As a recent subscriber, your refreshing honesty, informed opinion, not to mention subtle humour is much appreciated. Recently ordered the prev model in shell pink (top-loader bridge) so your previous Affinity Tele reviews were very instructive as to what to expect quality/spec-wise when it arrives. Look fwd to the next vid!! 🙂
I've finally looked up the shell pink color! :D Really cool! I've never seen it anywhere else. Where did you buy it? I think it's a limited edition… Are there any other differences to the regular series?
@@Bandforge FSR model, which stands for Fender Special Run, so yeah deffo limited edition. I think I managed to snag one of the very last ones here in Australia! The specs are roughly similar to the white Tele demoed in your other vids, save for the Indian Laurel fretboard and lacking the twin adjustment screws for the neck pickup. Also the body was apparently listed as poplar, though other listings for that model said alder body?!? Confusing to say the very least.
Nice! The lacking twin screws would suggest that it's the 2019 model. Is it a full sized body? The thickness of the 2019 should be smaller than in the 2020 model, too, so that's another indicator, if you'd like to take a measurement. :) The wood it more likely to be poplar than alder since it's cheaper. Are you happy with the overall build quality?
This video made me buy one in Lake Placid blue, exactly like this one. I will upgrade bridge and saddle and tuners....but this body is awesome, with the tummy cut and the slightly thinner telecaster body makes it a pleasure to play and use it as a practice guitar. A keeper, for sure
Best looking tele in Fender's lineup. Too bad they don't do this color combo in a Fender line. Tempting to buy this and commit to the upgrades that put it on par with a Fender Player series.
Biggest change to these new Affinities is the 42mm standard width neck. A major drawback on pre 2021 Affinities was the narrow neck and string spacing. Despite this ive made £1000s gigging a 2007 model. Its now getting a new 2022 neck installed.
Hello Rina and thanks for the video! I just want to say thanks for an honest review. When i play these affinitys/harleybentons/whatever I always keep the guitarstudent in mind and I am always amazed at what you get for your money. For this kind of money you simply can not expect perfect BUT you should not settle with anything less than okay. The best thing is to buy it from your local store and they can help you optimize . Compared to my first guitar even the bad squiers are great. It's all about economy and when i started out I did not care about scratchy pots or bad neck pockets. I just cared about sex, hamburgers and rock n roll. I do believe that owning a not perfect guitar made me a better guitarist simply by the fact that I had to fix several issues myself. It forced me to learn how to do a set up or even leveling frets. I do not wish this upon anyone but it made me go out and look for information and learn. And thats what I like about your channel, keep educating about how to optimize what you got at home since thats the guitar thats important to anyone but the new and young rocker in particular. Thanks again and I wonder if you know the band Böhze Onkelz? They are a great inspiration to me and I try to spread the word here in Sweden but to no avail. Swedes are isolated and stupid! Thanks again and a late happy new year.
I'll let you know as soon as I've done polishing! And as for the maple fretboard… dark fretboards have a technical advantage because they're just oiled but not finished. That means on a budget guitar you can easily round the edges with a sanding block and oil the whole thing which I didn't dare to do on a maple so far. I was more concerned about the indian laurel since I've only experience with rosewood and ebony but it seems sturdy enough at first glance, so time will tell! ;)
Thank you very much for your support! Welcome! :D I'm curious about how you like your Affinity once it got to you. If I were to choose again, I'd take the Olympic White because it's made in another factory and should have a better build quality!
@@Bandforge Really!? I think i'd take your advice. But the problem is, that depends on the availability on the authorized fender/squier guitar stores here in the Philippines. I would visit the guitar stores in Makati soon.
very honest review, I'm planning to buy a cheap Tele after ownin' for years an american Fender Tele. Is this Affinity neck more similar to a sixties strat neck (slim and C shaped) ? I never felt good with flat wide 50's necks
Thank you! :) Unfortunately, I havn't played the 60s or 50s Strat necks so far but it's pretty similar to a modern C shape in width, only slimmer. I hope that helps a bit. If you have some dimensions, I'd be happy to take some, too for comparison.
@@Bandforge unfortunately Squier necks never match the original specs of an american made fender model but usually Affinity have a 40.6 - 41mm width at nut while a Fender sixties neck is 42 - 43 mm. They're all C shaped in some way. The only Squier with original specs I tried, for now, is the Classic Vibe Jazz Bass'62 model
What will be your next guitar…? I think I’m following your pattern lol I bought the affinity telecaster because of you and been thinking for months now to buy a strat. Also do you notice any difference with, through the body strings?
Tbh, I already have a new guitar which is a strat! ;) I've put some cash aside and pulled the trigger on a Fender Player Strat in tidepool and it's gorgeous! Review will be coming up next year. I think it's absolutely worth it! The strings through body sound different when played acoustically, I think. If it has an influence on the sound when played electrically, I'm not so sure. I'd guess that it improves sustain at least. I'll definitely investigate on the matter. ;)
@Kampf Katze Hmmm… it's a very close call! Both look phantastic with the tidepool being a tad lighter while the lake placid blue brings even more contrast, but that depends on the combination of fretboard, pick guard and body. This may sound funny but with my skin type which is warm, the tidepool looks better on me, so I'd prefer this. But really, both look amazing! For a person with a colder skin type, pick the lake placid blue as it will look better. If two things are equally good, I always try to find additional critera for judging… 😆
@@Bandforge No but i Heard Very good things about them especially their telecaster range. On the other hand i would be also very curious to hear more about this new affinity which seems promising aside from the poor electronics. A comparison with the CV range could be cool too 🙌!!
@@kampfkatze6092 You know what? I'll order a TE20 in order to compare it to the Affinity! Sadly, the CV is too expensive for me at the moment but I'd love to try it, too! ;)
@@kampfkatze6092 Yeah, I think the neck is 12" radius. I'm super hyped, too! xD Let's find out how it holds up against the Affinity and I also started planning the mods for it! The Affinity is 219 € and the TE20 is 89 €… how would the two guitars compare if we add mods to the TE20 so it costs 219 € in total? ;) I'm really curious!
I'd much prefer to buy a really well made guitar with crap electronics...that's all stuff the average person can fix and replace. That's the area to cut cost. If the body, neck, nut etc is good...I'm happy. (Have to say the jazzmaster I got was very good)
I just got this guitar. the bad news? the neck needs some work. the fret ends are not bad to be honest but the neck is kinda rough and bending is not smooth. the good news? it really doesn't. Just play it. both of those problems will magically go away. so, up to you if you want to correct them with steps to correct them or if you want to correct them with just playing it for like 20 hours. both have the same end result. just my 2 cents.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I think that's a totally legit approach. I just happen to enjoy both correcting issues like that and also playing an instrument that has a smooth neck, polished frets and so on. But each to their own. ;)
The differences are subtle: thinner body, wider nut, better tuners and the belly cut. The last model only sometimes had the string-through body bridge. Mine was a toploader. Rumours are that there has been a communication mistake about the specs with the manufacturers, that led to different 2020 versions.
As a recent subscriber, your refreshing honesty, informed opinion, not to mention subtle humour is much appreciated. Recently ordered the prev model in shell pink (top-loader bridge) so your previous Affinity Tele reviews were very instructive as to what to expect quality/spec-wise when it arrives. Look fwd to the next vid!! 🙂
Thanks you so much for your kind words! :D I hope you have fun playing it!
I've finally looked up the shell pink color! :D Really cool! I've never seen it anywhere else. Where did you buy it? I think it's a limited edition… Are there any other differences to the regular series?
@@Bandforge FSR model, which stands for Fender Special Run, so yeah deffo limited edition. I think I managed to snag one of the very last ones here in Australia! The specs are roughly similar to the white Tele demoed in your other vids, save for the Indian Laurel fretboard and lacking the twin adjustment screws for the neck pickup. Also the body was apparently listed as poplar, though other listings for that model said alder body?!? Confusing to say the very least.
Nice! The lacking twin screws would suggest that it's the 2019 model. Is it a full sized body? The thickness of the 2019 should be smaller than in the 2020 model, too, so that's another indicator, if you'd like to take a measurement. :) The wood it more likely to be poplar than alder since it's cheaper. Are you happy with the overall build quality?
This video made me buy one in Lake Placid blue, exactly like this one. I will upgrade bridge and saddle and tuners....but this body is awesome, with the tummy cut and the slightly thinner telecaster body makes it a pleasure to play and use it as a practice guitar. A keeper, for sure
Happy and excited to see you back👋🏻 😍
Thank you so much!! xD
Best looking tele in Fender's lineup. Too bad they don't do this color combo in a Fender line. Tempting to buy this and commit to the upgrades that put it on par with a Fender Player series.
These kind of videos are like our toy Unboxing Reviews
Hahahaha! Yes! I always feel like unboxing my favorite stuffed elephant at Christmas, again when I was still in kindergarden!
wow this is so quality content for that number of subs... wish you success 👏👏👏
Thank you very much!! :D
Hey! Nice to see you back! ❤
Thanks!! xD
Biggest change to these new Affinities is the 42mm standard width neck.
A major drawback on pre 2021 Affinities was the narrow neck and string spacing. Despite this ive made £1000s gigging a 2007 model. Its now getting a new 2022 neck installed.
Hello Rina and thanks for the video! I just want to say thanks for an honest review. When i play these affinitys/harleybentons/whatever I always keep the guitarstudent in mind and I am always amazed at what you get for your money. For this kind of money you simply can not expect perfect BUT you should not settle with anything less than okay. The best thing is to buy it from your local store and they can help you optimize .
Compared to my first guitar even the bad squiers are great. It's all about economy and when i started out I did not care about scratchy pots or bad neck pockets. I just cared about sex, hamburgers and rock n roll.
I do believe that owning a not perfect guitar made me a better guitarist simply by the fact that I had to fix several issues myself. It forced me to learn how to do a set up or even leveling frets. I do not wish this upon anyone but it made me go out and look for information and learn.
And thats what I like about your channel, keep educating about how to optimize what you got at home since thats the guitar thats important to anyone but the new and young rocker in particular.
Thanks again and I wonder if you know the band Böhze Onkelz? They are a great inspiration to me and I try to spread the word here in Sweden but to no avail. Swedes are isolated and stupid! Thanks again and a late happy new year.
How does the fretwork and action feel compared to the 2020 model once you polish it down? Do you miss the maple fingerboard?
I'll let you know as soon as I've done polishing! And as for the maple fretboard… dark fretboards have a technical advantage because they're just oiled but not finished. That means on a budget guitar you can easily round the edges with a sanding block and oil the whole thing which I didn't dare to do on a maple so far. I was more concerned about the indian laurel since I've only experience with rosewood and ebony but it seems sturdy enough at first glance, so time will tell! ;)
Welcome back
Thanks! :D
With your video Rina, i think i would add Affinity Telecaster to my guitars collection.
I'm your new subscriber..⚘🙋🏻♂️
Thank you very much for your support! Welcome! :D
I'm curious about how you like your Affinity once it got to you. If I were to choose again, I'd take the Olympic White because it's made in another factory and should have a better build quality!
@@Bandforge
Really!? I think i'd take your advice. But the problem is, that depends on the availability on the authorized fender/squier guitar stores here in the Philippines. I would visit the guitar stores in Makati soon.
I think you are lovely. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! Greetings from Chile.
Thanks for your kind words! Greetings back from Germany.
very honest review, I'm planning to buy a cheap Tele after ownin' for years an american Fender Tele. Is this Affinity neck more similar to a sixties strat neck (slim and C shaped) ? I never felt good with flat wide 50's necks
Thank you! :)
Unfortunately, I havn't played the 60s or 50s Strat necks so far but it's pretty similar to a modern C shape in width, only slimmer. I hope that helps a bit. If you have some dimensions, I'd be happy to take some, too for comparison.
@@Bandforge unfortunately Squier necks never match the original specs of an american made fender model but usually Affinity have a 40.6 - 41mm width at nut while a Fender sixties neck is 42 - 43 mm. They're all C shaped in some way. The only Squier with original specs I tried, for now, is the Classic Vibe Jazz Bass'62 model
Nice review. Keep it up!
Thank you! :)
What will be your next guitar…? I think I’m following your pattern lol I bought the affinity telecaster because of you and been thinking for months now to buy a strat.
Also do you notice any difference with, through the body strings?
Tbh, I already have a new guitar which is a strat! ;) I've put some cash aside and pulled the trigger on a Fender Player Strat in tidepool and it's gorgeous! Review will be coming up next year. I think it's absolutely worth it! The strings through body sound different when played acoustically, I think. If it has an influence on the sound when played electrically, I'm not so sure. I'd guess that it improves sustain at least. I'll definitely investigate on the matter. ;)
@@Bandforge interesting, looking forward to your future videos. I learn a lot from them. Also congrats on the new guitar!!!😃 🎸
@@Bandforge and do you prefer Lake Placid on the Affinity or Tidepool finish ?
@@willm3027 Thank you!! :D
@Kampf Katze Hmmm… it's a very close call! Both look phantastic with the tidepool being a tad lighter while the lake placid blue brings even more contrast, but that depends on the combination of fretboard, pick guard and body. This may sound funny but with my skin type which is warm, the tidepool looks better on me, so I'd prefer this. But really, both look amazing! For a person with a colder skin type, pick the lake placid blue as it will look better. If two things are equally good, I always try to find additional critera for judging… 😆
can you please have a tutorial on how to wax the pickup.... thank you
Noted! ;) I'm planning a whole series of mods and waxing the pickups will definitely be a part of the electronics upgrades.
Vert good opening and early review ! Did you tried an Harley Benton TE20 to make a comparison video? Cheers & cant wait to see more of your content !
Thank you! :D Unfortunately, I haven't tried any Harley Benton guitar until now, but I'm considering it! Do you have any experience with HB so far?
@@Bandforge No but i Heard Very good things about them especially their telecaster range. On the other hand i would be also very curious to hear more about this new affinity which seems promising aside from the poor electronics. A comparison with the CV range could be cool too 🙌!!
@@kampfkatze6092 You know what? I'll order a TE20 in order to compare it to the Affinity! Sadly, the CV is too expensive for me at the moment but I'd love to try it, too! ;)
@@Bandforge whoaa thats great news ! I Heard the neck is flatter and the pickups are surprisingly good for the price !
@@kampfkatze6092 Yeah, I think the neck is 12" radius. I'm super hyped, too! xD Let's find out how it holds up against the Affinity and I also started planning the mods for it! The Affinity is 219 € and the TE20 is 89 €… how would the two guitars compare if we add mods to the TE20 so it costs 219 € in total? ;) I'm really curious!
I got my one yesterday and it came with a crack in the body.
I'd much prefer to buy a really well made guitar with crap electronics...that's all stuff the average person can fix and replace. That's the area to cut cost. If the body, neck, nut etc is good...I'm happy.
(Have to say the jazzmaster I got was very good)
I just got this guitar. the bad news? the neck needs some work. the fret ends are not bad to be honest but the neck is kinda rough and bending is not smooth. the good news? it really doesn't. Just play it. both of those problems will magically go away. so, up to you if you want to correct them with steps to correct them or if you want to correct them with just playing it for like 20 hours. both have the same end result. just my 2 cents.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I think that's a totally legit approach. I just happen to enjoy both correcting issues like that and also playing an instrument that has a smooth neck, polished frets and so on. But each to their own. ;)
Same guitars but with the cut thing and nicer finishes
BTW it was string though body since 2020 edition I think
The differences are subtle: thinner body, wider nut, better tuners and the belly cut. The last model only sometimes had the string-through body bridge. Mine was a toploader. Rumours are that there has been a communication mistake about the specs with the manufacturers, that led to different 2020 versions.
nice guitar
Thanks! :)
Omg i love you
Hahaha! Thanks! The Toyota Celica is one of my favorite cars, btw, but I'm already taken… ;)
@@Bandforge aww you looked at my channel and yes i love the Celica too lol.. And its ok still love you tho 🤗
do the inevitable Upgrades $$ and u shoulda got a real one.
UNLIKE an Epiphone Les Paul. although they too are gettin' pricey.
Great girl. I'm falling in love
Hahaha! Thanks!