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Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
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Playability
70
Sound
79
Build
79
Value
66
Score
76
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Playability
70
Sound
74
Build
62
Value
74
Score
69
FIND IT ON:
Amazon logoSweetwater logoMusician's Friend logo
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Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster vs Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Specs Comparison
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
General
Brand: Fender Fender
Year: 2024 2018
Configuration: SSS SSS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: United States Mexico
Series: American Ultra II Artist
Colors: White, Black, Blue, Orange, Red, Yellow White
Left-Handed Version: Yes No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Select Alder Alder
Bridge: 2-Point American Ultra Synchronized Tremolo with Polished Stainless Steel Block Saddles and Cold Rolled Steel Block 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo Set Flat to Body
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts) Fender Vintage F Stamped
Fretboard: Quartersawn Maple Rosewood
Neck Material: Quartersawn Maple Maple
Decoration: Black Pearloid Dot 7 mm White Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Modern "D" Modern C
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver 21 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 10" to 14" 7.25"
Nut: Ivory Tusq Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 42.8mm (1.685'') 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Custom Ceramic Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Custom Ceramic Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Custom Ceramic Single-Coil (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 5 Way
Knobs: Bell Bell
Pickup Mods: S-1 Switch None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 2 2
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Nickel Chrome
Show Diagrams Comparison
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster's switch options
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster's switch options

Reasons to Get
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster over Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster

Country of Manufacturing
United States vs Mexico
Built with higher quality standards
Release Year
2024 vs 2018
From a more recent year
Compound Radius
10" to 14" vs 7.25"
Balanced playability for chords and single-notes
Neck Profile
Modern "D" vs Modern C
Thin and flat neck for playing fast
Pickup Mods
S-1 Switch vs None
Modifies the pickups
Number of Frets
22 vs 21
Allows to reach higher notes
Locking Tuners
Yes vs None
Easier to change strings
Nut Width
1.685'' (42.8mm) vs 1.654'' (42mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Luminescent Sidedots
Yes vs None
Assists you when playing in dark environments
Avg. Weight
8.1875lbs (3.7kgs) vs 8.344lbs (3.8kgs)
Tends to be lighter

Reasons to Get
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster over American Ultra II Stratocaster

Number of Frets
21 vs 22
Warmer neck pickup
Neck Profile
Modern C vs Modern "D"
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm) vs 1.685'' (42.8mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Value Score
74 vs 66
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster vs Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster

Bridge Pickup
Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat vs Fender Custom Ceramic Single-Coil
Different Bridge Pickup
Middle Pickup
Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat vs Fender Custom Ceramic Single-Coil
Different Middle Pickup
Neck Pickup
Ultra II Noiseless Vintage Strat vs Fender Custom Ceramic Single-Coil
Different Neck Pickup
Fretboard Wood
Maple vs Rosewood
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Ivory Tusq vs Synthetic Bone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster vs Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster

Body Wood
Alder
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
5
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
2
Same tone control
Pickups
SSS
Beautiful cleans and good tone versatility
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Tremolo
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut
  • Top Pickup Brand

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Price History Comparison

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster Prices

SET PRICE ALERT

Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Prices

SET PRICE ALERT

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Hand Size Comfortability

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster favors large hands more than the Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster meets 7 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster meets only 5. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

New Player Friendliness

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.

Woods Used in the Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster

Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

Winner: Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are SSS. SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.

Pickups Quality

Both come with some of the top pickups on the market. You can't go wrong with either of them. You'll probably never need a pickup upgrade.

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Tie.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

Only the Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster comes with some kind of pickup modification: S-1 Switch.

An S-1 switch can do a lot of different pickup combinations. It can split them, connect them in series, parallel, add more pickups to each position, and more. Check out the diagram to know how it affects this model.

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster
Pickups 100
Sustain 60
Versatility 82
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 79
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
Pickups 100
Sustain 60
Versatility 72
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 74

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster compares to the Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster is built in United States while the Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster is made in Mexico.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.

Winner: Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.

On the other hand, the Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.

Winner: Tie.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

Both come with a similar bridge: Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

The Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.

Winner: Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster
  • Locking Tuners
  • Made in United States
  • Ivory Tusq Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • S-1 Switch Pickups
  • Luminescent Inlay
  • Tremolo
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
  • Expensive Wood
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Mexico
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster
Quality of materials 56
Features 85
Quality Control 95
Build Quality 79
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
Quality of materials 61
Features 55
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 62

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster Nut Width
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster Nut Width
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Nut Width
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster has the wider nut with 42.8mm (1.685'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.8mm (0.031'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster and Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".

This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.

However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster Neck Profile
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster's neck profile
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Neck Profile
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

In this case, both have different neck shapes:

The Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.

The Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster, on the other hand, has a C neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster Fretboard Compound Radius
Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster's Compound Fretboard Radius
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Fingerboard Radius
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster's Fingerboard radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

In this case, the Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.

Fret Size

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster and Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium Jumbo fret size

Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.

Final Playability Scores

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 60
Chord Playability 80
Solo Playability 70
Playability 70
Fender Albert Hammond Jr Stratocaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 60
Chord Playability 90
Solo Playability 60
Playability 70