Squier Affinity Range.

[ROConnell]

Hi all,

Just been looking at Squier Basses and while looking at both the Affinity Jazz and Precision I noticed that the body is Alder.
To me this seems weird as normally Fender American's have this wood. Is this less expensive and not as good quality as the USA's?

I found that my Squier Vintage Modified Jazz is Basswood but a lot more expensive, this may be due to the Seymour Duncan's in them but I was wondering how well Affinity's are made. Could and owners/past owners give me a general idea if they're good build?

Cheers, got GAS for a Precision/Jazz Bass right now so thought I'd ask some questions.

Edited July 19, 2011 by ROConnell

[lanark]

[quote name='ROConnell' post='1309627' date='Jul 19 2011, 08:49 PM']Hi all,

Just been looking at Squier Basses and while looking at both the Affinity Jazz and Precision I noticed that the body is Alder.
To me this seems weird as normally Fender American's have this wood. Is this less expensive and not as good quality as the USA's?

I found that my Squier Vintage Modified Jazz is Basswood but a lot more expensive, this may be due to the Seymour Duncan's in them but I was wondering how well Affinity's are made. Could and owners/past owners give me a general idea if they're good build?

Cheers, got GAS for a Precision/Jazz Bass right now so thought I'd ask some questions. [/quote]

USA built Fender precision c£600, Squier Affinity P-bass c£175.

Personally, I think that my affinity is an excellent instrument and the use of different woods is massively over-rated in the sound you get. Your Semour Duncan's will have a much greater effect on the sound than whether it's alder or basswood.

Edited July 19, 2011 by lanark

[rmshaw37]

I have an affinity jazz, and affinity precision - they are fine quality, Obv everything about them is cheap, but easily upgradable. I like the neck profile as much as any jazz I've played before or since!

Don't expect brilliance out the box, but I recorded a couple of sections on our album with both, and they did exactly what they should do! Wouldn't like to tour with them though

[stingrayPete1977]

My Affinity Jazz is hugely modified but the body and neck are both standard and good, the neck has had the edges rolled and the fret edges smoothed a little but that's easily done if need be. The body is very very soft and has dented easily but that's not an issue for me, The neck plays as well as any bass I have ever played even ones worth two or three thousand! Great for future mods too

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='rmshaw37' post='1309710' date='Jul 19 2011, 09:42 PM']I have an affinity jazz, and affinity precision - they are fine quality, Obv everything about them is cheap, but easily upgradable. I like the neck profile as much as any jazz I've played before or since!

Don't expect brilliance out the box, but I recorded a couple of sections on our album with both, and they did exactly what they should do! Wouldn't like to tour with them though[/quote]
I have the P too! Needs upgrading like the jazz but the main bits are there again. My Jazz can keep up with any Jazz yet it only owes me about £450 which could of been spread over years if necessary.

[thodrik]

I have the Jazz version. Plays well, sounds like a passive jazz bass. I can't complain really for the money it cost.

[JoshL]

The affinity p bass I have is fairly good quality and has served me and my needs well for the past 5 years of hard work as my first ever bass. The sound on it is fairly good and it seems versatile enough to do most styles. Only thing I will say is, as with a few posts above, the finish is quite soft and scratches, chips and dents quite easily, I took a chip out of the paint in about the first week I had it as my strap unhooked when I wasn't holding the bass and it fell to the floor. Other than that it has been a good bass to get me going for the past 5 years.

[Lozz196]

I had an Affinity P-Bass for a while. Great bass, great player, well put together.

If I had to find any "fault" I`d say that the sound was a tad thin, in comparison to my then main bass, a MIM P-Bass. But, I`m sure a swap of pickups and pots would have changed that.

I was very surprised at the quality and playability for the price.

[Evil Undead]

I have an Affinity P, and the quality is actually very good, much better than I thought it would be. Playability is excellent, but not out of the box, I had to do a really good set up on it and put in a neck shim. Also put a hi-mass bridge on which is much nicer than the stock one.

It's for sale at the moment as I need the cash PM If you're interested, it's only £80 . (shameful plug)

[fatboyslimfast]

I've got both an Affinity P and a Vintage Modified 77 Jazz.

The Affinity is noticeably lighter in weight, and doesn't seem to sustain as much (and this is with rounds on, compared with flats on the VM) - the VM just seems to hold a note for ages by comparison.

But, from a playability point of view, the Affinity is still great to play and does what it needs to. I wanted a P as well as a J, but couldn't stretch to the price of another VM at the moment - the Affinity fills the gap nicely (and, because of the cost, I'm a bit less precious about it than I am with the VM!)

Edit - EvilUndead's P should be a bargain at that price, with the new bridge and setup!

Edited July 20, 2011 by fatboyslimfast

[Moos3h]

My local shop has three Affinitys - all of which are total garbage.

I'm not saying they ALL are, but you have a higher than average chance of getting a total snotter so I would never buy blind.

[dan670844]

[quote name='ROConnell' post='1309627' date='Jul 19 2011, 08:49 PM']Hi all,

Just been looking at Squier Basses and while looking at both the Affinity Jazz and Precision I noticed that the body is Alder.
To me this seems weird as normally Fender American's have this wood. Is this less expensive and not as good quality as the USA's?

I found that my Squier Vintage Modified Jazz is Basswood but a lot more expensive, this may be due to the Seymour Duncan's in them but I was wondering how well Affinity's are made. Could and owners/past owners give me a general idea if they're good build?

Cheers, got GAS for a Precision/Jazz Bass right now so thought I'd ask some questions. [/quote]


I would have a punt on a squier VM Jazz 3 tone sunburst with rosewood neck, I had the opportunity to mess with one at the weekend quality of the finish and how it was put together was really good put most std mexi fenders to shame and they sound good too. £229 from Gak way better than an affinity. With this one unlike the classic vibe you can upgrade the bridge if you want its std fender.

[MartyBRebelMC]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='1310191' date='Jul 20 2011, 12:15 PM']My local shop has three Affinitys - all of which are total garbage.

I'm not saying they ALL are, but you have a higher than average chance of getting a total snotter so I would never buy blind.[/quote]


Sadly true at any price point in the Fender range in my experience. I have to say though that I've not come across a really bad Squire but have seen some unplayable MIM and unacceptable USA basses for sale in music stores. As with all the range though when you find a good one they are things of beauty.

[mike257]

I have an Affinity P-Special (P/J pickups, J neck) that was my first bass, about 13/14 years old now. The neck is great, so I replaced the bridge with a BadAss, the pickups with Wizards, and the pots/tone cap/jack socket with better quality bits. It plays and sounds great, and holds its own against my other basses well enough.

If you can get your hands on a nice playing one, it's a good starter bass and a great platform for customisation. I'll never part with mine!

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='MartyBRebelMC' post='1310293' date='Jul 20 2011, 01:48 PM']Sadly true at any price point in the Fender range in my experience. I have to say though that I've not come across a really bad Squire but have seen some unplayable MIM and unacceptable USA basses for sale in music stores. As with all the range though when you find a good one they are things of beauty.[/quote]
Exactly! I have never played a MIM as nice as my Jazz yet and with the mods I have never played a nicer USA either, bear in mind I have basses worth just under 2K each and still have love for a good modded Affinity that should say something IMO

[Conan]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1309908' date='Jul 20 2011, 07:01 AM']I had an Affinity P-Bass for a while. Great bass, great player, well put together.

If I had to find any "fault" I`d say that the sound was a tad thin, in comparison to my then main bass, a MIM P-Bass. But, I`m sure a swap of pickups and pots would have changed that.

I was very surprised at the quality and playability for the price.[/quote]

I bought mine second-hand off Tom1946 on here. £65. TBH, I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised with it's playability - especially the neck.

I agree about the "thin" sound. The Bass Doc (who installed my mods for me) used the term "watery", which I think hits the nail right on the head!

However, with a "hot" GFS pickup in it, DR Lo-Rider strings, new pots and a bespoke scratchplate (total expenditure around £80) I have a bass that I am proud of for a total of under 150 quid!!

In fact I took it and my Status to last night's band rehearsal. I intended to use both, but the Status never came out of it's case!!

Now if that's not a recommendation I dunno what is!

[LemonCello]

I haven't had any experience of an Affinity, but I have had a VMJ, quite nice, good build quality, decent pick ups a good all round bass. Sometime ago I bought from here a Samick built 50th Anniversary P bass for not much dosh at all. It's been set up properly, new strings and jack socket and I can't put it down. I even took it to rehearsal last week instead of my US standard.

It's a very personal thing this. I would suggest playing lots of basses, even of the same type/model and you will find one that has that elusive 'something' that makes it feel just right in the hands.

Go tyre kick and have fun!

LC

[dan670844]

[quote name='LemonCello' post='1311140' date='Jul 21 2011, 08:44 AM']I haven't had any experience of an Affinity, but I have had a VMJ, quite nice, good build quality, decent pick ups a good all round bass. Sometime ago I bought from here a Samick built 50th Anniversary P bass for not much dosh at all. It's been set up properly, new strings and jack socket and I can't put it down. I even took it to rehearsal last week instead of my US standard.

It's a very personal thing this. I would suggest playing lots of basses, even of the same type/model and you will find one that has that elusive 'something' that makes it feel just right in the hands.

Go tyre kick and have fun!

LC[/quote]

The 50th aniversary ones are a different kettle of fish, I have a black 50th ani strat and it the muts, hot but smooth pickups and very well made. As I said earlier there are some good affinitys out there, but I don't understand the logic, if you spend £100 VM or CV £150 sheets more, you can get a classic vibe or a vintage modified, different world, they are both quality professional instruments, suberb setup and playability, they are the JV products of our age and will probably appreciate in value over time, esp the CV P, Jazzers. The quality fit finish sound and playability of these is top notch. Forget is says Squier on the neck, they are way better than Mexi stuff. Forget about the Basswood stigma, Basswood is a North American word, Basswood = Tilia or in Common English = Lime, So Basswood really is Lime wood. It more depends on the quality of the wood they use, Lime has been used for ornamental carving and musical instruments for a long time in Europe, since the middle ages in fact (a lot of it imported) to make top notch stuff.It also has better sustain than alder and better resonance at mid freq great for a J bass. If you don't believe me look it up on wikipedia or something. They got good wood...... You can get an Alder guitar that sounds sh*te as its a duff piece of wood. Its just marketing, product placement. Lime is common in China and when something is common you can pick and choose to get good quality stuff for a good price.....

[Dave Vader]

Alder was only chosen by Leo cos he could get it cheap and easy. It is not intrinsically a good wood for guitars. I spoke to a furniture maker in the pub a while back about it (he's a massive wood geek) and he said he couldn't think of a single good reason to use alder.

[Conan]

[quote name='dan670844' post='1311159' date='Jul 21 2011, 09:08 AM']Forget about the Basswood stigma, Basswood is a North American word, Basswood = Tilia or in Common English = Lime, So Basswood really is Lime wood.[/quote]

I didn't know that! Thanks for the info!

[Mr. Foxen]

Lime as in the trees that make your car sticky in cities.

[Soloshchenko]

I'm pretty sure this body is from a Squier Affinity and you can see what the body wood is like under the finish. Quite nice quality wood for the price.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=147758"]My Bitsa project[/url]