewood Board, I bet that would have authentic Strat tones, but also with 60 cycle hum.
