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The modern Squiers are outstandingly good guitars for the money. A Squier Classic Vibe will be tangibly different to an equivalent Fender in many subtle ways....but at 1/2 to a 1/3 of the price??? Audiences at a gig certainly won't hear the difference. Many players won't hear or feel it either. But some will, and to them, it would have to be a Fender because of those very subtleties and I fully understand why. But in absolute terms, Squiers are very, very good value.
Well, that's my view, anyway
Bodies are agathis (at least they were) and necks are made in the same factory that makes Mighty Mite and the Indonesian Fenders.
The Affinity is now also a very good guitar - alder full thickness bodies (used to be 1.5" instead of 1.75") *string-through and the necks are good but thin. If you can put up with the narrow nut and shallow depth of the neck it is certainly worth considering.
* At least I am pretty sure the rosewood fingerboard models with the gold logo are - the maple board models with black logo may be the old spec.
Thin necks, in what way are they thin? Does that mean the strings are closer together? I play a Yamaha APX500 and I find that the strings are a little close together on that, I always thought it was because I just don't play as often as I should and I'm a little out of practice but now I'm not so sure.
Is it worth the extra for a standard over the Affinity?
If you're after an Affinity series, I'd seriously suggest going secondhand - there's loads of them out there at seriously good value for money, loads of people buy it as a first guitar then give up, so there's lots to choose from on eBay, Gumtree etc. Some of them will have had very little use.
The best thing to do is to go to a shop & try then out- you mentioned that you play already, so you will know when you try a guitar whether you like the feel.
If you have a Yamaha already it's worth trying a Pacifica- Yamahas range, they've been the gold standard for cheap guitars for years.
I'd go so far a to credit them with causing the improvement in the quality of "budget" from the days of Encore & Kay planks bought from a catalogue.
If you've got your heart set on a tele Squier is a good start: Many pro musicians choose to gig with Squiers.
Excellent build quality, good solid feel and the neck is quite full, not skinny. The pickups sound good, and the electronics are decent quality, even if lacking in mojo points!
The fretwork is good and playability is excellent.
Overall I'm really pleasantly surprised. I paid £120 for it on eBay.
I think the basic quality is as good as the CVs but much cheaper as it doesn't have their hype effect.
If you can get to a shop that stocks both the Affinity and Standard, it would be worth a play to see which you like the best.
A shame you can't get onto the used market, you could get something a lot more interesting for you £200. Or save a big chunk on the price of a Standard as per @martinw above.
The only way for you to be sure is to try some in the shops :-)
Bandcamp
I've taken the plunge and bought this one, http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/squier-standard-telecaster-electric-guitar-in-vintage-blonde , it should arrive on Monday. I know its wise to go and play the guitars before buying but I work 6 days a week most weeks and live out in the sticks so finding the time to do stuff can be difficult, and I've wanted a Tele since I was a kid so I'm pretty sure I'll learn to get along with it.