Squier Affinity Strat or Yamaha Pacifica 112V ???

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  • The Yamaha in my experience will be slightly better made and you have the humbucker straightaway which adds versatility. The neck/nut width on a Squier Affinity and a Pacifica is very similar (narrow); the slightly cheaper Squier Bullets are wider, which will feel more comfy if you have long fingers/big hands.

    Find a shop that sells one of each if you can, and try them yourself.
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  • baldybaldy Frets: 195
    I am going to go to the nearest PMT as they have a good range of guitars & try a few.
    Is it just me though or are all PMT stores as soulless as the one in Cardiff ? 
    It was not a pleasant experience the one & only time I have been in there before but their prices are good.
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  • SchnozzSchnozz Frets: 1926
    What about Cort? They undercut Squier but are made in the same factory.
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4942
    You really ought to try out a guitar before buying it. And if you like playing a certain guitar in the shop, buy it. Another similar guitar on the rack beside it will likely feel and play differently. They are made from bits of wood...
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • BRISTOL86BRISTOL86 Frets: 1920
    baldy said:
    I am going to go to the nearest PMT as they have a good range of guitars & try a few.
    Is it just me though or are all PMT stores as soulless as the one in Cardiff ? 
    It was not a pleasant experience the one & only time I have been in there before but their prices are good.
    It’s not just you. PMT in Bristol isn’t good either. 
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  • baldybaldy Frets: 195
    Rocker said:
    You really ought to try out a guitar before buying it. And if you like playing a certain guitar in the shop, buy it. Another similar guitar on the rack beside it will likely feel and play differently. They are made from bits of wood...
    I know that you are completely correct & I will try out a few different guitars if PMT will let me.
    TBH the only time I have been in there I got the distinct impression that they didn"t want to give me the time of day let alone talk me through the pro"s & con"s of various models, make any suggestions as to suitable models for me or let me play any.
    When the staff member walked off in mid conversation to serve somebody else that was the final straw.
    i waited around for a few minutes then I left without trying a single guitar.
    There is a music shop in my local town but when I was in there over xmas they only had about 4 electric guitars so very little choice & everything they sell is expensive & at full RRP.
    There is another shop in Cardiff, GM Music, which seems more friendly but their range is much smaller than PMT"s & unfortunately they do not stock a couple of the models I wish to try.
    I will have to see how I get on in PMT this time.
    A used guitar could be an option as I have set up a couple now & one of my other hobbies involves soldering components & circuitry so swapping hardware should not be to much of an issue if need be I wouldn"t have thought ?

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  • notanonnotanon Frets: 604
    @baldy yep gamlin in Cardiff is good. PMT have been fine with me so far may be lucky. Pity cranes closed always good to have another option.
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  • A Yamaha Pacifica 112 is significantly better than an Affinity Strat. The Vintage guitars are also superb value. My first singlecut guitar was a Vintage and I was so impressed that I decided to upgrade. I tried some Ibanez options and preferred the Vintage. I tried some LTD Eclipse guitars and preferred the Vintage. I tried Epiphone Les Pauls and still preferred the Vintage and all of these guitars were far more expensive than the Vintage. I eventually went all the way up to a Gibson Les Paul Studio before I was sure I was playing something better, though the difference wasn't as much as the price difference would suggest. If you can stretch to a MiM Fender Standard Stratocaster, they're superb value.
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  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    baldy said:
    Rocker said:
    You really ought to try out a guitar before buying it. And if you like playing a certain guitar in the shop, buy it. Another similar guitar on the rack beside it will likely feel and play differently. They are made from bits of wood...
    I know that you are completely correct & I will try out a few different guitars if PMT will let me.
    TBH the only time I have been in there I got the distinct impression that they didn"t want to give me the time of day let alone talk me through the pro"s & con"s of various models, make any suggestions as to suitable models for me or let me play any.
    When the staff member walked off in mid conversation to serve somebody else that was the final straw.
    i waited around for a few minutes then I left without trying a single guitar.
    There is a music shop in my local town but when I was in there over xmas they only had about 4 electric guitars so very little choice & everything they sell is expensive & at full RRP.
    There is another shop in Cardiff, GM Music, which seems more friendly but their range is much smaller than PMT"s & unfortunately they do not stock a couple of the models I wish to try.
    I will have to see how I get on in PMT this time.
    A used guitar could be an option as I have set up a couple now & one of my other hobbies involves soldering components & circuitry so swapping hardware should not be to much of an issue if need be I wouldn"t have thought ?

    FWIW I wouldn't be going back to a shop that treated me that way.  Maybe things have changed but when I used to frequent guitar shops, without exception, they were all friendly, helpful and patient.  The above attitude baffles me - everyone knows guitars are addictive, sales staff surely realise that every sale is potentially a customer for life?  

    As regards the general discussion I think you should forget about picky issues like Pacifica vs Affinity - there are hundreds of strat style guitars out there secondhand, and pretty much any cheap Encore, Vintage, Yamaha or Ibanez will do.  I got a Yamaha RGX for about sixty quid a few years ago and I think it was an Ibanez from cash converters for £40 just because it was missing a whammy bar.  If you are competent at setting up etc there are serious bargains to be had these days.
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  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11670
    Neill said:
    baldy said:
    Rocker said:
    You really ought to try out a guitar before buying it. And if you like playing a certain guitar in the shop, buy it. Another similar guitar on the rack beside it will likely feel and play differently. They are made from bits of wood...
    I know that you are completely correct & I will try out a few different guitars if PMT will let me.
    TBH the only time I have been in there I got the distinct impression that they didn"t want to give me the time of day let alone talk me through the pro"s & con"s of various models, make any suggestions as to suitable models for me or let me play any.
    When the staff member walked off in mid conversation to serve somebody else that was the final straw.
    i waited around for a few minutes then I left without trying a single guitar.
    There is a music shop in my local town but when I was in there over xmas they only had about 4 electric guitars so very little choice & everything they sell is expensive & at full RRP.
    There is another shop in Cardiff, GM Music, which seems more friendly but their range is much smaller than PMT"s & unfortunately they do not stock a couple of the models I wish to try.
    I will have to see how I get on in PMT this time.
    A used guitar could be an option as I have set up a couple now & one of my other hobbies involves soldering components & circuitry so swapping hardware should not be to much of an issue if need be I wouldn"t have thought ?

    FWIW I wouldn't be going back to a shop that treated me that way.  Maybe things have changed but when I used to frequent guitar shops, without exception, they were all friendly, helpful and patient.  The above attitude baffles me - everyone knows guitars are addictive, sales staff surely realise that every sale is potentially a customer for life?  

    As regards the general discussion I think you should forget about picky issues like Pacifica vs Affinity - there are hundreds of strat style guitars out there secondhand, and pretty much any cheap Encore, Vintage, Yamaha or Ibanez will do.  I got a Yamaha RGX for about sixty quid a few years ago and I think it was an Ibanez from cash converters for £40 just because it was missing a whammy bar.  If you are competent at setting up etc there are serious bargains to be had these days.
    I can second the experience there, PMT can genuinely be a bit funny sometimes in my local store.  I won't say which one, but it does sometimes come across that you are interrupting the staff socialising when you go in to buy guitars...

    Not always of course they can be very good, probably really just the result of having younger people there who are more musicians than salesmen, its not really a damning indictment of the chain, but it has stopped me going in there personally. 
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
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  • NeilMcGNeilMcG Frets: 62
    Neill said:

    As regards the general discussion I think you should forget about picky issues like Pacifica vs Affinity - there are hundreds of strat style guitars out there secondhand, and pretty much any cheap Encore, Vintage, Yamaha or Ibanez will do.  I got a Yamaha RGX for about sixty quid a few years ago and I think it was an Ibanez from cash converters for £40 just because it was missing a whammy bar.  If you are competent at setting up etc there are serious bargains to be had these days.
    This is true, but a beginner would not be able to set up a cheapo to play properly, nor would they have the tools to fix the common problems with cheap s/h guitars. (all the cheapos I have bought needed fret levelling, various electrical problems fixing and either a new nut or existing nut slots cutting to correct depths)

    If they had a friend that had the tools and knowledge to help they'd be golden for very little money.
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  • mbembe Frets: 1840
    There's a used Pacifica 112V on the Coda website for £115. 

    I couldn't think of a better place to buy a used guitar as they setup what they sell as a matter of course.
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  • baldybaldy Frets: 195
    Just an update.
    After giving this matter some thought & trying out some guitars in PMT I shelved the Squier Affinity Strat/Yamaha Pacifica 112V idea & bought the below used Yamaha Pacifica 611S from forum member cbilly22 (pleasure dealing with him, very helpful).
    It should be with me Tuesday so the 23rd will be my NGD day  =)
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  • BRISTOL86BRISTOL86 Frets: 1920
    Superb choice. They're excellent guitars, and buying used means you're unlikely to lose much if anything if you ever move it on!
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  • baldybaldy Frets: 195
    My thoughts exactly.
    The Affinity was OK & the Pacifica 112V was nicer IMHO but I tried a Pacifica 611VFM (one with a whammy bar as they didn"t have a 611 none whammy) & thought it was even nicer.
    I also tried a couple of Ibanez"s & an Epiphone LP (just to convince myself that I felt more comfortable with the strat style neck & scale).
    The 611VFM was £570 & I went away to have a think about it as it was more than I intended to spend then I saw the above 611S in the classifieds on here  =)

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  • MayneheadMaynehead Frets: 1782
    Great choice. The downside is that you won’t be able to blame the equipment when you’re really struggling to play that lead lick!
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  • baldybaldy Frets: 195
    The strat style neck/scale & 9 guage strings definitely feel more comfortable to my untrained fretting hand than my cheap & nasty LP copy but I did try a £600 Epiphone Les Paul just to make sure that it wasn"t all down to my particular LP.
    Now I will just have to blame my untrained hand & fingers that don"t want to go where I want them to go or don" seem to fit where they are supposed to fit.
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  • MoominpapaMoominpapa Frets: 1649
    Thank the gods you bought that - it's been siren calling me in my dreams for a while, and I'm supposed to be resisting gear purchases for the forseeable future!

    You'll love it - my first electric was a Pacifica and I'm a huge fan of Yamaha guitars and their quality-for-the-price.
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  • SNAKEBITESNAKEBITE Frets: 1075

    Squier guitars are brilliant, and so are the Yamaha's.

    I had a Squier Bullet from about 2000/2001. No tuning issues what so ever,

    I had friends that are much better players than myself, including gigging and session musicians and they couldn't believe how good it was for the money.

    Would they gig with it? Probably not, but they loved it for what it was.


    For me the Yamahas are too soulless and clinical, Fender/Squier have got a bit of mojo.

    Just my opinion though.

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  • cbilly22cbilly22 Frets: 360
    baldy said:
    Just an update.
    After giving this matter some thought & trying out some guitars in PMT I shelved the Squier Affinity Strat/Yamaha Pacifica 112V idea & bought the below used Yamaha Pacifica 611S from forum member cbilly22 (pleasure dealing with him, very helpful).
    It should be with me Tuesday so the 23rd will be my NGD day  =)
    I'm actually really glad this one has found a good home where it will be a main squeeze instead of part of the flock, which is what happened to it with me. It really is a great player and will serve it's new owner well.

    It will be boxed up tomorrow and with you on Tuesday @baldy. Cheers
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