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expirediconian | Staff posted Feb 09, 2024 11:51 PM
expirediconian | Staff posted Feb 09, 2024 11:51 PM

Fender American Ultra Telecaster Electric Guitar (Cobra Blue or Arctic Pearl)

+ Free Shipping

$1,499

$2,150

30% off
Adorama
17 Comments 10,743 Views
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Deal Details
Adorama has Fender American Ultra Telecaster Electric Guitar (Cobra Blue or Arctic Pearl) on sale for $1,499 each. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Editor iconian for sharing this deal.

Available Colors:About this Item:
  • Alder or ash body with sculpted rear contours
  • Two Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele single-coil pickups
  • "Modern D"-shaped neck with Ultra satin finish
  • 10"-14" compound-radius fingerboard
  • 22 medium-jumbo frets
  • Includes premium molded hardshell case
  • Body Type: Solidbody
  • Fender 2 Year Limited Warranty

Editor's Notes

Written by SaltyOne | Staff
  • Get 1%-5% cash back on deals like this with a cash back credit card. Compare the available cash back credit cards here.
  • About this Deal:
    • At the time of this posting, our research indicates that the Cobra Blue is $650.99 lower than the next best available prices from similar reputable merchants starting from $2,149.99. -SaltyOne

Original Post

Written by iconian | Staff
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Adorama has Fender American Ultra Telecaster Electric Guitar (Cobra Blue or Arctic Pearl) on sale for $1,499 each. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Editor iconian for sharing this deal.

Available Colors:About this Item:
  • Alder or ash body with sculpted rear contours
  • Two Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele single-coil pickups
  • "Modern D"-shaped neck with Ultra satin finish
  • 10"-14" compound-radius fingerboard
  • 22 medium-jumbo frets
  • Includes premium molded hardshell case
  • Body Type: Solidbody
  • Fender 2 Year Limited Warranty

Editor's Notes

Written by SaltyOne | Staff
  • Get 1%-5% cash back on deals like this with a cash back credit card. Compare the available cash back credit cards here.
  • About this Deal:
    • At the time of this posting, our research indicates that the Cobra Blue is $650.99 lower than the next best available prices from similar reputable merchants starting from $2,149.99. -SaltyOne

Original Post

Written by iconian | Staff

Community Voting

Deal Score
+18
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Model: Fender American Ultra Telecaster Maple Fingerboard Electric Guitar Cobra Blue

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16 Comments

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Feb 10, 2024 01:18 AM
6 Posts
Joined Apr 2012
motocatFeb 10, 2024 01:18 AM
6 Posts
Just got my arctic pearl. She's a beaut. Know nothing about what I bought, but she's a hecking beaut.
3
Feb 10, 2024 01:39 AM
641 Posts
Joined Jan 2007
mhk87Feb 10, 2024 01:39 AM
641 Posts
Please don't say hecking. Please.
1
7
Feb 10, 2024 01:50 AM
25 Posts
Joined Nov 2010
bizzieb123Feb 10, 2024 01:50 AM
25 Posts
Deleted
Feb 10, 2024 02:04 AM
51 Posts
Joined Jan 2019
CyrusOmarFeb 10, 2024 02:04 AM
51 Posts
How much better are these than the Mexican made ones? Is it that noticeable?
Feb 10, 2024 03:04 AM
10 Posts
Joined Oct 2022
MerryHalibut898Feb 10, 2024 03:04 AM
10 Posts
Quote from CyrusOmar :
How much better are these than the Mexican made ones? Is it that noticeable?
The thing that you get with the American-made Fenders are high-end features. For instance with this Ultra you get different electronics, a more complicated neck/fingerboard shape, and ergonomic/comfort body carves. You don't get any improvements in build quality by going with the Americans, just gizmos.
4
Feb 10, 2024 04:41 AM
15 Posts
Joined Oct 2013
entactoFeb 10, 2024 04:41 AM
15 Posts
i have ultra strat hss cobra blue, now this tele ultra same color with 500 discount hard to pass
Feb 10, 2024 05:29 AM
337 Posts
Joined Dec 2018
shoka_conFeb 10, 2024 05:29 AM
337 Posts
I picked up this in blue a few weeks ago on this deal. This price is less than what these go for used. So if you want a high end (but not custom shop) tele, and you like the colors, then this is the one.

As with a lot of electric guitars, if you're a good player, you probably get 99% of the benefit of this for a fraction of the price. The low noise pickups and the tuners on this are good, but they're also overkill for most people. So you can pick up a good telecaster for $600 or so and be happy.

However, if you like guitars, you're unlikely to be disappointed with this one.

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Feb 10, 2024 08:21 AM
64 Posts
Joined Mar 2019
CharlesPDXFeb 10, 2024 08:21 AM
64 Posts
Quote from CyrusOmar :
How much better are these than the Mexican made ones? Is it that noticeable?
Not to anyone who would ask, no offense intended. Guitar economics now more than ever are an exercise in diminishing returns. There's just a lot of great inexpensive guitars these days that are of sub-fractionally less quality overall than their premium counterparts. For instance, a similar and properly setup Squire model that costs 1/10th as much as this USA model isn't even close to being 10x worse. Aside from all of that, the kind of player that would notice the subtle differences is the kind of player who would want to have it in their hands and play it before they bought it anyway.
Feb 10, 2024 12:54 PM
31 Posts
Joined Nov 2020
ShrewdField9031Feb 10, 2024 12:54 PM
31 Posts
Want lefty. 😭
Feb 10, 2024 01:25 PM
1,202 Posts
Joined Dec 2013
DrGordonFreemanFeb 10, 2024 01:25 PM
1,202 Posts
Quote from CharlesPDX :
Not to anyone who would ask, no offense intended. Guitar economics now more than ever are an exercise in diminishing returns. There's just a lot of great inexpensive guitars these days that are of sub-fractionally less quality overall than their premium counterparts. For instance, a similar and properly setup Squire model that costs 1/10th as much as this USA model isn't even close to being 10x worse. Aside from all of that, the kind of player that would notice the subtle differences is the kind of player who would want to have it in their hands and play it before they bought it anyway.
I have a Made in US Performer Strat and Made in Mexico telecaster, and they both feel of equal quality honestly. I love the satin neck on the Tele. I was pretty impressed by how nice it was after seeing so many derogatory comments about MIM guitars.
Feb 10, 2024 01:54 PM
736 Posts
Joined Nov 2017
LesCasterFeb 10, 2024 01:54 PM
736 Posts
Quote from MerryHalibut898 :
The thing that you get with the American-made Fenders are high-end features. For instance with this Ultra you get different electronics, a more complicated neck/fingerboard shape, and ergonomic/comfort body carves. You don't get any improvements in build quality by going with the Americans, just gizmos.
Have you A/B'd an Ultra vs. MIM, or any other production Fender? I have. I can say without hesitation that your claim there are no build quality differences is misleading, at best. Pick up an Ultra... run your hands along the neck and frets, look at the nut, the fretboard... That's beyond what you're going to find on a MIM or lower-end American Made. It's not JUST the quality of the electronics, tuners, it's also wood selection and attention to detail on the neck/frets and nut. Is it 'custom shop'? No, but it's a fair bit closer to CS than a MIM or lower end American made series.

I compared the Ultra and prior Elite series to the American Pro II -- both great guitars -- but the Ultra and prev-gen Elite were superior in fit and finish in a way you can notice if you examine and feel them with an intention of spotting differences.

Do you "always" get build quality improvements on American vs. Mex? Nope. Especially in the lower-end USA models where, honestly, some MIMs models tend to surpass some of those USA models, on average. Should you expect a difference when dipping into the higher-end USA models? Yep... and if you don't, it's more anomalous than a regularity. And when talking specifically about the Ultra? If you don't see and feel a clearly superior built and feeling guitar?, return it... some disengaged drunk must have slapped inspection passed stickers on a reject.

The Elites/Ultras are buttery smooth, in all of my encounters, including (typically) better quality fingerboard selection vs. lesser USA models. I wish they had stuck with the Ebony they used back in 2017-ish timeframe when the CITES issues were all the rage. That, for a time, was another nice differentiator (imo).
1
Feb 10, 2024 03:46 PM
250 Posts
Joined Mar 2014
jmorrow1988Feb 10, 2024 03:46 PM
250 Posts
Quote from CyrusOmar :
How much better are these than the Mexican made ones? Is it that noticeable?
I actually prefer the pickups and neck profile of the MIM Player Tele if that's the one you're trying to compare. To make it even better, throw in a set of Bootstrap Palo Duro pickups ($50) and it'll sound so much better than the noiseless pickups in the Ultra.
1
Feb 10, 2024 09:35 PM
61 Posts
Joined Jan 2023
VioletGoat7760Feb 10, 2024 09:35 PM
61 Posts
Quote from ShrewdField9031 :
Want lefty. 😭
I second that.
Feb 11, 2024 01:44 AM
918 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
ClinkinfoFeb 11, 2024 01:44 AM
918 Posts
Quote from DrGordonFreeman :
I have a Made in US Performer Strat and Made in Mexico telecaster, and they both feel of equal quality honestly. I love the satin neck on the Tele. I was pretty impressed by how nice it was after seeing so many derogatory comments about MIM guitars.
The bad comments on MIM fenders are really people not re-evaluating from many years ago. Yes, there was a time that MIM meant lower quality, but those days have long passed. You'd be hard pressed to tell much of a practical playing difference.

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Feb 11, 2024 10:21 AM
1,251 Posts
Joined Nov 2006
OoTLinkFeb 11, 2024 10:21 AM
1,251 Posts
Quote from CharlesPDX :
For instance, a similar and properly setup Squire model that costs 1/10th as much as this USA model isn't even close to being 10x worse. Aside from all of that, the kind of player that would notice the subtle differences is the kind of player who would want to have it in their hands and play it before they bought it anyway.
The differences aren't that subtle. Sitting next to my desk I have a fender ultra hss strat, and a squier affinity strat. I bought the ultra as a sorta frivolous reward to myself for sticking with guitar for a year lol. Applause

I've seen enough posts with this sentiment that I was surprised at how much nicer the Fender was. To be fair, the Affinity is the second cheapest guitar that Squier makes. The Classic Vibes guitars are nicer - and yea, they do feel nicer.. the Ultra still feels a lot nicer than those.

But they are all electric guitars, and I think that's where the differences are pretty subtle. If I handed both guitars off to a really good player and they did a blind test (especially with pedal effects cranked up) I'd be surprised if I could tell the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnvYSKshvwc

It's not as if that isn't a common topic lol..

The neck on the fender is beautiful, though. The finish is silky smooth, the edges are rounded off so nicely, and I love the 12" radius and compound neck.

To be fair, you can get most of that from any other 'super strat' from ibanez or sterling music man or whatever for a lot less money.

But that's ok, I wasn't really trying to go strictly bang-for-the-buck. I do think the diminishing returns hit pretty hard somewhere between $500 and $800 though. Especially right now with so many random guitar deals!

But yea, that $150 squier affinity does an amazingly good job. As surprised as I was about how much better the Fender Ultra feels... I was also impressed at how well the Squier holds its own.

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