Squier telecasters

TTBZ

I've been thinking about it for ages and I reckon now is maybe the time for me to give a tele a go. I can't afford a fancy one but to me part of the appeal of a tele is it's cheap, rough and ready and not posh. I've played an Affinity tele and really liked it but had these concerns:

- pickguard. First thing I'll want to do is change the pickguard but have heard it's not a standard fender size? Is it a pain to find a black one to fit without going custom?
- narrower nut. The narrow neck on this feels really nice to me but is it a problem to find replacements? Or will any good luthier have no problem sourcing or making a nut to fit?
- thinner body. Does it really affect tone or sustain when plugged in that couldn't be compensated for with pickups?
- top loading bridge. As above re the body, is there really much noticeable benefit to string thru? Suppose I could always drill it in the future. 

Or is there any real merit to saving a bit longer and getting a used CV 50s, or a used Fender MIM? As I said I've played an Affinity and liked it but that wasn't a long term test. I have a set of hipshot tuners I can drop straight in so that's one cheap guitar "problem" fixed. I didn't play it plugged in but had kinda factored in getting some Oil City pickups in it at some point unless the stock ones are any good.

Limehouse_Blues

Instead of getting something that you would immediately change a bunch of things on I would try to hold out for a CV. They’re great guitars 

p90fool

If you're just Telecurious the Affinity is fine. 

The neck pickup is a bit lifeless (unless you remove the cover) but the bridge pickup is great fun and very authentic sounding in an early 1960s kind of way. 

stimpsonslostson

Limehouse_Blues said:

Instead of getting something that you would immediately change a bunch of things on I would try to hold out for a CV. They’re great guitars 

This.
Affinitys/Affinities/Affinitii are fine guitars "as is" but there is a point where Triggers Broom sets in. 
Judging by your comments I'd be looking at the CV50s or a MIM- a good, ready made guitar that the majority of future upgrades will drop into. Failing that, have you considered a Partscaster?
Tele Partscasters are easy to put together and you can get the spec you want from the outset (& mod it as your tastes change).
IIRC @lonestar ;;; has a beautiful blue tele body for sale, get a neck, hardware and Robert's your mothers brother. 
If you're thinking OilCity pickups, it's worth considering a harness from Ash too- excellent quality & a real improvement on virtually anything I've seen fitted in a factory.

Regarding the toploading bridge- some people prefer them. I THINK ICBM falls into this camp- lower string tension over the bridge = more twang?

impmann

TBH, I'd suggest saving the money up and buying something better than the Affinity. The CV is a country mile better (and closer to a real Tele - in fact, it *is* a real Tele) and by the time you've upgraded this and changed that, you'll end up spending a load of money on something that will always be a poor man's Tele.

Other guitars to consider - the Vintage Tele copies are superb and come up really cheap. There was one in the Kettering Crack Converters recently for £85. Tokai chinese ones are OK and cheap - although I'm not a fan of the pickups, the necks are OK. Finally the Harley Benton (Thomann) guitars - ok, the headstock is eaten up with the uglies but they are generally fine guitars... although some can be a touch heavy in weight.

Or as mentioned above, build something or buy a Partcaster - buy carefully and you can end up with a guitar that is greater than the sum of its parts.

usedtobe

Classic vibe!

JezWynd

I used an Affinity for a while and found it fine. The neck was quite playable and I was able to replace the pickguard with an old Fender single ply I had lying around very easily. The only problem I experienced was with the bridge saddle screws coming loose and causing rogue vibrations but once I'd sussed the problem it was easily fixed. You'll want to upgrade eventually but as a toe in the water they're a good buy.

amarok1971

I have a cv and it is fantastic, it has killed my tele gas once and for all.

TTBZ

Had considered the parts route but since at this stage I'm more "telecurious" as p90fool says I'm concerned I might end up not getting on with it then losing a load of money if I want to sell it. That's certainly been the case in the past and maybe this time I should learn from my mistakes!

I think you're all confirming what I knew all along though, that I'd get an Affinity and spend a fortune doing it up, only to have spent the same as I would have on a CV!

thegummy

amarok1971 said:

I have a cv and it is fantastic, it has killed my tele gas once and for all.

Wish I could say this want true but I don't think I could ever be happy with having a Squier logo on the headstock

TTBZ

thegummy said:

amarok1971 said:

I have a cv and it is fantastic, it has killed my tele gas once and for all.

Wish I could say this want true but I don't think I could ever be happy with having a Squier logo on the headstock

Why not? They're clearly great guitars given how many great reviews they get.

DulcetJones

I've had an Affinity for about 10 years and love it, as is.  I was going to swap out the white pickguard but ran into the already mentioned incompatible issue and decided to leave it alone. 

amarok1971

thegummy said:

amarok1971 said:

I have a cv and it is fantastic, it has killed my tele gas once and for all.

Wish I could say this want true but I don't think I could ever be happy with having a Squier logo on the headstock

Gives you a good excuse to play badly tho  

mikeyrob73

CV all day long, i sold my Baja because i preferred the neck on the CV, couldnt care less what it says on the headstock, its a damn fine guitar 

darthed1981

thegummy said:

amarok1971 said:

I have a cv and it is fantastic, it has killed my tele gas once and for all.

Wish I could say this want true but I don't think I could ever be happy with having a Squier logo on the headstock

Even the Squier Bullets are surprisingly good, the Classic Vibes are easily a match for Mexican Fenders, in fact I chose my CV tele over a Mexican Tele because I preferred the neck, though personally I found the pickups on the Mexi possibly slightly better, it is very YMMV.

The CV teles do have vintage split tuners which I sodding hate, I restrung mine the other week though and managed it just fine

stimpsonslostson

My only bugbear with the CV is the gloopy finish on the neck (both the back and the fretboard). Other than that I really liked it. 
The best neck I've ever played was on a Squier Trohman tele. It was phenomenal... I'd love to buy one of those, but they've dropped off the face of the earth.

Modellista

thegummy said:

amarok1971 said:

I have a cv and it is fantastic, it has killed my tele gas once and for all.

Wish I could say this want true but I don't think I could ever be happy with having a Squier logo on the headstock

Squier is cooler than Fender in a garagey sort of way.  Doing the festival rounds last year I was surprised how many of the younger, cooler bands were playing Squiers.  Only the Dadrock bands had expensive guitars, the cutting-edge stuff was being played on cheapies like Squiers.

Modellista

As long as you don't pour any money into it in "upgrades", the Affinity is a perfectly decent starting point.  When funds allow, sell it and buy something better.  I would go something like Affinity Squier -> Pro Tone Squier -> Jap Fender -> US vintage reissue (£0.1k, £0.3k, £0.6k, £1k).

GoldenEraGuitars

Thanks for the mention @stimpsonslostson ;

Yip I have this unloaded body for sale

https://i.imgur.com/bDbYKpi.jpg

TTBZ

Expensive fenders always baffle me tbh. No matter how expensive they are they always feel like 2 bits of wood bolted together rather than a "nice" instrument.

impmann

TTBZ said:

Expensive fenders always baffle me tbh. No matter how expensive they are they always feel like 2 bits of wood bolted together rather than a "nice" instrument.

As opposed to Gibson gluing several lumps together, often in the 'wrong' places, using too much glue and then not finishing it properly afterwards? ;-)