Fender Squier Affinity Series Strat

2004 Squier Strat Affinity series, urethane alder body with maple neck & rosewood fingerboard. S/S/S pickups, volume + neck & mid pup tone controls. Tremelo tail. Everything stock as from Fender.

Pups are garbage and tremolo is a pitiful joke (just leave the trem arm in your case). Get used to having fret buzz.

I set this guitar up to the tee, but there is really not much that you can do with it due to its extremely poor construction. If you bow the neck to properly align the strings, forget staying in tune. You can't lower the action to even moderate height without getting massive fret buzz on the lower strings. The bridge is lousy, and the tuners are fairly poor. Even the pickguard doesn't line up properly with the body holes, so it's kind of warped. This guitar is no better than a Lotus Strat copy that I had 20 years ago. There is absolutely nothing about this guitar that I would think Fender would want to put its name on.

I have been playing for 25 years. It seems that you have to buy an American Strat to get something that is decent from Fender. However, you can buy their Jagmaster for around 300 clams that compares in sound and quality to the Amercan Strat. Does something smell fishy here? Apparently, Fender charges twice as much as they need to for their Strats, simply because of the demand for the shape. In my opinion, you really need to spend a grand or more for a good Strat from Fender.

Average strat

5 way pickup switching, two tone sunburst.

Cheap and tacky, but i love the feel of it.

Bright sound on single selections, richer "fat" sound on 3 and 4.
I mainly play PEARL JAM!!!, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Rage against the Machine and Cream.

Bitchin' tone through my Marshall if you put the selection on 3, turn up the tone on the amp and all the way down on strat.

Crapee strings, thin as.

Lasted about one bloody week before they snapped.

Set up OK, needed some serious tweaking of whammy bar before it would stop detuning heaps.

Stood up to many beatings.

I've thrown this beauty off many stages, it's my shitty little back-up.

Covered in marks etc., but never needed any fix ups with electronics etc.

Had it for ages, never given me trouble.

Never dealed with Squier, but Billy Hypde (australia)

LoVE it, best puchase ever made.

All begginers should buy this guitar.

SHITLOADS better than my friend's real fender strat.

Good feel, grat tone if you play it right, looks sweet.

Had to put up with friend's tall poppy syndrome.

(they can't admit i can play better than they ever will)

Bought mid-late 90's. Alder body (painted arctic white), maple neck, with rosewood fingerboard. Pre-CBS shaped headstock (I like that). Usual Strat set up s/s/s single volume, two tone controls (by the way, for those of you who didn't work it out yet, the tome control doesn't affect the bridge pick-up - live with it, or get a mod). Music shop "couldn't find" a tremelo arm that fit. No matter, never could get the hang of those things, so it has the tremelo unit, but it's never been used (if it's good enough for Eric...hey!). Neck is fantastic. Tuners are junk (to be replaced). P/ups are pretty average (to be replaced with Fender Fat 50's). Fret dressing is actually excellent - It's that 1 in 10 thing that seems to haunt Fender as a whole. One in ten instruments is a gem. Didn't get anyhting with this except the strings (oh, they were changed pretty quick too). $99.00 out the door....Has a great acoustic tone, and a nice enough tone plugged in. The pickups - as mentioned - are average, but I've made some nice sounds recording.

I use for home recording, so it suits me fine - when I need a strat sound. Noisy on single pickup settings - single coils will do that - but quiet enough when two are slected together.
Back two p/ups is a favourite setting for rhythm tracks, as it's quite clean and twangy. Neck pickup, verb, and a little crunch, and it's David Gilmour city.

Set up was nice when I got it. Still one of my favourite git-fiddles to play. They'll have to wrench this baby from my stiff, dead fingers. I love the way it feels.
Pickups are adjusted just fine, but they're not fabulous to begin with.

Live? Haven't done that for ages. I'd still play it, if the song warranted a Strat sound (it's all about the song...)
Hardward...hmmmm...tuners are junk. I'll eventually replace them.
Finish has one little nick in it, but I'll live. Anyway, there's something odd about a pristine strat....
Strap buttons? What an odd question. Yes, it has two. They are lovely. You can hang the guitar on a strap with them. Fancy that!
Wouldn't use without a backup (who gigs without a backup?).

errrmmmmm? N/A

Bass player turned guitar player (well, basses are not so much fun when you're on your own). Been playing......a good while....
I'd hate to lose this puppy. It feels so nice. But, at $99.00 it's not the end of the world. Sad, though.
Did I compare it to other guitars? No. It was there, it was pretty, it was $99.00. I played it, I liked it, I took it home. "Show me all the other guitars you have for $99.00 please!" - will get you thrown out of the store!
Anything I wish it had? A new set of pick ups, new tuners, a red tortoiseshell pickguard, and chrome knobs. It'll happen one day.
Anything else you'd like to share? Nope. Not sharing. It's mine.

brand new, features already mentioned below. beautiful two tone sunburst finish and pale maple neck with big headstock. it's plain and simple. what you expect from a strat.

tested it in a shop and compared it to my stock main guitar which is a jimmie vaughan tex-mex(best strat ever). it misses the high end sparkle and output of it, but sounds way better than some american made 5-times-the-price strat. it hs all the sounds you expect and want from a strat. not more, not less. if i'd give my main guitar a 10(what it is), than this is surely a 8.

the two tone finish is very accurate, not as "authentic" and neatly crafted as the american or mexican classics but the job's well done. the neck is a little bit too average for me, I prefer a little bit more character here, but will suit fine the average player.

it's a fine job. it's not high end but solid. not cheap. healthy middle-class.

playing for 15 years. owned and played many various guitars from all manufactures and styles. I ended up on strats and simple tube amps when I found out, that the sound comes from me and not necesseraly from the equipment. it's a good guitar for beginners as well as for a backup for pro's. it's not as cheap and crappy as some may presume and I had to test it myselve to be surprised how good it is.

Made in 2005, China possibly. 21 medium jumbo frets, rosewood 9.5? radius fretboard. Solid alder body, maple neck. The usual Stratocaster controls/pickups/electronics/tremolo.
The tuners are standard OEM-stuff, probably by Gotoh or Schaller, but good quality anyway. No need to replace them for along time yet.
It doesn't come with any extras like gigbag/cable 'n' stuff.
Body is painted in what the retailer calls "Torino Red" (whatever that is) but Squire themselves call it Metallic Red, with finishing layers of polyurethane (same as used on the vintage Les Pauls, ya know). Makes the air breath, doesn't shut the moisture in & lets the colour age with grace.

I play basically blues & blues rock. This guitar combined with my handmade tube amplifiers (I built them myself) is perfect for that. How it sounds? If you've ever played a Stratocaster through a Marshall JCM800 you know what it sounds like.

Can't really say how well it was setup at the factory, since the importer in my country goes over every instrument & makes every necessary adjutments. As does the shop I bought it from. So it's been properly setup/intonated/adjusted twice since it left the Squire factory. Sure, I may have to do some adjustment to intonation when I change the strings, as well as move the pickups a bit. But that's no big deal.
Bodyfinish is perfect, as is fretboard & fretwork.

As I mainly play for my own enjoyment, this guitar will last a lifetime.

He, never dealt with Squire.

Been playing since I was 15 (1985). Always wanted a Stratocaster 'cos I love the sound Richie Blackmore has on the Fireball LP. Had one once, but had to sell it due to unemployment. Won't happen again.

its a 2005 made in china 21 fret s/s/s 5way yada yada black body maple fretboard simple strat copy designed by fender.what make this guitar differant is teh pick ups this year fender copied there custom 69 pick ups for the squires and hav ethere knock off american standard bridge which is great. i have had many guitars in the past high end guitars but had to sell because of med bills and this guitar makes them feel impotent

I play Blues and classic rock even brit and punk and mod stuff but were this guitar flys is with the 60's hendrex stuff.i mean the way through a plexi or even a multi fx this thing sounds great the key is to set the pick ups low and set th eaction low as you can take to were in is abit clanky and rattles just abit cos with overdrive the rattle dissappers

i know how to properly set up a guitar and intonize well co sthis guitar does need it plays well but had to sand down the edges of the frets unless you like cuts on your hand heres were it get interesting because i came from playing more costly instruments i couldnt liv ewith the squire logo on th ehead stock so i fixed it lol well i changed it.keep in mind this in not for resale as that would be wrong and illeagel i sanded down to bare wood the front of th ehead stock and onc ei got rid of the logo (well it still leave a white lite shadow of squire ) I then varnished witha three lite coats of spray .then go on th egood ole internet and either order you a fender logo off ebay (very costly) or find and fit a logo online and go to your fav hobby store and get water slide decal inkjetpaper anr print stick and seal with a another coat of varnish and to untraind eye it looks toobe a fender strat but lol doe try saling it cos lol the can tell (remeber this was what i did co si couldnt standinging at the old logo so im not telling you to do this and if you do be sur eto carefuly read the instrutions that you can find on internet cos you could ruin you logo that came with it but if youon paid 75 nucks like i did who cares

built like a flipping tank but the finish on this one is thin im thinking of relicing it some time in the future but now that i got the headstock the way i like (lol hint hint) id gig with it

havent used em but i think they wouldnt help me and way seeing now it has a late 60's fenderlogo on it and a custom shp decal on the back and serial number is my license plate lol

ive been playing since i was 15 im 23 now so awhile ive had gibson and cs fenders and even a rickenbacker and i have to say this little thing stacks up lol i even took it to samash to try out some amps and even though the sales guy knew it was fake he still offerd me 800 bucks (kicks myself fo rnot taking it )but i workd hard on th eheadstock an dif i had to compare it to another guitar id have to say a mexican 70's reissued but with out the ash weight

Made in Indochina 1998. Maple, skunk stripe neck with satin finish, 21 frets, 7.5 radius (I think). Fairly thin neck body. Black finish. Large headstock. Standard 5 position switch. Body unknown, but feels like alder. I use the guitar with a nice 220V Euro-procured Sunn SR-25 amp. Take this advice at your own risk, but I didn't convert the amp to 110 and simply fitted a 110V plug to it. I found that starving the transistors really gave it a nice, aggressive distortion not found in that style SS amp. If you have access to a 220V amp and a variac, you might experiment with dropping the voltage and see if you get a similar result. I also use it with a Fender Deluxe 85.

I'm a sit-around-the-house player of modest abilities, but I've played quite a few different guitars over the years. I'm pretty impressed with the sound. It has a fairly standard Strat sound. Interestingly enough, the top E string has a slight "sitar" sound (think the Coral Sitar style solo in the "Flowers" song on This is Spinal Tap). I suspect that it's a setup issue. I actually like the slight extra twang that it gives.

Strings are set up a little high. Don't know about the pickup height, although it might be the cause of the E string sound previously noted. No quibbles about the fit and finish. The black finish seems pretty normal with nice deep gloss. The satin finish on the back of the neck feels nice, the grain is relatively straight, and the fretside finish has a nice feel. If you looked at the body alone, you'd have a hard time distinguishing it from a normal Stratocaster. No issues in terms of fret dressing or seating - everything is tight and flush. Neck is straight and there are no fret buzzing or dead fret issues.

Everything seems solid enough. Typical Stratocaster toughness. I don't play live though and have only had the guitar for a few months but nothing seems fragile or prone to unusual breakage.

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I've been playing off and on for 25 years, but mostly off :chuckle: I have several inexpensive acoustics and a very nice Carlo Robelli CRB1955 (Gretsch copy). Over the years, I've had an Epiphone Sheraton, a Squier Telecaster (both stolen) and have had roommates with varied guitars - a 1963 sunburst Strat, a '62 Les Paul (SG style), a mid-70s goldtop Les Paul and other unremembered models. I have played a few US made Strats in my time, and I don't find this one very different, although the neck is a little different (not as clubby, which I like). I would prefer the smaller headstock, but I'm getting used to it. It doesn't seem to be an exact headstock copy of the large mid-60s models either, so it's sort of a mongrel look.

I would DEFINITELY get another copy of this guitar if it were stolen, especially for the price. However, I know that not all copies might be as well made as this one.

I love the price/quality ratio and would have paid "normal price" for it if I had had to.

I can't think of anything that I'd change on it, except to have better tuners, I suppose.

The main reason for giving this a 10 is because of the amazing value that this particular guitar offers. If you take price out of the equation, I would easily give this an 8, but wouldn't feel uncomfortable with a 9.

I just wanted to update my previous review. I swapped the standard Fender Bullet strings that come with the guitar for a set of DAngelico flatwounds... you wouldn't believe how much this completely altered the sound. Richer, fuller, mellower... like switching from schwag to the chronic. I always found it to be a bit shrill for any semi-jazzy sorts of things before the swap, but now it it sounds almost like a dream when I struggle through some modal passes. I still suck but the guitar sounds terrific, like somebody with a learner's permit revving a sport's car.

basic strat features but slightly thinner.

OK here's the thing. everyone rags on these things. They treat their guitar like shit and then complain about it. If I treated an American Deluxe Strat the way people typically treat a Squier it to would sound and feel like shit. Now you're askin why the hell is he comparing high end strats to this one? SURVEY SAY"S..... because i can. these are not bad guitars in fact they are beter in some cases than the aforementioned deluxe strat. Why?? well no one has any qualms about replaceing the neck or something on a squier strat but b people think i'm crazy to replace the neck on an american strat. Leo Fender invented the bolt on process so that everything could be replaced easaily and modularily. edn of tangent. The stock pickups give a good generic strat sound. they sound different for each player. they are noisy because they are singal coil pickups. the elcetronics are sub par. the plus side is that every one of these things are easy to replace.

Squiers have a great track record of being great playing guitars. I know a guy who got an american strat then swaped necks because he prefered the squier's feel. Always do your own setup. fender usualy gives a decent every man set up but dont expect it to be perfect for you. It happens that i do like fenders stock setup and do minimal tweaking but thats me and does not reflect you. the finishes vary enough to be disapointing at times but since it's a bolt on neck it the joint isn't great get your screw driver and redo it.

Fender= reliable and rugged.
after a typical punk band tour this guitar will still work but will need a very very very good cleaning(thats where i come in)

yeah right if you need customer support for a guitar like this then
ya know maybe you ain't cut out for this.

i have been playing for about 10 years. I have had so much experiance on these guitars that i think i could make one do any thing. bottom line budget guitars are great for beginners or professionals but need little touches. new pickups here and there replacement parts etc... these thing are great bases for custom creations. also if you dont take care of them then of course they aren't going to sound good but no instrument is. Clean intruments sound and play better than dirty beat top hell rusty stringed instruments so every one quit complaining. In the words of Frank Zappa " Shut up and play yer Guitar"

I don't own this guitar but I have played it plenty of times.

You know the drill...S/S/S, Tone/Tone/Volume, Alder Body, maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard, crappy blue finish, Fulcrum style tremolo.

It is decent for the price but you would be better off with a Jay Turser JT-300. The tremolo bar is useless because if you use it once it throws the whole guitar out of tune. There are a number of dead frets and the neck is rather wierdly shaped. I probably wouldn't buy this even for a begginer guitar. Instead buy a Jay Turser JT-300.

Crappy blue finish looks hazy and dull.

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