Fender Squier Affinity Series Strat

2004 China-built Squier Affinity Series Strat, in Aztec Gold--not listed as a standard finish, but seen occasionally in the field (other Aztec Gold Affinity Strat reviews can be found in the "Special Edition" listings, but my guitar was just mixed in and priced with all the other Affinity strats on the floor at GC). All basic strat features in place. It's interesting to note how the designers created a collage of Strat features from various eras. Big headstock w/twin string trees and big black logo from 60s/70s; one-piece maple-neck capped w/separate maple fretboard and no skunk stripe as per post-CBS 60s examples; single-ply white pickguard w/eight mounting screws as used in '54-'59 models; vintage-style tremolo like pre-70s/post CBS version (i.e. with separate, screwed-in intertia block instead of the one-piece casting used in later CBS Strats); flat pole-piece pickups a la 80s-90s American models; classic Strat electronics as per '54 to date except for 500k v/t/t pots substituted for 250k. Hence the Affinity name--the guitar is a collection of allusions to earlier Stratocaster concepts. The Alder body (as in most Strats after the first few years of ash bodies in the 50s) differs from MIM and higher Strats by being thinner overall and more radically contoured--look at it edge-on and be startled. *Very* light guitar, one of its virtues. Fits and feels lovely to me but might seem too light to others. Gig bag purchased separately, and I had to remind the salesman to include the whammy bar. A nine because it's a pretty interesting Frankenstrat for $150.

I play in a two-piece band dealing in obscure and not-so-obscure covers (we asked ourselves, "What's the least cool thing we can do?" and decided to be a cover band, though yes we do know how to write good songs)--anything from the Carter Family to the Violent Femmes is fair game. I'm not trying to nail anyone else's tone besides my own, and if you are, this isn't the guitar for you unless you are prepared to drench it in effects. Recently I've been using a Behringer Vampire 112 modeling amp, set to do impressions of either a Blackface Twin, a tweed Champ, or an early (non-top boost, dark sound) AC-30. Other amps in the collection are a Vox Valvetronix VT15, a '61 Gibson GA-18 Explorer, and a mid-60s Lectrolab R400C (single EL84 tube amp not unlike a small Vox combo of its era). Minimal effects: guitar to Boss DS-2 Distortion (occasional rhythm helper) to Vox Distortion Booster (occasional lead helper) to Ernie Ball volume pedal (so I can max the guitar output to the buzz boxes without over-the-top clean volume)to amp (where built-in vibrato, reverb, and/or Leslie effects are sometimes dialed up, sparingly). There's something to be said for ceramic-magnet pickups on a Strat; the sound is very bright, light on the bass end and with some more sustain than Strats with the usual Alnico pickups. Palm muting brings out lots of chiming harmonics, and with the volume control backed off there's a very useful acoustic vibe. The 1, 3, and 5 positions have clearly differentiated sounds but the differences aren't as pronounced as they are on higher-end Strats. Inbetween positions 2 and 4 are harder to distinguish from the regular settings and don't meet the usual sonic expectations. As a rhythm guitar it sounds very clear but thin; with the older tube amps with no on-board EQ beyond treble-cut, it's tempting to chain in an EQ pedal. But I like the way its airy delicate tone layers over my bandmate's darker, thicker electro-acoustic (Takamine w/onboard pickup/preamp) sound. Crank it to 10 for leads and it provides a satisfying and unusual snarl/skirl, emphasizing upper harmonics. Inherent hum from single coils that are probably without any shielding (haven't opened it up to verify that, but consider the price point), but given that they're pretty quiet--low output might make them less sensitive to computers and dimmer switches. Depending on what the source of interference is and where you're positioned, you can sometimes cancel the hum by turning the volume to 10. Mysterious but true. Some of the tone qualities may be due to the use of 500k pots for volume/tone/tone controls as opposed to the usual 250K pots; the substitution probably has to do with maximizing the tone from the minimalist pickups. If you ever want to swap in a Vintage Noiseless set, then the standard 500k pots that come with those are already in place here. I've thought about swapping pickups, but the Seymour Duncans I bought for that purpose ended up in another guitar--for this guitar I prefer the non-generic-Strat stock sound. Not for all, or maybe even very many, ears, but I like it--it's like watercolor as opposed to acrylics (or house paint). It would have sounded cool in Galaxie 500. 10 for me, 8 for the world at large which might want a bit more bass response and more quack from position 4.

This is a beautiful guitar. Flawless metallic gold finish (Aztec Gold entered the Fender menu just prior to the end of the CBS era, but it's indistinguishable from previous metallic gold finishes that go back to the 50s--compare with the illustrations in Tom Wheeler's *Stratocaster Chronicles*), and the coating seems thinner than on other models (like the solid color MIM Strats and Teles which remind me sometimes of candy apples, not in color but in coating), which to me is a good thing. Not so thin as to be worn away any decade soon, at least by me. Neck and fingerboard have nice flowing grain and are precisely joined; back of neck is clear-coated up to the headstock like MIM guitars. Tight neck joint, flush pickguard (can't get a pick under it), smooth even fretwork with no protrusions. Everything works like it's supposed to, including the tremolo, which I seldom use but which springs the strings back to tune with no issues. On this guitar it was set flat against the body at the factory, which is fine by me; three springs are installed. The die-cast machines, unbranded clones of modern Fender tuners, are well made and work smoothly, though when not changing strings I hardly have to move them at all--the guitar will stay in tune for weeks when left in its bag and only needs slight tweaks on some strings when played more frequently. The neck is dead straight, the action is a little low--a little extra care is needed with the left hand to keep chords clear, but I haven't brought it up the needed 1/64" or so because lead lines play with such snaky fluidity that I'm reluctant to mess with it. I've lowered the pickups a little--again, they could be adjusted further for a clearer sound, but I don't want to lose the aforementioned skirling and harmonics. When purchased the guitar was missing one height adjustment screw from the high e-string saddle. Most of the Squiers I tried out were also missing one or more saddle adjustment screws; I don't know whether this is a Squire quality control issue or an in-store phenomenon...weird. But easily remedied.

I don't gig nightly--more like once/twice a month with frequent practice and rehearsal inbetween. In my hands I don't foresee any durability issues, but my hands are small and I tend to shoegaze on stage. After eight months, used in rotation with various other guitars (and so sometimes zipped away in its bag for weeks) the dependability record is perfect, but if I was banging it on the floor every night in a neothrash band neither the Squier nor a Custom Shop Closet Classic at 20x the price would be holding up very well. Strap buttons are smallish but tight, hardware is a little lighter than mainline Fenders but not flimsy. I always bring a backup because I hate changing strings on stage, but the Squier hasn't behaved in any erratic way that makes me feel that I might need that other guitar for any other reason.

Never had to and wouldn't try unless I discovered a serious warranty issue. Squier website claims one-year limited warranty, but GC routinely sells Squiers without manuals and warranty cards, so unless you press them for the paperwork you're on your own.

I've been fooling with and collecting guitars for a long time but playing seriously for just the last six years. Other instruments: three Danelectros, MIM Tele and Strat (both with Seymour Duncan replacements for lame buzzy stock pickups), two Epiphone Gibson knock-offs, and a coupla basses. Obviously not a fan of more costly gear--in most cases I think the prices aren't justified by the increase in quality over good examples of lower-priced instruments. I would probably feel differently if I played the viola, but solid-body electrics are kind of abstract things--planks with strings and pickups. I'll invest a lot in pickups if I need to but otherwise I don't rate guitars by their headstock logos, and I don't have much respect for people who use those logos as their primary criteria for judgement. Like the person in another review here who dismissed the Affinity as a child's guitar and said "Not a good ax for a serious musician." Wrong--though a good Squier would be a good guitar for a beginner of any age. I love the Squier's high frosty tonality and easy action, its lighter thinner body and deeper contours. Now this guitar gets some of the worst reviews around, and I don't doubt many of them (except the ones written by disappointed wanna-be shredders and anything written entirely in upper case). Squire quality control, shame on Fender, is far too uneven. I purchased mine on a whim--I had a big unexpected credit at GC and at the time of purchase didn't own another Strat-like object and so I began to try out the dozen or so Affinity and Standard Squiers on display. Many of them had whack action, electrical problems, missing screws, loose components--not good guitars, though all perhaps redeemable with some degree of after-purchase work. I was hoping for something red and was initially dismissive of the gold ones (there were two). But then I played this one and couldn't put it down. Moral is--try a lot of them before choosing any guitar, regardless of price point. And at this price point, you probably shouldn't order off the web--you really need a hands-on trial to separate the good examples from the majority of not-so-good ones. That said, there's no reason, given the sheer numbers of these things, that you couldn't, in time, find an Affinity Strat that's as cool as mine. I A/B'd it recently with a '96 American Standard. The Standard felt clunky and sounded comparatively bland. You'd probably want the Standard if your goal was to emulate a guitar hero or a style from a bygone era or to earn your bread as a sesson player. But if you think for yourself, and don't care what musos think about you (some will inevitably sneer when they see the logo), then a well-chosen Affinity Strat may be something for you. Think of it as that eccentric Italian guitar from 1963 that you always covet but you never buy, because you know most of the buttons don't work any longer and it will never stay in tune....

I've got the 22 fret model. I got it as a gift from a pawn shop so I don't know where it was made, how much it cost or what year it was made. The frets had a little wear and there was a chip or two but nothing major wrong with it. I did not get a wammy bar with it, but I imagin it normally comes with one.

Normal features for a strat.

I do wish strats had mutiple volume controls.

The sound is a general strat sound. Nothing amazing, but not bad either. I will say it takes a good amp to really make this shine. I played out of a Peavy Special 130 solid state amp for the first two years and I hated the guitar! Running it into a good tube amp changes everything! It seems to be very particular of the amp you play.

(any wonder why it sounds like crap on a $15 amp?)

The sound on the bridge was a little bright for me, so I rewired the tone control from the middle to the bridge. This pickup also sounded a little lacking in bass for my taste. The Neck is nicely filled out, but can be a little muffled on some amp settings.
Overall, there isn't a lot of lower tones but it is workable.

For awhile, this was my only guitar into a tube amp that only had a volume control. (Harmony H-400). Using only those two, I was able to get a wide range of sounds out of it. Hard-core and hard rock were out of the question but most other styles could be simulated with a little work. With a fender amp and reverb, it approches SRV. Not perfect by any means, but enough to get by.

I'm considering replacing the pickups with the custom '69s.

The stock guitar has a tolarable level of hum. The pickups squeal like pigs under high gain!

Following the instructions I found here... http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electrical/index.php
http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php

I potted the pickups with wax and I added shielding to it. The shielding reduced the hum to below my Penco LP copy with stock humbuckers! The pickups will still squeal, but only at really high gain and high volumes and with the guitar shoved up against the speaker. I've never had feedback problems under normal playing conditions. I highly recommend doing this as the guitar isn't worth enough to worry about damaging it.

The action is low which is nice for solo work, but sting buzz can be a problem. I had it adjusted but it's still not quite right.

The edges of the fret wires aren't rounded off very well and it's uncomfortable to slide your had up and down the neck. The moron before me tightened the spring holder of the tremolo so far that it cracked the wood. The tremolo is laying flat against the body and cannot be used without a wammy bar.

The overall body and neck feel is that it's well constucted. It feels solid.

The pickup selector is crap. I replaced it with a standard strat version for $15. This selector is many many times better! No problems yet.

All three controls were loose as was the jack. Once properly tightend, they were not a problem.

I have played at least once a week for over a year, often without a backup. I have only broken a string once in that time period. I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks. The wood was not stripped out so these are holding nicely.

The finish still looks as it did when I got it. Plenty thick.

I have used this a number of times without backup. As I mentioned above, the pickup selector needs to be replaced as I did have it cut out on me before fixing that.

The jack needs tightend as this can cause it to cut out.

The body, neck and tuners are all good.

Never had to deal with them

Compared to my LP copy, I like the sound of this better. I go back and forth on the feel between them. I do love the lightness of this guitar. Its got a decent feel. Definatly worth it's price.

If it were lost/stolen/damaged, I'd probably try to get an American strat. I recommeded this to a friend just getting into guitar. It's a good starter guitar, but make sure to get a good amp with it! The strat pack does not count as a good amp.

I give it an 8 for value. Probably a 6 for overall. Therefore, a 7.

2000 crafted in china strat-standard strat setup-rosewood fretboard-70's style headstock

mainly play bluesy rock-running dod 250 overdrive preamp through '64 fender vibro champ-extremely clear sound-brightest sound of my 3 strats-(also own an early 90's japanese 50's reissue strat and an early 2000's mexican satin strat)-arguably the nicest sounding strat i have played.

bought this at garage sale with cheapo boss amp for $40-jerk had tightened strings so tight the neck was warped badly-and used a brillo pad to remove stickers from body-so...action was baaaad at first-tweaked the truss rod-and...perfect! GREAT action-i was surprised how smoothly this played-still haven't removed the scratches from body, but let's call that personality and move on...all components fit great-quiet-even intonation-very happy

stays in tune with hard playing-well built-not afraid to be rough with this guitar-and it is so forgiving-pickup selector switch seems to be thinner guage metal than my other strats-but i have had no problems whatsoever, so...very dependable-a workhorse

garage sale-yeah-

i love this guitar-best i can say-this thing has a great BOUNCE when you play it-very resonant and expressive-extremely easy to play-clear, bright, loud sound, responds well to your fingers-this is what a strat-or any guitar-is supposed to be-an extension of YOU. obviously from reading other reviews this can vary guitar to guitar-but do not be afraid of the squier name-try them out-if it feels (and sounds) as good as this one did to me buy it-

El-Cheazo Chinese 'crafted' Squier affinity Strat. 22 frets, made out of some kind of oddly-colored dried piece of lumber barely good for kindling coated in the most horrendus of finishes, asthmatic classic triple single-coil 'strat' pickups, hardware seemingly made out of pot metal and plastic. Most horrendus tuners since my 1960-something Teisco Del Ray I bought at K-Mart back when it was SS Kresge. Rosewood (I think) fingerboard on lightweight (Pine?) neck. This guitar is sad, sad, sad......

Sound? Well, I guess it SOUNDS like a strat. A weak, raily pathetic Strat. Pickups producing whistling microphonics the moment I take my main volume past 1.5. Actually, at low-volumes it doesn't sound too bad, so I can't be too unfair.

Action was surprisingly good. That's why I bought it. I want the neck and nothing else. As for the hardware (bridge, switch, pots, tuners) IT IS HORRIFIC. I removed the 'tuners' and the collars were made of chrome plated plastic. They literally disintegrated in my hand. The tuners are

Just to give my musical interest a new impulse I decided to look for a guitar. As a bassist I had the experience that the first bass I bought (cheapest model Yamaha) did not have the sound of the basses I heard on so many music I liked. When I got my Fender Jazz USA I stepped into a new world.
When I bought my Squier Strat I expected the same. Therefore I was astonished that this quitar sounded so good. Of course I do not know how it will sound after 10 years. For now it's great.

My guitar sounds not quite different from their famous examples.
I use it mainly on my Boss BR864 multitracker. In combination with the effects it sounds perfect to me.

Everythings looks and works o.k. to me.

I can't tell this for now.

I am surprised about the negative comments. My quitar works perfect and sounds great. Very good guitar to start with.

Basic strat features like 3 single coil pickups, 5-position selector switch, tune-killing whammy bar, 2 tone knobs and a volume knob. This one was made in china and has 21 med-jumbo frets on a rosewood fretboard, i believe the body is alder.

I bought this as my first guitar (well before buying an amp) because it had a really loud accoustic response, I played for a few months before I decided to make the investment in an amp (make sure I didn't just THINK I wanted to play the guitar). With my fender cyber-champ amp and this guitar I can make just about any classic blues tones come alive, along with most classic rock and a few more modern rock tones. However, as I have played I found that I gravitate towards more aggressive musical stylings than this guitar is suited for. The pickups are not very good for making individual notes within a struck cord stand out, but all in all an excellent beginner guitar.

If you like the low E and A strings to buzz then the set up was awesome; I have messed around with the setup enough over the last year to get the buzzing to go away. Volume knob has a short in it, I will fix that at some point but since i have other guitars now its not critical. For a beginner guitar it was real nice looking, the pick guard was seated against the body better than a lot of new fender mexican strats and the finish was as good as guitars costing much more.

In its current state I would not play live with it, but it could be tweaked without much monetary investment to be a decent live guitar. The tuners would have to be changed and I would put in a new volume pot.

Mr. Gearhead at fender.com helped me cope with the fret buzz, but to actually call on this guitar would be like calling bic and asking for help with a disposable lighter

For a beginner this was the right guitar at the right time, but I outgrew it fairly quickly. I still like its bluesy sound when I want it, but the neck seems smallish to me so I prefer not to use it for any playing that involves a lot of chords. I also have an epiphone LP and ibanez rg570 that i play much more than the squire now, both because of the neck issue and the fact that I like the humbucker sounds better. If this guitar were stolen i would not replace it, but am eventually going to buy a strat with texas special pickups anyway so this guitar would probably be given to a homeless person beat rats with or something anyhow if it were not mercifully stolen (I don't want too many guitars laying around or the old lady will start wondering how much money I spend on guitars and related equipment).

Made between 2000-2002

-21 fret rosewood neck
-Torino Red finish (I suggest you dont get this color)
-Standard Strat-style 3-single coil electronic setup
-Stock tuners were not stable. I swapped them for Grovers
Newer Squier Strats have updated tuners
-Plays amazing now after new Grovers, new nut, and a couple
of bridge adjustments. The typical Strat 'twanginess' can be
corrected with heavier gauge strings (Daddario 10gauge)
-Didnt like how the ground wire actually sticks into the tremelo unit.

-Very ambient with heavier strings. The volume unplugged is fuller than
any other solidbody ive ever played.
-Very full rock sound when using bridge and middle pickup with
tone pots rolled to zero
-I play through a Fender Deluxe Chorus, and Crate MX-65

-Came outta the box pretty crappy. Invest in getting this guitar
fine tuned and upgraded. I bought the guitar for 150 then put about 60 or 70 dollars into it. It plays better than all the $350 Fender Mexi-Strats

-I love how light the body is.
-Strap buttons are fine
-Finish is fine
-Very reliable
-This has been my only electric guitar in my 6 years of playing

Never had to deal with them

-6-year player of Classical, Jazz, BLues, and Rock
-Would probably buy another if this were stolen
-DONT get the red finish! Any other is fine. Unless you like a
bright red guitar, its up to you.
-THe best started guitar 150 dollars can buy

made in china in 2002, 3 s/c pickups, 21 frets, sunburst etc etc
i think it has schaller tuners but im not sure.

I bought this strat not expecting much, but the sound is very good in relation to the price.
The bridge pickup was a bit noisy (like on most guitars) so i replaced it with a seymour duncan screaming' demon mini humbucker and it sounds brill now.
I use a marshall mg50rcd with it and its a great combination. I only use my dunlop wah with it and it works a treat.
The sound is top notch for this price range

I had to lower the action when i bought it but apart from that it was fine.
The pickups were quite good but as i said i replaced the bridge pickup because of buzzing.

I've played a few gigs with it and dropped it a few times and the finish looks like it fought in the war but i like the fact that its starting to look like a rory gallagher :-)

Never dealt with them, theres a cheap repair guy at my school.

I've beem playing for 3 years (this was my first guitar) and it reached my expectations but i'm looking to buy a new, more expensive guitar soon ('72 custom tele) because im starting to "outplay" it.
This is the perfect guitar for beginners and gets a 10 in its price range.

made in 2004, "crafted" in indonesia
22 frets
i got that stupid strat pack thing
here, from the website
MODEL NAME Squier Strat Pack
MODEL NUMBER 033-0800-(Color#)
SERIES Squier Affinity Series
BODY Agathis
NECK Maple, C-Shape,
(Polyurethane Finish)
FINGERBOARD Rosewood, 9.5? Radius (241 mm)
NO. OF FRETS 22 Medium Jumbo
SCALE LENGTH 25.5? (648 mm)
WIDTH AT NUT 1.61? (41 mm)
HARDWARE Chrome
MACHINE HEADS Standard Die-Cast Tuners
BRIDGE Synchronous Tremolo
PICKGUARD 1-Ply White
PICKUPS 3 Single-Coil Pickups
PICKUP SWITCHING 5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
CONTROLS Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Middle Pickup)
COLORS (506) Black,
(525) Metallic Red,
(580) Arctic White,
(595) Metallic Blue,
(Polyurethane Finish)
STRINGS Fender Super 250L, (.009 to .042) Nickel Plated Steel p/n 073-0250-003
UNIQUE FEATURES Dot Position Inlays
ACCESSORIES STRAT Pack Includes:
Squier STRAT p/n 031-0600,
Fender Frontman 15G Guitar Amplifier,
Full Enclosure Stereo Headphones,
Chromatic Tuner,
Gig Bag,
Cable,
Guitar Strap,
Pick Sampler,
Set of Fender Strings


it seemed like a good deal, until now

i play mostly rock
you plug it in and allyou hear is buzzing, its horrible

came already put together , the finish was nice, everything seemed to be good, i loved the color, a nice red

i would never play this live, its got a horrible buzz, theres a lot of times that the strap slips, it goes out of tune from 5 minutes of playing so this thing is not going to last

never delt

ive been playing for about 2 yars, i wish i had not bought this guitar...its horrible

This is a 2001 Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster. It was crafted in Indonesia. It has 21 medium sized frets with nice rolled edges. It has an alder body and the standard Strat features, 3 single coils.
Tuners are Schaller look alikes, but keep it in tune just fine.

This guitar is well suited for rock, metal, punk, country, R&B and just about any kind of music. I'm playing through several amps and it sounds good through ALL of them. The 5-way pup selector is solid and allows for a wide range of tone !

The guitar was setup okay, however I tweaked it, and now it plays really fast. I lowered the action a bit. The maple neck is a two piece, the body is also two piece, but it is a lot lighter than my Fender Strat, which I like !

The strap pins and hardware are very solid, as is the switch and basic features. I would and have used this guitar without a backup. It's got Fender's name on it, so it's durable. They don't put their name on junk !

Customer support at Fender is top notch. Mr. Gearhead (on the Fender site) is also extremely helpful.

I'be been playing for 35 years and wanted a guitar to experiment with different pickups, etc. This guitar sounds and plays so nice, that I've decided to leave it as is. Maybe I'll get another brand to experiment with ?