I have a 2023 Fender American Ultra Luxe Stratocaster here with its original hard shell case and factory paperwork.

Conditionally this guitar looks nice.

The body top shows average guitar pick strumming and swirling on the plastic pickguard, and a little bit around the volume knob. The guitar body has a lesser amount of that sort of light surface playwear, which is to say there's a little bit of faint surface playwear here and there. But nothing really describable or notable. There are no clusters or accumulated sheen of playwear. The gloss finish and the hardware look shiny and transparent.

The body sides/edges show about a handful of thin minute surface scratches on the lower body edge. These are about the same intensity as guitar pick strumming. I did not find any dings, bumps, or indentations, nor any accumulation or sheen of playwear. Pretty much just a little bit of scattered surface playwear. There are no neck pocket cracks.

The body back, like the body top and sides, shows just a minimal amount of light superficial signs of use. I didn't find anything I would quantify as buckle rash or worming. I see very light surface scratches, again about the consistency of guitar pick strumming. Little faint signs of playwear that you would notice if you carefully scrutinize the guitar while turning it in the light. But no overt eye-catching playwear.

The neck shaft contour looks and feels excellent with nothing to describe there. Likewise, the headstock is clean. I did not find any chips or dings. The setup plays nicely. The original electronics are working like they should. The hard shell case is in excellent condition.

This one sits right at the junction of very good and excellent. I will rate it an 8.9 out of 10. So that's the higher side of VG, which most people would usually automatically rate as excellent. I didn't find any major marks or major playwear. There is a light scattering of surface playwear only, as noted. The overall appearance, look, and aesthetic of the guitar I would say are definitely excellent. The neck is excellent. And the guitar is structurally and sonically sound in all ways, and sounds and plays fantastic.

The Ultra Strat Luxe is of course the successor to the Elite series which succeeded the American Deluxe series with the addition of Stainless Steel frets, and a real Ash body. These are premium features not on the regular ultra model.

To be fair to Fender there actually Is some interesting changes done in this incarnation. I would recommend you check out the full specs at Fender. I will give you my players perspective on what i have observed.

The body contour has been completely reshaped. The neck plate area and the back of the cutaway are now sculpted for increased access playability to the upper frets. It looks and feels great. This is similar to what is seen on shred style Superstrats.

The neck contour has changed, it feels fast and comfy perhaps a little slimmer but not crazy slim. It feels to my hands a perfect balance of thickness to roundness/flatness. Absolutely perfect.

The S1 switch effects the bridge position in a more useful way this time around. When engaged i hear a fatter filled out sound in the bridge position. This is especially useful for lead tones if you want a saturated sound but still want more "bite" then what you would get in the neck position.

Everything else, the core quality of wood, finish, fretwork, all the tangibles. All of that is outstanding here. Fender does an impeccable job on this model and it is perhaps their flagship of the production line (Non custom shop) of guitars.

The noiseless pickups have gotten better with each generation. They have dynamic and lively tone to them. In no shape or form should they be considered clinical or sterile. If anything in comparing them to true non stacked single coils, they have a slightly sweetened top end treble response that is just a little rounder then a true single coil. So they are not piercing sounding in the treble. But they have beautiful detail in the treble and upper mids. And as advertised they are extremely quiet in terms of backround hum. They are more quiet then most humbucker setups.

So overall this simply a fantastic version of the Stratocaster. I would not call it modern so much as timeless because it has both the classic look of the Stratocaster and tonal versatility to get any vintage Strat tone. I consider it a contemporary masterpiece and am thoroughly impressed with it.

Note that this listing may come down at anytime as I am a multi-platform seller and do sell locally and on my own Site as well in an effort to keep sales fluid. State sales tax will be charged On Reverb sales when applicable, so factor that in to your purchase.

I will immaculately pack it as well. I use quality shipping boxes, ample tape on all sides. And sufficient bubble wrap filler and bracing inside the box. And always Marked/denoted as fragile. I generally detune guitars 1/2 half step prior to shipment as well if needed.

Thank you for reading and considering!