Fender Squier Affinity Series P-Bass

I own a 2004 P bass made in Indonisia, that I bought in mint (used condition), it is your standard Precision 4 string, nothing special. Alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, jumbo frets, and that beautiful p bass neck.

This bass does everything I want it to very well, and has a good amoutn of versitility for what it is it's an amazing bass that I plan on upgrading. I played a Fender American Standard Precision and although it had mroe tone over all it wasn't much different, not enough to warrent replacing this one for 1400 bucks instead of dropping a couple hundred to get near the same sound. The fact that this bass stands up in whatever I compare it to amazes me, however I don't like it for drop tunings and you get alot of hum. Based on a standard tuning and a finger picking style this bass is perfect for any style of rock out there, drop tuned, picked or slaped and you might wanna use something else.

I love the feel of a P bass, I added my own thumbrest and now it's just an amazing bass. The guy I got it off of set it up but not quite to my liking, now I got my action highish, and my pickup as close as I can put it and still slap and I love it. The finish is also very nice, and I've beaten the hell out of this bass (unfortionitly) and it still looks new until close inspection.

This is defenitly a reliable bass, the stock strap buttons are pure garbage (as are all Fender strap buttons) but strap locks do the trick. I'm not rough with my instruments but they do get banged around accidentaly. I think she'll last for a while though, haven't had to adjust the truss rod yet:)

I actualy had to deal with Fender over my tele and strat, they're customer service is alright, the employee who I was emailing seemed a bit snappy and rude but I didn't really care.

Been playing almost 6 years, and as for bass I have this and a Bassman 115 amp. I love the tone I get from it, and this bass plays awsome. For what I paid it's amazing and for what I expected it's surpassed that by about 100 times, I'd expect crap or a weak finish or plywood but it's just been my workhourse for the last year, and my sole bass seeing as I can't stand my old Peavey's sound. I recomend this bass to anyone on a budget or a beginner, but if you want to have the Fender name defenitly go for it because Mexican or U.S. made they're both great basses as well.

Most people seem to have gotten "second hand" squier basses, because i never had a problem with mine besides the volume knob falling off. and thats after my cat knocked it over a bunch of times. Built pretty damn solid except for the volume knobs and input. some spots on the neck are a little hotter then others but thats what compressors are for.

Sounds great thru a 100 watt SWR amp, a little nondescript (but that could be due to the fact that I havent changed the strings in a long time). Although i played a ibanez thru it as well and i'd have to say the ibanez sounded better, with a clearer metallic tone. But in conclusion I dont see why it couldnt be used to play anything you want, If your a good bass player this bass should suffice.

I bought it brand new and my only complaint is the cheap volume knobs (use guitar volume knobs they actually stay on)and input, and the inconsistency of the 'attack' (Some areas are louder then others). and sometimes the top string buzzes a little bit when tuned down.

Well I've played out with my P-bass plenty of times with out back up. I think a lot of people on here got taken for a ride and bought beat up old crummy P-basses. Why would my bass be magically superior to all other squiers. Shame on you all, do you homework

most people that work in music stores are morons. (sad but true) I wouldnt even want them to try and 'fix' it.

well I've been playing bass (Off and on didnt always own a bass)about as long as I've been playing guitar, which is 14 years. If my P-bass was stolen I'd most definitely buy a new one because its cheap and works for anything you need it too(depending on how good you are).I used it to record different kinds of music and played out in bars and such. If I were to buy any other type of bass it would probably a Ibanez of some sort.

Hey this is P-bass, what "features"?? Basic volume/tone control, jack, and how do you call those? yeah strings! (Truth is avg P-bass buyer will not buy it for features ;)

Mine was made in Indonesia, with maple neck/rosewood fretboard, black with white pickup guard. Not sure about actual wood, it is no plywood and feels heavy; listed as Alder, perhaps is. Got used, not sure what year, ~2005ish

After shielding and adjusting it sounds great even with stock strings/pickups, sounds just like the original did in those records from 70s.

Problem with many "budget", "value" guitars/basses that they rarely come set up right (who will spend 1-2hr setting 200$ instrument?) Also if you got it as part of "value" pack don't judge the sound by practice amp it was sold with. It will sound alot better with better amp.

There is alot of hum coming from unshielded pickups; plan on to spend some time on schielding pots/pickups

Action is light and was almost spot on, needed very little adjustment. Bridge on other hand wasn't adjusted, so she would go out of tune when you walk up.

Pickups needed adjustment, and they are somewhat cumbersome to adjust. You might wanna put something under

Pickups, pots and wires need to be shielded

One pickup guard screw was overtighten

hey this is a bass not a sledge hammer!
I am easy on instruments; seems to be durable enough finish-wise.

After initial set up didn't need much attention

Stoke strap is a joke, not sure why they bothered to include it

It is a great value if you like sound of P-bass from old tracks, not care for bells and whistles and willing to spend time on adjusting/shielding

I bought mine new in 2005, obviously it's not got a great deal of features but I was starting out then so it was all that I needed. Now, I still have it, but it's no longer giving me what I want froma bass - it's very basic, but I wouldn't call it bad. It didn't come with any extras.

I've used it a lot to play various styles, it seems to play best with a neutral style of music - not too rockish, not too country. The tone settings on the bass only add bass/treble, so anything more I've had to ask to be altered through PA systems if it's been possible to do that. It also sounded a lot better once I replaced the original strings, and that was just with the standard regular Ernie Ball ones.

Bass set-up at the factory - awful! I have modified nearly everything. Pick-ups needed raising, strings lowering, and the pickguard has been replaced due to faults with the electrics on the inside. The lead contact is pretty loose as well, and I've had endless problems with that in the past. If I had the money I would have just replaced the bass instead of getting it fixed. 3 times I had to get it repaired.

It's never failed me playing live, only at practices when the electrics have gone completely in the past. After four years of owning it, it's in pretty bad condition, this is probably my own fault, because the neck is bruised and scratched, the finish is chipping off, it's not all that pretty anymore.

I've never had to deal with them.

I've been playing four years, still haven't replaced my first bass, so I feel that as a player I've outgrown it, but haven't the money to get something decent. It's been alright for the time I had it. As a beginner's instrument it was very good but that's all.

Hey, it's a typical P bass... 1 volume, 1 tone, thin sheet steel bridge, 1 ply pick guard. This Affinity is a little different than some others I've seen because it's fitted with standard sized tuners. The neck is made from a very nice slab cut of maple with nice even graining.

It sounds like a P bass should.

This bass needed a few minor repairs and a setup but then again I bought this one used from my local Music Go Round so no rating for factory fit and fnish. However the frets needed a little cleaning up and buffing at their ends because I can be a little picky about such things.

Very well built and solid.

This is my second Affinity P bass and once again I'm impressed with the quality and sound for the amount of cash I paid. According to the serial number this bass was made in Indonesia by Cort in 2005 and they really did a good job building it. The fret work wasn't perfect but then again it's to be expected from a bargain bass.

I normally gig with my ATK700 plugged into an Ashdown MAG300H head and GK 410RBH cab but I also take this along as a backup and to play on some songs were I want the sort of tone that can only come from a passive bass. This one is a definite keeper because it plays and sounds so good. I just love seeing the look on people's faces when they find out it's a Squier... and an Affinity no less!

2006 Squier Precision Bass. 4 strings, 20 frets, passive single humbucker, volume and tone knobs, just like everybody said. Bolt-on neck, thinner than most; a pretty fast neck, in fact.

Not a feature-rich device, nor is it meant to be.

It sounds like a Precision! Growly with the tone turned all the way up, muddy with it all the way down. Pick near the bridge for super-bright, finger over the pickup or at the neck for dark and deep. You know, a bass. I haven't plugged into an amp, just direct into my ProFire 2626 and through Native Instruments Guitar Rig - sounds good! No hum, buzz or hiss from electronics that I can detect. The pickup and pots are cheap, though. I suspect that investing in a loaded pickguard for this thing would really make it scream.

I spent 45 minutes or so doing a set-up (been awhile since I've done one on a bass, cut me some slack), and she's a player! Only fret buzz is when fretting on the top 5 or so frets, which I'm calling "acceptable". I can always raise the action a hair if I need to. Didn't touch the truss rod, the action seems pretty consistent all-round. Did I mention that the neck was pretty fast?

Finish is decent, no glaring flaws from 5 feet away. It's obviously not perfect for this price, but hey, who's perfect anyway?

It feels solid, like a P-Bass. The pickguard is flimsy as hell, however, and flexes like mad when inserting / removing a cable; I suspect that it won't last long, as some previous reviewers have alluded to. Body and neck seem solid, though.

Never dealt with Fender on anything.

For the price, this is an amazing guitar. Even for significantly more money I'd be happy. A great beginner's instrument, to be sure, and I suspect that I'm going to get a fair bit of use out of it tracking here. We'll see how it holds up to live abuse!

20 Frets, made somewhere in Asia. Mine is a few years old so I would guess Indonesia. Body appears to be Agathis. 1 Pickup. It's a P-bass. Light. Dents easily. Well at least it is easy to drill a new pickguard into. Loving previous owner took pity on it and sanded down and re-shot with a nitro coat.

With the '62 RI pickup you get killer old school thump and grind for days. So it's a 10. Strung up with Fender flatwounds. Absolutely sings.

Love it.

Want to hear it?

No problem: http://www.myspace.com/zombiesurfcamp

Factory setup never saw it. Neck is a little off center due to what looks like a second rate neck pocket. Plays nice. Replaced bridge awhile back. Stock one was cheap but worked.

Well, the body wood is a little too soft, easy to dent. Other than that, it's fine. I have used it for stage and recordings. I have a lot of premium equipment but nevertheless, this cheap beginner bass is one of my top 3 picks.

Nice and light, good tone. The stock tuners are ugly but they did the job. Replaced them for Hipshot ultralights. Yes... I pimped my Squier P-bass. What can I say it has done right by me so I do right by it.

Playing a long time, toured, recorded, still do it... Honestly own gear that costs five times what I have into this thing, but that's not what matters, what matters is if it plays and sounds good for you... And this starter bass gets me going every time. I bought it for around 200, and put almost that much into it with new bridge, tuners, knobs and pickguard. I have owned probably over a dozen basses, and this is definitely in the top 3. Though it is in the bottom 3 for price. Adding the work the previous owner did you probably have close to 500 in a 200 dollar bass. Funny part is it plays and sounds like one worth even more.

Made in China.
Usual Squier p-bass, brown sunburst finish.
Accessories - tools and only.
Looks excellent!!!

Stock pickup was replaced by Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pound (SPB-3), sound became more punchy, increased frequency range and power. Then I mounted second pickup ( usual cheap J-Bass pickup ) near the bridge for improving high-freq response.
Played open-air with it - great!!! A lot of punch and enough clarity for solos, fast riffs.
Now I satisfied with this sound (playing soft, hard rock, metal, prog rock a little), using tap, slap-pop technique and my instrument doesn't limit study process. Dynamic is proportional for all frets and strings with quality pickups.

mmmm.. That's the problem.
No factory setup, but it's not a problem. Action was perfectly tuned by myself.
I play this bass almost for 3 years, finish doesn't want lay on instrument and fall's out after light hit. And the worst: neck on the backside becomes greeny-grey after few months of playing (not on all instruments).

Once stoke tuner was broken in two after bass was dropped down in in a soft case, but very mastered guy repaired it in a day. Other times it remained safe (even in temperature range -30 --- +40 C degrees)

Not needed

I think it's a ideal solution for cash 200-350$, but no more.
GOOD, reliable and playable BASS for beginners and advanced musicians.

Made in Indonesia, May 2006. Standard equipment you'd expect from a basic P-Bass... one split P-style pickup, 20 frets, 34" scale, volume and tone. Solid blue finish. I'd have preferred the two-pickup style on this, for a little more flexibility, but I needed something that would sound like an entry-level Fender bass and this is fine.

I picked this up for a surf band. Like I said, I needed something that would sound like an entry-level Fender bass, bland and with a little bit of growl, and without all the gut-busting ultra lows and high-end definition. For this purpose it sounds just fine.

The only possible variation in tone using the factory equipment is with the tone knob, which will allow you to roll off what sounds like everything but the bottom two octaves of overtones. I like how it sounds with volume at 10 and tone at 0.

The setup from the factory was horrible. I lowered the bridge and tightened up the truss rod and now it seems to be fine. I'm primarily a guitarist and I don't expect this to play like a Strat (as much as I wish it did, sometimes), but you'd definitely want someone with a little experience to set it up for you if you aren't experienced setting up guitars.

There's a little nick in the underside of the fretboard, but it's purely cosmetic and doesn't interfere with its function as an instrument. I haven't noticed any other finish flaws.

Haven't had it long enough to offer a useful opinion here.

I know the knobs will eventually fail, but hey... the knobs on Custom Shop instruments fail too. Moving parts fail. That's how it goes.

It's Fender. I've never had to call them before. What's it like?

For a beginner this bass is fine. The included strings have an obnoxious metallic twang but I am assuming they will develop an unobtrusive dullness with time.

This bass fit the bill and the price was right.

Older Indonesian Squier P-Bass with the usual precision bass appointments, 4 peice agathis body, maple neck with squirrely grain and some light colored variety of rosewood fretboard. Thin vintage style frets and the body and headstock are slightly thinner than a standard
Fender Precision. Neck feels thinner at the nut also. Bridge is the traditional fender type and is fully adjustable, truss rod is accesible from the headstock. Small diameter 500K pots come in place of the larger 250K usually found on a real precision. Came with a cheap gig bag and awful Squier 15 watt amp. Has all the features I need in a passive 4 string.

Sounds like a real precision with maybe slightly less sustain due to the relatively light agathis body - especially after replacing the stock 500k pots and tone cap with the 250K and 0.047 uF setup found on most Fenders. Basically the tone control is a low pass filter and changing the pots has the effect of increasing the cutoff value so higher frequencies are not attenuated as much. Makes the bass sound much better, actually deeper because higher frequency overtones are now present on the lower notes. The pickup is very high output and sounded a bit harsh to me at first but lowering the PU softened it up nicely with only a small apparent drop in volume. It is a bit noisy due to inadequate sheilding easily fixed if it bothers you.

Bought this bass used and it showed no signs of ever having had a good setup. Action was high and intonation pretty far out, pickups were flat and too close to the strings. It was easy to setup - bridge is decent quality, truss rod works fine, tuners are ok with no slop. Some frets up at the dusty end of the neck still buzzing but I don't play up there too often anyway. Decent finish for a cheap instrument, I really like the thin satin finish on the neck. Neck fits very snugly in the pocket - too snugly as there was a small crack in the body at the corner due to the force fit - no big deal though everything seems stable.

I would say this bass will withstand the rigors of the stage as well as any other Precision type bass - especially after upgrading the wiring and pots I have no problem playing out with it other than the snears of gear snobs. Finish will not wear off easily - thick polyurethane or polyester I suppose, strap buttons are a bit large but are solid. Once adjusted the neck is stable have only had the bass for a month but it has not moved in that time.

No basis for review as I never have called on them for anything

I bought this bass very cheap as a beater to keep in my car trunk. Overall this is fine bass for what it is - a beginners instrument. The hardware and basic materials are solid, design is an industry standard and the pickup is fine. It was easy to get into playing condition. Only negative is the very cheap 500K pots and 0.02 uF tone cap which make the bass sound thin but are an easy fix. Lots of folks talk about modifying their squiers but the basic hardware is just fine and I think the pot replacement for about $7-$15 in materials is the only cost appropriate upgrade. Best feature is the nice feeling neck - a bit smaller than a real Fender and I actually like the thin satin finish better.

Been playing bass seriously for about a year though I have dabbled in support of a guitar habit for about 25 years previously. Other instruments are a Carvin LB70 and an MIA Fender Precision on long term loan from a friend. If this instrument were lost or stolen I would shrug and try to find another cheap beater with similar features.

Granted a "10" in this category supposedly means "tons of features" but let's face it, this is a p-bass so I don't expect a Fender Jaguar bass level of switches and pots. It has exactly what I expect so I give it a 10.

Again, this is a p-bass so I don't expect it to sound like an Ibanez EDA, StingRay or even Fender Jazz with active electronics. This bass sounds exactly like the good old tried and true p-bass that has been around for decades.

I bought this bass used so I can't comment on factory set-up. However this was a home-brew defret job... and pretty well done at that. I adjusted the bass to my liking and it plays very well.

I can't say for sure how long this bass will last since I've owned it for such a short period of time but judging by the quality of wood, workmanship and components this bass should last as long as I want it to. It's as solid as my +20y.o. basses.

Is there such an entity?

To put it as simply as possible, this Squier Affinity P-bass is well built and is made of good quality components that should last indefinitely. Disregard the reviews that claim this bass suffers from weak or noisy electronics, soldered joints mysteriously coming apart time after time, components falling off, etc. The components are not the issue, the "tech" who did the set up or repairs is. With proper set up by a competent individual this low-budget bass will sound great, be reliable and will serve it's owner well.

As bought, 1 single coil p-bass pickup, lightweight alder body, fairly straight fretted neck.
I bought this as a cheap project bass to play around with different configurations.

The single coil made some buzz (to be expected, nature of the beast), but it was surprisingly full sounding for the price.
The bad sounds were the groaning and popping noises when tuning, which was the bridge trying to break free.

As mentioned, the bridge wasn't too secure. Actually, only 2 of the 5 mounting screws were not stripped out. Most of the pickguard screws were also stripped.
When I pulled the neck off to replace it with a fretless one, I found clumps of sanding dust, really thick, rough paint, and a piece of sandpaper left in the neck joint by the assembler. Is this their way of shimming the neck, or just sloppy work?

As it currently sits, with new neck, repaired screw-holes, origional pickup replaced with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder, and a second SDQP installed closer to the neck for deeper response, I think it'll go the distance.

I suspect I voided the warranty and will get no help from Fender.

I like the lightweight body. I like the spare parts giving me a few different configuration options. I may stick a Musicman pickup in the neck position just to see how that sounds.

2002 four string, 20 fret Affinity model made in Indochina. Standard Precision Bass configuration with a single volume knob and tone knob controlling a passive humbucking pickup in the sweet spot. Thank God the tuners aren't the ugly boxed in ones they're putting on these things now. Speaking of tuners, what's the universal bar for rating tuning stability anyway? I have to tune this thing maybe every other week and I play 2 hours each day with the odd gig here and there. They're just fine. Standard Fender string through bridge and chrome dome knobs. The single play pickguard blew but wasn't a big issue for me because I had gotten a black pickguard off eBay beforehand to give me that classic Sid Vicious look. The maple neck is finished in a light satin lacquer and suits me just fine as I tend to get sweaty palms quicker than some other folks. The rosewood fretboard has a nice grain too but not nearly as nice as my custom frankenstein Jazz Bass, of course. ;) I'll give it a 9 because of the lame pickguard.

This is where I was really shocked. For the longest time I stayed away from newer Squiers because so many agreed they were extremely poor sounding and prone to failure. Well, failures are eventual in all equipment and that's why you should always keep a backup handy. If these stock pickups fail, I'll just buy a set of Seymour Duncan or Fender pickups. If the input jack or pots go out, I'll just get replacements and wire them. I play this asian beauty through either a Bassman 100 or four space rack head with an Ampeg B2 powering a Tech21 PSA-1 pre amp, going through an Ampeg 8x10 cabinet, and I have to say it sounds amazing. I play alot of mod rock and post punk so the extra hot pickups really help me to get that lightly toasted sound quicker. I also dabble in third wave ska, rocksteady, reggae, etc and with the just a pinch of tone I get deep, earth shaking bass without any of the mud. Honestly though, I think it's just the quality of my gear that makes it sound so good. I'll give them an 8 just to be safe.

The body is finished off in a nice creamy white and appears to be hardwood, which I think may contribute largely to that cutting P-Bass sound when the tone knob is dimed. It looks really nice. The pickups were high enough that I could rest my thumb on them when I need to and low enough to avoid strings clicking against the magnets when picking or slapping. The action was nice, but the truss rod did require a quick tweak and the saddles needed to be raised. Straight out of the box it was okay, but I can understand why people may have problems playing it. I like my action low and flat so every bass gets adjusted to my tastes so I can't comment much on this. I'll give it a 7 here.

The hardwood body will get dented very easily but for the price I paid, I wouldn't care much. The finish looks good and will definitely look better with some bits of paint missing here and there. The strap buttons are crap and probably the only other I hate on this entire bass. Other than the single ply pickguard, of course. Unlike a pair of underwear, I wouldn't ever leave the house without a backup bass so that isn't an issue. I would expect it to give out eventually though and suggest those who are starting out with this instrument to be wary of that. Solution? Get two! The instrument gets a 7 to reflect the strap buttons and the bass' potential to crap out on a younger musician who can't afford a backup mid-song.

It's Fender. They're an international music empire. Needless to say, I don't expect much from them unless Leo Fender zombified corpse suddenly rose from its grave and engaged in a hostile takeover of the company. By "hostile" I of course mean a bloody, brain-eating killing spree through their Arizona headquarters. How cool would that be?

I've only been playing for about three years, but my father spoils me because he went to GIT but never got a chance to make anything of his efforts in music because he slept with my mother. Living through your children rocks! Or maybe not. Besides this, I have a Hartke VX3500, an Ampeg SVT-810E, a Versatone Pan-o-Flex (!!!!), an Edwards E-FV-95B Flying V bass, a custom built Jazz Bass that looks like a genuine 70's model, a Peavey Dyna-Bass, and other junk. I started out on a vintage Gretsch Roc Jet guitar that belonged to my uncle, but I quickly made the move to bass because some friends in High School needed a bassist for their band and nobody else they knew were talented enough. Since then I've started playing upright and working on my jazz chops while playing more easily accessible stuff like the genres of music I mentioned above. I don't consider myself to be very good, but it's probably only because my self-esteem is so poor and that the internet gives me easy access to numerous videos and mp3 recordings of much better bassists, both professional and amatuer alike. All I can do is learn from them and be a slave to music in hopes that someday I'll make it in the industry and turn my hobby into a job. Overall, I think this is a great value but I can't imagine what it would sound like through a 15 watt practice amp and that's why I think my review is a bit biased for those looking to buy a bass in this price range. However, if you're a musician who has been at it awhile or just has really top notch gear, give the Squier name a try. You may like it.

Standard Affinity Squier Precision, you know the score.

When I got it, I was pleased with it's sound and it suited me very nicely, but as I progressed along I decided that replacing the pickups would be a safe way to go, I changed the standard squier ones with Seymour duncan quarter pounders and the sound differences were awesome, the bass now has a thick warm tone that's smooth and silky, crank it up and it overdrives perfectly too.

The original action was quite comfortable for me, although I prefer a quite high action, intonation was spot on out of the box. There were no problems with the out of the box bass, it was fine. A spin of the tone control sometimes creates something of a crackle, but I fixed that myself/.

This bass has withstood the toil of live playing, I would probably reccomend straplocks, as the strap buttons are a little loose, but if you carry a phillips screwdriver wherever you take it, you'll be fine. The finish is as solid as a rock, you simply cannot hurt it, which may be a pain in the ass when I choose to strip it down and respray the body sometime soon, but nevermind that. I have gigged it without backup and it's been fine.

N/A

I've been playing a few years and always with this bass. one thing I wished I had asked before I purchased it is whether the wiring was any good, but I fixed that too. If you like repairing things with your own hands, it's quite fun.

If it were stolen or lost, I would probably save up my money for a long time to buy a rickenbacker 4003, something of a dream bass for me.

The bass that I am rating is an Indonesian made Squier P-bass Affinity series model from around 1999. It is a 4 string, 20 fret bass so it is quite basic and average as basses go. Made with 2 knobs, one for volume and one supposedly made for tone. It has two pickups p-bass style with passive electronics. The body style is a basic fender precision copy with an average width neck from the other basses that I have played. This was the bass that came with my Beginner package, which included a Gig bag, amp, instructional video, and cord. This section is just talking about the specifics in general, ill get into nitpicky things later.

When it comes to sound, this is where it starts to fall apart. I play many music styles but mostly funk/jazz/rock. It doesnt seem to be made for anything in particular but it isnt all that well balanced either. I have used it with many different amps and it still has a nagging buzzing sound no matter what you do. On slaping and popping, it isnt all that crisp for either and mucks up the sound no matter what you do. The only time it shows promise is when you turn the knob all the way to one side, providing the player with a somewhat richer sound or crisper sound. The bass sounds better onstage live than in the studio but still doesnt sound great either way. I do like however, the snap sound you can get when you turn the knob all the way to crisp and slap and pop.

When I got the bass, it was in tip-top shape for the first 2 years. nothing was wrong until one day I spun one of the knobs and it fell off! completely off. I couldnt get it to stick on no matter what I did. Eventually the bass just died on me after the electronics broke down and the knobs both fell off. This disappointed me and I eventually got stuck with a $160 repair bill. Damn!

I would consider this review the same as the one above. Also the truss rod has to be adjusted constantly and continually or else it goes all snappy and out of tune easily. I only use this bass on gigs because I cant afford another one.

I have been playing almost 6 years and I have played many basses by many brands. I just bought an OLP MM2. I have been in 4 different musical bands and played about 5 paying gigs outside of school. For someone who just turned 16, I think that that is pretty good. I listen to almost any kind of music and I have quite a bit of knowledge of music theory. Comparing this to other basses, the other fenders that are out there have more character and better durability. they sound better and are just slightly more expensive. Comparing this bass to other brands like Sadowsky, Musicman, Epiphone, Spector, Ibanez, Modulus, etc.........., is like comparing Apples to bruised apples. Although this is a crappy bass, I made the most out of it by Upgrading the electronics, getting new pickups, new pots, and polishing it up. I have had this as my faithful bass for almost 6 years and it has always been there, even if it is a piece of crap. I would not sell this bass because of the history it has. That being said, Ill probably never play it as my main bass.

This Bass has two knobs, ya know? Volume (That one makes it louder, and Softer), and Tone (That one makes it go Ping Ping or Pow Pow) Who can ever know when this was made, I bought it used. 20 jumbo frets, all fairly even and well installed. It's got one split P-Bass style pickup. Maybe i'll replace it one day, maybe I won't. It's got passive electronics, and a Torino (Whatever happened to Candy-Apple) Red Finish. The bridge is in pretty good condition, depending on how this bass holds up in the next 6 months I may or may not replace it with a Leo Quan Badass II Chrome Bridge. The Tuners are sealed and don't slip, though I may replace the Low E tuner because it's slightly soft. The scale is just right for a person of my height 5'6". It's got what you need, nothing you don't.

I play a variety of styles, from reggae to jazz. The bass sounds allright across the spectrum. It's no Stingray, but it nails the melodic round tones above the 12th fret in what i'll call the treble position, and it rumbles low in what i'll call the bass. I say Treble & Bass positions because the tone knob has basically no middle ground. I play through whatever amp is available, and am about to start building a Port-a-Flex replica with my friend.

I bought this bass slightly used, and there was an upside and a down side. The downside is there is a small fleck of red finish missing. The upside is that this bass was also apparently set-up by the previous owner. Thank you, unknown dude!

I've had it a few hours. It's still in one piece. What could go wrong?

Fender = Robots

I've been playing guitar for over nine years, and have a plethora of musical equipment from a Banjolin to a Lowlry Organ. This is just another member of the family. It's my first bass and so it's obviously a budget choice, but it is also a lucky find. I might pull the squire waterslide decal off the headstock, because i'm not a big fan of branding. I play in a band called the IntolerAnts, and it works pretty well for whatever we play. Ever notice how it's only kids in Emo/Punk bands that hate on in-expensive non-mainstream-branded equipment? Peace and Love, kids.

This is a review of a Fender Squier Affinity P-Bass, made in China. I purchased it new at Mars, 6 months before they went belly up. About 70 people before me, have described this instrument. It's no frills bass, with split pickups, volume and tone controls, tuners, frets, pickguard and strap buttons. The neck is maple, the fingerboard is rosewood. There were no accessories included.

I'm a guitar player/vocalist who writes and records music in the folk, alt country vein. This instrument often goes direct to Yamaha 2816, occasionaly into a preamp, or into an SWR LA8 practise amp. I'm not overly impressed with the sound of this instrument. I rate acceptable.

The bass wasn't set up at all, as purchased. It need a truss rod twist, and bridge adjustment to bring action and intonation into line. The finish is pretty damn good for an under $200 instrument. The frets need no work, and the electronics functioned.

I expect that this bass will hold up pretty well, played live.

I don't expect to require customer support. What i can't fix myself, will be handled by a local repair shop. This is chinese,baby fender for christ's sake, not an Alembic!

I've been playing guitar for 30+ years. Other gear includes fender, washburn, taylor, guild, and gibson guitars. Line 6 pod, fender blues dlx amp, ultrasound AG50 amp, and SWR la8 amp. Recording gak includes Yamaha AW2816, dBx 386, lexicon MPX 550,TC VoiceOne, Macintosh with Peak, Akg 535, shure KSM44's,oktava MC012's, sm57 et/

Why did I choose this? Because it was playable, and cheap. I don't love or hate anything about it. It's a useful tool that helps me lay down basic bass tracks. It this was stolen, I would invest in a slightly better bass.

I got mine in 2005 and was crafted in Mexico. It has 20 medium jumbo frets tht work fine for me adn has 4 strings and has volume tone controls. im 13 so i dnt kno all the technical stuff. mine is special its got open gear tuners and a bad ass 2 bridge with 'hot rod' pickups which added to the price a bit

I play greenday in my band and it gives me the perfect sound. I am using a fender bassman 200 ashdown and marshall and i swear they kik ass. i play live and it neva fails me.
all u wanaks out there tht say its crap prob cus u suk a bass and dnt kno wat a bass shuld sound like or how to play.

Every thing was perfect

It will with stand been run ova by a car
trhere is no need for backup

y need support when u r playin gods instrument

Ive been playin for 4 years and it is a kik ass bass. if it were stolen ill find the guy/ggirl and kik their ass to the ground.
i love....it
ppl tht say it suk are wrong as it is a fab axe

Purchased around easter 2005 with the Squire Starter Bass Pack. Solid alder body, 1 piece maple neck, a nice rosewood fretboard. 20 frets 4 strings, made in indonesia. 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Single split coil p-bass pickup.

I liked when i got it, but as time went on i started looking for more definition. But after playing many new basses with active electronics, i found myself liking the sound of this 'starter' bass more and more. Compared to mexican and american p-basses i've tried, well no contest. But in my mind beats the hell out of most thin sounding modern basses. The tone knob takes you from a nice subtle growl and punch to a undefined mudd.

The action came pretty good. It was lowered a little from the shop i bought it from. The pickups were also fine. The input jack is kinda loose, sometimes takes a little jiggle or two no worries tho. There was a bunch of saw dust under every place on the bass but not a real big problem that can't be solved with a screw driver and 5 minutes.

More of a bedroom bass player so i don't know about live playing. The finish is pretty durable, and the tuners do a descent job staying in tune for about a week at a time. Were i to play live i woudl replace the small strap buttons, and because of the sketchy input jack i wouldn't try and gig without a back up. The neck has remained true since i bought it.

Haven't dealt withth them

I've only been playing for about 4 months maybe. Now i really wish that i sprung a bit more cash for one of the squire p-basses that have a bridge jazz pickup. Were it stolen I would probably pick up a used jazz or something along those lines. All and all, this is a good bass at a good price. For my tastes, it sounds better than a lot of other active basses out there.

2002 Squire 20th Anniversary P Bass Affinity / China
BODY Alder
NECK Maple, C-Shape,
(Polyurethane Finish)
FINGERBOARD Rosewood, 9.5? Radius (241 mm)
NO. OF FRETS 20 Medium Jumbo
SCALE LENGTH 34? (864 mm)
WIDTH AT NUT 1.625? (41 mm)
HARDWARE Chrome
MACHINE HEADS Standard Open-Gear Tuners
BRIDGE Standard 4-Saddle
PICKGUARD 1-Ply White
PICKUPS 1 Split Single-Coil Pickup
PICKUP SWITCHING None
CONTROLS Volume, Tone
COLORS (506) Black,
(Polyurethane Finish)
STRINGS Super 7250ML, p/n 073-7250-005, (.045, .065, .080, .100)
UNIQUE FEATURES Dot Position Inlays
INTRODUCED 1/1999

With tone turned down = Booming Mush
With tone turned up = Nice traditional Fender bass sound !
I'm not able to dial in anything usefull in midrange tone but some DiMarzio's PU's might do the trick.
Flatwound strings sound good !

Neck set = excellent / tight no gaps or misfitting.
Frets = very good. No sharp edges and all are set well.
Better than fret work found on many higher priced basses (e.g.Yamaha)
Action: Setup quite well. Obviously will need an occasional trussrod tweak....don't all basses ?
So I figure it deserves a 10

As others mentioned in the prior postings the pickguard is cheap. People have trouble with loose knobs etc...so fix em
At this price point what do you want - Egg in your Beer !

NA

I have owned a number of midrange priced basses. Rickenbacker, Spector NS2, Gibson's, Ibanez, I have built two Warmoth Jazz basses.
This Squire bass has to be the best bang-for-the buck out there !

Squier Affinity Series P Bass
Alder Body
Maple C-shape Neck with Rosewood Fretboard
34" scale
20 medium-jumbo frets
Volume and Tone chrome controls
1 ply pickguard
Artic White (580)

See their website for more info on this specific guitar:

http://www.squierguitars.com/gear/show_specs.php?product=0310400&feature_id=1:0:0

I give it a 9 for features since they are exactly the same as the Fender Standard P Bass.

It has the nice Fender P Bass growl. I have a Fender Standard P Bass sitting right next to it and they sound identical.

Remember, the P Bass is not meant to be the tonal king of the bass world. Running it into a GK Backline 110 for practice. Shakes the house down when I want it to!

Here is the real SURPRISE.

This is the ONLY guitar that I have ever bought that actually came ready to play from the store. All the others need work (some lots of work).

No fret buzzing, no weird noises, strange vibrations. Just pure P Bass sound.

The control knobs are fitted snugly and turn cleanly. They make no noises in the signal when being adjusted.

I was surprised how well this "cheapo" bass was setup and how nice it played.

The tuners are cheap and will probably be the first to go (many years from now). The bridge looks identical to my Fender P Bass.

Who calls Tech Support for a $159 bass? Come on. Be real.

I have been playing for about 2 years now. I am hardly a professional.

This is a great first bass and a nice backup bass. At this price, you don't have to baby the bass or worry about it being stolen.

But I must say that I was surprised at how well mine plays.

If stolen, I would definitely buy another.

I love the color (Artic White), but am not too fond of the tuners (which work, but...)

4 strings
21 medium jumbo frets
2004
Standard P-bass pickupd
Volume and Tone Control

I play new metal and death metal so this bass isnt really what i was quite hoping for. I need a more sturdy bass because it keeps falling apart. Flat sound. Better for studio, not performance worthy. Really loud. it hums too much

Poor paint finish. Very unstable neck. when playing the 4th String the neck makes a weird sound... Not very good pickups.

My input jack keeps falling off so i have to use tape to keep it on. Not very reliable at all. I dont use this bass on a gig without a backup because after about 3 songs it starts to fall apart

neveer dealt

i have been playing for about 6 months and its already falling apart. DONT BUY THIS!

Standard Precision. Split pickup, one volume, one tone, 20 frets, rosewood fingerboard...Hey it's a precision! Mine is a 1997 model that I've sanded the finish down on and haven't yet had time to finish, it so it has a nice bare wood ingrained with dirt finish at the moment. I'll leave the rating blank for this section because I believe it's a little unfair to give this bass a low rating for features because it is what it is.

The basic sound of this bass is good. I've played it through small amps and large concert rigs and it has a reasonable amount of weight and definition if played that way. It has the very distinctive Precision character.

As a beginner instrument I can't fault the Squier P. The finish on mine was well applied (before I sanded it off), the frets are well dressed and the setup was good. It didn't need much adjusting to get it to play well.

This bass isn't as heavy as some of its cousins (which could be a great advantage for many younger players) but quite simply if you look after it there shouldn't be a problem. One of the split pickups fell away from its cover on mine but that was easily removed and glued back together. The Precision is a pretty simple bass in terms of the way its assembled so if anything does happen it's generally very easy to strip it down and fix basic things. That aside I haven't had any reliability problems whatsoever (although I now play a G&L L2500 for the most part and not so much the Squier but it still gets the occasional outing.)

Never had to deal with Fender/Squier.

I really do have to stick up for the Squier Precision here. I understand this may sound like a bit of a rant and I understand that people have their opinions and their right to express them, but I do find it strange that people who have only been playing for 2 weeks or so can write the Squier off as a piece of c**p. Getting good tones out of a bass required a lot of technique which takes a long time to learn. Sound and feel are the most important aspects of music to me (personal opinion here of course) and it took me a few years to get really good, solid positive tones out of the Squier, but it taught me a lot about technique, and of course if you learn on an instrument that isn't quite as easy to get tones out of as some, when you upgrade to a 'superior' instrument you'll sound much much better! I would urge anyone reading this and thinking of ditching their Squier after a few weeks of playing to spend a little more time learning how to control your instrument. It is, after all your fingers and your heart where the real tone comes from. It just takes a little time to learn how to get it out and no matter what make or model of bass you may be playing, you will always sound like you. I honestly can not say how much of a perfect bass the Squier is to learn on. The music I play ranges from Steely Dan to The Eagles, Dennis Brown, Joni Mitchell, Keb Mo and lots of other stuff. As mentioned above my main bass is a G&L L2500, I also play a fretless Fender Jazz 5 String and a Sting Signature Precision, and I still enjoy gigging the Squier sometimes because even next to the #1200 G&L it plays and sounds well. Apologies if this is slightly off-topic. I just felt I had to say it! Happy playing!

Same as the rest...
Made in China 1998 or so.
Torino Red
4 bass strings
volume & tone knobs
single split pick-up
Has everything you need... nothing you don't
Its a bass guitar... what else could you possibly need?

This bass sounds great. It has been played at least
once a week for three to five hours at a time for two years in a jam band
situation. It is played thru a Kustom KBA100 bass amp.
Between the bass and the amp, virtually any bass tone you want
can be had. I typically use the tone knob to roll off the high end
so my playing is more of a supporting role for the two guitars and
keyboards. If one of the guitarists and keyboardists don't make the session, I turn the tone knob up for a brighter, more prominent sound.

I bought this guitar off the showroom floor at Guitar Center
in San Jose California. I tried other basses, but this one had the
best action, fit and finish. It is a solid wood guitar, not plywood
as others have stated. If you don't like surprises, I suggest
going to a music store and finding a quality instrument as opposed to mail-order where you get what you're given.

This bass can and does withstand live playing. I have, do and will use this bass for gigs without a back-up. The only problem with this bass is the pick-guard. It is too thin... and has cracked
where the input jack is. Tape is now holding the pick-guard
down and together... I will be putting a three-ply pick-guard on
to replace the single ply one. This bass has never broken
or stopped making sound during a gig. Very reliable, very durable within reason. Rarely needs to be re-tuned... I can play it for months at a time without having to tune up. Haven't changed the strings.. still have the original set (keep 'em clean and they last a long time).

I couldn't care less what name is on the headstock. I am not looking to impress anyone with how expensive a bass I play.
As a matter of fact, the less expensive the better for me...
if it breaks or gets scratched... no real loss. I've known people
that play $5,000.00 guitars and are constantly fretting about
tiny scratches or whatever... forget that shit. I compared this bass to about six other basses in the store... bought the best one for me. If it were stolen or lost... I'd shop for another... or give the junkie who stole it ten bucks for it so they could buy crack. No one in their right mind is gonna steal a Squier...

WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAID

only dislike is the neck is big and it is a little hard to play cause of that, not so much the action.I have been playing guitar a VERY long time this IS my first bass.It sounds good.It is a musical intstrument not a toy.I am glad I bought it.I use it for home recording.

set up quite excellent could not be much better took it home and started recording.no defects

It is built well.For 173 bucks it is built unfreakenbelievable

I dont put much faith in customer support at this price range.

Its everything I hoped it would be, a decent usable bass.Not the best bass in the world.But maybe the best bass in the world at this price.
I wish I had a expensive bass here to give it a side by side.I think it might hold its own with a bass costing 10 times as much.It would lose the shoot off of course but mabe not by a lot.Oh,it feels good too its light and balance is good.It feels good to pick up and play.

its a 34" scale, 20 frets, no locking tuners, split p config., passive pickups, a volume and a tone knob, p style body, rosewood fret board. made in china.

at the time i bought it i played punk crap now i have moved into the more rock stuff and oldies, anything from the beatles to the who to primus, not a good bass for primus stuff. im now using a dean markley 17 watt bass amp(dont recommend) and a digitech bp200. this bass has a very bright poppy sound. again not good for any primus stuff. ok for punk and beatles. the bass electronics were really quiet when i got it and then it developed a slight hum, i replaced the crappy cord i was using and that didnt help the bass makes the noise. i have had this bass for about 2 years and about 6 months ago it makes this crackling popping noise and the only way to make it go away is to slap the volume knob really hard and you cant adjust the volume while your playing or it goes insane. it is an electrical problem but when it started i switched over to playing guitar but i realized i was no good at that so went back to playing bass on my brothers 6 string brice which is heaven for a 6 string. anyways i dont want to pay the money to fix it so i just keep slapping it. i dont play on stage and what i have recorded i have done was on a 4 track tape recorder which didnt sound good. it also doesnt have much range of sound to it. my likes are the fact that its a 4 string my dislikes are the tuners are inaccurate, neck tends to bend, factory strings sucked, pickups went out, and just wasnt my style of bass kinda big even for me a 6' 5" guy.

i bought this bass just because i thought it looked cool. little did i know how big of a mistake i was making. as soon as i got the bass it had a very loud buzzing on the fret board even after i tuned it. when i took it to my first bass lesson my teacher looked at it, the neck was bent, the frets were popping out, and the action was set way too low. he said it would cost me 30 dollars to fix and it would take about a week before i could get it back. i had my parents pay for it, what a waste of money. the pickups where also too high. the bass had 2 nicks out of it when i got it but didnt really care. i let the warrenty run out before i could send in the card so i cant change it now.

i do not recommend this bass for anything not for recording or live playing or anything unless you are just buying for the body and replacing the neck and everything else dont get it. the hardware is all cheap peices of crap and will need to be replaced if wanting to upgrade this bass. the finish on mine which was artic white and chipped very easily. the strap buttons where solid until the first time you take them off and then you can never get them back in the right groove and i now have shoved pieces of toothpicks down into it and made new holes through those and now i still have a strap button that wont go all the way into it. i wouldnt depend on this bass for anything and i wouldnt even use it for a back up i would buy something better a.k.a anything but this.

not dealt with the company at all.

i have been playing all together about a year and i am now playing my brothers 6 string brice bass and i am also saving up for a sx jazz bass to play stock for a while and then upgrade. i wish i had asked about this bass instead of buying on looks but hey i didnt know anything about any kind of musical instruments at the time so oh well. if this bass where lost i would buy something better and if it were stolen i would laugh at the guy who is trying to steal it and then just tell him he can have it. i basically hate most of this bass. again i didnt compare it to anything, i didnt know that much at the time and just bought it cause it looked like one of the actual fenders and thought it would sound like it...I WAS WRONG!!! i just have to say i think fender should be ashamed to make this bass. thats all i have to say about the squier affinity p-bass.

2003 Indonesian Squier Affinity P-Bass, bought in starter pack with Frontman 15b amplifier
20 Jumbo Frets
1 each volume and tone nobs
Passive Electronics
Maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard
Split Single pickups
Basic Gig bag

I found it decent for playing rock with a little bit of funk mixed in. The sound wasn't as rich on the low end as I would have liked, but for the money it wasn't bad. I have used it both on the Fender Frontman 15b that comes in the starter pack, and a much more powerful Crate, which is somewhere around 120w. I found that the more powerful amp left more to be desired out of the sound, especially compaired to my teacher's 1970's vintage American P. Overall, for the money it wasn't too bad.

Very good here. very playable out of the box, only made minor adjustments to the pickup heights. A little bit of fret buzz on the E string, but overall good. Very smooth. Tuning pegs in perfectly. I have no complaints about the construction other that the fret buzz on the E string.

This is not the kind of bass that you would do a gig with, so I would say that it would not do well on a stage. It's had its fare share of knocks and falls, but it seems very durable. The headstock has some scratches, but that is much better than the horror stories I've heard of the less solid headstocks cracking in half with a little mistreatment. The finish held up very well, as did the laquer on the neck.

Never dealt with Fender customer support, never had to.

A very good starter bass. The tone does leave somethig to be desired,but for the money it is good. I've been playing for about a year now, so I think I'm ready to move on to a more versitile bass, so I probably would buy sometihng else if it were lost or stolen. When I was buying it, I was compairing it to a low end Ibanez, and a low end Yamaha. I chose the Squire because it just had the best feel of the bunch for me. I do wish that the starter pack that I bought came with a better amp, even if it would have cost a little more.

This is a '00 CI China Squire P bass that I purchased used from a pawn shop. The features are listed below by other reviewers. Mine has the large, quarter sized, potentiometes that are marked "250K ohms." Looking in the control cavity, I can see that the body is not plywood. Though alder, light reflection shows the body to be at least two pieces. The body is thinner than say, a MIM P bass. This makes it very light. The pickup has ceramic magnets and measures 8.17K ohms.

Finish is Torino Red. I think that color is discontinued. Too bad. The neck is maple, with a rosewood fretboard and no "skunk-stripe" on the back.

It has all the features that a P bass should have.

Because of it's light weight, it is very resonant and sounds good unplugged. Plugged in, it reminds me of a MM Stingray bass that I once played. I'm doing some recording and have several basses to compare it to. It sounds better than a '91 Fender JP-90, '93 MIM Fender Jazz bass and '01 Squier Bronco bass with an EMG Select pickup innit. A Gibson Victory bass sounds very similar but beats the Squier with better lows & low mids. (The Squier P has better action.)

I replaced the pickup with a Seymour Duncan Performer Sledgehammer which measured ~17K ohms. The SD was horrid & midrange-y. So, I'm sticking with the original pickup. Stock, this is a very good sounding bass! Plenty of high end sparkle. The low end could be a little warmer but that is easily dialed in with my amp. It has most of that beloved P bass "growl."

It had a poor lead from the volume control to the output jack. I replaced it with a piece of silver wire. To those reviewers who say the controls are scratchy, you need to learn what electronic contact cleaner/lube is. The controls work fine.

The original strings still sounded good after four years. I replaced them with D'Addario 45-105's and they sound glorious. Very piano like.

This thing was hanging in a pawn shop and had never been set up. It still had pickguard protection plastic around the jack, knobs and screws. The neck was bowed from drying and it still had the original strings. No fret wear. There was a small chip in the paint where the body received a blow. Some red fingernail polish corrected the defect.

After a pro setup, the action is very low and free of buzzes. Several musicians who have played this bass want to own it. The neck is wide but thin. Though not a Jazz or JP90 neck, it is easy and fun to play. Of the aforementioned basses, this is the one I always reach for.

You could use this bass to defend yourself in a fight. Though the tuners are economy units, they work fine. Amazing, huh? The paint does chip easily. When I masked off the ding to touch up the paint, tape removal pulled another chip loose. The pickguard is a single layer of plastic. It is warping and cracking. I have a new W/B/W PG on order.

I will use this live, if I can get over the "Squier" stigma. Perhaps I will follow the fellow below's suggestion and sand off the headstock face.

Fender is a big inhuman, alien monster that does not care about people. Let Godzilla sleep. Find a nice Fender, but it, tweak it, play rock and roll and use their warranty card to level a wobbling amplifier.

I've been playing guitar and bass since 1965 or so. If lost or stolen, I would buy another one just like it. Heck, if I found another one today for $75 I'd buy it for my kids!

For you people who don't like this bass, why did you buy it?

Same as all P's

I use this with either (A)a Behringer BX3000T 300w head, or for a very crisp modern sound, (B) Aguilar DB 924 preamp into the effects return of the BX3000T head.

The P-bass sounds is very good. I had been EQing the single pickup for less edgy sound (e.g. church), but I recently bought a jazz pickup ($8 on ebay) and a routing jig ($5 from Stew-Mac) to add to this bass. The new controls consist of a single master volume and a single blend pot. That makes this the be-all-end-all pefect bass for me.

I may build another the same, just to be sure that I always have one. Even after the second one, I will have spent less than what you'd usually think it would cost for a usable bass.

I will try a hand-wound P-type pickup in this bass when it is convenient to afford, but I have no particular problems with the stock pickup. It's just that in my strat experience, hand-wound pickups have some kind of lively quality - a little more character for some reason, possibly psychological...? I guess what I'm saying is that the voicing of the stock pickup suits me fine; I would just prefer handwound. You can get a more modern sound with a differently voiced/hotter pickup, or just use a preamp.

BTW - I have a guitar performance degree ("classical" guitar), and I rely on right hand technique to get a broad range of tones. If you are using a pick or a right hand technique that yields a single color, the pickup will exert more influence over the sound.

I got this for a song as a blem at Musician's Friend, and as a blem, it had a ding in the paint already (tho out of sight for any audience). I really don't care much about finish, except that I don't like gaudy colors, glitter, or anything with graphics. Looks like classic Fender white.

Action came just like I like it, but I don't know where all this bass had been before I got it. It may have been set up by a good tech after its factory setup. I don't know.

A P neck is supposed to be cumbersome - according to consensus, anyway - but I like it best. My hands are big and the spacing, width, and radius feel right for me. I might have a hard time slapping on a narrower neck. I have no problem playing fast on this instrument.

From about 5th position to about 16kth, it all feels perfect for my hands. Either side of that is totally usable, too, just not effortless.

Just extrapolating my experience with Fender and the relative simplicity of this instrument, I think the only thing that might go wrong with this instrument is that standard P-bass neck warp. While you are waiting for that to happen, save up your nickels for a Warmoth replacement neck.

I think that if you like P-basses but you have some bad feelings about your Squier affinity, you could just sand off the graphics from the headstock. That's what I did - LOL, more for the sake of esteem among peers than for myself.

When you consider the price, this is an unbelievable deal.

For me - and with my own mods - this is as close to a perfect bass as I care to buy. It seems like this is a golden age of manufacturing; every single piece of my bass rig is very inexpensive and it all sounds top-notch.

This is a Precision Bass, red in color, maple neck. The body is said to be "hardwood", made in taiwan or somewhere over there. Split humbuckers, sealed tuners, volume and control know. Somewhat light in weight. String thru bridge.

I play in a blues band and blues is all I play. This guitar can rumble. I turn the volume all the way and the tone all the way down. I have always preferred split humbuckers over singles or any thing else I have heard. I play walking bass lines and this guitar is great for it. The signal is sent thru a Digitech BP50 of which I use the compressor and noise gate only, then out of a Peavey TNT 115. I thought about changing the pickup but I am forgetting that line of thought. I have had to adjust height to my liking but these stock cheapies are doing fine. Strings have been changed and lowered. Changing the strings made a huge difference in sound for the better.

Action was high so I brought the strings down and even. Paint and neck finish are perfect. No flaws that I can see. I had to bring the pickups up some and then lowered them a bit. Adjusted to my liking. I had to file the sharp edges of the frets and then rub 'em with some steel wool but they are smooth now. I can run up and down the neck now in comfort. These guitars are pretty simple and simple to adjust and fix.

This bass is a bit light in weight but seems rugged enough. I keep it in a gig bag, wipe it down after playing. With care this bass will go on down the years. I don't abuse it.

Don't really need it. The bass was fine out of the box and all repairs, if needed, will be done by me.

I bought this bass to practice with at home. The guy whom I am jamming with has a very nice bass he wanted me to play on but I am going to use this cheapie. I like the feel and the sound. The red color is nice on the eyes and the sound is easy on the ears. It's a solid guitar. I don't have much money so cost is a factor. This guitar will go on stage with me soon. I believe that an electric guitar should be simple. This bass is simple. There is not much to them so paying $700.00 for one does not sit well with me.

This is a Squier Affinity P-Bass, made in China in 2003 (I think). It has 20 frets, locking closed clover style tuners, rosewood fretboard with jumbo frets, mother of pearl dot fret markers, maple neck, tune-o-matic bridge, and four strings (duh). It's also got a standard P style pickup, passive electronics, one tone knob, one volume knob, and I got it in a metallic red finish with a white pickguard.

I play this bass through an SWR LA10 series amp with no effects. I play everything from the Beatles to Mudvayne, and this bass suits me just fine. It's sounds can range from dark and muddy to bright and snappy. It's extremely versatile, as it allows you switch styles of playing without switching settings, which is great for begginers like me. It does fine in alternate tunings, as well.

When I got this thing home, I took a few minutes to inspect it. The front pickup was a tad too high, but I fixed that easily. The action was also a little high, so my friend lowered for me. The volume pot was loose, so my friend fixed that, too. Other than that, the bass was set up perfectly.

I've never played live, but this bass feels extremely solid. It's only had to endure a few bangs and bumps around the house so far, and it seems to hold up pretty well. It stays in tune pretty much forever, unless I manage to bash the headstock into something (which I have done before). I don't have a strap, so I'm not sure how tough the strap buttons are yet. Judging by how sturdy this thing feels, I'm pretty sure I'd gig with it without a backup.

Never had to deal with them.

This is my first bass, and I can honestly say that I like the way it sounds, looks, and feels. I've only been playing for about three weeks, and I still haven't managed to break it. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably save up for an Epiphone Thunderbird, because I've wanted one for quite awhile, and I love the way they sound. This bass is great for people like me because it looks professional, but it actually isn't. It's still a sweet bass, though.

Fender's obligatory P-Bass ripoff. Purchased as part of the ubquitous amp/cable/gigbag/bass package. 2001 Affinity PBass, pretty much standard Fender stats.
-Maple C shape neck, 9.5" radius, rosewood fingerboard
-34" scale, 20 frets
-standard cloverleaf tuners, chrome hardware
-4 saddle bridge, single ply white pickguard
-split coil pbass pickup one volum one tone
all fine for the first couple of months...more on that later.

i started out playing rock in the vein of early grunge and older stuff of that nature, but i've progressed to punk now. (think rancid) this bass works fine for finger style and picking, although slap and pop do not come across with any definition. the tone control appears mostly for decoration and/or producing a horrible buzzing sound with the slightest turn.

no range. horrible. pole pieces proceeded to rust out very quickly. basic pbass noise. i run it through a Boss ODB-3 overdrive and a Peavey TNT 115. i get a nice lemmy kind of bass distortion from this rig, but the bass does not like it. much buzzing and complaining.

everything arrived attached. that's about the best i can say. input jack came loose, and the string nut disintegrates as we speak. the neck warps incessantly and as such i have to hear the horrible buzzing of the ill adjusted frets every time i play. pole pieces are rusted out, as mentioned before. tuners bite ass. the strap button (top one, on the upper horn) disgorges my strap at the slightest movement and the entire thing is neck/head heavy.

this bass maintains its level of shittiness through everything. i've dropped it on the headstock, rammed it into cymbals and smacked an overzealous stage diver upside the head with it. nothing impacts it's spectacular level of incompetence. finish just chips, not really wearing away. neck warps easily, truss rod seems to just be there so Fender could make a pretense that this was a functional instrument. i have gigged without a backup, but only because none was available. this thing went progresively out of tune and fell out of its strap once or twice, but finished the show. never again will i visit this embarrassment on my band.

haven't dealt with them.

this bass is an insult. i should have just saved and gone for a standard fender jazz or precision. if it were stolen, i'd shake the individuals hand and then run before he could hand it back to me. i bought this thing out of poverty and economics, and now i am paying the price. burn in hell, Squier Affinity Precision Bass.

Same as any P-bass. Knobs fell off so mine is knobless. Mine's probably a 1999-2001. If you buy this bass, you're not expecting features like active pups, etc., so it's fine.

I think the body wood is some cheap particle board or plywood, so you're not gonna get a sweet tone. The pickups are weak. When you're playing anything below the low A of the open A string, it warbles and looses all smoothness if you pluck the string with any amount of attack. It's not terrible otherwise, just kind of small sounding. It's not bad plugged into a board or bass Pod, but anytime you crank it up in a real world situation, it's pretty lousy. I don't understand why so many people gave this axe 7's and 8's for sound. It's not disguisting, but definitely below average. I'm a traditionalist and a fender guy , but I've played ibanez or yamaha low end basses that cost maybe $25 more than this (when purchased new) that seemed far superior. I bought this one for $50 used so I can't complain.

Knobs fell off, pickups are poor, tuning pegs are low ratio or something, but once it's in tune it's not terrible. Low frets buzz a bit. The neck isn't bad, and it feels smooth and solid under your fingers.

I let it sit around for a couple months in the winter and the neck went all out of wack, nothing but buzz--but I adjusted the truss rod, raised the action, and it was fine.

It's fairly sturdy, just not that well made to begin with. For what it is it has pefectly adequate durability. I wouldn't play out with it as just seems kinda flimsy.

Never had to deal with them.

Bought this bass for $50 from and ad on craigslist, and for that price I'm more than satisfied. I'm a guitar player, and only use the bass when tracking demo songs, just to have something basic when I bring new ideas into band practice. I run it through a guitar pod, not a bass pod, into a USB audio device, and it sounds halfway decent. It's a good axe for a beginner, or someone like me, who's not gonna play out with it. I can noodle on it perfectly happily through a practice amp and it stays in tune. If I were a bass player, I'd probably think it was crap.

made in china, 2001, 20 frets, one pickup, etc.... The only thing I really like about is the pickup (one word, LOUD). I'll give it a few points for simplicity, too.

It's capable of a wide variety of tones (provided you have a wide variety of amps). With my peavey basic 112, it gets a more modern tone that's suited to nu-metal style. With the Bassman 100 at my school,it put out some huge low end, and actually sounded good. I still wouldn't use it for stage or studio.

The action and pickup were actually good on this bass, but that was all.
For my list of complaints, see "reliability and durability".

This bass is very poorly built. The knobs kept falling off, and the tone post is now completely gone. There's no way this thing could withstand live playing, and calling the strap buttons mediocre would be a complement. It's undependable, and I wouldn't play it live at all.

N/A - I can't be bothered to deal with customer service

I've been playing for about 4 years, and the only reason i ever bought this bass is because it was slighty cheaper than the ibanez GSR100. I really wouldn't care if it was stolen. The pickup puts out excellent volume, but this is not worth buying.

2002 Squier Affinity Series P - Bass Pak w/ Frontman 15B

Meh. They might as well have left the tone knob off, 'cause in turning it you'll go from crackly to muddy.

This bass has limited variety. Basically, you can have slap and rock sounds. If you're good, you can make it sound jazzy. Still, when played at full volume on my Fender 15B amp, it can get absolutely awesome and heavy waves of bassified goodness. But, on the other hand, a lot of that is probably due to my new DR strings.

On an unrelated note, GET DR STRINGS, DAMMIT!!!

It had some buzz at first, but when I got this, I had only started bass, so my then virgin fingers probably caused that. The neck is substantially fatter than a Soundgear, but it'll toughen you up so you'll kick ass on thinner necks.

The finish is dark blue, but it's not like you can expect sunburst or something on such a cheap bass.

The pickguard is starting to yellow, after 10 months.

This thing might as well be a chunk of tank armor.

Strap buttons blow, though.

Never did anything with this bass except make the action a tad higher and change the strings.

This is the only bass I own. My next bass will be the Warwick RockBass Corvette Classic. I play it with the included amp, but, by Christmas, it'll be running through a Hartke 4x10 cab and a Behringer head. God, it'll kick ass. I wish it was a Fender, that's about it.

If it were stolen or lost, I wouldn't get another one, because I could never find the money. I'm 14, so, yeah.

2003, 20 frets, 1 volume, 1 tone, chrome knobs, ibought the package so a squier 15 wat amp and a fender gig bag was included.

My style would be punk rock , and its suits it well. Compared to a real fender though it does not have very good sound. it gives off sort of a buzzing tone. I bought this as my first bass and i think it would suit beginners well.

the bass was fien when i bought it.

I am fine with the action but the bass itself does not hold up very well. the paint is easily chipped. The knobs are constantly loose and sometimes fall off. The input hole comes loose a lot and it cracked the pickguard. I would say it would withstand a gig if you used it when it was newer.

i havent dealt with them

i was a begginer wehn i bought it and it was fine then, but now i need something with a muc better sound that will last longer, i am thinking of buying a deluxe p bass special.

first of all, you dont buy a squier for its features. 21 frets, medium jumbo, solid top. has 1 volume, 1 tone control, acitve electronics, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, alder body, came with a gig bag, tone knobs are always coming loose, pickups could be better, and the hardware, especially the tuners, are definitely a compromised value. But hey for a first bass, it works.

well, at first it was great, but its a little to light for me, i play more of a rock/jazz style so its not thick enough of a sound, however it bought some dimarzo split p pickups and a boss overdrive and it sounds pretty good now

the setup well, kinda sucked when it came out. however i rewired it when i put on the pickups and it sounds great.

This bass, altough not a fender, could be played live with a good amp. durability on it seems good....so far. however, Ive had my problems with it and i think it would be really stupid to play this without a backup, cause it aint no fender.

never dealy with em and dont wanna have to

well, ive only been playin for 2 years, but still playing with this bass, however i am looking to buy either a yamaha or an eppiphone t bird cause od the thicker sound. i would probably never buy another p bass again, cause i hate the sound, but if its your style then go for it. however if this is your first puchase and no looking to play either a blink 182 style or a hard rock id consider looking at this ones brother, affinity jazz bass. and if you dont know what to do when getting your first bass feel free to e-mail me with your questions

READ THIS ONE, ITS THE BEST AND MOST INFORMATIVE my'n was made in '00 in asia somewhere, its just like every other one, but better. its got volume and tone controls, its got a very long neck and a big head like a sort of Ben Afleck and Pheobe from friends love child. ooo, what would J-Lo say about that. whats a humidifier?

a bad artist blames their tools. my tone doesn't work unless its turned up to full because i replaced the wire with a guitar string. but i assume thats my fault. if you put it through a great amp, it sounds great, if you put it through an awful amp, you can still make it sound great if you're good enough. its got quite a dull floobly sound.

its fine for playing, i just play it, i don't really care about details, (cos i'm so cool, and rock 'n' roll!)

its built like a british tank (the ones that American cowboys don't blow up). the volume and tone pots arn't very secure, one fell off and i can't find it. i'd gig without a back up, partly because i'm a skint student, and partly because i'm rock 'n' roll. man.

never delt with them. i fix it myself.

i've been playing about 3yrs, i own nothing else bass related (not even an amp boo-hoo, i run it through my kaoss pad and just put my megaexpensive headphones on) i love it, its my baby, i slept with it once, but it didn't wake me up in the middle of the night with its incessant crying, so i'm happy. i wish the body wasn't so big, maybe 5/6ths its current size. i (my good friend dave) cut off and sanded down most of the silly white scratch plate (a black one would cost #36! (thats approximately 1 billion American dollors)) so it just covers the knobs, i left the screws in and it looks soo much better than most other basses. i wish it had really expensive pick-ups, the current ones are all scratched up where i put delay on and rub the E over the little silver circles, it sounds like a thunder storm, but ruins the plastic casing. i'll look into that. if it was stolen i would have to save up to buy another one, same one. if i put delay on (the kaoss pad) and turn the tone down (its knackered remember) it sounds like a sort of droney synth monster. to create the same effect-replace the wire that connects the tone pot to the volume pot with an acoustic guitar string. its so cheap too.

Made in China, year 2000 model. Rosewood fingerboard, plus the usual features for a P-bass. No accessories (I should have asked for some Allen wrenches).

Bought it 2 years ago for playing at home, it's still in good condition. Stays in tune well, altough the tuners feel cheap. The bass itself feels very solid when playing, lots better than other beginner basses that I have tried over the years.

I have been playing bass for almost 20 years; currently I play mostly at home and once in a while at a local blues open mic (no time for a band, have to take care of the family).

Has a very good sound for the price, after installing a new set of strings. Some 60Hz hum, though, which is common in a lot of more expensive instruments too -- I will probably shield the control cavity one of these days, and clean the pots while I'm at it (they make some scratchy noises when I turn the tone knob).

The pickup is a very important component of the sound of any electric instrument, and in this case it has an OK sound. The famous P-bass "growl" is there, and it responds well to my different styles of playing. You can get a good range of sounds using the tone know, amp settings, and different finger attacks. The slap tone is surprisingly good, with a fresh set of strings. I personally use light gauge strings, which work better for my style of playing, and they give me a nice range of tonal possibilities on this bass.

The bass has a reasonable sound unplugged, and no noticeable dead spots. And beyond that, well, the sound is in the fingers, isn't it?

This bass feels very solid when playing, I like that. The finish is OK; I haven't detected any blemishes or anything on it. Neck satin finish feels good, frets are OK. (This is kind of hit and miss, I think; some more expensive instruments that I have tried at the guitar store had bad frets. Fretboards can shrink over time and the frets protrude; I'm not sure you can put all the blame on the manufacturer for this. But, as I said, this isn't a problem in this particular bass.)

The action at the guitar store was OK, at least I don't remember it being noticeably bad. After buying it I dissassembled it to fly it in a plane, and assembled it back at home, and had no problems. I adjusted the truss rod and bridge a several times, after changing strings and whatnot, and didn't have problems getting a reasonable action on it.

One of the knobs fell off once, but after screwing it back I haven't had any problems with it again.

This bass will certainly withstand live playing; it's built like a tank. The only problem I experimented when playing live with it was 60Hz hum from some fluorescent lamps. Needs shielding. I have had it for 2 years and it's in mint condition, it looks that with proper care it can last 20 years more. (Well, I store it under the bed and haven't bought a gig bag for it yet, which I don't think qualifies as "proper care", and the bass is still in one piece.)

Body finish seems like auto paint, and I think it is. Pretty thick. I don't know about the satin finish on the neck; time will tell.

Never dealt with Fender or Guitar Center after buying this bass.

This is a great bass for a beginner, or for a hobbyist that doesn't want to spend a fortune on a "boutique" bass. It sure beats the crappy bass I had when I started playing.

The hardware is cheap, of course, but: the tuners keep in tune, the pickup doesn't sound like crap, the knobs (after adjusting their screws) stay put, the bridge does the job, the electronics are adequate. This wasn't always the case with cheap instruments some years ago. Mass manufacturing

The construction seems pretty solid, and the acoustic tone of the beast is nice, so I think it wouldn't be a waste of time to change the electronics and pickup(s), if you would like to upgrade it. I will probably do it in the future, if I can manage to get some spare time and join a band, but for now it's not worth it.

This is a 2000 model, made in China, standard scale. It has a standard blue finish with white pickguard. Rosewood fretboard.

You can't get a good variety of sound as it only has a P pickup, and a shit one at that. When treble is turned up, there is an annoying hum from the pickups - standard p - bass sound, except crapper. No, it's not that bad for the money

The bass came with a decent setup, but i had to lower the strings as they were quite high for my liking. Tuning pegs were loose and the bass kept ging out of tune. The tuner for the G string was especially floppy. It was quite alarming. The jack scoket was loose and cracked the pickguard around it. I had to replace the bolt with a large washer to make it more stable. Knobs very loose. Shit.

Will this bass withstand live playing. No. It feels like it is made out of balsa, the neck makes a very hollow sound when you tap it. I haven't used it live, and i won't. I have a proper fender which i use. It is a deluxe P - bass special. I have done a review of that too. If i did use it i would have a backup ready and waiting.

N/A

I own another Fender which whups the shit out of this. If this was stolen i wouldn't really care. I'm flogging it to a small child for #100. There isn't really anything that i love about this bass. For suggested answers this is asking me 'anything that you wish it had'? Well come to mention it, i wish it had good tone. 'anything else you'd like to share'? Sure, this bass is a heap of crap

This bass was a 25th anniversary addition, Squier Affinity P Bass. It is an awesome bold blue with white pickgaurd. It has one p style passive pick up and standard volume and tone controls. It has an over-grown strat style like all p-basses do. All hardware is stock. It came with an allen wrench and 10 foot cable.
It's features are minimal...minimal is what I wanted but may not be for everyone. It had enough though, nothing of importance was left out or forgotten.

I am a guitar player by trait. I have been playing for about 11 years. I decided to learn bass (its not as similar to guitar as many guitarists think, the technique is different and a skill to itself). I use the bass for my own solo recordings...I have never used in a live situation. I play alternative/electronic rock, similar to the style of newer radiohead or smashing pumpkins.

The bass sounds great for what I need. The sound is nice and deep but clear (only with the tone turned up all the way, otherwise it is muffled). I'm not sure how much tone it has with an amp because I;ve only ever used it through a d/i box into my cpu. I compress and eq it in my recording software to shape its tone. For home recording, it is an awesome tool. Plays very nice.

You can read all about its features in other reviews!
I don't know when it was made. I bought it 2 years ago. Black finish, white pickguard. Optically nothing special, rather standard.

First of all: I'm in fact a guitar player. I've been playing for more than ten years and 80% of my spare time I spent with my beloved guitars. But from time to time I also enjoy playing bass, so I bought this one.
This Squier P-bass is a cheap but decent instrument, and I just use it at home through a small 30W Aria combo.
I have two conclusions concerning its sound:
1) It doesn't offer a vast variety of sounds. But that's normal since it's a low budget model.
2) The sounds you get out of it are pretty good. This bass is definitely suitable for any kind of rock, blues and alternative.
I mainly play alternative/indie rock on it (The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Nirvana...), 80's rock (U2, Echo and the Bunnymen) and late 70's/early 80's new wave (The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division) and it fits my style perfectly. Ever heard the intro bassline of The Pixies' "Bone Machine"?? Well, it's almost exactly THAT sound.
For more new wave-related stuff like The Cure I use a Marshall Supervibe Chorus pedal between this bass and my amp, which sounds splendid.

No problems here. Sweet finish, flawless workmanship. Action was set just perfect for me. Only flaw: the tone & volume knobs were too loose. I had to fix them with strong glue.

First of all: astoundingly stable tuning! This is certainly not obvious on cheap instruments like this one, so thumbs up for that!
This bass seems reliable to me, I haven't had any problems yet.

Like I mentioned before, I'm in the first place a guitar player! I just bought this Squier Affinity P-type because I enjoy playing bass at home.
As an overall conclusion I'd have to say that it's without any doubt an awesome starter bass for little money. A "real" bassplayer I know assured me that it simply CAN'T be beaten in its price range and I think he's totally right! Nice work, Squier.

This is a 2002 Model, made in China. It's about as basic of a Bass that you can get. I'm not going to rate this area, because its a beginners instrument, and shouldn't have a ton of things to confuse the student, or what if they decide they don't like playing? They would have wasted money on a bunch of features.

I traded in a 7-string Ibanez guitar for this because the novelty wore off. I'm a guitar player who wants to learn a different approach to music. Now that you know where I'm coming from, I'll start. I'm playing this through a Behringer 60 watt bass amp, which is a pretty good deal too. The tone seems to be pretty balanced, but i have a hard time getting in between the zingy fingering noises and a somewhat muddy sound. It's a very fine line between these two tones. The P-Bass sound seems to fit most styles of music. I suspect that as I grow as a bass player I would want to change the pickups for more depth to the sound.

This thing was set-up like somebody put some bailing wire on a log. The neck was bowed too much, the strings were nowhere near the standard height, the pickups were arbitrarily positioned, and the intonation was off so bad, that it sounded like i was playing this thing through a detune effect. I'm glad I know a bit about setting up instruments, because that made all the difference in the world. The sound is now balanced, and it stays in tune. There are fret buzzes in only 2 spots now, and they aren't loud enough to really come through the amplifier. Squires have come a long way since i started playing, so for the price, I consider the finish to be excellent. This rating is based on how the bass came from the store, once you set it up, it plays extremely well.

They only reliabilty issue I think I will have with this is the outpu jack. It doesn't fell very sturdy, because the pickgaurd wobbles if the cable wiggles. I have a preventative solution for this however, I got a cable with a right angle plug and I put the cable between the strap and body. Every thing else is rock solid though

Overall, it's a great bass to get your feet wet and decide whether of not you like to play. It's also a good backup bass. The more experienced player will obviously want a more complex tone with more depth than these pickups can offer.

This is a Indonesian model, dunno what year it was made. Of course, the P-bass tone and volume knobs, split single coil pick up. Perfect for the person who has no clue what a bass sounds like...

Well, I think I can honestly say that is bass is toneless. My ampeg B2-R amp into a 410 cab can't even change the sound of this piece of crap. I play in a melodic punk band, when we recorded I used a stingray music man so I didn't have to crap up the record. But, as I said before, for the person who has no clue what a bass sounds like, its a OK starter bass.

I really like the finish on the neck much better than any smooth laqqure finish. I have a feeling that this bass is made out of some dead material like carbon fiber, instead of wood for the sound it puts out. The pick ups were arranged in the raised fashion like a pyramid. And the infamous problem with the Fender volume knobs lives on, if your knobs keep slipping of, stick a strait screw driver into the slit that hold on the knob. When it spreads it becomes wider and it wont fall off. And of course three of my pickguard screws stripped and so did my bottom strap knob. Fix this by wrapping masking tape around the screw and jamming it in the hole.

Hmmm, by the small chance I get to ever to play this bass a show(trust me it will never happen), I would say, not worthy of a back up bass.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing for a year now, I love my Ampeg set up, and will soon be getting a Jazz bass of some sort.

My affinity p-bass is made in the year 2002 since it's a 'squier 20th anniversary model'' and it's made in china.
it has 20 medium jumbo frets and it's a four stringer.
it has a 1 split single-coil pickup and passive electronics.
The body is made of alder, the neck is maple(polyurethane finish)
with a rosewood fingerboard.
It has a beautiful sunburst finish and the body style is of course precision.It has a standard 4-saddle bridge and standard open-gear tuners.The scale is 34 inches.
The purchase included a simple no good bag which I immedeatly replaced with one I could use.

I play mainly blues based rock with psychedelic and soul flavors.
For this use the bass fits like a glove.It rocks!
(when in need of cash I play almost anything for money)
I use a 60's laneysound tube head with a carlsbro cabinet(from the late 70's) that has a 15'' Electro voice element.I don't use any effects and I only play with my fingers.
The bass has a great dynamic responce so the sound varies from warm and tender to hot and raunchy and when it comes down to an end,it's all in the fingers.
The biggest pleasant surprise to myself was the variety of the tone from dark to bright.I have only played with it on stage so I don't have any experience with it from studio.
I give it a full 10 for great sound with low costs.

One of the basic reasons I bought this one was that the bass was just ready to go with.No changes necessary.(except the factory installed strings lost their brightness in a week,but what can You expect in this price category?)

The bass is trustworthy for now, but let's see what happens in the next five years...My gut feeling is that the plug jack will be the first part I'll have to change.I don't carry a backup bass with me.
This does the job.

I've been playing the bass for twelve years now.
I also play a short scaled Framus electric bass from the 70's
and an acoustic Landola B.E.855 fretless bass with a B-Band pickup.
If I lost this p-bass I would go and search a similar one but it would't be very easy since I compared it to two other squier affinity p-basses and one squier jazz bass and one fender jazz bass and a squier bronco bass(which was truely a piece of sh*t)and I ended up buying this particular one.So there is a great difference between individual instruments and this one I bought stood out for it's touch and sound.Not to mention the price.I tune my bass a half key lower than usual and this individual bass doesn't rattle when tuned like that.
If You plan to buy an affinity p-bass:
compare it with others, and if You find one that stands out from the others, buy it, it's worth the price.

Not sure of the year, made in Indonesia. I bought the Squier P-Bass Pak, which included the bass, a Squier BP-15 amp, a strap, a Fender gig bag, a decent Fender cable, and an instuctional video. I believe the package now comes with a Fender Frontman 15B amp. The rest of the features have most likely been mentioned already.

I basically play anything from grunge to jazz, blues to rock, etc. The package came with a Squier BP-15 amp... it sounded decent. A bit noisy. I'm now using a Behringer Ultrabass BX1200, and it sounds -much- better. It has a full, warm, even dark tone that is probably best suited for various types of rock. I'm also currently using a ZOOM 506 bass effects generator, and it sounds great with that. A few of the effects it has cause a bit of "hiss," but this effects generator really brings out this bass's (bass'?) potential. While I do like the sound it gives off, I can't really get much variety out of it.

In terms of studio versus stage... meh. I can't really comment on that. It can play relatively loud, but you start to get a lot of noise once the gain is past about 7 (on a 1-10 dial).

Out of the factory, the bass wasn't set up too badly. Being that this was my first bass (I've been playing for about a year), I didn't know what adjusments to make. I remember that I had my bass teacher adjust the neck, the action was off... but unfortunately, I can't remember if it was too high or too low. Sorry. Since then, I haven't had to adjust the truss rod too much, although I should probably take the action up, the strings slap the frets a bit too often.

The finish is a nice black. Seems pretty resilient, I've dinged it a few times, and there aren't any visible blemishes. Also, it should be noted that the finish soaked up gallons of sweat from my right arm over the summer, and looking at it now, you'd never know.

I had no real problems with the pickups. I tightened them a bit, no big.

There is one glaring flaw that I haven't been able to fix. Any note played on the 4th (low E) string gives off an odd sort of rattle. I can't explain it, my bass teacher can't explain it, and no one else who I have asked can either. Weird stuff just happens.

Other than that, there aren't any real flaws.

This bass has got some serious vitality. I've been playing this damned thing for a year, and I see no signs of aging. None. It plays and looks like new, the only thing that has lost brightness are the strings, they'll need to be replaced.

As I mentioned above, the finish is wonderful. It's survived various bumps and bruises with no permanent damage, and has withstood torrents of sweat from over the summer with no wear.

Strap buttons seem solid. Only failed me once, and I had time to catch my axe before it fell to its doom.

Very dependable, I might gig with it without a backup... if I played gigs. The truss rod needed to be adjusted when I first got it, and I haven't adjusted it since. However, at this point (1 year later) I probably should tweak it, the action is a bit low.

Haven't had to deal with them.

As I said, I've been playing for a year.

If this bass was stolen or lost... hm. I might buy it again considering how it's an awesome bass for the price, but considering how I just bought a new bass, I might not. I would probably put that $150 somewhere else.

I chose this bass because I was naive and was sure that the Squier P-Bass Pak would be right for me. I was lucky to have gotten such a good instrument.

Overall, I'd recommend this as a first bass, it really got my feet firmly on the ground. It's a wonderful bass for the price, and despite a few flaws, it's a joy to play.

the usual. My wife liked the blue so that's what i wound up with. everything ths tolerable except the pickguard is way too thin, stamped bridge, and so on. could use a trip through the stew mac catalogue.

I play acoustic folk and blues guitar and bought this to write and record. have wound up playing out w/ it a lot as favors to others who needed a bass player in a hurry. the sound is bland, but easy to alter as it has no character of its own, this is actually the things charm as i have been able to get it to "cooperate" with my recording gear better than some higher end basses that has lots of bells and whistles. it actually gets good results with the right amp. HINT!!: if you are buying a first guitar/bass be prepared to spend about twice as much on the amp as the guitar. Most of these reviews mention cheap amps and people seem suprised by the results. I spent about $350 on a used usa made bass amp and get pro sounding results from this almost toy bass. this is going to be even more true for bass than guitar as cheap bass amps tend to be even worse than cheap guitar amps.

very acceptable. its set up for students: small hand friendly, low action...no buzz, no suprises. I have seen some that were vile so quality control is not a priority but you can get lucky. the hardware is built to last a lunchtime but normal people are not going to actually push it past its tolerances.

well make for $115 bucks. its been played out maybe 20 times in the last 18 months...stays in tune and no suprises. the question is not how sturdy the assembly is but how will the buget wood stand up to string tension and environmental stress. i suspect the answer is that is wont last forever but will work as long as its in one piece.

Huh? you just bought a bass for under $200. are you kidding? pester the store if you have problems.

this bass proves my theory that electric instrument players "play amp" not guitar. I have used this ultra cheap bass in studios and gotten wonderful results because i treated it as a signal controller not as a musical insturment. If you are a student or even on a buget, get the best amp you can afford and work backwards and this bass is fine.
I play gibson electrics and taylor acoustics and still use this thing for recording. you'll do fine with it.

2000 model, Japanese
21 fretts, 4 string
Laminated colbolt blue finish
1 volume, 1 tone control
1 P-Bass pickup (standard squire thing)
Passive electronics
Rosewood neck, some kind of wood body
String through bridge (not through body)
Standard tuners (with chrome covers)

Great dark, warm, punchy rock sound from thouse extra coils on the pickups. Excellent for playing rock and calssic rock but for best results keep to rock. Quite a lot of variety available form the tone control, can extend to classic rock and funk.
Don't get any noise from the pickups and the body qives it a supprising ammount of sustain for a squire affinity.
Can get nearly as much out of it as you put into it. Is let down my no so good definition with the tone right up.
Can be used for stage and studio, very durable for excessive use. Built pretty much like a well rounded tank.

As you can expect form a squire, it needed a lot of work on the factory set-up. The truss rod was fine and appart from the usual alterations to action and bridge there wasnt much technical to adjust. Adjust the pickups to how you like.
When the scratch plate was taken off it look a bit like a hamster cage with bits of sawdust here and there but that was sorted with some loveing care (masking tape and a hoover). Also had to clean the tone and volume controls with special oil to get the dust out of them which was causing a bit of crackle.
My biggest and probably only long-lasting dislike of this bass is the scratchplate. You get it wiht a 1-ply but i reccomend getting a 3-ply because one swift kick to the input with a lead in and your screwd. But i have to give it credit, it was eight months of intensive playing until i was forced to get a new one. Like i said, built like a tank. I dont like the look of the scratchplate either :)
The finnish was very nice but obviously needs cleaning every now and then with a bit of spit and polish.
Overall it is good fun and valuable learning working out the flaws in it. For a beginner bass its not going to be perfect but you just gotta look after it. You wont get any better for this price.

Have used it often for live playing. like i said a few problems with the scratch plate but nothing that cant be overcome. Stays in tune well so another bonus for live use.
Seems like it could last out for many years with gradual maintanance. Lasts as long as you take care of it.
Finnish is good but i dont think i have been playing it long enough to wear it off yet. But i'll love ti when it does cause its only a cheap bass and it'll look sweet and retro.
Strap buttons are solid but get a locking strap for live use.
Very rearely do i have to do anything to it but tune it. i have never had to ajust the truss rod. You can mistreat it for months and it'll still recover.
Until a moth ago i would have. A month ago was when i started having the scratchplate problems. But i dont have a backup so i have to and i have onyl had it die on me once (a month ago) and it was at the end of the set, so i didnt care much. Fixed it with gaffa tape.

never dealt with the company.
didnt have a warranty.
is a bit of an annoyance fitting a new 3-ply scratch plate cause you'll need to drill new holes for the screws, move part of the pickups forward (more drilling) and take chunks out by the input to get it to fit in, but you can't see that on the surface.

Been playing it for a year with a Carlsbro 120 watt amp and added various effects over time with it has no problem with.
I wish i had of asked them to fit a 3-ply scratchplate for me before a brought it.
I wouldnt buy a new one if it was stolen or lost, id put the money towards my new jazz bass.
I love its complex simplicity. You can play it with little knowledge about how it works, and when you start learning a lot, you discover new things to do with it. I love the chrome control pods, the rosewood neck and the covered tuning pods.
I hate the scratchplate, the jack input socket, the cheap bridge.
My favourite bit is the body shape and the beastly sound. And the fact that it leaves my Boss TU-2 tuner redundant for weeks on end.
I was going to buy a slightly more expensive peavy bass buy those thigs are so scrawny and have a cheapest feel to them. Although cheap, this bass lets you believe its worth more.
I wish it had a Jazz Bass Body and a decent bridge.
The bass is probably the best bass you could ever start out on.

2002 20th Anniversary Squier Affinity P-Bass. Made in China. 20 frets, 4 strings. Chrome volume and tone knobs. The only things I know about pickups are Chevy, Ford, and Dodge. The pickups on this guitar are two offset black rectangles that have a metal dot in beween each string. It has a black body with a white pickguard.

I have no style. Period. I have only been playing bass for a month. I have been using tablature to play songs, such as the National Anthem, some Christmas songs, and I make up a lot of stuff. I have played some stuff like Rammstein, but since there is no one to jam with, I tend to lean toward stuff that makes me feel like I am developing a personal skill. I started out on a Fender Bullet Bass. It was ok after I changed strings and adjusted stuff. Compared to the Bullet, the P-Bass has consistently better sound from all strings. One thing about the P-Bass is it doesn't seem to tolerate "slapping" the strings. The strings smack the frets with almost no effort, leaving me with some pretty crummy sounds, sometimes. If I am gentle, leaving the task of amplitude to the amp, then it sounds really nice. I can't imagine trying to play this thing in a live performance, though. It makes a lot of sound when just moving around. The fret noise would seem to be terrible if you really had some intensity behind your fingerwork. I have been using a 450W Fender amp w/2 12" drivers. I have a pedal vibrato, but it always makes the guitar sound like it is playing underwater.

The P-Bass looks OK, I think. It's kind of a big ol' sloppy thing. Right from the store, I noticed the action was set very low, maybe 1.5-2 mm off the frets. You could get the strings to slap just by blowing on them, just about. I cranked the action up until the set screw was about halfway into the hole. It still slaps the frets even under low pressure on the strings. If I pluck the strings exactly perpendicular to the frets, I don't have the problem. However, since I have only been playing for a month, I suck, and I have no control. The Bullet Bass was way more forgiving. I think if I could get a replacement plastic thingy that holds the strings on the tuner head end, that would help me. So, I don't think the setup was too good. But, I don't know. I have never talked to another bass player. The rest of the guitar was in excellent condition. I bought it new, so I would expect that. The grain patterns looked really nice in the dark fretboard. I think I got lucky there.

I haven't abused anything enough to determine the durability. I would use it on a gig, without backup, solely due to the fact that I do not have a backup. Of course, if I ever develop skills to the point I would play a gig, I would probably die of old age before showtime. But, it's fun.

I have been playing for one month. I borrowed a bass from a friend, and have taken to it pretty well. Before that I have never played an instrument. In fact, I'm so musically uninclined that I can make a CD player play poorly just by touching it. My ideal bass is the Cort Curbow 4 string fretted bass. It looks like a sculpture. However, I can't justify the expense for something I am just starting, as a hobby. If it were stolen, it would piss me off. Then, I would go get my Curbow bass. I really like the price, as well as the Humvee bolt-together design. I am going to replace the cheap tupperware pickguard with one that I will make in shop class. I want to use some fancy grade plywood, and stain it to match the fretboard. I'll modify the shape of the pickguard to accomodate my need to be an individual. By the time I am done, it will look very nice.

Purchased as new in May 2000. White finish, rosewood fretboard. No case, no gig-bag, but seems to be normal regarding to the very low price of the thing. Guess it was built in Asia. 4 strings. 20 frets. Strict Precision Bass configuration.

The sound is "classical" as well as that of a real Precision Bass is, but it seriously lacks power. It is not a real problem, since I had essentially purchased this bass for my students. It was generally plugged into an Ampeg BA-115. In a way, this is a very versatile bass, and probably one of the best sounding basses in that price range. It is not a professional bass, though.

The factory set-up was a laugh. I had to adjust the action because it was way too high. I could not reach a real low action, though.

Had no problem with this bass. I kept it for about 15 months. No trouble.

Never had to deal with them.

If you want a real Precision Bass without paying the price of an American one, this one is NOT the solution. Guess you'd better have a look at the Mexican series. The Squier Affinity P-Bass is a very good buy for a beginner, though. It also can be a good backup bass, provided you use it ONLY when ABSOLUTELY needed (broken string...).

I kept this bass for 15 months, and it was essentially used by my students. I didn't lose much money when I sold it. I stopped teaching so I had no need to keep it.

I give it an 8. Quality-wise without any price consideration, it would deserve a 5 only. But regarding to its price, it is a very good deal.