I’m really looking forward to following this and hopefully learning a few things, too. I’m especially interested in learning more about soldering and upgrading electronics. Thanks for your fantastic videos 😊👍
Thanks for letting me know that you want to learn more about soldering and electronics! I will do my best to explain everything in a pace for non-electrical engineers and concentrate on the things that really matter for any guitar player. And thanks for your kind feedback! :D
@@Bandforge a pickup swap to begin with. Actually, my first mod was sanding down the neck for a slimmer profile, which I haven't regretted not even a second (don't forget to finish off with 2000 grit and quite a bit of lemon or other guitar-suitable oil, you just won't believe the finish...). I bought the pickups for my Te 62, but since this will be my first change ever, I will place them on my beloved Affinity 🤗
@Anthony 147 Do you also plan to upgrade the electronics? Wow, sanding the neck for a slimmer profile is very brave! ;) I'm glad to hear that it turned out so nicely! I still have two different kinds of oil from Crimson Guitars and I'm planning to use one of these for my Affinity's neck. 😁
@@Bandforge upgrading the electronics is too big a leap for me now, I'll save it for a future episode, assuming the guitar is well in the mean time 😄 Yeah, sanding for a slimmer profile seems risky, but I took it easy-even a little bit makes a difference. All good, it was worth it ... ☺️
@@Bandforge Hi! I think im gonna swap the pickups, nut and bridge. Then ill do some aesthetic changes like the knobs and im even thinking if i should change the finish.
@Maxonator Sounds nice! Which finish does your tele have? I'd like to change the finish of a strat body that I still have laying around but I'm still a bit too scared to actually do that… ;)
@@Bandforge My Tele has the lake placid blue, but i want to make it a seafoam green. Im just gonna use car touch-up spray paint, there are a couple great tutorials on doing it on a budget.
@Maxonator That's really interesting! Please keep me updated how everything turns out! Have you looked at these? www.tonematters.com/gitarrenlack-beize/
Looking forward to see the end result. I bought the same exact guitar, and I’m modding it too. I also like the look of the black pickguard. Definitely subscribed
Very Cool, Thankyou. I am sure I will learn alot from this series. I have an Affinity Strat, in "Tobacco Burst" or something like that. It is one of the most Attractive finishes I have seen on a Guitar. Truly Stunning ...... Doesn't play the best though, so this is going to be so Useful.
Sounds like a nice option! I've already ordered a Gotoh GTC 201, which is a six saddle bridge but full brass. It was the most expensive part (except from the PU set) and I was a bit reluctant to order it. In the end, I hope that it's worth it's money. ;)
I'm on the verge of buying the same guitar, and looking at similar mods. I would keep the same bridge, but just replace the saddles with some brass ones and use the money saved to get rid of the awful 3 way switch and put in a decent 4 way Oak Grigsby switch. Do the 3 wire mod on the neck pickup and add a series parallel option. I've done it with my HB TE-52 (on the same tonerider pickups) and it's a really worthwhile mod. Keep up the good work Rina, great content! How does the blue one compare to your earlier white model? I've found a slick silver older version which I'm on the fence about, so your opinion would be really helpful!
I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the upgrades. I bought the exact same affinity, it’s even the same colour. I’m thinking about installing locking tuners and a heavier bridge with brass saddles, though I’ll probably stick with the modern fully compensated design. Not sure what pickups to go for yet. I always prefer the vintage 52 type in blind A/B tone comparisons but I’m skeptical about the flat non-staggered cores those always seem to come with.
Awesome content!! I would definitely spend the money to upgrade the guitar as I think you then have the guitar that you want with the upgrades that are important and personally only to yourself. Also I think you can get some better electronics? I am very excited to see your modding experience as I would like to assemble my own telecaster.
@@Bandforge No, not really. I do mine either as the parts arrive or wait until they all arrive and do everything at once. And for me it's never about justifying the cost. It's all about the experience and getting a more personalized final product.
Hello, Rina. I recently purchased a new Affinity Telecaster and it could definitely use an upgrade. Are you still planning on releasing your upgrade videos? It seems that your planned upgrades are exactly what I'm looking for.
Most curious to see what sort of machine heads you will use (if any) to replace the stock ones. I have been dying to replace the junk ones on my fsr 2020 Affinity (w/top-loading bridge). Though I don't really have an issue with filling and redrilling the tiny screw holes on the back of the headstock, if needs be, it has so far been a colossal pain finding any tuners that will actually sit flush with the actual width of the headstock which is thinner than any other Squier or Fender I own. Looking fwd to your progress with this Tele!
My tuners of choice for this project are Kluson MS6LC tuners. Let me check how they fit… They sit flush and there's only one tiny hole to drill. The other holes disappear under the tuner's body, so you don't have to fill them, if you don't want to. The headstock thickness of my Affinity is 14 mm and I've put two photos of the Kluson tuner on the headstock in Discord, if you want to take a look at it. Does your fsr 2020 Affinity have a thinner headstock than 14 mm? If so, you could either shim the tops with washers or (in the worst case) glue an additional piece of wood on the back of the headstock, reshape it with a router. I'm not sure if I would dare to do that, though…
I'm excited about the video, I think I will end up just getting a classic vibe and I might mod it just a bit, I think I like the pick-ups. I'm loving telecasters lately. Then again, I just don't know, the affinity looks great and with mods it might still be cheaper. I feel like the neck needs to be stained
That's great to hear! Yesterday, the pickups and the tuners I had ordered a while ago finally arrived. I'm just waiting for the bridge and we're good to take a deep dive! And yes, I will do something about the neck :) Which mods would you perform on a classic vibe?
@@Bandforge You know, probably just the tuners, I played some more recently at a guitar shop and I have no complaints. I enjoyed it, but I found a telecaster that fit my style a bit better although it's a bit untraditional. The Schecter PT Special, it's amazing in my opinion and my next purchase. Still, I’ll probably end up with both at some point. 😁
@SingPsalms I'm very curious how P90 as neck pickup sounds! How do it sound in comparison to your classic vibe? Of course you will have both… it's the way it is! ;)
@@Bandforge it sounds extremely good I think! very versatile, I play mainly blues, Jazz, and Rock but I could absolutely shred some metal or play country on it. The P90s sound much fatter and fuller but still ring through with some Tele chime. The PT is light, and very modern feeling with the cutaways, the neck is thinner, faster (and easier to play for me, at least). The PT practically plays itself. I think Schecter beat Fender is at its own game with this one. If someone is into the original designs and traditional Fender/classic Tele it's probably not for them. I would get one in every color if I could! The Aqua blue burst and the Purple Burst are so cool lol
when will you show these upgrades? I just bought a Affinity Tele 2020 black , and I want to do some upgrades! Seems the bridge and tuners are not as easy to upgrade as I thought when I purchased the Affinity! And there aren’t as many Affinity upgrade videos as I would have thought! I had a Fender Perfotmer bridge pickup and American Vintage tuners ready to go!
I have a Squire Bullet telecaster. The neck feels great. I like it's neck as much as the Americans tele I had, maybe better. I think It's worth modding, but I think it sounds fine stock, but I would like to put a mini humbucker in the neck.
@@Bandforge No, I have no clue. Id just want something kind of bright and clear. It's been a while sine I was looking at pickups. Really, I like acoustic. I like electric too, but I find them harder to play because most of my life I played just my Ovation, heavy strings an no pick. That makes electric actually harder for me to play...Nothing feels quite as good or natural to me now, except that guitar.
it's never too much to spend as long as you get a better guitar in the end I'm sure you will at that price when you consider the USAFender prices, carry on the great work cant wait to see more Videos 🎸
Hi, are you still planning to make this series of videos? I am interested in modifying my own (left-handed) affinity tele. One comment: if you are replacing the tuners why not go for locking devices?
Hello, I started modifying the squier cv 50's butterscotch blonde telecaster. Although I've been playing guitar for 15 years, I've only had the chance to play a stratocaster 2-3 times in my life because I grew up in a small town. I realized that bending with the Stratocaster (squier classic vibe 70's stratocaster) is much easier and more comfortable than with the telecaster. I wonder what is the reason for this, although I set the setup correctly in telecaster, it is still much more difficult than bend stratocaster. Which modification process makes it easier to bending in telecaster. Thanks for the advices! Deniz...
Could you check again if the bridge you mention can be installed on a Squier Affinity Telecaster? Because my Affinity has 8 holes and Gotoh GTC 201 only has 6. Thanks in advance.
Because it’s a lot more expensive and so is the hardware you’re throwing away when you upgrade it. The great thing about the affinity has always been that it’s almost dirt cheap but the body and neck are good enough to do justice to whatever hardware you want to screw into them afterwards.
I was gonna get the blue affinity but wanted the full maple neck, so went with butterscotch. I'm more than happy 🎸🙂
I’m really looking forward to following this and hopefully learning a few things, too. I’m especially interested in learning more about soldering and upgrading electronics. Thanks for your fantastic videos 😊👍
Thanks for letting me know that you want to learn more about soldering and electronics! I will do my best to explain everything in a pace for non-electrical engineers and concentrate on the things that really matter for any guitar player. And thanks for your kind feedback! :D
Looking forward to seeing and hearing your upgraded tele.
Thanks! :) I'm still waiting for the bridge which should arrive next week but I've already started with the nut and string tree.
Was the video ever posted?
Looking forward to this series! I am on a similar path with my Affinity Tele, your advice will be useful! Have fun!
Thank you for your kind words! :) What are you planning to do?
@@Bandforge a pickup swap to begin with. Actually, my first mod was sanding down the neck for a slimmer profile, which I haven't regretted not even a second (don't forget to finish off with 2000 grit and quite a bit of lemon or other guitar-suitable oil, you just won't believe the finish...). I bought the pickups for my Te 62, but since this will be my first change ever, I will place them on my beloved Affinity 🤗
@Anthony 147 Do you also plan to upgrade the electronics? Wow, sanding the neck for a slimmer profile is very brave! ;) I'm glad to hear that it turned out so nicely! I still have two different kinds of oil from Crimson Guitars and I'm planning to use one of these for my Affinity's neck. 😁
@@Bandforge upgrading the electronics is too big a leap for me now, I'll save it for a future episode, assuming the guitar is well in the mean time 😄 Yeah, sanding for a slimmer profile seems risky, but I took it easy-even a little bit makes a difference. All good, it was worth it
... ☺️
I am planning to buy an affinity tele and this video came just in time!
Grüsse aus der Schweiz!
That's great! Which mods do you plan to do?
Grüße zurück aus Deutschland!
@@Bandforge Hi! I think im gonna swap the pickups, nut and bridge. Then ill do some aesthetic changes like the knobs and im even thinking if i should change the finish.
@Maxonator Sounds nice! Which finish does your tele have? I'd like to change the finish of a strat body that I still have laying around but I'm still a bit too scared to actually do that… ;)
@@Bandforge My Tele has the lake placid blue, but i want to make it a seafoam green. Im just gonna use car touch-up spray paint, there are a couple great tutorials on doing it on a budget.
@Maxonator That's really interesting! Please keep me updated how everything turns out! Have you looked at these? www.tonematters.com/gitarrenlack-beize/
I’m so jealous of that fretboard! Flamey laurel 🔥
It's really beautiful! I was super happy when I first saw it :D
Looking forward to see the end result. I bought the same exact guitar, and I’m modding it too. I also like the look of the black pickguard. Definitely subscribed
Thank you! :)
Very Cool, Thankyou. I am sure I will learn alot from this series. I have an Affinity Strat, in "Tobacco Burst" or something like that. It is one of the most Attractive finishes I have seen on a Guitar. Truly Stunning ...... Doesn't play the best though, so this is going to be so Useful.
I would change the bridge to an ashtray style. Wilkinson has a great one with brass saddles. Looks so good.
Sounds like a nice option! I've already ordered a Gotoh GTC 201, which is a six saddle bridge but full brass. It was the most expensive part (except from the PU set) and I was a bit reluctant to order it. In the end, I hope that it's worth it's money. ;)
I'm on the verge of buying the same guitar, and looking at similar mods. I would keep the same bridge, but just replace the saddles with some brass ones and use the money saved to get rid of the awful 3 way switch and put in a decent 4 way Oak Grigsby switch. Do the 3 wire mod on the neck pickup and add a series parallel option. I've done it with my HB TE-52 (on the same tonerider pickups) and it's a really worthwhile mod.
Keep up the good work Rina, great content! How does the blue one compare to your earlier white model? I've found a slick silver older version which I'm on the fence about, so your opinion would be really helpful!
I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the upgrades. I bought the exact same affinity, it’s even the same colour. I’m thinking about installing locking tuners and a heavier bridge with brass saddles, though I’ll probably stick with the modern fully compensated design. Not sure what pickups to go for yet. I always prefer the vintage 52 type in blind A/B tone comparisons but I’m skeptical about the flat non-staggered cores those always seem to come with.
I'm curious if you found a switch to fit the Affinity's thinner body.
Awesome content!! I would definitely spend the money to upgrade the guitar as I think you then have the guitar that you want with the upgrades that are important and personally only to yourself. Also I think you can get some better electronics? I am very excited to see your modding experience as I would like to assemble my own telecaster.
Thank you very much! :) Yes, new electronics are a must, I think. I'm very excited if there will be better sound with new pots and caps.
Looking forward to it. Cheers!
So do I! 😁
Do you have any preferences about the order of mods?
@@Bandforge No, not really. I do mine either as the parts arrive or wait until they all arrive and do everything at once. And for me it's never about justifying the cost. It's all about the experience and getting a more personalized final product.
@Johnny M Well said! The bridge I've ordered will arrive in 4 to 5 weeks. I hope your parts are a bit quicker to arrive.
Hello, Rina. I recently purchased a new Affinity Telecaster and it could definitely use an upgrade. Are you still planning on releasing your upgrade videos? It seems that your planned upgrades are exactly what I'm looking for.
Most curious to see what sort of machine heads you will use (if any) to replace the stock ones. I have been dying to replace the junk ones on my fsr 2020 Affinity (w/top-loading bridge). Though I don't really have an issue with filling and redrilling the tiny screw holes on the back of the headstock, if needs be, it has so far been a colossal pain finding any tuners that will actually sit flush with the actual width of the headstock which is thinner than any other Squier or Fender I own. Looking fwd to your progress with this Tele!
My tuners of choice for this project are Kluson MS6LC tuners. Let me check how they fit… They sit flush and there's only one tiny hole to drill. The other holes disappear under the tuner's body, so you don't have to fill them, if you don't want to. The headstock thickness of my Affinity is 14 mm and I've put two photos of the Kluson tuner on the headstock in Discord, if you want to take a look at it. Does your fsr 2020 Affinity have a thinner headstock than 14 mm? If so, you could either shim the tops with washers or (in the worst case) glue an additional piece of wood on the back of the headstock, reshape it with a router. I'm not sure if I would dare to do that, though…
I'm excited about the video, I think I will end up just getting a classic vibe and I might mod it just a bit, I think I like the pick-ups. I'm loving telecasters lately. Then again, I just don't know, the affinity looks great and with mods it might still be cheaper. I feel like the neck needs to be stained
That's great to hear! Yesterday, the pickups and the tuners I had ordered a while ago finally arrived. I'm just waiting for the bridge and we're good to take a deep dive! And yes, I will do something about the neck :)
Which mods would you perform on a classic vibe?
@@Bandforge You know, probably just the tuners, I played some more recently at a guitar shop and I have no complaints. I enjoyed it, but I found a telecaster that fit my style a bit better although it's a bit untraditional. The Schecter PT Special, it's amazing in my opinion and my next purchase. Still, I’ll probably end up with both at some point. 😁
@SingPsalms I'm very curious how P90 as neck pickup sounds! How do it sound in comparison to your classic vibe?
Of course you will have both… it's the way it is! ;)
@@Bandforge it sounds extremely good I think! very versatile, I play mainly blues, Jazz, and Rock but I could absolutely shred some metal or play country on it. The P90s sound much fatter and fuller but still ring through with some Tele chime. The PT is light, and very modern feeling with the cutaways, the neck is thinner, faster (and easier to play for me, at least). The PT practically plays itself. I think Schecter beat Fender is at its own game with this one.
If someone is into the original designs and traditional Fender/classic Tele it's probably not for them. I would get one in every color if I could! The Aqua blue burst and the Purple Burst are so cool lol
Bridge - Gotoh GTC 201 T-Style Bridge C it differs from the factory one, it has 4 holes on the bracket, the dimensions are not the same
when will you show these upgrades? I just bought a Affinity Tele 2020 black , and I want to do some upgrades! Seems the bridge and tuners are not as easy to upgrade as I thought when I purchased the Affinity!
And there aren’t as many Affinity upgrade videos as I would have thought! I had a Fender Perfotmer bridge pickup and American Vintage tuners ready to go!
Tonerider pickups are great.
I have a Squire Bullet telecaster. The neck feels great. I like it's neck as much as the Americans tele I had, maybe better. I think It's worth modding, but I think it sounds fine stock, but I would like to put a mini humbucker in the neck.
Very nice! I think a humbucker will fit the neck without any manipulation to the wood. Can you recommend a good mini humbucker?
@@Bandforge No, I have no clue. Id just want something kind of bright and clear. It's been a while sine I was looking at pickups.
Really, I like acoustic. I like electric too, but I find them harder to play because most of my life I played just my Ovation, heavy strings an no pick. That makes electric actually harder for me to play...Nothing feels quite as good or natural to me now, except that guitar.
Liked the vid looks like you know your stuff
Thank you very much! :)
it's never too much to spend as long as you get a better guitar in the end I'm sure you will at that price when you consider the USAFender prices, carry on the great work cant wait to see more Videos 🎸
Thanks for your encouraging words! :) I agree and I will!
Hi Rina, I hope you are well. I would really like to see the follow video to this one and see how your mods improved your guitar.
Good luck and a lot of views!
Thank you! :)
Hi, are you still planning to make this series of videos? I am interested in modifying my own (left-handed) affinity tele. One comment: if you are replacing the tuners why not go for locking devices?
Hello, I started modifying the squier cv 50's butterscotch blonde telecaster. Although I've been playing guitar for 15 years, I've only had the chance to play a stratocaster 2-3 times in my life because I grew up in a small town. I realized that bending with the Stratocaster (squier classic vibe 70's stratocaster) is much easier and more comfortable than with the telecaster. I wonder what is the reason for this, although I set the setup correctly in telecaster, it is still much more difficult than bend stratocaster. Which modification process makes it easier to bending in telecaster.
Thanks for the advices!
Deniz...
Could you check again if the bridge you mention can be installed on a Squier Affinity Telecaster? Because my Affinity has 8 holes and Gotoh GTC 201 only has 6. Thanks in advance.
Shame you've decided to replace the white fretboard with a black one 🤮 - but that has as much to do with ⚽ as 🎸😉
You still probably can't buy a Mexican tele for that
Why not just buy a Mexican Tele the mod that.
Because it’s a lot more expensive and so is the hardware you’re throwing away when you upgrade it.
The great thing about the affinity has always been that it’s almost dirt cheap but the body and neck are good enough to do justice to whatever hardware you want to screw into them afterwards.
Why not buy a better guitar in the first place?
It's about learning how to do things, I guess and I enjoy fiddling with guitars.