Man, how about this then...?
Had a rehearsal with the band tonight, and our singer lent a Squier Affinity Telecaster off his mate.
Im there with a Johnny Marr Jag, and I decide to tune the Tele for him...
It sounded
and played superbly. Kept into tune all night, as I shelved the Jag and played the Tele. Now, I am a huge Tele fan but havent owned one in a while...
But man, this was a good guitar. i mean REALLY good... now ok, it was thru a Redplate but still...
A Squier Bloody Infinity. It cost the owner £129 NEW !!!
Completely messed with my head.
And I was gonna gig with my Masterbuilt...
Anyone else played a good un ? Is this usual for Chinese made Affinity .?.?
Comments
Sadly the wiring is absolutely garbage and needs replacing.
Band Stuff: https://navigationofficial.bandcamp.com/album/silhouette-ep
Electric guitar just needs to be playable. It's all about the amp.
Pretty nice.
There are cheap guitars that simply have no right to be that good.
It's the living proof of Leo fender's great design skills.
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
We’ve got a wedding/pub gig where Id use a Masterbuilt Strat and a Ricky 360/12. I took the JM Jag last night to try....
I mean, a new £179 Affinity is less than almost every individual pedal on my board.
Big Waz sale coming up maybe...
My feedback thread is here.
The American Std, though a great instrument, is definitely less 'Tele' and more generic than the Squier ever was.
Certainly the electrics weren't that great and the fret wire seemed to be on the soft side, but it is still the only guitar that I've ever regretted selling.
In the guitar world, I think we tend to think that more expensive = better, I really don't think it does.
The voice of reason here:
I wouldn't do anything rash with your current collection.
Yes budget guitars can be outstanding these days, and I can imagine in a band situation the Affinity will have cut like a knife and been very usable.
In the comfort of your own home, for other guitar enjoyment, it's still a rare budget instrument for me that I don't go through the normal curve of "this is amazing (for the money)", followed by me rarely picking it up afterwards.
The pickups help of course, but the guitar plays really well. The nut could be a little lower, but the trem stays rock solid, tuning-wise, and the whole thing feels like a proper guitar. A previous owner replaced the tuners, and this is an older version with a full-thickness body.
I'll still sell it, but it seems a shame to let it going considering how little I'll get for it.
I like the lower end Squier's I've played, I think the top loading pridge helps, gives more of a snappy vibe about it.
Just looking at Affinity's now, first thing I noticed is how bad is the Fender website? All the links from Squier go back to the first page on the Fender website as do all external links, so finding what you want is a faff.
I've always wanted an artic white tele, but they only do it with a maple neck, would be ideal with Rosewood for me. Think of the rosewood options silver looks okay.
Check out videos of Nashville player “Jack Pearson” He uses Squier Strats all the time and is unbelievable.
As has been said, there's no shame in a Squier - and yes a high-end guitar may be a few %age points 'better' when played in isolation. However, in a band mix they hold their own - and assuming you can find one with a neck you feel comfy with, there's no reason it shouldn't be gigged.
:-D:-D:-D
I think we all get into the massive avalanche of Gibson & Fender PR and brand strategy at times. Plus a bit of personal snobbery and the feeling that when we can afford it we should have better but if I take off the rose-tinted glasses and the PR hype of what is better the fact is I have met some amazing low-end guitars that go way beyond.