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What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

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  • #16
    Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

    Specs often change on the lower end Squiers.

    Years ago, Affinity used to mean a thin plywood body, and they were heavy as hell because of it. I think they are solid now.

    Even the ones that appear to have "no finish" on the neck do have a very thin matte sealer IME. I have the Strat Mini, and it's like this.

    Take a Affinity neck, take it for a fret leveling and dressing and an edge roll. Have a handmade nut installed. Spray some lacquer or poly over it, or apply even as few as three or four coats of TruOil. You've got a fine neck that won't get dirty like the factory Affinity necks do.
    Last edited by ItsaBass; 05-08-2020, 12:46 AM.
    Originally posted by LesStrat
    Yogi Berra was correct.
    Originally posted by JOLLY
    I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

      Here’s my recent Squier experience....

      There was a special edition Affinity Strat (crazy sparkle) that was being clearanced out at MF. I got one of each color thinking I was going to upgrade pickups three ways and have some cool, cheap guitars. All three obviously needed setup work, but only one was limited enough work that I wanted to keep it. The rest had fret sprout, the wobbly neck, loose pocket, then of course the nut is narrow so no easy replacement, the body is thin so only the GFS replacement even fits.... So I’ve got that one affinity that I have just ignored.

      In needed a Jazz Bass, so I played a bunch at GC, one was a Vintage Modified I think? Wow, completely different story, it plays great, sounds great... I was planning on replacing pickups but I didn’t even do that. Just new strings and a simple setup and it’s an awesome bass.

      I think the lesson is, the cheaper you go, the more important it is to play and check out that specific instrument. I’d play the bass live with no concerns, the guitar still needs attention before I’d want to play it live. For laying down a track you can make anything work.
      Oh no.....


      Oh Yeah!

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

        I should’ve said this above, but my experience with different basses is pretty limited. I’ve owned a few prior to now, but since I didn’t know how to set them up and didn’t own a bass amp then, I’m not counting any of those.

        Since I embraced the Dark Side (as my local bass playing friend calls it), I started with a Yamaha TRBX174. Though inexpensive, it’s a ridiculously well built instrument. Excellent fret work, quality woods, dual-action truss rod, so it sets up and plays however you want with ease.

        The Squier Affinity P was the second bass, and needed the truss rod cranked to near breaking point to get playable. Not long after getting it playable, I found the deal on the Allparts neck, which is extremely high quality. I put 50-120 D’Addario balanced tension strings on it, and was afraid the tension would be too much. The truss rod laughed and said, “Quarter-turn yo. I got this.”

        Shortly after that, I got the Warwick. It has approximately 500 points of adjustment, and once you get it, sets up effortlessly. The build quality is excellent, as are the materials.

        A few weeks ago, I got the Meyers boutique bass. Again, easy setup and excellent materials.

        The point here is, unlike my guitar journey, I got out of the junk section with basses pretty quickly. Had I experimented more with string gauges, and replaced the Squier’s junk bridge before replacing the neck, it may have been a different story.
        “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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        • #19
          Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

          I was recording at a studio last year that bought several Affinitys and threw Duncans in them and then challenged us to A/B compare the vintage and/or American Standard versions of the same guitar he had.

          I was impressed.
          “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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          • #20
            Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

            Originally posted by NegativeEase View Post
            I was recording at a studio last year that bought several Affinitys and threw Duncans in them and then challenged us to A/B compare the vintage and/or American Standard versions of the same guitar he had.

            I was impressed.
            Tonally or playing?
            Oh no.....


            Oh Yeah!

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

              Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
              Tonally or playing?
              Tonally, but they played just fine too -these were brand new Tele and a Bass Affinity -so you could feel the difference because they were not played in at all, they were lighter, bodies maybe 1/8". inch thinner, frets crowns were spankin' new, fret ends were not worn etc etc

              I bet with a few months of playing their tip top -I'm back in that studio in June and will bump this thread and let you know.
              “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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              • #22
                Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

                Originally posted by NegativeEase View Post
                Tonally, but they played just fine too -these were brand new Tele and a Bass Affinity -so you could feel the difference because they were not played in at all, they were lighter, bodies maybe 1/8". inch thinner, frets crowns were spankin' new, fret ends were not worn etc etc

                I bet with a few months of playing their tip top -I'm back in that studio in June and will bump this thread and let you know.
                I can believe it tonally. Based on my limited experience I’d be shocked if I couldn’t tell my Squier from my more expensive Fenders. The nut width alone is big, but I guess if you prefer the narrow nut width it might be preferable?
                Oh no.....


                Oh Yeah!

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

                  Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
                  I can believe it tonally. Based on my limited experience I’d be shocked if I couldn’t tell my Squier from my more expensive Fenders. The nut width alone is big, but I guess if you prefer the narrow nut width it might be preferable?
                  Yeah, there's no doubt in the difference when you feel it, but if the Affinity was played in, the neck scotch brited, the frets worn a bit -there would certainly be people who prefer those affintiy differences -like the neck profile, weight, and fretboard radius, width and taper etc.

                  Personally, 50s and a lot of 60s Vintage stuff feels chunky and gross more often to me -especially 7" radius, nuts with mid 30s width etc. Early Fenders radii, Rickenbacker and especially Mostrite neck profiles are great examples of what feels gross to me.
                  “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

                    Originally posted by jeremy View Post
                    are the bodies thinner than normal? they were on the guitars back in the day, no idea if that has changed
                    Pretty sure there's still a slight difference.

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                    • #25
                      Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

                      I got a Squier Vintage Modified '77 Jazz a few weeks ago. Maple body, maple neck & board, pearl inlays, some sort of Fender designed pickups. It's an absolute delight to play, sets up however you like with very little effort, and sounds awesome. I have really light Rotosounds on it right now (35-95), and all the J bass sounds are there. I got it with ultra-dead Rotosounds, and it was straight Motown. It's 100% stock, and though I'll probably replace the bent-steel with a Hipshot bridge of some sort, and the tuners with lighter ones, it's fine as-is.

                      In comparison to the Squier Affinity bass, this thing may as well be a handbuilt boutique instrument. If I needed another Fender style bass, I wouldn't hesitate to look at another VM or Classic Vibe. Big no thanks on the crap-neck Affinities, though.
                      “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: What makes a Squire "Affinity" bass "Affinity"

                        Originally posted by JB_From_Hell View Post
                        I'll probably replace the bent-steel with a Hipshot bridge of some sort
                        If you're looking for a good, inexpensive upgrade the Gotoh 201 sounds great for about half the price of a Hipshot. longcat and I have one on a Yamaha RBX fretless.
                        Originally posted by crusty philtrum
                        And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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