What's your thoughts on Squier Affinity Telecaster or Strats? It's got a few things about it that I love and only a couple of small trade offs. Check it out here. Thanks to Sky Music for the loaner! 🛒 Sky Music - bit.ly/3PF1Tk3 🛒 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/3P5Azd 🛒 Thomann - bit.ly/2V7zpUm 🛒 Fender - bit.ly/3fZiRMF (affiliate links)
I've been pretty impressed with the Affinity series- for the money they're nice beginner guitars. Far, far nicer than anything I started out on- I'm 53, we didn't have all these nice, cheap options. We had cheap- and it sounded and looked cheap. That said- the 5-way switch in my Strat went bad within 3 months of purchase. I'm in the process of upgrading it to a Grisby 5-way switch and CTS pots- and a new input jack. It's a solderless assembly so later, when I upgrade the pickups- should be easy. Imo this is the only drawback of this series- cheap guts. If you replace them, I'd say it's about on par with a CV. Thanks for the vid on the Tele man- you helped me decide not to get one. They're just too twangy- and I like lots of gain so- not for me. Instead, I'm buying a Yamaha Pacifica 311- with the P90 at the neck and the splitable rear Alnico V HB. Locking tuners, tusk nut and trees- same price as a CV basically. I don't see why these aren't more popular tbh. Imo they're at least as good as the CV series, if not better.
See my summation below. For the money paid, and as a long-suffering lefty player, I think this Tele is a phenomenal value, and the guitar is actually very well-made. The bridge can be a bit finicky as I delineated, but that can be addressed. I have an older Squier Strat LH and this Telecaster is much better made and a better value by far. It just feels like a more solid guitar, and the Telecaster is phenomenally versatile. I go from metal, punk to power pop and jangle and I find the chimey ness of the Telecaster and twang is perfect for all of those styles. Maybe not as much for metal. For that I may invest soon in a good LH Ibanez.
I bought one of these oh 10 years a ago from A Best Buy store music dept. Cost me $166.00 it's Ben great . I would put it up against Any other Tele out there. Still can't believe how good this one is.
Thanks for the review. I just had an accident on my left hand and lost the tip of my fingers. I can't play my right-handed guitar at the moment. I decided to start playing on a lefty guitar and my wife just bought me the same guitar. Can't wait to start playing again.
With Telecasters being a guitar that I like, not love (I’m a Strat guy 😂) an Affinity Tele is ideal for me. Similar to me buying the Epiphone LP Special , I have no problem owning a guitar slated for budget/beginners while I already own several “higher quality” guitars. If it plays well and I dig how it feels in my hands, then I’m winning! I would encourage anyone who is looking to start playing or needs a secondary guitar to keep an eye on this guitar. As I’ve learned painfully that it’s wiser to spend time learning than spend money on a guitar you can’t afford. Cheers!!🎸🎸😎
I have several affinity strats they are also great for a budget guitar. Play nice too. For the price its excellent. Im a weirdo when it comes to buying Affinity strats I have so many. A Strat demon posseses me to buy all the colors LOL
@@tonyharley5230 - Life is too short to drink bad beer, play bad guitars, or drive bad cars. ...an occasional go-'round with a bad woman is highly recommended however. 😜
Honestly, I think there's a lot of snobbery that goes on here in YTville when it comes to guitars. You really don't have to spend a ton of loot to get something you'd be happy with. I have a Yamaha EG112 that I bought used about 20 years ago that I love. It was their lower priced guitars before they came out with the Pacifica line. Over the years, I've thought about buying a more expensive strat style guitar, but I haven't because I can't find any real fault with the one this Yamaha. So yeah, you're winning if your guitar feels good in your hands, sounds the way you want your guitar to sound, and plays well----regardless of where it's made or how much it costs.
Good Morning from the USA. Definitely has that Tele sparkle. I like the slick, dark sound of the neck pickup. After all, as you demonstrated, if you want bright, can't complain about the bridge pickup even at high gain.
I'm a left handed too, been playing a Squier affinity strat for 13 years now and it's and incredible instrument, yesterday I got this exact Squier affinity tele, it's another great guitar, the only minor issue I have is frets unpolished and maybe I would like a lower action, but this line it's just incredible, not only for beginners, this guitars can be used to play live or make a record if you have them set up as you like !
This was the first guitar i bought when i got back into playing you can't beat it for the money. It started my love for Squiers. Since then, i have bought the Contemporary, Vintage Modified Deluxe and my personal favorite the John5. I have Had work done on all of them especially the John5 as it is to me the best Telecaster i have ever played. You can't go by price for defects anymore either as i have had several friends drop cash on higher end guitars that needed work done before they could be played. Honestly though even if your Telly comes perfect there's something you're going to change. This seems to be the nature of the beast when it comes to Telecasters.
I own one .......re: neck pickup tone ........I actually LOVE the warm and FAT tone of the neck pickup in mine ........ it is very even in response all the way up and down the neck ........massively helps with even CLEAN sustain ......so much so that I would love to have the same pickup in the neck position of my 335 style guitar....... for me the PERFECT neck pickup for a wide variety of musical genres .
I used to be a guitar snob for many years but after playing one of these at a friend's house I've changed my mind about Squier guitars. With a proper setup and a little polishing these guitars can make good quality gigging guitars. 😊
My 2004 red Squier affinity telecaster in that I bought used for $99.00 ten years ago continues to be a guitar that tends to serve me well when playing riffs on it
I have found myself with a bit of an arsenal of Squiers over the past few years. One is a righty Affinity Strat with a fabulous neck that I plan to put on a lefty body. Squier has really stuck it to us lefties right now though as this Tele is the only lefty offering in the current Affinity line up.
@Jamal Kareem Right!! I hate that the only way to have a unique, lefty guitar is just to tweak it forever. I would love a nice hollowbody tele. There are 2 companies i found that do offer some really cool and unique. I think Eastwood sells some of the coolest and unique recreations and original and really good quality and price in my opinion but I can't remember the other one...
That is an excellent choice to get without breaking the bank, the fit and finish on Squire guitars are impressive, the pups are are good and if one compares other guitars at the price point, the Squire definitely stands out, It’s a beautiful telecaster
Been playing for ( my gosh ) 67 years and I just bought one to experiment with. (Now own 10 of these different addictive things . . . . Gibson SG, LP, Martin, Gretsch, Squire, etc)
I have this guitar. It is pretty dang awesome! The Tele with a belly cut is where it’s at! I am happy that you can get a very nice guitar for not a lot of money these days! I have some guitars that hit above a grand, but I always end up coming back to my favorites which are loads cheaper than that, as my daily drivers. I just picked up the Ibanez GRG121SP Blue Metal Chameleon. OMG dude, it is insane. You have to see/play it. Color shifting paint, modern C ROASTED MAPLE neck…. It’s hard to believe at such a low price! Check it out!
Squiers are great. I’ve got a few CV and a few Paranormal and they’re all great guitars. I’ve been privileged enough to play my CV Esquire and CV 60’s Strat next to American made Fenders in a similar style, and when it comes to feel and playability, I sure couldn’t tell the difference. Grab a cheap guitar, take a little time to learn how to set it up, and more than likely you’ll be good to go!
I bought a Surf Green Bullet Telecaster last year and absolutely love it. I grew up a Gibson guy and my first electric guitar was a Gibson U-2 from 1987. But fenders and squires have really grown on me recently. I absolutely love my Squier.
I bet it's a chinese one how do I know----- the headstock fat and not classic ! The indos IE Samick and Cort factories tho in indonesia They are Korean owned hence the quality control I am a tele NERD the headstock has to be RIGHT !🤨
Great review.. I think it's worth the bucks, and the comfort contouring is a bonus. Never been a fan of most tele neck pickups, but that little Squire definitely comes alive in position 2. Took me years to start actually liking a tele, I was always a strat kinda guy. Converted now though.
so after watching one of your older 5 reasons to own a telecaster videos several times I now have a limited edition silverburst player tele, I also found my first ever electric guitar an affinity tele in butterscotch blonde in an absolute mess in the back of my mates garage. I cleaned it all up and had to solder a new jack on as the old one had broken off somewhere, its really battered but its playable and brings back some teenage memories.
Never thought I'd get a Squier Affinity anything, but... I liked the 6-saddle bridge; I liked the "gut-cut", and I LOVED the tones (yes, even the "jazzy"-sounding neck pup on it's own!). The one I tried out was in a really classy darkish sunburst colour. As you might guess, it went home with me.
I have a 2016 Affinity Tele, and it feels and plays great, but I recently swapped the pups for a set of Tonerider Hot Classics, and it's even better. Reccomended upgrade.
I have just bought this guitar and I really like it. I have been thinging of putting in the Tonerider Hot Classic pups, so was interested to read your opinion. Did you change the pots as well, or do you think the original pots are ok?
@@kiwistu Original pots are fine, but I think maybe I need to change the capacitor on the tone control. I didn't think of it at the time, but one day I need to have a look at mine and compare it to the spec sheet for the tonerider pups. It's and easy job to change it. I am now thinking of modding it with a 4 way switch to give a choice between parallel and series when using both pups. Unnecessary, but gives a little more tonal choice.
I snagged an older Indonesian Affinity Tele like this for $99 on GC’s used wall. It’s such a gem that it’ll always have a place in my home. I’ll probably always gig with my American Special Tele. Recently, I’ve considered putting a Bigsby on it and getting it some gig time! I say get one and mod it!
One way of adding more top end to the neck pick up, I've seen others do, is to cut away a slot in the top of the neck pick up cover, exposing the pole pieces. Can easily do this with a Dremel and a steady hand. I've not tried it myself yet, but from the videos of people doing it, it seems to work.
I was a little shocked and how good the frets were on my Squire Affinity Stratocaster; they actually had a nice bevel, polished, no sharp fret ends and no buzzing, low action. I did replace the ceramic pickups with solderless GFS Alnicos.
Bought this telecaster from the shop in Geelong ($399 including daddarios and fret job) when i went in to try the Yamaha Revstar.... this tele absolutely blew the revstar out of the water and feels great to play EDIT: as for what Shane said at the end, i did attempt to take this to a gig and got through one song before i had to use my back up. the pick ups sound great but when going for massive gain, soaked in reverb and delay, all i got was feedback and buzzing sounds. I keep my tele at home because it inspires me to play a different way than my other guitars i gig 🎉 peace
If I didn't already have a Tele from the now-discontinued Squier Standard series, I'd definitely get this one. I just wish Fender had included Alnico pickups in the new Affinity spec instead of retaining the old ceramic ones.
I bought one with a natural finish, slapped some Seymour Duncan Hot Tele pups in it and it has become one of my favorites to use live. The stock neck pup was muffled sounding. The SD's are awesome in it.
I bought a black Squier Affinity Tele in 2002 as something that I could have out all the time to grab. It cost me $129. I have it still. I have gigged with it and recorded with it. It is all still stock parts. Nothing ever replaced.
Mine IS out all the time now sitting on its own dedicated stand, since it's become my premier guitar at home here! Others out all the time are my 12-string ac. electric LH, and my older Takamine 6 string acoustic electric, which is still built like a bloody tank , and is just a wonderful-sounding and playing guitar.
Thanks Shane. I think your skills have a bit to do with some those great tones we were listening to, but the Affinity lineup offers a lot of value for the dollars spent, definitely above its pay grade.
Been playing for over 50 yrs. I think they are great guitars for the price. You might have to set them up a little to suit your likes, but very fun to play. I have a tele thin line cv series it looks and plays great, neck is fast and easily playable . I really like it.
The neck is the crucial part, everything else can be replaced but if the neck is junk keep it pushin'...not a fan of how pale the affinity/bullet/sonic necks are, but that light satin finish feels good
Great video! With Squiers these are perfect mod guitars. I have a 2003 Standard Telecaster (black & chrome) that I have modified over the years. If you want to upgrade this guitar and especially on a budget, I would strongly recommend Bournes mini pots (250k), a Kaish three way switch (Amazon $10) and a Switchcraft jack. I also can recommend an Orange Drop capacitor since that is my go to and its pretty reliable. The Kaish switch is an upgrade to OEM (orginal spec parts) and unless you want to route the bottom of the electronics cavivity, a standard Grigsby will bottom out and you cannot attach the cover plate. This will unchoke your pickups and if you decide later to swap those, you are already running into a electric setup similar to what you would find on a $800-$1200 guitar. On my Squier Standard I kept the original pickups since they were Alnico Vs and there really was not a set I wanted to swap in. I have full size Bourne pots in that, so those pots are really quick to spin as well as you will have to reem the control plate. I have Bournes mini pots in another guitar and they offer more resistance when you turn them, like the OEM pots on the guitar. The full sized pots are great for pedal steel types of volume and tone swells if you are into that. I also flip the control plate around and put football jack plates on my Telecasters. Personal preference for me. Oddly enough I am looking at getting a lefty Squier because I have noticed my left hand is stronger and I have less issues with it than my right hand. Also I figure that learning a South Paw style might open up other guitar styles I currently do not play, like finger style.
If they still make Bullet Telecasters, they are well worth checking out, and are even less expensive than the Affinity. I love mine. The build quality is flawless, it plays wonderfully, and the Surf Green color always brings compliments. The pickups are a bit hotter then the ones on my American Pro Tele - but I really like that, they each have their own distinct vibe, and I enjoy playing them both equally.
The Affinity Telecaster and Stratocaster are quite great guitars at such a low price point. Certainly my recommendation to anyone starting out or for a guitar you don't have to worry about or if you don't already have a Strat or Tele.☺☺☺
Squiers are not bad at all, as someone might think. I have my Affinity Telecaster made in China for around 15 years now, and it's so far my most reliable guitar. Some things on it are even better than on my recently bought Mexican Jag, like the nut. I'd say it's really worth it if you don't consider yourself too good to own one
I've got the newer Affinity Tele Deluxe and it plays and sounds great. I'm really impressed with how much they've improved them. Is it worth the price they're goin for now? The price of everything has gone up quite a bit, to include music gear, but I think it's worth it. String thru body, full size neck, especially at the nut and the nice glossy headstock. Not to mention, the pickups sound really nice from clean to moderate gain.
How to make a cheap guitar sound great. Well, it starts with a really good blues player. Amazing, you make a $200 paper weight sound great. The fret finish is my biggest beef with Affinity but you're correct it is a good starting point
Watching your video I think I'll go play a $200 affinity again and see see they've improved their necks. The Classic vibe telecaster are better finished. I bought an affinity a couple years back, special release from Chicago Music Exchange and every time I take it out of the gig bag the high"E" string is hanging on the bottom on the fret. I filed the frets down and problem solved. Your channel always brings me up to speed, thank you for that. Good job
One thing I’d always want to know is how even and well finished the frets are. Well, that and how well the nut has been cut. These can be issues on all guitars including the US Fenders and are not easy to fix yourself if you’re trying to set it up with a nice action.
The frets were great and the playability was right up there with mine. I had no issues with the Nut either, unlike a lot of Fender guitars I've owned and played.
Nice demo, love my Squier Tele. I kind of prefer the thicker tone of the neck pickup, as i like the classic jazz sound. Will have to look into these for the neck shape and belly cut. Cheers.
I have 2 affinitys one exactly like this one in your video also have a butterscotch telecaster affinity 2018 both great totally different instruments neck is wider on yours pickups also different brighter. My 2018 is thinner neck and warmer pickups. Love them both in different ways!
I think they're a great mod platform. Because, the bones, the body weight, neck profile, satin finish are all really nice. And they've cut costs exactly where you would want for a modding platform. They're cheap, I picked, one up for about $150 second-hand. So there's enough left over between the price of a Classic Vibe to upgrade: pickups, electronics / pots, bone nut, brass/bridge and even tuners and pick guard. Only thing I'd rather if it was easier to install a traditional tele bridge with the three brass saddles - guess it's doable but I guess they wanted to differentiate the classic vibe. I like how the classic vibe neck looks, with that rich honeyed vintage yellowing. But I prefer how this satin neck feels. That slightly sticky neck feel is the thing I didn't like about the CV.
Usual squire hot pick ups good necks and affordable. I had my squire affinity strat for over 20 years. Neck and body original everything else has been swapped at some point but listen for what you get the price is great I think
Thank you for doing this video it gives me some ideas what I can do on mine I have the same guitar just a couple years older very happy with it keep up the good work 🤘us lefty's got to stick together 😊👍🏻
This the precise lefty Squier Tele that I bought two years ago now. The only issue I've had with it is sometimes the High E saddle screw (bottom left one) comes loose, or starts to screw out on its own up high from the saddle which is annoying. I may swap out the bridge for a "vintage" one later on due to this situation. I got better short screws last year, and it keeps happening from time to time. No idea why. I didn't want to lay any cement in there. The action on mine is a tiny tad high. I need to get it set up again soon. I love the blonde wood polished fretboard and smooth neck, it's smooth as feck! The fretboard is a joy to navigate. This guitar also taught me the value of mastering the volume control on it, you can really gain tons of power from cranking it on higher gain situations from middle to full. You can really alter the tone drastically that way. I rarely use only the bridge pickup alone since it gets a bit too bright for my ears. Usually keep it in the middle for rhythm stuff.
I have Squier tele that’s two years old and it does the exact same thing in regards to the screw twisting out (on several strings)l’m thinking of putting clear nail polish on the screws to keep them from twisting. Otherwise plays great. Learn to do the adjustment yourself and save $$!
@@ALKRANTZ Wow. That's not great. I may actually have them put a new bridge on it, like one of those "old school" bridges vs. the modern one that's on my Tele. That might solve it.
Pro audio star has open box tele affinitys for 139$. The three I've ordered were all new in plastic even though it said open box. The neck alone is worth the money.
It has a shaved neck and it plays great. slightly narrower than a stock fender not much but a little and the satin neck fells fast. Any one thinking about getttin one I think you will not be sorry. I got mine off craigs list for 150 bucks a good deal.
@@thiscorrosion900manufacturers switch back and forth from having string through body to not having it. Ide be hard pressed to buy a tele without a string through body and without a belly cut.
@@dragan4658 I see, gotcha! Even my older Strat isn't a string-through. I'm not sure I'm a fan of that type of body, since i have to keep flipping the bleedin guitar to string it etc. I like to just lay the guitar out on a stand or whatever and clear the fretboard etc. and wipe it down, and then string it up.
I recently bought an affinity in white. Looks great but needed some setting up and a fret polish. A string change from the supplied strings made a huge difference. Now I love it. Neck pickup is great, plenty of treble not like yours. My son bought a 40th anniversary in green. The playability on his was great out of the box but the neck pickup was really bad, unuseable. I changed it for a reply cheap Wilkinson 60s sounding one. I can't believe it came out the factory with such a dull sounding pickup.
In my opinion, the neck pickup is the greatest weakness of this guitar. Tele necks are pretty dark in general, and when they're ceramic magnets they're unusably dark. Other than that, I love my affinity tele, and find myself using a Tele for the bridge and in between mostly anyway, so it isn't much of a bother really.
I still believe the Squire CV 50's & 60's Teles are the best bang for your dollar. The Affinity Tele isn't the as good sounding or as well built but far better than the Bullet series. So make the Affinity your entry point if your budget has limits.
Very Cool, Thankyou. Have a Sunburst Affinity Strat which is maybe the most stunning Instrument I own, so Beautifully presented. Have been looking at The Affinity Telecaster and found this very interesting, Informative and Useful Thankyou.
I've been looking at these & strats on FB market place. Pretty cheap but I already own 3 MX Teles. 1st was a 2011 60th ann, well worn & naturally relict, black / yellowed maple neck. 👌. Next was a 17 std Olympic? white / maple. Then my butterscotch 19 player. All different but love equally! Hard to go past my Brand New, un played (until I bought it) 09 USA STD, sunburst / maple Strat! & my 16 red / rosewood Mustang 90. 2012 gold Gretsch E/Matic Double Jet w Filtertrons & Epi 56 goldtop are other go to's often. Vox AC 15C1, PF15, Peavey classic 30 & Laney cub 10 are faves. Cheers
I have one of those its a few years old but it plays pretty good. Not my lowest action guitar but not bad at all. I was in love with it when I first got it. I have a firefly ff338 plays like a 1,000 dollar pro guitar. But I had to buy a new bridge off of ebay and I also got one off of amazon and fix it and my les paul ff. the pick ups are not great either on the FF but the ff338 plays so nice its an unbeliveable guitar for 189 dollars.
I have the older version (2007) heavily modded and currently replacing the original thin maple neck with a new unused laurel neck from a 2022 Affinity Deluxe.
This guitar in cream was the first guitar that made me go "Oh that's BEAUTIFUL" at first sight There's a classic series limited edition tele in green on the Fender website atm... For about $200 more 😂 I've had to talk myself out of that one a few times for budgeatary reasons
I'd like to see them match the gloss headstock and fretboard. I get the satin back, but it looks a bit odd on the front as the headstock has a different finish. And make black ones again, and i'll get one as a back up to my USA standard.
I had to laugh when you said you appreciated the belly cut in this latest Tele, Shane! Getting a bit older, are we? Ha, ha, ha! It happens to all of us Shane, but very few of us can play like you can! 🎸💘🎸👌🎸
I have a '21 Affinity Tele (left-handed too). It could have had a better set-up at the factory but for the money is a solid guitar. Mine cost £189 and they now seem to be be £215-220. Considering how prices have risen, generally, that's still pretty good IMO.
Great playing Shane, I just got a Vintera 50s modified Tele. That is super light. It also came with the "twisted Tele" pickups, so it's a strat pickup in the neck. If you haven't tried, I highly recommend. Excellent tones from this though, mainly due to your hands, I have to say. You are such a good player.
I just bought a natural finish Affinity telecaster from Amazon, here in the US, and I've gotta tell ya, it's flawless. ( Maple neck, fret board, and body. ) I don't know if I just got lucky, or if the gods smiled on me or something, but I've seen guitars costing 3 times as much that had more problems than this one. So what do you folks think... has Squire upped their game, or should I run out and buy a lottery ticket? 😆
It seems like you almost can't go wrong with just about any telecaster, even the lowest priced versions. Anyway, I've been wanting to do a little bit of experimenting, so I'm thinking of buying two teles, a right handed one and a left handed one. The idea is to switch the necks from one to the other. I'm a righty, and I've wanted to see how it would be to play like Albert King did, upside down, but I don't want the knobs and jack to all be backwards. So I'd mount the lefty neck on the righty body. I'd like to see what dynamics come into play from pulling down on the strings instead of pushing up. Would it help or hinder string bending? Will it affect the tone? After I get it figured out, will it be easier or more difficult? Those are the questions I would like to answer, but without spending a ton of money in the process. Have you ever tried that? If so, how did it turn out? I figure for the $500 and the cost of new strings, it would be fun to try. And if it works, I'd have something that's unique and a lefty bodied/righty necked tele to sell to a lefty wanting to try the same thing. If it doesn't work, I'd still have a lefty tele to sell and a regular old tele for myself.
I think it’s good for playability, easy to put in super distortion bride pup, but it’s thin bodied The problem with vibe and maybe these is the weight has a huge range, some close to 10lbs
The current Affinity series seems to have had a quality upgrade, and is now in line with what the old Standard and Vintage Modified series used to be. The new Sonic series is the equivalent of what the Affinities used to be.
As for the light-weight, the body (specifically the neck-heel joint area) look significantly thinner than a standard Telecaster. That can or cannot be an issue for some, just saying though, the type of body wood and thinner dimensions would trim the weight a lot.
Affinity series guitar bodies are indeed thinner than Squier Classic Vibe/Fender bodies, by 4mm. It saves some money on wood, and it makes for a lighter instrument. I don't think it affects the tone. But it does mean you can't put a Fender-size trem block on an Affinity Strat. You need to either get a block sized for an Affinity, or leave the back plate off.
@@amirkhalid5449 Yes indeed. I own a 2016 Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster w/Pine body that weighs a full 11 pounds! The reason I purchased it was due to the fact it has a 3AAA Flame 1-Piece maple neck! Who would have thought. I would have never imagined pine being so heavy. Weight aside I've updated pickups and electronics and transformed it into a wonderful instrument.
@@thiscorrosion900 Yeah, I mostly play sitting down as well. These days I play for the pure joy of just playing to relax. I'm just glad that the Squiers are such a bargain as that was how I was able to afford a second Tele. 👍 😉
I have two of the duel humbucker versions of this, and I love the necks on them, particularly the larger frets, and also that the strings are spaced in from the edge of the fretboard, so they don't roll off the edge. One of them came with a couple of high frets up high, which I fixed, and the other was perfect.
What's your thoughts on Squier Affinity Telecaster or Strats? It's got a few things about it that I love and only a couple of small trade offs. Check it out here. Thanks to Sky Music for the loaner!
🛒 Sky Music - bit.ly/3PF1Tk3
🛒 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/3P5Azd
🛒 Thomann - bit.ly/2V7zpUm
🛒 Fender - bit.ly/3fZiRMF
(affiliate links)
I've been pretty impressed with the Affinity series- for the money they're nice beginner guitars. Far, far nicer than anything I started out on- I'm 53, we didn't have all these nice, cheap options. We had cheap- and it sounded and looked cheap. That said- the 5-way switch in my Strat went bad within 3 months of purchase. I'm in the process of upgrading it to a Grisby 5-way switch and CTS pots- and a new input jack. It's a solderless assembly so later, when I upgrade the pickups- should be easy. Imo this is the only drawback of this series- cheap guts. If you replace them, I'd say it's about on par with a CV.
Thanks for the vid on the Tele man- you helped me decide not to get one. They're just too twangy- and I like lots of gain so- not for me. Instead, I'm buying a Yamaha Pacifica 311- with the P90 at the neck and the splitable rear Alnico V HB. Locking tuners, tusk nut and trees- same price as a CV basically. I don't see why these aren't more popular tbh. Imo they're at least as good as the CV series, if not better.
See my summation below. For the money paid, and as a long-suffering lefty player, I think this Tele is a phenomenal value, and the guitar is actually very well-made.
The bridge can be a bit finicky as I delineated, but that can be addressed. I have an older Squier Strat LH and this Telecaster is much better made and a better value
by far. It just feels like a more solid guitar, and the Telecaster is phenomenally versatile. I go from metal, punk to power pop and jangle and I find the chimey ness
of the Telecaster and twang is perfect for all of those styles. Maybe not as much for metal. For that I may invest soon in a good LH Ibanez.
I bought one of these oh 10 years a ago from A Best Buy store music dept. Cost me $166.00 it's Ben great . I would put it up against Any other Tele out there. Still can't believe how good this one is.
Thanks for the review. I just had an accident on my left hand and lost the tip of my fingers. I can't play my right-handed guitar at the moment. I decided to start playing on a lefty guitar and my wife just bought me the same guitar. Can't wait to start playing again.
Wish you the best
With Telecasters being a guitar that I like, not love (I’m a Strat guy 😂) an Affinity Tele is ideal for me. Similar to me buying the Epiphone LP Special , I have no problem owning a guitar slated for budget/beginners while I already own several “higher quality” guitars. If it plays well and I dig how it feels in my hands, then I’m winning! I would encourage anyone who is looking to start playing or needs a secondary guitar to keep an eye on this guitar. As I’ve learned painfully that it’s wiser to spend time learning than spend money on a guitar you can’t afford. Cheers!!🎸🎸😎
I have several affinity strats they are also great for a budget guitar. Play nice too. For the price its excellent. Im a weirdo when it comes to buying Affinity strats I have so many. A Strat demon posseses me to buy all the colors LOL
My LP Special II was truly awful. Not in the same league as a Squier.
@@tonyharley5230 - Life is too short to drink bad beer, play bad guitars, or drive bad cars.
...an occasional go-'round with a bad woman is highly recommended however. 😜
Never bought a guitar I could not afford. At 14, I saved up for many months to buy a Gretsch single pickup for $325. It was a lot of money in 1967.
Honestly, I think there's a lot of snobbery that goes on here in YTville when it comes to guitars. You really don't have to spend a ton of loot to get something you'd be happy with. I have a Yamaha EG112 that I bought used about 20 years ago that I love. It was their lower priced guitars before they came out with the Pacifica line. Over the years, I've thought about buying a more expensive strat style guitar, but I haven't because I can't find any real fault with the one this Yamaha. So yeah, you're winning if your guitar feels good in your hands, sounds the way you want your guitar to sound, and plays well----regardless of where it's made or how much it costs.
Good Morning from the USA. Definitely has that Tele sparkle. I like the slick, dark sound of the neck pickup. After all, as you demonstrated, if you want bright, can't complain about the bridge pickup even at high gain.
I'm a left handed too, been playing a Squier affinity strat for 13 years now and it's and incredible instrument, yesterday I got this exact Squier affinity tele, it's another great guitar, the only minor issue I have is frets unpolished and maybe I would like a lower action, but this line it's just incredible, not only for beginners, this guitars can be used to play live or make a record if you have them set up as you like !
This was the first guitar i bought when i got back into playing you can't beat it for the money. It started my love for Squiers. Since then, i have bought the Contemporary, Vintage Modified Deluxe and my personal favorite the John5. I have Had work done on all of them especially the John5 as it is to me the best Telecaster i have ever played. You can't go by price for defects anymore either as i have had several friends drop cash on higher end guitars that needed work done before they could be played. Honestly though even if your Telly comes perfect there's something you're going to change. This seems to be the nature of the beast when it comes to Telecasters.
Great demo Shane. The high gain, low to high volume bit was very nice with this guitar. I might finally buy my first Tele after seeing this demo.
I own one .......re: neck pickup tone ........I actually LOVE the warm and FAT tone of the neck pickup in mine ........
it is very even in response all the way up and down the neck ........massively helps with even CLEAN sustain ......so much so that I would love
to have the same pickup in the neck position of my 335 style guitar....... for me the PERFECT neck pickup for a wide variety of musical genres .
I used to be a guitar snob for many years but after playing one of these at a friend's house I've changed my mind about Squier guitars. With a proper setup and a little polishing these guitars can make good quality gigging guitars. 😊
My 2004 red Squier affinity telecaster in that I bought used for $99.00 ten years ago continues to be a guitar that tends to serve me well when playing riffs on it
I have found myself with a bit of an arsenal of Squiers over the past few years. One is a righty Affinity Strat with a fabulous neck that I plan to put on a lefty body. Squier has really stuck it to us lefties right now though as this Tele is the only lefty offering in the current Affinity line up.
I agree John, right handed players get so many options and styles while us southpaws get scraps😮😮.
@Jamal Kareem Right!! I hate that the only way to have a unique, lefty guitar is just to tweak it forever. I would love a nice hollowbody tele. There are 2 companies i found that do offer some really cool and unique. I think Eastwood sells some of the coolest and unique recreations and original and really good quality and price in my opinion but I can't remember the other one...
Ive done the same with Harley Benton guitars.lol Too many?! Whats that even mean?! 😆
That is an excellent choice to get without breaking the bank, the fit and finish on Squire guitars are impressive, the pups are are good and if one compares other guitars at the price point, the Squire definitely stands out, It’s a beautiful telecaster
Still one of the best bangs for your buck in the entire industry.
Been playing for ( my gosh ) 67 years and I just bought one to experiment with. (Now own 10 of these different addictive things . . . . Gibson SG, LP, Martin, Gretsch, Squire, etc)
I appreciate your honest and candid reviews of these lower-priced Squier and Fender models.
I love squires … got several
And a Telly like that one but right handed
They are. Great players and awesome to customize
I have this guitar. It is pretty dang awesome! The Tele with a belly cut is where it’s at! I am happy that you can get a very nice guitar for not a lot of money these days! I have some guitars that hit above a grand, but I always end up coming back to my favorites which are loads cheaper than that, as my daily drivers. I just picked up the Ibanez GRG121SP Blue Metal Chameleon. OMG dude, it is insane. You have to see/play it. Color shifting paint, modern C ROASTED MAPLE neck…. It’s hard to believe at such a low price! Check it out!
Especially as we get older, a belly cut is indeed nice to have, ha, ha! 🤣👌💘
@@ToddSauve hey I don’t have a six pack - I have a keg!
Got mine in 2023. Love it
Squiers are great. I’ve got a few CV and a few Paranormal and they’re all great guitars. I’ve been privileged enough to play my CV Esquire and CV 60’s Strat next to American made Fenders in a similar style, and when it comes to feel and playability, I sure couldn’t tell the difference. Grab a cheap guitar, take a little time to learn how to set it up, and more than likely you’ll be good to go!
Can't beat them for the price !!! Nice job man !!!
I bought a Surf Green Bullet Telecaster last year and absolutely love it. I grew up a Gibson guy and my first electric guitar was a Gibson U-2 from 1987. But fenders and squires have really grown on me recently. I absolutely love my Squier.
I bet it's a chinese one how do I know----- the headstock fat and not classic ! The indos IE Samick and Cort factories tho in indonesia They are Korean owned hence the quality control I am a tele NERD the headstock has to be RIGHT !🤨
You have the best guitar channel I've seen so far
Thank you 🙏
Shane with a tele is S tier content
Thanks, James. It's definitely my sort of guitar. I love how light this one is as well. It's kind of great!
Glad that you reviewed the lefty model, since I may get that one once I'm able to buy a guitar and learn how to play!
Great review.. I think it's worth the bucks, and the comfort contouring is a bonus. Never been a fan of most tele neck pickups, but that little Squire definitely comes alive in position 2. Took me years to start actually liking a tele, I was always a strat kinda guy. Converted now though.
so after watching one of your older 5 reasons to own a telecaster videos several times I now have a limited edition silverburst player tele, I also found my first ever electric guitar an affinity tele in butterscotch blonde in an absolute mess in the back of my mates garage. I cleaned it all up and had to solder a new jack on as the old one had broken off somewhere, its really battered but its playable and brings back some teenage memories.
Never thought I'd get a Squier Affinity anything, but...
I liked the 6-saddle bridge;
I liked the "gut-cut", and
I LOVED the tones (yes, even the "jazzy"-sounding neck pup on it's own!).
The one I tried out was in a really classy darkish sunburst colour.
As you might guess, it went home with me.
how is it so far? I'm looking at this exact guitar as I'm a lefty.. or do I need to continue to donate plasma to save up for the Fender version?
@@Bronco2CjSo far, so good...
I have a 2016 Affinity Tele, and it feels and plays great, but I recently swapped the pups for a set of Tonerider Hot Classics, and it's even better. Reccomended upgrade.
I have just bought this guitar and I really like it. I have been thinging of putting in the Tonerider Hot Classic pups, so was interested to read your opinion. Did you change the pots as well, or do you think the original pots are ok?
@@kiwistu Original pots are fine, but I think maybe I need to change the capacitor on the tone control. I didn't think of it at the time, but one day I need to have a look at mine and compare it to the spec sheet for the tonerider pups. It's and easy job to change it.
I am now thinking of modding it with a 4 way switch to give a choice between parallel and series when using both pups. Unnecessary, but gives a little more tonal choice.
I snagged an older Indonesian Affinity Tele like this for $99 on GC’s used wall. It’s such a gem that it’ll always have a place in my home. I’ll probably always gig with my American Special Tele. Recently, I’ve considered putting a Bigsby on it and getting it some gig time!
I say get one and mod it!
One of these mornings I gotta get up or stay up for a live show but hey this still is the best wake up. Good morning from Lemon Grove.
One way of adding more top end to the neck pick up, I've seen others do, is to cut away a slot in the top of the neck pick up cover, exposing the pole pieces. Can easily do this with a Dremel and a steady hand. I've not tried it myself yet, but from the videos of people doing it, it seems to work.
Adjusting the height might work too as it's quite low but that's a good tip! Cheers.
It makes a huge difference in sound if you set the neck pickup higher where it should be, really opens up the neck pickup .
I was a little shocked and how good the frets were on my Squire Affinity Stratocaster; they actually had a nice bevel, polished, no sharp fret ends and no buzzing, low action.
I did replace the ceramic pickups with solderless GFS Alnicos.
Great demo Shane. Good deal for those specs, and yeah, one can always change out the pickups and get a nice set up from a Tech.
Bought this telecaster from the shop in Geelong ($399 including daddarios and fret job) when i went in to try the Yamaha Revstar.... this tele absolutely blew the revstar out of the water and feels great to play EDIT: as for what Shane said at the end, i did attempt to take this to a gig and got through one song before i had to use my back up. the pick ups sound great but when going for massive gain, soaked in reverb and delay, all i got was feedback and buzzing sounds. I keep my tele at home because it inspires me to play a different way than my other guitars i gig 🎉 peace
If I didn't already have a Tele from the now-discontinued Squier Standard series, I'd definitely get this one. I just wish Fender had included Alnico pickups in the new Affinity spec instead of retaining the old ceramic ones.
I bought one with a natural finish, slapped some Seymour Duncan Hot Tele pups in it and it has become one of my favorites to use live. The stock neck pup was muffled sounding. The SD's are awesome in it.
I have a 2001 Affinity and a 52 reissue. I play the Squier more often. I like the sound of the neck pickup.
Been using this telecaster affinity since 2017 it's really great natural tone for a tele.
i have the exact same one and in lefty of couse as well , and i love mine and as far as iam concerned its worth every penny
I bought a black Squier Affinity Tele in 2002 as something that I could have out all the time to grab. It cost me $129. I have it still. I have gigged with it and recorded with it. It is all still stock parts. Nothing ever replaced.
Mine IS out all the time now sitting on its own dedicated stand, since it's become my premier guitar at home here! Others out all the time are my 12-string ac. electric LH,
and my older Takamine 6 string acoustic electric, which is still built like a bloody tank , and is just a wonderful-sounding and playing guitar.
Great vid Shane! That guitar sounds fantastic!
Thank you, Scott!
Thanks Shane. I think your skills have a bit to do with some those great tones we were listening to, but the Affinity lineup offers a lot of value for the dollars spent, definitely above its pay grade.
Been playing for over 50 yrs. I think they are great guitars for the price. You might have to set them up a little to suit your likes, but very fun to play. I have a tele thin line cv series it looks and plays great, neck is fast and easily playable . I really like it.
The neck is the crucial part, everything else can be replaced but if the neck is junk keep it pushin'...not a fan of how pale the affinity/bullet/sonic necks are, but that light satin finish feels good
Great video! With Squiers these are perfect mod guitars. I have a 2003 Standard Telecaster (black & chrome) that I have modified over the years. If you want to upgrade this guitar and especially on a budget, I would strongly recommend Bournes mini pots (250k), a Kaish three way switch (Amazon $10) and a Switchcraft jack. I also can recommend an Orange Drop capacitor since that is my go to and its pretty reliable. The Kaish switch is an upgrade to OEM (orginal spec parts) and unless you want to route the bottom of the electronics cavivity, a standard Grigsby will bottom out and you cannot attach the cover plate.
This will unchoke your pickups and if you decide later to swap those, you are already running into a electric setup similar to what you would find on a $800-$1200 guitar.
On my Squier Standard I kept the original pickups since they were Alnico Vs and there really was not a set I wanted to swap in. I have full size Bourne pots in that, so those pots are really quick to spin as well as you will have to reem the control plate. I have Bournes mini pots in another guitar and they offer more resistance when you turn them, like the OEM pots on the guitar. The full sized pots are great for pedal steel types of volume and tone swells if you are into that. I also flip the control plate around and put football jack plates on my Telecasters. Personal preference for me.
Oddly enough I am looking at getting a lefty Squier because I have noticed my left hand is stronger and I have less issues with it than my right hand. Also I figure that learning a South Paw style might open up other guitar styles I currently do not play, like finger style.
Awesome demo Shane. Cheers!
Thank you! it's very helpful. Now I can maximize the use of my squier tele affinity
If they still make Bullet Telecasters, they are well worth checking out, and are even less expensive than the Affinity. I love mine. The build quality is flawless, it plays wonderfully, and the Surf Green color always brings compliments. The pickups are a bit hotter then the ones on my American Pro Tele - but I really like that, they each have their own distinct vibe, and I enjoy playing them both equally.
Bullet teles are great. I love how light they are.
I set up an inexpensive Squire Bullet Strat. It sounds as good as any Strat and plays great.
The Affinity Telecaster and Stratocaster are quite great guitars at such a low price point. Certainly my recommendation to anyone starting out or for a guitar you don't have to worry about or if you don't already have a Strat or Tele.☺☺☺
Squiers are not bad at all, as someone might think. I have my Affinity Telecaster made in China for around 15 years now, and it's so far my most reliable guitar. Some things on it are even better than on my recently bought Mexican Jag, like the nut. I'd say it's really worth it if you don't consider yourself too good to own one
I've got the newer Affinity Tele Deluxe and it plays and sounds great. I'm really impressed with how much they've improved them. Is it worth the price they're goin for now? The price of everything has gone up quite a bit, to include music gear, but I think it's worth it. String thru body, full size neck, especially at the nut and the nice glossy headstock. Not to mention, the pickups sound really nice from clean to moderate gain.
How to make a cheap guitar sound great. Well, it starts with a really good blues player. Amazing, you make a $200 paper weight sound great. The fret finish is my biggest beef with Affinity but you're correct it is a good starting point
Watching your video I think I'll go play a $200 affinity again and see see they've improved their necks. The Classic vibe telecaster are better finished. I bought an affinity a couple years back, special release from Chicago Music Exchange and every time I take it out of the gig bag the high"E" string is hanging on the bottom on the fret. I filed the frets down and problem solved. Your channel always brings me up to speed, thank you for that. Good job
😊 yes Shane I purchased one on zzounds music same one left handed
One thing I’d always want to know is how even and well finished the frets are. Well, that and how well the nut has been cut. These can be issues on all guitars including the US Fenders and are not easy to fix yourself if you’re trying to set it up with a nice action.
The frets were great and the playability was right up there with mine. I had no issues with the Nut either, unlike a lot of Fender guitars I've owned and played.
Nice demo, love my Squier Tele. I kind of prefer the thicker tone of the neck pickup, as i like the classic jazz sound. Will have to look into these for the neck shape and belly cut. Cheers.
Yeah, that neck pickup has a very thick, fat, warm specific sound, it's good for certain things, jazz would be one of them!
I have a 2021 Squier Affinity Tele. I replaced the stock pickups with Fender Texas Specials and it sounds great.
Outstanding video ‼️🔥😎🎸
thanks!
I have 2 affinitys one exactly like this one in your video also have a butterscotch telecaster affinity 2018 both great totally different instruments neck is wider on yours pickups also different brighter. My 2018 is thinner neck and warmer pickups. Love them both in different ways!
I think they're a great mod platform. Because, the bones, the body weight, neck profile, satin finish are all really nice. And they've cut costs exactly where you would want for a modding platform. They're cheap, I picked, one up for about $150 second-hand. So there's enough left over between the price of a Classic Vibe to upgrade: pickups, electronics / pots, bone nut, brass/bridge and even tuners and pick guard. Only thing I'd rather if it was easier to install a traditional tele bridge with the three brass saddles - guess it's doable but I guess they wanted to differentiate the classic vibe. I like how the classic vibe neck looks, with that rich honeyed vintage yellowing. But I prefer how this satin neck feels. That slightly sticky neck feel is the thing I didn't like about the CV.
you can give the neck pup a bit more trebel by just adjusting its height up and maybe even lowering the bass side a little as well.
Usual squire hot pick ups good necks and affordable.
I had my squire affinity strat for over 20 years.
Neck and body original everything else has been swapped at some point but listen for what you get the price is great I think
i'm getting mine in 2 days or so, can't wait!
Excellent Guitar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!will not go wrong.
Thank you for doing this video it gives me some ideas what I can do on mine I have the same guitar just a couple years older very happy with it keep up the good work 🤘us lefty's got to stick together 😊👍🏻
4:42 The Shake test. No review is complete without it. 😂
This comment needs more likes!
This the precise lefty Squier Tele that I bought two years ago now. The only issue I've had with it is sometimes the High E saddle screw (bottom left one) comes loose, or starts
to screw out on its own up high from the saddle which is annoying. I may swap out the bridge for a "vintage" one later on due to this situation. I got better short screws
last year, and it keeps happening from time to time. No idea why. I didn't want to lay any cement in there. The action on mine is a tiny tad high. I need to get it set up again
soon. I love the blonde wood polished fretboard and smooth neck, it's smooth as feck! The fretboard is a joy to navigate. This guitar also taught me the value of mastering
the volume control on it, you can really gain tons of power from cranking it on higher gain situations from middle to full. You can really alter the tone drastically that way. I rarely
use only the bridge pickup alone since it gets a bit too bright for my ears. Usually keep it in the middle for rhythm stuff.
I have Squier tele that’s two years old and it does the exact same thing in regards to the screw twisting out (on several strings)l’m thinking of putting clear nail polish on the screws to keep them from twisting. Otherwise plays great. Learn to do the adjustment yourself and save $$!
@@ALKRANTZ Wow. That's not great. I may actually have them put a new bridge on it, like one of those "old school" bridges vs. the modern one that's on my Tele. That might solve it.
@@thiscorrosion900 yes, I bought a new bridge, I probably will put it on.
What a fantastic video have a happy holiday
Love your playing !
I really like the feel of the neck on these
I have it since 2018 and like it😊
Thanks ! The Affinity Tele is looking like an option for me.
Pro audio star has open box tele affinitys for 139$. The three I've ordered were all new in plastic even though it said open box. The neck alone is worth the money.
Brilliant breakdown
It has a shaved neck and it plays great. slightly narrower than a stock fender not much but a little and the satin neck fells fast. Any one thinking about getttin one I think you will not be sorry. I got mine off craigs list for 150 bucks a good deal.
A string through body, a belly cut for $400 that can be used to gig with and is affordable! Nice job Squier! Thanks Shane!
Weird mine doesn't have the string-through body! I got mine about two years ago or just a bit before.
@@thiscorrosion900manufacturers switch back and forth from having string through body to not having it. Ide be hard pressed to buy a tele without a string through body and without a belly cut.
@@dragan4658 I see, gotcha! Even my older Strat isn't a string-through. I'm not sure I'm a fan of that type of body, since i have to keep flipping the bleedin guitar to string it etc. I like to just lay the guitar out on a stand or whatever and clear the fretboard etc. and wipe it down, and then string it up.
@@thiscorrosion900 its not for everyone. My Dean Nash Vegas tele has a string thru body with belly and forearm cut, best of everything!
@@dragan4658 Oh I see, they don't do Strat string throughs, got it. I thought not.
I recently bought an affinity in white. Looks great but needed some setting up and a fret polish. A string change from the supplied strings made a huge difference. Now I love it. Neck pickup is great, plenty of treble not like yours.
My son bought a 40th anniversary in green. The playability on his was great out of the box but the neck pickup was really bad, unuseable. I changed it for a reply cheap Wilkinson 60s sounding one. I can't believe it came out the factory with such a dull sounding pickup.
In my opinion, the neck pickup is the greatest weakness of this guitar. Tele necks are pretty dark in general, and when they're ceramic magnets they're unusably dark. Other than that, I love my affinity tele, and find myself using a Tele for the bridge and in between mostly anyway, so it isn't much of a bother really.
I still believe the Squire CV 50's & 60's Teles are the best bang for your dollar. The Affinity Tele isn't the as good sounding or as well built but far better than the Bullet series. So make the Affinity your entry point if your budget has limits.
Looks good and sounds good if the playability is also good then it’s a keeper.
Very hot output ceramic pickups, as in the old run of the same model. They lack in definition on the hi end but the Guitar Is comfy and well made
Very Cool, Thankyou. Have a Sunburst Affinity Strat which is maybe the most stunning Instrument I own, so Beautifully presented. Have been looking at The Affinity Telecaster and found this very interesting, Informative and Useful Thankyou.
I've been looking at these & strats on FB market place. Pretty cheap but I already own 3 MX Teles. 1st was a 2011 60th ann, well worn & naturally relict, black / yellowed maple neck. 👌. Next was a 17 std Olympic? white / maple. Then my butterscotch 19 player. All different but love equally! Hard to go past my Brand New, un played (until I bought it) 09 USA STD, sunburst / maple Strat! & my 16 red / rosewood Mustang 90. 2012 gold Gretsch E/Matic Double Jet w Filtertrons & Epi 56 goldtop are other go to's often. Vox AC 15C1, PF15, Peavey classic 30 & Laney cub 10 are faves. Cheers
I have one of those its a few years old but it plays pretty good. Not my lowest action guitar but not bad at all. I was in love with it when I first got it. I have a firefly ff338 plays like a 1,000 dollar pro guitar. But I had to buy a new bridge off of ebay and I also got one off of amazon and fix it and my les paul ff. the pick ups are not great either on the FF but the ff338 plays so nice its an unbeliveable guitar for 189 dollars.
I have the older version (2007) heavily modded and currently replacing the original thin maple neck with a new unused laurel neck from a 2022 Affinity Deluxe.
This guitar in cream was the first guitar that made me go "Oh that's BEAUTIFUL" at first sight
There's a classic series limited edition tele in green on the Fender website atm... For about $200 more 😂 I've had to talk myself out of that one a few times for budgeatary reasons
wonderful demo! best one I've seen for this guitar.
I bought one for 200 in Black Friday, very worth it for me
That telecaster sounds as good as any I've ever heard at any pric
Shane I'm a big tele fan but on a budget just get the harley benton te-52 as in my opinion its the best sub £500 tele on the market...
I'd like to see them match the gloss headstock and fretboard. I get the satin back, but it looks a bit odd on the front as the headstock has a different finish. And make black ones again, and i'll get one as a back up to my USA standard.
I had to laugh when you said you appreciated the belly cut in this latest Tele, Shane! Getting a bit older, are we? Ha, ha, ha! It happens to all of us Shane, but very few of us can play like you can! 🎸💘🎸👌🎸
I have a '21 Affinity Tele (left-handed too). It could have had a better set-up at the factory but for the money is a solid guitar. Mine cost £189 and they now seem to be be £215-220. Considering how prices have risen, generally, that's still pretty good IMO.
Great playing Shane, I just got a Vintera 50s modified Tele. That is super light. It also came with the "twisted Tele" pickups, so it's a strat pickup in the neck. If you haven't tried, I highly recommend.
Excellent tones from this though, mainly due to your hands, I have to say.
You are such a good player.
Nice mate, the Vintera stuff is really cool. :) Thanks for the kind words. Going for some mellow clean tones today on that intro jam :)
Hi, as usual GREAT review! How would you honestly compare this vs Harley Bentons Te52/Te62?
I just bought a natural finish Affinity telecaster from Amazon, here in the US, and I've gotta tell ya, it's flawless. ( Maple neck, fret board, and body. )
I don't know if I just got lucky, or if the gods smiled on me or something, but I've seen guitars costing 3 times as much that had more problems than this one.
So what do you folks think... has Squire upped their game, or should I run out and buy a lottery ticket? 😆
Great review!! How about the neck? Is thin or thick compared to a Tele Clasic Vibe?
It seems like you almost can't go wrong with just about any telecaster, even the lowest priced versions. Anyway, I've been wanting to do a little bit of experimenting, so I'm thinking of buying two teles, a right handed one and a left handed one. The idea is to switch the necks from one to the other. I'm a righty, and I've wanted to see how it would be to play like Albert King did, upside down, but I don't want the knobs and jack to all be backwards. So I'd mount the lefty neck on the righty body. I'd like to see what dynamics come into play from pulling down on the strings instead of pushing up. Would it help or hinder string bending? Will it affect the tone? After I get it figured out, will it be easier or more difficult? Those are the questions I would like to answer, but without spending a ton of money in the process. Have you ever tried that? If so, how did it turn out? I figure for the $500 and the cost of new strings, it would be fun to try. And if it works, I'd have something that's unique and a lefty bodied/righty necked tele to sell to a lefty wanting to try the same thing. If it doesn't work, I'd still have a lefty tele to sell and a regular old tele for myself.
I think it’s good for playability, easy to put in super distortion bride pup, but it’s thin bodied
The problem with vibe and maybe these is the weight has a huge range, some close to 10lbs
The current Affinity series seems to have had a quality upgrade, and is now in line with what the old Standard and Vintage Modified series used to be. The new Sonic series is the equivalent of what the Affinities used to be.
Sonic is the new bullet
As for the light-weight, the body (specifically the neck-heel joint area) look significantly thinner than a standard Telecaster.
That can or cannot be an issue for some, just saying though, the type of body wood and thinner dimensions would trim the weight a lot.
Affinity series guitar bodies are indeed thinner than Squier Classic Vibe/Fender bodies, by 4mm. It saves some money on wood, and it makes for a lighter instrument. I don't think it affects the tone. But it does mean you can't put a Fender-size trem block on an Affinity Strat. You need to either get a block sized for an Affinity, or leave the back plate off.
@@amirkhalid5449 Yes indeed.
I own a 2016 Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster w/Pine body that weighs a full 11 pounds! The reason I purchased it was due to the fact it has a 3AAA Flame 1-Piece maple neck! Who would have thought.
I would have never imagined pine being so heavy. Weight aside I've updated pickups and electronics and transformed it into a wonderful instrument.
For me, it's just right, has enough weight and body to feel solid, but not enough to be uncomfortable. I mainly play sitting however.
@@thiscorrosion900 Yeah, I mostly play sitting down as well. These days I play for the pure joy of just playing to relax.
I'm just glad that the Squiers are such a bargain as that was how I was able to afford a second Tele. 👍 😉
I have two of the duel humbucker versions of this, and I love the necks on them, particularly the larger frets, and also that the strings are spaced in from the edge of the fretboard, so they don't roll off the edge. One of them came with a couple of high frets up high, which I fixed, and the other was perfect.