Fender American Ultra Luxe Stratocaster Floyd Rose HSS Mystic Black (2023)

`23 Fender American Ultra Luxe Stratocaster Floyd Rose HSS Mystic Black, Original Floyd Rose, splittable humbucker, stainless steel frets, near mint and more.

A Fender that doesn't come from the Custom Shop? That's rather the exception with us – but this Ultra Luxe made us break the rule. It's simply so good that we couldn't let it go!

Strat, humbucker in the bridge and a Floyd Rose – that instantly brings Richie Sambora to mind. Hardly any guitarist stands for the HSS Strat like the man who shaped Bon Jovi's guitar sound for decades. But the Ultra Luxe is far more than an instrument for Sambora fans and those who want to become one: it's a true all-rounder for every situation, from crystal-clear cleans to funky in-between positions all the way to a big rock wall of sound.

The Original Floyd Rose Double-Locking tremolo with locking nut is exemplary when it comes to tuning stability. Dive bombs, flutters, big bends – afterwards the guitar is right back in tune, so you can focus completely on playing on stage.

The heart of it is the Ultra Double Tap humbucker in the bridge. The S-1 switch, hidden invisibly in the volume knob, splits it at the push of a button – and very musically: the split sound stays strong and round, without the thin emergency mode you know from many other splits. Neck and middle are Ultra Noiseless Hot Strat single coils, so everything is hum-free – even with plenty of gain.

The Ultra Luxe is the luxury version of the American Ultra series, Fender's most advanced series from Corona – and you notice it above all in the neck: Augmented "D" profile, silky Ultra Satin finish (with a gloss headstock face) and rolled fingerboard edges feel as if they'd been played in for years. The 10" to 14" compound radius makes chords comfortable down low and bends effortless up high, and the 22 medium jumbo stainless steel frets glide like butter and last practically forever. A real highlight is the neck joint: the heel is tapered and rounded and the treble cutaway is contoured, so you reach the upper frets without any contortions. The back of the body is sculpted too and sits comfortably against you.

Visually, the Mystic Black finish with matching headstock, anodized aluminium pickguard and aged white pickups and knobs makes for an elegant look. The fine sparkles in the finish show best on stage under the lights or in backlight – then the black Strat really glitters, as you can just make out in some of the photos.

At 3.65 kg it weighs a few grams more than some vintage Strats – and you can hear exactly those grams: the Ultra Luxe has plenty of punch and works brilliantly as a rock guitar on the humbucker, without losing any sparkle in clean territory.

The condition is flawless, the guitar is near mint. New, the Ultra Luxe Floyd Rose HSS sells for just under €3,000.

It comes as pictured in the Fender Deluxe Molded hardshell case with certificate of authenticity and all case candies.

One Strat for everything – and that's exactly why it found its place with us.

Price€2,190 VAT not outlined (§ 25a UStG)