My Reflections on the American Ultra Luxe After Owning and Playing one for Two Years

There are probably tons of reviews of the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster, but you may not find too many written by someone who has owned and played one for two years. I purchased my Telecaster in February of 2024 from Fuller’s Guitar. Since then, I have played it live,¹ on recordings,² and in practices.³ I have used it with at least five different amps and a bunch of different pedals. I’ve fiddled with the settings. I’ve changed the strings. I’ve posed with it and probably looked very silly.⁴

So what do I think of the American Ultra Luxe Telecaster after two years? Short answer: don’t be put off by the “American Ultra Luxe” branding, which is wordy and sounds like an old timey soap. I think this is an excellent telecaster with relatively few drawbacks. And to the extent there are drawbacks, they likely are more a matter of subjective taste than objective quality. For the longer answer: read on!

What is the American Ultra Luxe Telecaster?

The Telecaster needs no introduction–it has been an icon since Leo Fender introduced the earliest iterations in the 1950s. The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster may require a bit more context and information, however. It is a top-of-the-line non-custom shop, American-made⁵ Telecaster. Er, well, scratch that . . . When I purchased mine it was a top-of-the-line non-custom shop, American-made Telecaster, but it has subsequently been supplanted by the Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage Series Telecaster(s). You can tell this series is even higher-end because it has one more adjective! (And it appears to cost slightly more). Not confused yet? Well there’s also the American Ultra Telecaster and the American Ultra II…

You are probably in good company if you’re confused about how the American Ultra Luxe compares to the American Ultra, American Ultra Luxe Vintage, and the American Ultra Luxe II. Here’s a quick comparison table I made, but please take it with a grain of salt. (Note: I omitted the very cool looking double humbucker American Ultra Luxe Telecaster since that seems like its own thing).

Table 1: Comparison of Fender’s American Ultra Telecaster, Ultra Luxe Telecaster, and Ultra Luxe Vintage Telecaster. Oh . . . and the Ultra II!

	American Ultra Telecaster6	American Ultra II Telecaster7	American Ultra Luxe Telecaster8	American Ultra Luxe Vintage Telecaster9
Body contours (kind of like a Stratocaster)?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Stainless steel frets?	No	No	Yes, medium-jumbo	Yes, medium jumbo
Compound radius fretboard?	Yes, “10”-14″ compound-radius fingerboard”	Yes, “10”-14″ Compound Radius”	Yes, “10”-14″ compound-radius fingerboard”	Yes, “10” to 14″ Compound Radius”
Pickups:	“Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele single-coil pickups” x2	“Ultra II Noiseless™ Vintage Tele® Pickups” x2	“Ultra Noiseless Vintage Telecaster single-coil pickups” x2	“Pure Vintage ’51 Tele® Single-Coil Pickups” x2
Locking tuners?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Neck shape:	“Modern D”with “Ultra satin finish.”	“Quartersawn Maple Modern ‘D’ Profile Neck”	“Augmented ‘D'” with “Ultra satin finish.”	“Quartersawn Modern ‘D’ profile neck”
Rolled edges on fingerboard:	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tapered/sculpted neck heel:	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
S-1 Switch?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Body finish type:	Gloss Urethane; numerous colors	Gloss Urethane; numerous colors	Gloss Urethane; Colors include 2-Color Sunburst; or Transparent Surf Green	Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish (butterscotch and white blonde)
Painted headstock?	No	No	Yes (On the Sunburst it’s black; on the Transparent Surf Green one it’s, of course, Transparent Surf Green).	No
Body wood type:	Ash or Alder	Alder	Ash	Ash

Bottom line, once you get above the various Ultra Luxes in Fender world, you’re entering the rarified air of custom shop models. For those who have followed Fender products for a while, I think the Ultra Luxe (and slightly cheaper Ultra series) are the descendants of the American Deluxe series that Fender marketed in the 2000s. My 2024 Ultra Luxe Telecaster has a lot in common with my 2000s-vintage American Deluxe Stratocaster. I assume the Ultra Luxe Vintage series is combining some of the modern playability features that Fender has offered since at least the early 2000s, with the types of period-correct finishes and pickups you might find on the American Vintage II Series. Another series you ask? Let’s move on.

Why did I buy one?

Back in 2024, I was gripped with an acute bout of guitar-buying mania–a chronic condition afflicting many guitarists.¹⁰ [Editor’s Note: Feel free to move on to the next section–this one is asked and answered]. I eventually fixated on the idea of a telecaster because I’d never owned one. And so many of my heroes have played them: Muddy Waters, Buck Owens, Pete Anderson, James Burton, Keith Richards, etc., etc., etc. I also thought the signature twangy Telecaster sound would be a good fit for my music.

I tried a bunch of options including several American Vintage Series II Telecasters in different configurations, an American Ultra Telecaster, the Christone “Kingfish” Ingram signature Telecaster, and some non-USA variations. There were some really enjoyable models, but the one that made the biggest impression was an American Ultra Luxe Telecaster in transparent surf green. I liked everything about it. Well, everything except the color (mostly because I thought surf green would clash with my red amplifier and create a year-round Christmas aesthetic).

Maybe it’s not surprising that I was drawn to the Ultra Luxe since it has so many of the same features that I have long enjoyed on my American Deluxe Stratocaster. Those features include the sculpted neck heel, noiseless pickups, locking tuners, rolled fingerboard edges, and an S-1 switch. My American Deluxe is a sunburst ash model. I ultimately selected the burst, ash Ultra Luxe. So maybe I just have a type when it comes to electric guitars?

The Verdict

Ergonomics and comfort: Very Good

The American Ultra Luxe Telecaster is not an electric guitar for purists. Those who think Leo Fender perfected the Telecaster in the 1950s may recoil in horror at the thought of a Telecaster with a belly cut contour and a sculpted neck heel.¹¹ For players open to those modern niceties, or simply trying to avoid a case of “Telecaster Rib,”¹² the American Ultra Luxe telecaster is a very comfortable and ergonomic model. It feels a lot like a Stratocaster to hold. But it’s not just the body that makes the Ultra Luxe more comfortable than your average telecaster–your fretting hand will likely appreciate the rolled fingerboard edges.

The only ding I would give the Ultra Luxe on comfort pertains to the weight: mine is 8 pounds, 7 ounces. Based on internet chatter, that’s not outrageous for a Telecaster. But it’s just heavy enough that I can feel it a bit towards the end of a set. It’s also heavier than some Telecaster-type guitars produced by boutique builders (more on that later).

Playability: Exceptional

The American Ultra Luxe Telecaster is a very easy guitar to play. The neck feels fast due to the satin finish, but the shape is still substantial enough to allow for finesse and control. The medium-jumbo frets and compound radius fretboard combine to facilitate bends. The rolled fingerboard edges further contribute to a nearly effortless playing experience. Are these features necessary to play well? Of course not. Early Telecaster adopters like Roy Nichols did incredible things with none of these creature comforts. But I’m not that good, so I enjoy the features that make playing well just a little bit easier.

Build quality: Exceptional

The American Ultra Luxe is not a cheap guitar so the build quality should be great. It is. The fit and finish on my Ultra Luxe is really exceptional. In two years of playing I have discovered no gaps or rough edges. The binding on the body is tight and neat. The finish is even and smooth. The knobs and tuners feel good. I think the body might be a single piece of ash. If it is two pieces, the wood grain matching is so good that that I cannot find a seam. (My dad is a gifted woodworker and could not find one either).

The neck is probably where the strong build quality shines through most palpably. The attention to detail there is impressive. The fretwork is impeccable. The rolled edges are just right.

To put things in perspective, a few months ago I was at a nice guitar store and had the opportunity to play a few Telecaster and Stratocaster-type guitars from well-known boutique builders. All of those guitars listed for more than the American Ultra Luxe. Some cost about twice as much. I was expecting to be blown away, but I really wasn’t. The boutique guitars generally had an advantage in the weight department, but otherwise the Ultra Luxe compared favorably. And I think I actually preferred the neck and frets on the Ultra Luxe. I don’t mean for this to be a knock against the boutiques. I just don’t think the gap in quality between the Ultra Luxe and its more expensive boutique competitors is as obvious as it is between, say, another large, iconic electric guitar company that I won’t name and its boutique rivals.

Reliability and tuning stability: Exceptional

Hey, speaking of large-electric-guitar-companies-that-I-won’t-name, the tuning stability on the Ultra Luxe is fantastic! As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I really don’t like it when a guitar won’t stay in tune. Or at least in good-enough-for-rock-and-roll tune. It’s not endearing, it’s obnoxious. If my 90ish-year-old resonator guitar can stay in tune, there’s no excuse for a high end electric guitar to prefer F# to G.

Oops, why am I ranting? Like I said, the tuning stability on the Ultra Luxe is great! That’s probably not very surprising for a Telecaster, let alone one with locking tuners.

Overall reliability has been good too. I treat the Ultra Luxe like a work horse. I have mixed feelings about Fender’s choice to give the Ultra Luxe a urethane finish rather than a nitro finish,¹³ but it does mean that I don’t have to worry much about exposing the guitar to tricky meteorological conditions. That’s been useful living in the Mid-Atlantic, which has both sweltering heat and stretches of actual winter. I’ve taken the Ultra Luxe out and about when I’m nervous I’ll damage the nitro finishes on other guitars. And the Ultra Luxe has always been ready to play when I take it out of its case.

Aesthetics: Exceptional

Maybe I just have a thing for painted head stocks on Fender guitars, but I think the Ultra Luxe is a great looking instrument. Even my wife thinks so, and she accused one of my other guitars of looking like Ronald McDonald. So that’s saying something. I have received compliments on the Ultra Luxe’s appearance when playing it out. As my bandmate would say, that’s not quite as satisfying as getting a compliment on the quality of your playing, but I’ll take it! I suspect that the transparent surf green Ultra Luxe might be a bit more polarizing, but I think it’s also a nice looking guitar in its own right. It does pose a higher risk of clashing with your choice of pants or shirt, although I’m hardly a fashion authority. Anyway, this is all hopelessly subjective, so let’s move on to another category that’s also subjective.

The sound: Very good, albeit with reservations

So far I’ve mostly focused on how the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster feels, looks, and behaves. But how does it sound?! Let’s start with the easy part: intonation and sustain. Both are rock solid.

That takes us to the tricky part–the electronics. Here, the Ultra Luxe has two things that might be a bit controversial to purists. First, it sports an S-1 switch. You can read about S-1 switches here, although my eyes glaze over every time I try to understand how they work. But I can tell you how it sounds on the Ultra Luxe. When you engage the S-1 switch it thickens the tone of the middle position. If you also roll the tone back a bit the guitar sounds huge. With the S-1 switch and tone knob, I have dialed in the Ultra Luxe to sound a bit like a neck humbucker. I think the S-1 opens up some very usable tones, especially for soling. I suspect it may be less effective if you’re trying to cut through on a busy arrangement. Although useful, the S-1 on the Ultra Luxe Telecaster is not as revelatory as it is on my American Deluxe Strat, since it only functions in the middle position. The means the S-1 switch basically adds a thicker, bigger tone to your Telecaster, whereas S-1 switches on Strats typically offer more tones.

The noiseless pickups are the second controversial feature of the Ultra Luxe. I have mixed feelings here. When people talk about the signature Telecaster sound, they are almost always referring to the tone that results from the single-coil bridge pickup sitting in the Telecaster’s weird little metal ash tray. Indeed, I bought the Ultra Luxe partly to unlock some Bakersfield twang in the vein of Buck Owens, Roy Nichols, and Pete Anderson. And I’ve had a darn hard time dialing that in on the Ultra Luxe.

After two years, I still find it challenging to locate the sweet spot on the bride pickup. With the tone all the way up, the Ultra Luxe can be in ice pick territory. When you roll the tone back, however, the tone can get a bit too dull too quickly. I haven’t had a ton more luck finding an overdriven or distorted sound that I like with the bridge pickup either. I find it a bit nasal and strident. Now to be fair, some of this may be equipment pairing. One of my amps–the Carr Super Bee–is already fairly bright. I have had better luck playing the bridge pickup through a tweed-style amp. It may also be me. As I said, this is my first Telecaster and I typically prefer neck pickups. But I do think it’s possible that the bridge pickup is a tad bit sterile and thin, making it a little unforgiving to work with.

I did use the bridge pickup for the rhythm guitar in a recent project. You can hear it in the left channel here¹⁴:

The neck pickup is another story. I love the sound of the neck pickup on the Ultra Luxe. I think it has a pure, bell-like tone that is both sweet and clear. One of my favorite uses of the Ultra Luxe is employing the neck pickup to play fingerstyle into a clean amp with some tremolo. It’s a lovely sound that works great for old blues and singer-songwriter material. It’s definitely not what I purchased the guitar for, but hey, it works! I also like the neck pickup with overdrive. You can check out how that sounds on another recent project:

The lead guitar on that one is the neck pickup of the Ultra Luxe going into a Hot Rod Deluxe via a Nocturne Brain Junior Barnyard pedal.

As I mentioned before, I also really like the middle position with the S-1 switch engaged and the tone rolled back a bit. That produces a rich, thick sound that you maybe wouldn’t expect coming out of a Telecaster. I think that sound works clean and with overdrive. I haven’t really used the middle position much without the S-1 switch engaged. There’s nothing wrong with the sound, but usually if I’m moving to the middle position I want a bigger sound so I might as well engage the switch.

Oh, you may be wondering, do the pickups actually succeed at the noiseless thing? For the most part yes! I don’t know if they eliminate all hum in all conditions, but I think they come pretty darn close. And to the extent they don’t it might honestly be the electricity itself effecting other components in the chain.

The case it came with: Fantastic

The hardshell case that comes with the Ultra Luxe is just great. I use it for my Ultra Luxe and for my Stratocaster because it is a fantastic case!

Conclusion:

I really only have two complaints about the Ultra Luxe Telecaster. It could weigh a little bit less, although it’s really not bad on that front. I’m not overwhelmed by the bridge pickup, but that might just be me or my other equipment. Oh wait, there’s also the name! So I actually have three complaints. I think “American Ultra Luxe” is silly branding. I feel a bit ridiculous saying it any time someone asks me what kind of Telecaster I have. “No no, it’s not just luxe, sir! It’s ultra luxe, I’ll have you know.”

But these foibles are more than offset by effortless playability, stunning aesthetics, stolid reliability, superb tuning stability, and exceptional build quality rivaling expensive boutique builds. I have toyed with the idea of selling my Ultra Luxe to make room in my collection for something with humbuckers, but so far I’ve found it too difficult to part with a guitar that makes it so easy to play! And while the sounds I get from it are not exactly what I anticipated, I really like some of the tones I get from the neck pickup or from the S-1 switch. Plus, there’s something to be said for reliability. Oh, and my wife thinks it looks cool.

Overall, the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster is a great guitar. If you’re looking for a Telecaster with modern playability and an, ahem, ultra luxurious feel, it’s definitely worth trying. Now, in true DIYRockAndRoll.com fashion, I’m not 100% sure the Ultra Luxe Telecaster I bought is still in production. In fact, when I started writing this article a couple of days ago, the Ultra Luxes were still listed on the Fender website (although they showed as sold out). At the time of this writing, they have actually disappeared from the Fender website. Does that mean we’ll be welcoming the American Ultra Luxe II soon? Or is Fender just leaning into the American Ultra Luxe Vintage Series? I don’t know.

We’re nothing if not timely, folks! I did see some new Ultra Luxe Telecasters available in some places. But either way, it’s probably a great time to pick up a gently used one on Reverb or elsewhere, likely for a few hundred less than they cost new.

1. Editor’s Note: We’re talking the local bar, not Wembley. ↩︎
2. Editor’s Note: They’re his own recordings, folks. Don’t get too excited! ↩︎
3. Editor’s Note: Goodness knows he needs those! ↩︎
4. Editor’s Note: Can confirm. ↩︎
5. See, for example, this description. My guitar came emblazoned with a sticker that had an American flag and said “Made in Corona, California.” The serial number starts with US and says Corona, CA underneath. And of course, it’s the American Ultra Luxe series. Despite all this, at the time of this writing, I noticed that Fender did not include the place of manufacture in the specs on its website. I have encountered some online speculation about whether some of the Ultra Luxe components are manufactured abroad. I think it would be helpful for Fender to include more information on manufacturing origins on its website. At the very least it’d save me from writing a long, boring footnote like this! ↩︎
6. I tested one of these briefly, but all specs and quotes in this column come from https://www.fender.com/products/american-ultra-telecaster?variant=45947053080798. ↩︎
7. All details and quotes direct from the horse’s mouth: https://www.fender.com/products/american-ultra-ii-telecaster?variant=45940645363934. ↩︎
8. I drew all specs in the column from personal observation and/or from https://www.fender.com/products/american-ultra-luxe-telecaster?variant=45947052294366. Direct quotes and technical jargon came directly from the Fender specs. ↩︎
9. All specs and quotes in this column come from https://www.fender.com/products/american-ultra-luxe-vintage-50s-telecaster?variant=47088660087006. ↩︎
10. Often called Gear-Acquisition Syndrome or GAS. ↩︎
11. Although Fender introduced the belly cut on the Stratocaster in 1954 and has offered a belly cut on some Telecasters since at least 1973. https://www.fender.com/articles/instruments/absolute-power-the-telecaster-deluxe#:~:text=The%20Deluxe%20was,the%20Telecaster%20Custom. ↩︎
12. https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/telecaster-rib. DIYRockAndRoll.com encourages readers to seek professional, medical advice should they encounter rib pain. But don’t worry, you can still use it as an excuse to buy a different guitar. ↩︎
13. If nitro finish is a priority, that would be another win for the boutique rivals eluded to above. Of course, Fender has lots of Telecasters on the market with nitro finish. And as the table above illustrates, if you want many of the features of the Ultra Luxe with the more traditional nitro finish, you can now turn to the Ultra Luxe Vintage series. I might have considered that if it had been out when I bought mine. ↩︎
14. Gratuitous details on the exact equipment used, along with tons of information about the song and the history of rockabilly, may be found here https://diyrockandroll.com/2026/01/10/do-it-yourself-rockabilly/. ↩︎