Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster

Purchased second-hand. Made in China, 2001 model, Affinity series. 21 frets, full-scale, 1 tone, 1 volume, 3-way pickup selector (all missing their covers). Guitar looks like it is pretty much stock. Seems to have light strings, but they are black, and high E is missing. Maple neck and fretboard, probably an alder body (guitar is VERY heavy). Body is 3 pieces of wood. Stock features, no accessories. 7 for what it is, but in the condition I bought it, more like a 4.

I have been playing for about 9 years on and off, and I am awful. I specialize in rythym chord work. I want ultimately to play like David Byrne. This guitar has a beautiful tone. I have yet to play it thru an amp, but so far I have played it through a small portable CD player/tape deck/radio (you know the kind), and even through that the Tele sounds marvelous. The neck pickup gives a fat, slightly muddy sound (which I like), in between gives a bit more sparkle and would be great for soloing and lush, open chord work, and the bridge position ALMOST gives me The Telecaster Sound, even through a radio. Bridge pup sounds like it has a premanent echo effect on it. Slight hum on both pups alone, eliminated when using both.

I don't know how much variety can be achieved as I mostly play clean, but I suspect the guitar would give a pretty good range.

I like the trebly bridge sound and the difference in sound between pickup positions. One thing I don't like is that I think the pups could stand to be a little louder.

This is where we run into the good and the bad, remembering however, that this is a second-hand guitar.

Pups were well positioned, although I will make them a bit higher when I change the strings. Wirings seem to be fine, and even the notoriously bad pickup selector seemed quite solid. I had a look to see if it was the original, and although I am no expert, I think it was.

The finish looks great. Although it is not the color I would have chosen - black body, white scratchplate - I cannot fault the smooth shine, even for a 7 year old second-hand guitar. A couple of chips near the rear strap button, but that's fine by me; I like a guitar to have a 'lived in' look.

The number one thing that drew me to this axe was the neck. Beautifully smooth, slight gloss finish, and amazingly smooth fret edges that don't look like they have been home filed. The fretboard was quite grubby (I don't think the previous owner loved this guitar like I will) but that was easily cleaned.

Action wasn't so great. Lots of fret buzz, partucularly on the A string, probably not helped by the missing string. Tuners also are hard to keep at a good tension.

I will reserve my rating on this category, because it is a second-hand axe, and I bought it in quite poor condition (not the fault of Fender).

I suspect that once it has been restored, this guitar would certainly hold up to live playing. The main aspects of the hardware seem quite durable, but the tuning pegs might have to be replaced to achieve a bit more reliability. The finish seems thick and strong and I don't think it will be wearing away in a hurry. Strap buttons seem solid enough, but I haven't used the axe with a strap yet. I think the guitar could be counted on for a gig, and I'm confident that with some good d'Addario 10's on it, it would survive a gig quite comfortably. While I personally would not be gigging with it, I have a friend who might like to used it. I would let him, but I would suggest he keep a backup handy (he's a metaller).

As said before, I have been playing on and off for nine years, and am little more than a novice. I have been wanting to start playing more seriously, but felt I needed a nice guitar for motivation. So I but a Squier Jagmaster on layby, then decided I wanted more of a single-coil sound. I spotted the Telecaster at a second hand shop for AUD$249 (about US$255 right now) and I was given the guitar for $200 because they didn't have a lead handy for me to test it. I bought the guitar unplayed and in poor condition and I couldn't be happier so far.

I will probably still buy the Jagmaster for variety, but I suspect the Tele will be my number one guitar. I don't have an amp at the moment, but I will be getting one soon enough. I will be looking to spend about $200 on my amp.

As for the Tele, my favourite thing is that I think I will be able to pluck The Telecaster Sound from it with a minimum of fuss. My least favourite thing is that the guitar is in such poor shape right now. But it is inspiring to know that even as it is now, the guitar still sounds wonderful when plugged in.

Mine was purchased at Guitar Center around Thanksgiving 2007. I got the red one with white pick guard and maple neck. Standard features for this guitar.

First off, I had been playing Squier Tele's (affinity series) on and off for a few months at Guitar Center before deciding to buy one. I really wanted the butterscotch blonde one cause it looked so nice. But they didnt have one when I decided to buy it. So I settled for the red one. The stock pickups are ABSOLUTE CRAP!!! Especially the neck pickup! The sound was UNUSEABLE. Muddy, undefined sound. BUT....when I replaced those ****** pickups with REAL Fender Vintage Noiseless........what a difference!!! Now this guitar shines! The neck position is what I mainly use on solo's now cause it sounds so good....here is PROOF!!! Go to my music site and listen to the song "Tele Blues" to hear what Vintage Noiseless pickups can do for a Squire!!

http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=81665

I paid $160 for this guitar and some of these cheap guitars can be made to sound nice. I got it all set up with new pickups and I love it.

The action is good, after setup. Pickups were all adjusted and the finish is a beautiful candy apple red. Tuners are a little boogity woogity but stay in tune pretty much.

I just gigged last weekend and played a set with my Tele and it performed well. It seems durable, hardware is mediocre at best but holds up. Strap buttons ok for now.

No use for it

Overall, for a $160 guitar you can't expect much but after investing $99 for new pickups and $40 for a set up, all totalling $300 it is a fine intstrument now that looks good and feels good to play.

Its a 2007 squire affinity telecaster crafted in China. It has a nice black gloss finish with a white pickguard and silver volume and tone knobs. The finish is exellent. It didnt come with anything special such as a gigbag. For the finish i will give it an 7 because it didnt come with any accessries.

I tend to play indie/rock music with some blues as well. At the moment because it is my first electric i have no effects but do have a orange crush 10 watt amp. Wen i turn the gain on alot and put the overdrive up the pickups start to get noisy. Generally it is good and i dnt tend 2 play with that high gain so for wt i am after it has a nice telecaster sound that can be compared to fender but im sure with some new pickups it will be a 10/10 guitar.

Im nt big into all the electronics of guitars but i fink the pickups were set a bit to high but it hasn't caused a problem. The action is good and i will not change it. I think the finish is excellent and the neck is great to play all styles of music.

Everythink seems like it will last but i havnt had it long so we will see. At the moment i cant complain but if i played live alot i would hange the pickups so there is less of a risk of noise from them but i have played it with gain up and often it is fine so for wt i use it for i will give it a 9

Never had 2 use them.

Im 15 and have been playin since i was 13 i have had a cuple of acoustics but have always prefered electrics. I own a orange crush amp as well. If were stolen i would probably get another one after killing the person who stole mine. My fav part of it is the nice warm sound you get from it that is good but not as nice as a real fender but for the money it cost you cant argue. I will get the pickups changed if i decide to keep this guitar for a while. After some modifications i can see myself having a sentimental attachment to the tele. I really like it and would recomend it for any beginner.It is a great value for money becuase i have always wanted a telecaster.

Not really many features to speak about...but it's a Telecaster, not a Robot Les Paul. If it wasn't simple and classic it wouldn't be a Telecaster :-)

So that being said, it has just what I need.

Made at the Yoko plant, China in 1997 (dated using Serial number), Affinity Series...Candy Apple Red finish, aged pickguard (?? very interesting), 21 fret Rosewood freboard with maple neck, two pickups, volume, tone, 3-way...you know.

Here's the skinny. For the longest time I had a hard time making single coils sound good through my set-up, but I can't be bothered to play much else but Fenders...I just love how they feel and sound. The Tele Deluxe and Toronado are nice choices, and dropping rails in a Strat or Tele is also a decent option...but I want that single coil definition.

At the store I tried this guitar through a solid-state Marshall DFX100 junker...it only worked half the time but I could tell there was something different about this telecaster. I loved the way it felt and the action was teriffic. I took it home, plugged it in, and was instantly blown away.


CLEANS - amazing, sparkling, twangy cleans. I love it. I don't think I've heard better cleans on a Mexi Standard or even a Hwy 1.

DIRT - this thing will put a hole in your wall if you really want it to. The bridge pickup on this particular guitar averages the same output as a Les Paul humbucker. But here's the thing - it still has the definition and clarity of a single coil pickup. I don't know how, and I don't know why. I don't even care. It just rocks hardcore.

Action is a bit stiff, but you know for $100 I've played TONS worse. It has slightly less desireable action than my '93 Mexi Standard Strat - which isn't bad at all.

My guitar was fitted with Grover tuners by the owner before me. So tune slippage is not a problem unless I bend the crap out of the B and E strings up in the high registers - then those two strings will drop half a step. No biggie - it takes 2 seconds to twist them back up after the solo and the audience probably won't notice much anyways. This thing stays in tune better than my Deluxe Toronado - which I payed $395 for (and now currently grabs figures near the $600-range on eBay and Craigslist).

The neck is not dry like most squiers. It doesn't feel fake, and it doesn't feel like sandpaper. It's got a thin coat of nitro gloss and it feels about right.

While many people complain about the board width on a lot of Squiers, this one ain't too shabby. I admit I feel more comfortable on my MIM Standard, and way more comfortable on my Toronado (25 1/2" scale) - but my fingers have yet to slip off the bottom of the fretboard like they have with Squiers in the past.

No finish flaws really...but I mean is anybody really seriously LOOKING for them on one of these guitars? "Oh, I found a little bit of glue residue in the neck pocket". Oh really? Why don't you send it back and yell at them for not giving you American quality at a Squier price.

The only major qualm I have is that it's a top-load string set-up rather than a back load. I'm used to loading the strings on my Teles from the back, and I must say this "alternative" method is a real pain in the neck. In order to string your Affinity Telecaster properly, you must :

1) Kink the end of your string at a length of about 1"
2) Insert into bridge hole
3) Flip saddle on its side (90 degrees) using a Philips
4) Run string through saddle and pull a little bit
5) Reverse #3, pull through and resume stringing as you normally would


(See? It's so much easier skipping all five of those options and just loading it from the back...*poke* *pull* *zoom* and that's it)

It feels solid and I wouldn't have the slightest issue with using this as a main guitar (let alone a back-up) at a gig.

I mean really, it's kind of a stupid question. HC hasn't changed it for awhile and I'm wondering why. If you're playing it at home, then obviously it's going to hold out during a gig unless

a) you have REALLY bad luck, or

b) you treat your gear like crap because you're too busy showing off than focusing your mind on playing and having fun.


Had one string snap on me at the bridge but that's nothing that a simple file can't fix.

Reasonably solid.

I've played various different Telecasters and I've never heard one that rocks this hard for the money. Those guys must have put some extra lovin' into this axe because, wow...

I've owned everything from various Fender Strats (50s RI, 60s RI, 70s RI, '68 Japan Custom Shop RI, Mexi Standards), and played several Telecasters (owning a 50s RI at one point). I've also owned and played several "Deluxe" series Fenders, as well as the obvious Squiers including the Pro-Tone series.

I'm not saying this is the holy grail, but for 100 bucks this thing impresses me on almost every level.

I can actually count on my hand the flaws that I've found in this guitar.

Finger 1 = string breakage at the bridge. Only had this happen once, strung it up with a fresh set of D'add EXL120s and haven't had it happen since.

Finger 2 = Pickup selector sticks at bridge... just jiggle it a bit and it comes loose. I'm guessing if I could be vigorous enough with some contact cleaner, say...twice a week, I could have this problem resolved.

Finger 3 = B and high E strings slip out of tune during face-melting solo. Okay, so this is a bit annoying...but really it only goes a few cents out of whack, so give them a half-turn and you're right back to where you were. 2 seconds...no big deal, even during Rush's "2112".

Finger 4 = (I'm really trying hard to find fault with this guitar...I'm struggling) Neck pickup is a little weak; I'll probably slap a GFS Lipstick Tube in there and it'll be better than it ever was.

And really, that's all I have to say. I didn't even use five fingers to count the flaws.

And for $100, that's pretty darn good. From what I hear a lot of beginners and guitar enthusiasts alike adore their Squier Affinity Tele's. You can't go wrong. I like the Bullet series too... but the Standards never impressed me much! Go figger...

Go out and try one. Try several. Find one that fits you and give 'er a nice home.

A nice candy apple red tele with maple neck

Sound is good but the single coils hum a little and i might be switching them with emg pickups

Action is pretty good from factory

This is a great overall guitar i would reccomend it to other......I have gigged with it before and everthing was greeat

Made in China, year unknown ... but man what a looker! Maple neck with maple fingerboard, Alder (or Agathis -varies from one model to the other, this one feather light) body with a sweet, eye-catching metallic blue finish. Standard lipstick pickup in neck position, Telecaster pickup in bridge position. Top loading bridge with 6 individual saddles.

Sealed (Gotoh/Grover style) tuners that don't slip (I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about MIC hardware), standard 25.5" scale with 21 medium frets, plastic nut. No accessories included, but inexpensive enough to get a hardshell case and strap without making too big of a dent in the bank account.

Standard 1 volume, 1 tone 3 position blade switch arrangement.

This was the big surprise: I was expecting full hum-a-sonic from both pickups ... through my J-station straight in my E-MU sound card I detect barely any hum (note - using a clean patch from the J and I have a LCD flat monitor). Through my Traynor Hybrid amp and through dirty/overdriven patches on the J-Station, the 60 cycle hum is right in your face, worst in bridge position.

I was expecting to upgrade the pickups, machine heads & do the full string-through bridge conversion, but now, all I'm intending on doing is swapping the pickups with hum cancelling ones and perhaps do a bit of shielding. That's it that's all. One needs to define "twang" to me, but it sounded plenty twangy to my Cyberpals stock!

I own a Variax, but for certain signature sounds, only a Les Paul sounds like a Les Paul, only a Strat sounds like a Strat, and only a Tele sounds like a Tele!

Off the rack, it was as expected - pretty weak. High-ass action, intonation all over the place, nut height uneven. Thumbs up to the techs at Long & McQuade and to their free setup on a new instrument purchase policy.

After a proper setup, that metallic blue beauty was a whole lot nicer to play. It's a solid color finish, so no comments on bookmatching. There is a tiny scratch on the back of the guitar a few inches above strap button level, but only I can see it, doesn't really bug me.

It feels very light and frail, personally, I'd keep it home where it's safe. Then again, I may be wrong.

n/a

This guitar came out as a big surprise. I'd been advised to avoid the Affinity series like the plague, but seeing (and playing) is believing. The only reason I'm swapping pickups at all is that I have an aversion to 60 cycle hum. I've ordered a pair of self-adhesive copper pickguard shields from ebay, one for my MIM Strat (Dimarzio VV's) and one for the Tele. The sheilding may be overkill after the pickup swap, but ... every bit counts.

For those who still have issues with the Squier moniker, Musician's Friend has a nice article entitled "Squier, the other Fenders".

The hardware might be sub par on some instruments, but this inexpensive made-in-China Telecaster has been an eye-opener for me. I own a Squier Fretless Jazz bass and now a Squier Telecaster, one of the vilified Affinity series ones. And guess what? I like it fine!

Many thanks to my loving WMWW for the wonderful gift!

This model is an arctic white Fender Squier Affinity Telecaster.. alder body.. maple neck.. and all the other standard Telecaster features..

I am a bass player by trade.. but I also record demos of my own stuff. I needed another electic guitar because I needed a more "Fender-y" tone, as I mostly play Gibson guitars.. So, I went to Guitar Center, and I found this for dirt cheap.. And the sound is so right on for what it is.. They had Squier strats for the same money, but they just seemed so cheap and flimsy.. I think the Squier tele wins over the Strat..

This guitar is notably lighter than the Telecaster Standard, and the neck, like all Squiers, is unvarnished.. but, the neck feels right good and comfortable. The action was too low for my taste, and the truss rod was too tight, and the intonation was out.. as per usual with buying a new guitar.. so, after the treaking, it played even better..

I think this is a well built guitar, and the sound is very good for the money paid.. I think if I built a tele-style guitar from parts, it would be an awful lot like this guitar. I think it will last a long time.. I doubt I will ever play gigs with it, but I wouldn't have a back-up.. that is if I had the motivation to play guitar more seriously..

why deal with customer support? A guitarist should know how to do most repairs.. and.. being that it is from Guitar Center, it's warrantied anyway..

I think this is the perfect workingman's budget guitar. Nice quality and value for the money. and, if you want to, you can always upgrade the pickguard and the pickups, etc.. and even have a guitar thats better than the MIM Standard guitar, with some cash left over..

Nice looking Butterscotch blonde,maple neck,21 medium/jumbo frets

Trebly twang from the bridge pickup and creamy tones from the neck...all as expected. No noise from the pups...using with a Line 6 Spider 15 and computer monitors via guitarport. Bought this guitar having already decided to change the pups...but may well wait a while as they dont seem that bad.

Factory setup is good. Intonation is spot on and action is perfect.
Very slight roughness on some of the fret ends...but not enough to draw blood!Paint job is fine.

Too soon to say. First impressions are favourable in this dept.

12 months warranty.Got extra set of strings and lead thrown in from Dawsons in Liverpool.

Been playing for about 30 years..but still in the intermediate category. Also have a Yamaha pacifica 112 and Epiphone Wildkat.I really like the look/action and sound of this Tele and for the price I think its really great value.

2000 model in butterscotch. Alder body (unlike early 90s affinitiy teles which were made from plywood!!!)and an absolutely GORGEOUS maple neck. chrome harware which looks cheapo with a six saddle modern bridge as opposed to the classic tele bridge which has a small bridge plate with a lip round the edge (vastly better tone) and 3 barrel saddles. This one has a 'top loading' string system (just budget stuff to save money, presumably)

standard generic singlecoil telecaster pickups which are totally decent as well as most of the electronics. 3 way selector with volume and tone controls. Machineheads are more generic ching-chong-alikes but are also totally decent for the money. No case or anything, but what do you expect for the money?!?

Sounds like a decent tele. Bridge pickup twangs, neck pickup creams. volume/tone controls are unresponsive but they do the job. I replaced the neck pickup with a seymour duncan hot tele rhythm to increase jazz/blues tone. and I hacked up a mexican strat pickup to fit in the bridge position.

One thing, there is a LOT of earth buzz from this guitar which i can only assume is from the cheapo electronics and wires etc. This is very annoying in live situations and recording.

I actually used this guitar for a recording session and it performed infinitely better than my mate's gibson les paul with P90s. A nice woody bright sound with a twangy short sustain.

Increcdible action on this, shame that i like a high one! as i cranked it up with 11s i thought 'shame, a shredder could have a field day with this'. The finish is nice, with the woodgrain visible. It marks easily but looks cool when it does.
The neck is inch perfect. A lot nicer than my lite ash strat.

This guitar is not built to be thrown around like most teles, hence the light body. But i throw it around anyway and have had no problems particularly when throwing it onto the stage in a feedback frenzy. I could depend on it except for the wiring which is a bit terrible. strap buttons are great, as is the hardware.

never had to deal with them

A great little guitar which you can trash and smash and bash and modify with no conscience or guilt or worry. rock solid construction and a wonderfull neck. Bad wiring quality, but hey that can be easily sorted if you can be bothered.

2006 model SPC Transparent Butterscotch/ black pickguard 550 Squier Affinity Tele (China). 21 frets Alder body, maple neck and maple fretboard with .043 X .080" frets (6230). 3 way selector, 1 volume, 1 tone. Neck pup covered single coil, bridge uncovered single coil. Stop tailpiece (not string-through) with 6 individual adjusters. Die cast tuners. Everything a Tele should be and nothing more.

Excellent. Bright, lots of quack when you want it, nice middle position (best Tele sound for me) and warm and clear neck pup.
Princeton, G-Dec, Champ 15, Dano Dirty 30 and Honeytone. No noise from pups in my guitar room. Pot and tone are nicely linear. Lots of tonal possiblities. The strings are "Fender 250's" .009" and up. I'll put 10's on soon. These strings are decent and really put-out the quack and twang, but I like a slightly larger gauge.
With good amps and effects available, and the quality increase of inexpensive pups, the need for high-end pups is decreasing IMHO.

This guitar was manufactured very well. All woodworking is tight and clean. Finish is flawless.
The tuners are very smooth and hold their tune with aggressive playing. Pups blend well and only needed to lower the bass side of the bridge pup about .050".
The neck was nearly straight and required a slight truss rod tweek with these strings. Action was too high for me, but there is plenty of adjustment room, so no problem. I dressed one fret (7th) that was slightly high, say .005", to address a buzz. Fret edges are very good and require no dressing.
The bridge is very stable. Some would like a 'string-through' but I see no compelling reason for me.
For the price of this guitar I should give it a 10, but for the one fret that needed 2 minutes of work, I'll give it an 8.
This guitar is very handsome, just like me!

It's built as well as any guitar, so should be fine. I was in a regional rock band forty years ago with lesser built equipment than this. We still carried backups.

Bought this at The Guitar Center. I nearly pulled the trigger for an e-Bay Squier Tele, but called GC and they matched the price. It reduced the price a little from the going street rate.

GC has been good for me over the years and Fender (through GC) has been expedient and fair.

Playing about 46 years (many years before I was born).
Eastwood amber Sidejack (my best guitar overall), Fender standard Strat, two Squire Strats, Yamaha Pacifica, Dano Innuendo, Fender Bronco bass, Ibanez bass, Harmony 'strat' (old), Dean short scale 'strat'... Can you say 'bend'? I've had lots of cheap and expensive things over the years.
I always wanted a Tele, this is all I need to align the universe until the next obsession hits me.

Telecaster Affinity Butterscotch blonde Telecaster. Made in Indonesia, 2005. Controls the standard Volume, tone with 3 way selector. Two single coil pickups. Alder body, 21 medium frets with a maple fretboard on maple neck. Thin beautiful Butterscotch Blonde finish. Top loader bridge. Small sealed inline tuners, non-locking. Tele style body is a bit thinner than the standard tele body.

Jazz, Country, Rock

Play a Fender Hot rod deluxe with Boss ME50 effects pedal. Neck pickup actually surprised me with a great clean jazz tone. No twang in the bridge, sounded like a P90. Pretty quiet pickups though. Thought it would be a good way to get a tele cheap. Bought at GC off the wall during a recent sale. I owned a 68 Tele a long time ago and the neck felt very similar just a little smaller. Plays well with the Boss ME50. I could not believe the tone of the bridge pickup with over drive and distortion. Although it did not have the tele twang, it sang quite well when cranked up. The original plan was to replace the pickups, but I actually liked the neck pickup and was pleasantly surprised of the drive of the bridge.
If you?re looking for tele twang this guitar is not a great choice without pickup modifications. Also the top loader bridge probably has a lot to do with this. The neck is satiny smooth. The frets are a little over the edge as some of the other reviews have pointed out, but not bad. It plays fantastic, in fact that was the main reason I purchased it. I could not believe this inexpensive guitar could play so smooth.

Never dealt with Fender. I never had a problem with their guitars and bought all my Fender amps used.

This guitar has a nice tone in its own right. I would gig with this guitar and proudly show off the fact this is a Squier. I think it would be a great show stopper. It is nice and light because of the small body. The finish is beautiful but thin. It already has a chip in it but then again, people pay money for a reliced guitar! I have been playing for over 30 years, actually more, let?s leave it at that. Everything from country, rock, top 40, jazz, even darn banjo. Owned at least 4 Telecasters including this one, a Gibson 347, 3 ES335's, a Les Paul Fretless wonder, numerous Strats and fender amplifiers, boss effects etc... Still own a 335, 2 Telecasters, American Strat with Seymour Duncans, Taylor acoustic, and an Ibanez AF 75. The Squier butterscotch blonde is a good value. It was not quite what I was looking for but has its good points. A superior guitar for a novice but even good enough for a pro with minimal modifications. I give this a guitar an 8 based on the fact it does not have the tele twang or have a string through bridge. The Squier standard Telecaster is an excellent choice if that's what you are looking for.

I actually bought a Squier Affinity *Strat* instead. But these Squier Tele's are very seductive. My real contribution to this discussion is that if you truly want a through-the-body string path, just pay ~$30 more for a Squier Tele Special or Squier Telecaster Custom (etc.) that includes that feature. In other words, find a store where you can try the different models through the same amp -- and see whether the through-the-body string path really gives you the reputed better sustain.

It's also worth noting that all these Squier Tele's give you some kind of bridge that's independently adjustable for all 6 strings. Remember, true vintage Fender Tele's from the '50s came with only three separate barrels, one per string pair.

The sound has some Telecaster character. But it pales next to (for example) a G&L Tribute Telecaster, where the value is all in the pickups. The G&L's are both muscular and remarkably clear.

The unvarnished maple fingerboard/neck combination feels just wonderful, and provides very smooth action -- some of these feel better than some current American-made Fenders. Some of the finishes -- notably the Butterscotch -- are just luscious. Is there any more iconic American guitar than the Telecaster? Even if it's made in China?

Can't really comment (didn't buy one!), but they feel very solid, like a Telecaster should. My secondhand Squier Strat has clearly taken some abuse -- judging by a few surface gouges -- but seems fully intact. So these things seem to be quite durable.

No contact with Squier/Fender

Gives you the feel, action, and some of the sound of the iconic Telecaster, at an affordable price. Just hope it's made by *happy* slave/child labor in China!

Not sure of the year, but just bought it...Mine was made in Japan, and has all the standard items listed by everyone prior to me!
The body is alder, and the neck is hard maple, which at a guitar at this price is quite amazing! The Pickups are 2 single coils, the bridge being th classic lipstick pickup one almost expects in a tele. The tuners are the cheepo fender/squire tuners, and do the job, but aren't quality. The big 3 position switch is pretty cool, and throws almost a little to easily.

This guitar really sounds good for the price. I play almost everything, and it will conform nicely, maybe not the ultimate head banger,though! They are amazingly not noisy, but if you want true diversity, would probably want to change them. I was looking for the country twang, but may need to examine the amp I amusing as much as the guitar, since I am using a crate acoustic guitar amp with a Beringer v-amp2 processor.

This was by far the surprising part. This guitar came out of the box with a perfect set up. Low action, thin strings, no buzz. The finish is a red color, and actually nicely done. If you covered the Squire logo, you wouldn't be ably to tell it from the much higher priced Fender. Mine's neck is perfect!!! I guess I got lucky, but the frets are good, and the neck straight and fast. I fell in love with this guitar the moment I played it!

From what I know, the Squires are not the most durable guitars, but it's fine for my needs/wants. I wouldn't consider it as the only guitar for a gig, but I wouldn't count on any single guitar for an important gig. It's about as durable as a mass produced Squire can be!

Never delt with them...hopefully never will!!!

I really got lucky with this guitar! I got it at a stores closing, and payed well under the list price. It playes very nicely, and has taken the spot that my Tex Mex Strat once held. I have had every imaginable guitar guitar made, from a Jackson Soloist, a Les Paul, az Ibanez Jem, and countless other toys to fullfill my fancy! This guitar has found a place in my heart! I truely enjoy playing it, and it really fits my changing styles and interests. I can't believe the bargain I got from this guitar!! Based on other peoples comments, I guess you really need to play it before you buy it, and find the ones that are put together well.

Tele Standard. Not sure what wood, but light body, real light.

Sounds fair. Sure as hell fun to play, having never touched a tele before. I can imagine myself getting a Fender somewhere down the future, based on this Squier I have. For right now, this Squire, for nil money, sure is great.

The action was good out of the box. The pickups are fair, if you really don't care how you sound. Right money would be on a pair of new pickups. The frets were bad, quite sharp around the edges, but something I can live with. The neck feels good. Tuners need to go, bad. Half an hour, hour tops, and it detunes itself. Maybe I'll just keep one tuner on the low E. I can hear some of the selector plastic bits raddling in there, every time I hit the strings hard. Word to the wise, Arctic White isn't any where near white. Unless Squier based the "Arctic" part on yellowed snow.

Short answer, no. Lots need replacing before it hits the stage. LOTS. The finish seem like it'll last, strap buttons are solid.

You know what, for less then 2 bills, besides it's downfalls, it's fun as hell to play. There are too many things worng with it to play live or anything of the sort, but for practice or a garage band, it's good for the money.

butterscotch blonde, black pickguard, 3-way switch, chrome hardware, u guys know what its got
the dealer said it was a sposed to be a 52 reissue style, but it doesn't have a "ashtray" bridge

sounds absolutly brilliant, only buzzes and hums like a bitch.
its good for rock or blues, or even metal, anything goes.
I'm gonna get better pickups though.

brilliant neck, i love the neck, it is so good for a asian made guitar (not trying to be racist), but its such a beauty to play

get new pickups at this will be a 10

???

get new pickups and u'll get a perfect ten guitar(for the money at least)

I think this guitar was made about 2003, how do you tell? It has a black painted body made of solid wood and a maple neck. The neck is pretty chunky but this makes it very straight along the whole length of the fretboard and it is still comfortable to play. No fancy fittings or finishes on this one. Re-stringing with the standard bridge is not an easy task.

It sounds good, particularly for the price. I changed the bridge to a brass Gotoh with through body stringing and it now sounds fantastic, probably as good as a Fender Tele and better than some of them in fact.

As I bought it 2nd hand I can't comment on the original set up but I have had it set up professionally and it is now pretty good. There is a bit of fret buzz on the low E that is impossible to eliminate completely without lifting the action too much. The frets were finished OK and the whole thing was well put together.

Looks solid so it should last for years. The paint job, although chipped when I got it, is pretty good. Everything was good, particularly for the price.

Haven't had any need to get genuine parts yet.

This guitar obviously isn't as nice feature or finish wise as my American Deluxe Strat, but if you want to try a Tele and don't mind the name on the headstock, these are good value.
I would recommend changing the bridge for easier string changes and better tone. This is a cheap job and worth it to get something as good as a Fender for a fraction of the price. I would buy another one if I lost this one, it has a great sound.
I have been playing for a couple of years and have 3 electrics and 3 acoustics. I also own a Cort PRS copy and I would say the Squire doesn't look nearly as good as the Cort (beautiful mahogany body) but it sounds better and cost half the price.
The Squire is a bit heavy and the flat back isn't nearly as comfortable to play as the Cort or the Strat.

Its all been covered, It's a Chinese made guitar that looks like a Telecaster. I'm sure the guys that made would say 'Leo who?' or however that comes out in Chiese! But, it has th same features as a Tele at a bargain price - Just what I wanted.

I have a go at any thing (played for over 45 years)I mostly use a 15w Vox AV15VT Valvtronix amp, ( I like it)The guitar souds excelent.

Can get a wide range of sounds out of that combo.

Now, hear's the trick. If buying new, spend some time looking for the best neck / frets. Some will rip your fingers to shreds, as someone has mentioned already. Look for one with a well finished neck and dressed frets. You may have to try a few, but they are out there. (if you buy new from a shop)MIne was perfect!

Why should this not last? I can't imagine why not. Hardware is fine. The finish is pron to show dings very easy. I look after my guitars but already have a few small 'dints'. Strap buttons as good as any I have.

After a few months, I think it's pretty good.

not needed

I years warranty in the UK

Playing over 45 years, Own an Ovation, Fender Strat (Jap 1982) Samick Royal Bass (these are very nice).

I would buy another without doubt. I Like it a lot, nothing I would want different. I'm don't have any hang ups about 'brand names' never owned a pair of Nikes!

Made somewhere around 2002, standard Tele config, some sort of solid wood was used, quite lightweight, which is pleasant. Butterscotch/caramel sort of finish, also quit e pleasant to look at.

It came with a pickup mod done already, I bought it from a mate for 120? and he had fitted some no- brand korean SC sized humbucker.

I made a black scratchplate ( raw plastic bought from modeller's shop, use the original as a template!) and fitted some 20? secondhand tuners( in black)...totally transformed the look of the guitar, quite dramatic change, but really cool

Neck and body are fine, the electronics are of the Mickey Mouse variety, it works, but only just. If you're gonna do any SERIOUS gigging with it, get your soldering iron out and put some decent pots, switches and wires in there. Fretwork is OK on mine, good enough

Souds very good actually, gives a quite beefy Rock sound thanks to that bridge bucker, but used in combination with the neck pickup gives some decent sounds for jingly jangly/ counrty type stuff

This is a surprisingly good guitar ( especially since I paid basically pocket money for it). Finish is good , action is good, as mentioned before, the electronics are shit, but you can't have everything. Easily sorted little issues really.
As an upgrade/project guitar its an absolute steal.

Dont think it would just conk out on me for no reason, seems pretty well made. Just basic maintenance should keep the thing in working order.

No idea, dont care really. If something needs doing I do it myself, if it breaks/ burns to a cinder, just buy another one!

I use a marshall 5210 combo and a Yamaha B212, and also have a Gibson The Paul ( fabulous guitar!) and korg and Zoom effects.

The plan is to put in a decent full sized neck humbucker at some point, that would finish the job. All in all , a bargain guitar. Just make sure that if you buy one in a shop you play several....and pick the best one. there's always one that's better than the rest.

If you're looking for a Tele , but have virtually no money, you would do wise giving one of these a go.

2005 Squier Affinity Series Telecaster,made in Japan.
Color-Butterscotch Blonde,Body-Alder,Neck-Maple C-shape,21 medium,
jumbo frets,two single coil pickups-Bridge & Neck,3-Position pickup
selector.

For a tele at this price it sounds very good, I play in a Country
Gospel band and I was very pleased on just how good it sounded.
I play it through a Roland Cube 30 amp with some delay and it gives
me the twang I need and the middle & bridge sound great,real mellow
and jazzy.

My guitar plays great, I bought it on a Monday and was using it that
weekend. The action on this guitar is what sold me, I like my action
very low and it has no buzz. The finish is also what sold me, very,
very nice with no flaws that I can tell. The only thing I will change
for now is the pickup selector cause it feels cheap.The tuning pegs
seem ok, stays in tune pretty good.

I played with my band at a outdoor concert and it was HOT but my
guitar stayed remarkably in tune so I was pretty impressed.
This will be my main guitar on stage so I will replace the controls
sometime soon just to be on the safe side but aside from that it
really seems to be a solid, well built guitar for the price.

Just got It so I hope I don't have to deal with them.

I've been playing for over thirty years and through the years I've
owned Alot of guitars, some good & bad. If sounds and plays good
I'm sold, you don't have to go and sell your soul to buy a decent
guitar! This guitar suits my needs and I'm glad I got it.I have Arbor
Strat copy that I bought for around $300.00 and it looks and sounds
just as good as some higher priced guitars I've had. If you want a Tele but don't want to spend alot of cash this is the one for you.
Twang away & enjoy!

One-piece alder body. Oil-finished maple neck (!). 21 frets, medium-jumbo. Fender pickups, hot bridge single coil, lipstick bar neck single coil, with a 3 way selector (bridge-both-neck) (got a big toggle knob on it, which I like). Nice, vintage butterscotch glossy finish with a black pickguard. Very Texas looking. Massive tele-style bridge. if one is using straight strings (%-) one should have not trouble feeding strings through the bottom of the bridge. The 25.5" scale is greatly preferred by me over shorter lengths. Very pro feel. That combined with the fat but narrow neck make for an axe which feels a tad dainty at first, but once you hear it, and you feel how easy it is to play, dainty is the last word on your mind. Indeed, I found the fret job, while being perfectly decent and quite workable, isn't as perfect as one would find on higher-priced axes; as others have noted, it's an easy fix if does become a problem. But, again, the way the neck plays, it doesn' matter. I've tried playing with my LH thumb sticking out way over the top of the neck, and still couldn't get my LH fretting fingers to run into and trouble with the only-slightly-uneven treble ends of the frets. Alan keys included for adjusting the bridge and truss rod. Only modern thing which would've been nice (then, this is trying to reissue a vintage piece) would be locking tuners; easily upgradable. Stringing through body (also an easy modification) might have been nice, but with the longer scale, it's not so necessary. And I don't find it as necessary as with electric basses.

I've found the pickups, even the hot bridge one, to be remarkably quite for single coils. (One can always turn the body toward one's amp at the right angle to minimize pup buzz.) I'm using it with a nice H&K Edition Blue 30 combo right now. I'll be getting a Bassman 100 combo soon; I've already tried this axe through one at a store and it's the perfect foil. The bridge pickup is very bright, as one should expect from a tele. I do find the tone pot makes a big difference, though I prefer to use my amp. The neck pickup is not as hot as the bridge, as per usual, but when one uses the right picking technique, one can get it to sound round, fat, and pretty. I like the middle position, both pups, most. All around, a person can get the full array of sounds a tele is capable of creating, as shown, for example, by Roy Buchan on his first record, from stinging and trebly to round and deep, and everything in between. I play rock and jazz (mostly on bass these days). Definitely easily adaptable to both. For the record, I've found both pickups hold a note the full length of a long bend (no dropping out on the bridge pup as the string moves from over one pole to another).

It came with shitty strings, and the action is too low (some buzzing on the frets, which I hate), but the action can be adjusted most easily. The pickups are a little "high" out from the body for me; I tend to hit them when picking. Another easy tweak. One piece perfect alder body. No flaws, except, as mentioned, that the frets aren't perfect, but really--and I'm uptight about shit like this--they just aren't bad at all. Axe plays like a dream, like butter, really. Folks with big hands and/or big fingers might find the neck a little tight. I have long, thin fingers and it suits me just fine.

The thing is built like the proverbial tank. The shipping box it came in was tattered. Then, I pulled the guitar box out, and proceeded to drop it on the floor. The guitar is spotless. Everything feels extremely well made and durable. The tuning machines, well, they could be nicer, I suppose, but then that would probably mean heaver, more expensive, etc. They're certainly not going anywhere

I've been playing guitar for more than 20 years. I own a Guild dreadnought acoustic (D15), a fretless bass with a Warmoth neck and a locally made custom body, and another bass, with frets, on the way, this one both the body (and tele style) and neck are locally custom made. I love the fact that this guitar is so simple, yet can show off a wide variety of personalities, from mean to sweet. I sold my last guitar a few months ago. I decided I needed to keep one around because I still love to play guitar. I played one of these in a store and was sold. I've played a wide variety of guitars in my time. I never thought of myself as a Fender type, more Gibson and Guild. But I'm in love with this unbelievably priced honey of a guitar.

Thhe standard specs of this Chinese Tele have been covered in previous reviews. This guitar has an agathis body but European/US ones are made of ash or alderI think. Nice butterscotch finish, with white pickguard. Thought about changing it for black, but the colour of the body is darker than the old blonde Teles so stuck with white.
Looks very nice and clean and just, well, that Tele retro look.

Having been a Gibson player for years, I got sick of all the Gary Moore hard stuff and then heard Will Ray. I wanted, no I needed, a Tele after years of thinking they were as thin as p..s. Also I have noticed that the fat humbucker sound can get a bit lost tonewise when everyone cranks up and the Tele cuts through it. I am of the opinion that a great guitar and a crap amp is far worse than a damn good copy and a good amp. My cunning plan to turn a US$250 guitar into something much beter for a little more cash involved simply removing the Chinese pups and installing new Fender American Vintage pups - cost US$100 the pair - and yes they fit in the cavity. (The Chinese pups have a bar magnet glued underneath) Before I did this I borrowed a new Highway 61 US Tele from the store (they trust people here in New Zealand)and played it and the Affinity through the same amp (Vox ADVT 30 Valvetronix on Fender Bassman and Black Face 2x12 settings. The Highway 61 was a bit richer with a little more sustain - but not much, considering it cost US$1300 as opposed to US$250. After changing the pups, the guitars sounded pretty identical to me and I could not see the top-loaded strings made much difference, compared to the differences in tone a change in amp settings made. Anyway, no two guitarists will ever get the same sound out of one. My main problem is now that I so like the Tele, my wife is asking me why the hell I shelled out all that money for my top-shelf stuff.

The neck was the thing Im liked. Beautiful action, even way low. Frets were OK too. The top hat switch was crap - made out of a baked bean can probably. The guy in the shop swapped it for a US Fender one for free as a condition of sale. The agathis (kauri) body is light and I needed it, as I have developed Les Paul shoulder from those long underpaid pub gigs. The weird thing was that the tone pot did not work because there was an extra wire added - my local luthier just removed it and that was a simple fix. Can't blame the Chinese too much as they get paid FA and work until they can hardly see. The screws on bridge saddle on the low E rotated a bit, but a drop of shellac in the hole fixed that too. Even though I bend a lot, I do not often break strings on my other guitars. However, I broke the top E twice in two weeks at practices and got my luthier to smooth out the notch at the bridge (broke there both times) So far so good now. Mind you, compared to the bloody hassle I have had recently with a brand new Nashville-made Dobro, this is peanuts. If it was not for the beautiful action, I would rate this a 6

I use this live when I am in the Texas country blues mood. Hey, I even have a picture of John Mayall playing a Squier Strat, so if it's good enough for him... I always use straplocks - having seen Les Pauls dropped on the floor. I normally gig with both humbucker and singles, and use a Heritage 555 and a Les Paul Standard for the BB King, Peter Green stuff, and a 92 MIM Stratocaster and the Affinity Tele for the twangier stuff. The tele has held up well. I don't have to keep watching it like a hawk either as I do with my other axes.

Fender, Gibson - you've got to be joking. If you want service buy a Heritage!

Playing 40 years, starting in a 60's psychedelic and blues rock band in the UK. Now play in General Z's Blues Band here in NZ. I also play in a jazz duo and trio. I have a Gibson LP Standard, Heritage 555, Gibson L6-S (highly underated and lightning fast), MIM Strat, Dobro, 1961 Levin 335, 1936 Gibson L-50, Burns Marquee, 1963 Teisco M2 (bought on whim), 1973 Epiphone Bard acoustic and an old Kay bass.
This Tele is the best deal I have ever made (Dobro worst). All my band love it too. I guess if I had lots of spare cash I may consider a US one, but I really think the amp can change everything. If nicked, I would probably cry like a baby and my sympathetic wife would let me buy a real Tele with the insurance money (are you reading this babe?)

Not sure of the year, most likely 2004.
Made in China, seems to be a solid piece of wood because you can see the grain through the finish. It is a gloss Butterscotch Blonde finish with all your regular Tele options.

All parts are Chinese clone type of parts. I'm not going to go into much detail on this because everyone else has already gone over the basic features.

As far as the sound, it actually sounds pretty good. The neck pickup is a bit low on output and they adjusted the pickup really low, so I raised it up quite a bit. On Strats, I like them low, but on some Tele?s they sound better up high to me.

It has a nice warm sound and a good amount of twang on the bridge pickup. The middle setting gives a distinct sound like it should. I was surprised the generic ceramic pickups sounded as good as they do. I?m going to leave them in for now.

As far as factory setup? Forget it. You can NEVER trust the factory setup on ANY guitar. Especially if you get them mail order.

With that said, and after a set of new strings and a good setup. It played great, except for the fret end problem. I?ll go into more detail later.

The finish on the body is fabulous. You can see the wood grain and it is smooth, glossy and consistent. The neck has a nice feel to it, as far as profile. Routing is well done and all the controls worked fine. The neck had a nice tint to it so I did not have to artificially ?age? it.

Now the fretwork. The frets are a bit rough, but that is to be expected on low-end guitars. Still decent as it goes. It did suffer from the well know Squier sharp fret end problem.
They were almost sharp enough to cut your fingers on. No way, I could play it out of the box like that.

I don?t own any fret finishing tools, so I got an emery board from my daughter and after I took the strings off I placed the emery board on the edge of the frets so it spanned about three frets. Put it at about a 45-degree angle and ran it up and down the edge of the fret board. It cleaned them up so it is now in a playable condition.

This is a common thing, but if you don?t work on guitars, this could be a big problem.

It seems to be a well-made guitar. I?ve had Squire?s before and they all hold up very well. This one is no exception. I would use this one as a backup, but I don?t know if I would use it as my main guitar. Not that it can?t be used that way, I just have other guitars I would use first.

NAA

This is a decent guitar, once you get past the fret end problem. It looks great and plays well. The stock pickups sound very good for ceramic pickups. With a good setup, it?s really nice to play.

It?s fairly light and won?t give you too many shoulder problems.

I was pretty surprised to find full size pots inside. Usually they put those mini pots on import models. In my opinion, the only thing lacking is the switch. It?s your standard, cheap clone switch with an ugly switch tip. Not that it does not work, its just thin and cheap feeling and the switch shaft comes out of the body too far and makes the switch knob stick up way too high. Very common on import clones.

I, of course leave nothing stock when I can improve on it. I?m going to leave the stock pickups in, but I?m going to change the pots to CTS, put a better switch in it and shield the guitar. Its actually pretty quiet now, but I shield all single coil guitars anyway.

This guitar was made in 1998 or 1999. It is made in Indonesia. 21 frets, laminated top, one volume, one tone, 3 way selector switch and stock - 2 single coil pickups, which are made by Fender I suppose. I made a lot of modifications to this guitar over the years, so I will just talk stock right now and go into the modifications later. Body is Agathis supposedly, neck is maple, this one is called arctic white, but looks more like the vintage blonde, typical tele style body, except much thinner than a Fender or Squier Standard Tele. Very light which is why I bought it, I wanted a light guitar because I am getting old and since I jumped out of airplanes for 20 years, my back ain't what it used to be. Tele style bridge, stock string through bridge, not string through body. Shitty chrome covered tuners stock, but stayed in tune "ok". Medium neck, medium frets and maple fretboard, which is very nice. Came with a cord and I bought a gig bag at the local music store. I give this guitar a 7 on the score sheet here as it came stock. Since I bought the guitar, I had it converted to string through body, changted the electrics to all Fender made in USA stuff, put a Fender vintage noiseless stacked humbucker at the bridge and a Chrome Covered Humbucker from a 72 Tele Custom at the neck and change the tuners to Grover 18:1. I also changed the white pickguard for one of those red tortoise shell pickguards, did a fretjob and had the neck varnished like a 52 tele. All the difference in the world in looks, playability and sound. I give it a 7 stock, but it is definitely a 10 now and it costed me less than two hundred bucks to make the changes. Still says Squier on the headstock, but it is a Fender by all means now. It looks, plays and sounds awesome.

Actually this little guitar sounded really good before I made the changes so I will still give it a 9 on sound. Suited my music style fine, which is crunchy classic rock, much like the Stones and dirty blues or blues rock. The stock pickups had the nice Fender twang at the bridge and sounded great for classic rock in the middle position and the neck pickup had a very nice bluesy sound. I never considered changing the pickups, but a friend of mine gave me the Fender Vintage Noiseless pickup for the bridge and I bought the body of a wrecked Fender 72 Custom which still had the neck pickup on it at a garage sale for 7 bucks, so I said what the fuck, I will play around with this tele. I convereted it to string through body for sustain and had the frets redone and neck varnished like a 52 tele, so that it would be faster, as the stock style of the neck was nice, but just a little bit "sticky" feeling. Of course the stock pickups were a little weak, but that just required turning up the amp. The change in pickups and string through body gave this little fucker balls and sustain like you wouldn't believe. I'm using a Fender Blues Jr, with a boss distortion pedal and it sounds awesome and I also have a small Marshall Valvestate 15 that sounds excellent with this guitar, especially on the distortion. Nice bluesy sound or crunch without the distortion and killer distortion when you stomp on the box on the boss pedal with the Blues Jr. or crank the gain up on the Valvestate 15. Very versatile sound wise (I always thought tele's even though they are simple to be the most versatile sounding guitar on the market). You can have a rich, full sound at the neck pickup or a bright twangy sound at the bridge and the middle position is in between the two. You can play anything from country to heavy metal and everything in between on this amp. I give it a 9 stock, but a 10 after the changes.

Well, I've had this thing going on 5 years now and other than some belt buckle rash on the backside, still looks as new as the day I bought it. No flaws at all that I could see when I bought it. Some light scratches now from playing it and a very small chip on the bottom right by the input because my 4 year old thought it would be cool to see what a screwdriver would do to the guitar. Other than that, perfect.

Although I have not gigged for years (kids - wife died), I have no doubt that this guitar would withstand live playing. Yes to all the questions except one. No one would gig without a backup.

Bought this from Musician's friend. They've been good to me over the years.

Been playing around 30 years. I also have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard and several acoustic guitars of various makes and models aside from what I mentioned above. I love this guitar, I actually bought it to tinker with and use as a project guitar. I love everything about it now, but now that they are made in China, don't know if I would get another one if this one were lost or stolen. I would if I could find a used one made in Indonesia.

usual specs, made in china; mine is a "butterscotch blonde" one,but don't think it's the vintage 50's yellow finish (more a transparent honey in my opinion....). Nevertheless the look is astounding and it has a cool vintage vibe (more 70's spirit). So basically an 8 for features, since this axe doesn't have much;but hey, it's a tele!!Simple but wonderfull...and cool-looking!

First of all, I didn't knew anything about teles a few weeks ago...then I jammed with a guy who had the squier (in a quite ugly red finish).I tried it a bit and thought "hey, cool little guitar..."when I heard the price, I was amazed! Tried it in a store whith a fender tube amp: wonderfull!!!A lot of personnality, very bright, classy sound. To my mind, very good for blues and rock, and definitely FUCKING PERFECT for old Rn'b ("steve cropper sound" welcome...). I like to play funk and this guitar really gives you vintage feel and punch. Of course the p.ups are quite weak; actually the neck one lacks a bit of presence (too bassy); Anyway I plan on changing them...but for the price, very cool little sound!By the way, the sustain is quite decent, despite the top-loader bridge (come on guys...Les Pauls don't have strings-thru-body and yet hold notes for days...)

Nothing to say about the set-up, absolutely no problem.The neck is really comfortable;very clean fretwork and overall crafstmanship.But of course it's a 200$ instrument, so they had to cut somewhere....so let me say that SOME of the hardware is CRAP!!!!that is to say a poor nut, lousy selector, cheap pickguard and strange-reacting knobs....but hey you can fix all that for less than 50$!squier really managed not to sacrifice sound and sturdiness.and oh yes the finish is VERY thin...which is perfect for me since I want this tele to look worn!!

Just bought it but it seems pretty solid to me...the basics of guitar!I think I would gig whith it, but after the p.ups change (they're quite noisy with distortion on).

Absolutely no idea, but it came with a 5-years warranty!!!!so no worries for the future....

Been playing for 8 years; I also own an epiphone les paul with Duncans (very good axe for the price...), a Cry baby and a marshall tube amp( tsl 601). This "little" tele is quite a bargain!!! it is cheap, simple, and very very good looking...but also quite good sounding. for less than 200$ you have a nice vintage twang, and a perfect base for future upgrading. Hey, it's not because it says Squier that it's a beginner guitar....to sum up, a very expressive instrument, perfect for blues, Rn'b, funk and cool stuff( play Buckley's "halleluia" with it...pure heaven!). Buy a tele, a Les Paul, and you have the best of both worlds....

Mine was made in 1999 when they were still made in Indonesia. 21 frets. Laminated top I am sure. Standard Tele setup with two single coil pickups (originally, as I replaced the stock ones with a Vintage Noiseless Pickups which are stacked humbuckers), 3 way selector switch and one tone and one volume knob. Body I believe is alder, neck is maple. Baltic Blue finish, came with a single ply pick guard, which I later changed to a white mother of pearl 3 ply pick guard. Tele body style, except it is thinner than a standard telecaster, and much much lighter, which is why I bought it, to have mercy on my back. Tele style bridge, which was NOT string through body, but I had it converted to string through body. Tuners were these terrible closed in chrome thingys that fuckin sucked and it would not stay in tune. I ordered some grover tuners, put them on and this thing stays in tune for days now. Neck scale is medium and it has medium frets. Came with a cord. This was a good little guitar before I made my modifications. I kept it and upgraded it because I just liked it. With the modifications I have made, I would give it a 10 for sure, but as it came originally, I will have to go with a 7 because of the non string through body and crappy tuners.

I play everything from classic rock to country and blues. Suits my music styles great. I have several amps at home and one that I gig with. I have a VOX AD-15VT Valvetronix Amp, a VOX Pathfinder 15R and one of those little Squier SP10 Amps I bought in a pawn shop for like 5 bucks that I take on the road with me. I gig with a Peavey Studio Pro 112. It was kind of noisy, normal single coil humm before I switched to Vintage Noiseless Pickups, and now it is quiet as a church mouse. With the stock pickups it was "ok", nice twang at the bridge but not as twangy as a real telecaster. Middle position was good and the neck nice and bluesy, but the pickups were just kind of weak, so I tweaked this fucker with the vintage noiseless pickups and converted the body to string through body. Now if FUCKIN kicks ass. I also replaced all the electronics with those out of a Fender Deluxe Telecaster so basically this is Fender all around. With the Vintage Noiseless pickups it is extremely versatile and I love everything about it. With modifications a 10, no doubt. Have to give it an 8 though as it came stock.

Got if off ebay years ago, came setup just fine. Everything was flawless.

I do gig with this guitar and have been doing so several nights a week since 1999. So the answer to all the above it "YES".

Never dealt with Squier before. The guy I bought it from off of ebay was very nice though.

Been playing for 35 or 40 years. I also have a Squier Standard Strat which has been upgraded to Texas Special Pickups, a Washburn X-21 and a Yamaha Studio Pro Les Paul Copy. I've also got an SX SST 57 Vintage Style Strat clone, which is absolutely one of my favorite guitars. I have several Epiphone Acoustic guitars. I'd get another one if it were stolen or lost. Great little guitar for the beginner or even an experienced player like myself who likes to tinker and modify things. I bought this guitar as a project guitar and it ended up being one of the best I've ever had with the modifications.

2003 Butterscoth special edition with the maple neck. Specs are mentioned in other reviews and a matter of record.

I bought it just for the color of the body with intentions of doing substantial mods to it.

I was pretty happy with the sound from this guitar playing it through my small amps that I use. I use a Carvin AG100, Fender Vibro Champ and Pro Junior and a small Marshall practice amp. It sounds differently through each one, but sounds good through each one too.

In general, I was pretty amazed that such an inexpensive guitar sounded so good... (chalk it up to my poor boy mentality)

I had a set of Lindy Fralin Telecaster pickups that were installed in it and THEY DON'T SOUND ANY BETTER THAN THE STOCK AFFINITY PICKUPS!

The factory setup was actually very good. The action and pickup heights matched up well.

I changed out the pickups and neck, (for something with a wider nut width), put it back together and had a ball with it. I also put better tuners on it along with the neck change, (to a Mighty Mite birdseye maple)...

The finish seems to chip pretty easily and I have a few dings in mine, but it doesn't seem to upset me. A butterscotch Tele is supposed to be old and relic looking, isn't it? It would kill me if my ORS got a scratch in it, but this little cheap Tele doesn't bother me if it got dragged through gravel. It's like the Timex of guitars!

I don't gig, so I can't say whether it would hold up, but I would never gig without a backup anyway.

No experience. If it was a warranty issue, I'd go to the store or Fender, but otherwise, I'd probably just go to a second market supplier for a part.

Even if you don't do the mods I did, it's still a good little guitar for almost no money. It is definately Telecaster sounding.

This is a older ('99) CIC model, with the RW board, on a VERY nice neck and American Standard style bridge..have no idea about the body wood..typical Tele apointments..hardware is lowgrade but usable..tuners are covered and VERY poor..even compared to most coverd tuners!, also cheap plastic jack plate..come on Fender! Teles have jack cups, get with the program. Used but dealer included a nice bag..no other goodies.(previous owner did set me up with some nice vintage flat top knobs) The tuners and jack really pull this down..too bad.

The stock pick ups give resonable Tele sounds, although the neck can be a bit muddy, and the bridge a bit thin..the tone controlls work well, I play mostly clean(country, jazz a bit of blues) thru a old MIM Frontman 15. I found a set of used CS "texas tele" PUs at a local swap..probably not the best set for my style,(pretty agressive when dimed) but they were cheeeap..the guitar sounds much fatter now with better blend in the "both" position..a nice upgrade. 6 stock 8 with upgrade.

Very nice neck on this(thats why I bought it )excelent finish..came well set up..but its used... so....the body finish was a mess, but was probably nice when new. Assembly was good.

Seems OK for the ocassional fun gig..jamming ect..probaby wouldn't survive a heavy schdule..factory fininsh seems easy to chip.

30 days from shop....

Been playing for years (primarly bass)I wanted a cheap electric "project" for ocassional use..this was the best I found for my limited $$. I have had a good bit of fun with it (pick ups..refin to red) and it's turning in to a nice guitar..jack cup and tuners will be next, I'm looking forward to upgrading the remaining parts as I find them onsale..probaly not the best out of the box, but it will get you started, and you can improve it as funds allow.

I own a 2003 Buttersctoch Special. 21 fret solid top with vintage volume and tone knobs.

I replaced the orignal pickups with Vintage Noiseles Tele pickups and it sounds better than ever. The alder body and maple neck are the best I've ever seen fron Squier and the tunres are better than expected. If the bridge was string through the body it would be a better guitar but its a top loader. Soon I'll drill the holes and get the parts i need to make it string thru body. I do my own custom work.

I say buy it but replace the pick ups and if you can get a Standard Squier Tele get that instead so you get the better sustain of string thru body. THe body may be agathis but that can be made up for with new pickups and a good amp modler.

I play springsteen style rock\country and jazz. I replaced the pickups with vintage noiseless. The pickups that come with it are good but I use only vintage noiseless tele from fender.

Action Fit and Finish are a total ten. Fender American made quality

I've played about every other night with mine so you can use it for year and it will only get better.

Haven't had a problem i couldn't fix myself yet but the company is dependable and the waranty isnt as bad as my cars.

Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten Ten. I'm playing squier's for the rest of my life. I'll dazzel them up yes but I'd rather work to make it better than pay out the rear end for something standard that every one else has. Be unique and it'll pay off on stage and in the studio.

Email if you have questions on bulking up your squier tele.

I bought this guitar new from Elderly Instruments about a two months ago (Dec. 2003). It has a maple neck, maple fretboard, adler body, two single-coil pickups, and a top loader bridge. The finish is butterscotch. An not a bad deal for the price, $184.

I play mainly for myself--I've played since the early 70s. I dabble in blues, country, and country rock. The pickups are interesting. They are a little thin unless you experiment with your amp's settings. By finding the right mix you can get a suprisingly good sound from the bridge pickup, neck pickup, and the combination of the two. If you play through an amp modler you get even better sound. I toying with the idea of changing the pickups but am unconvinced that I need to do this because I like the sound of the pickups as they are now. The tone tends to be in the high to mid range.

I was somewhat apprehensive about buying a Squier but it exceeded my wildest dreams as to action, fit, and finish. The neck plays incredible well--fast and smooth. I've bought a MIM replacement but am torn over whether or not to change it out. Why mess with (near) perfection? No problems with the frets. The neck to body fit is really good, actually clearer than my 50s Telecaster RI. I had an extra vintage style 5 hole pickguard and traded it out for the gloss plactic one that come on it. I also put Kluson style tuners on it just because I whated a more vintage look. The butterscoth finish is really nice, although I do have a few spots where it looks like the finish didn't adhere well to the body. I guess I'll get even more of that "relic" look when that happens. I'm not wild about the top loader bridge and wish it has the more traditional string-through-body set up. It appears that it would be difficult to switch out bridges. The top loader bridge plays fine but you can't put a bidgecover on it. Elderly Instruments checked the setup before they sent it out and its was wonderful. I tuned it up and it noted and chorded perfectly.

I plan to keep this guitar for life--it is too good not to! I've had no problem with the electronics and maybe upgrading those anyway. The basic instrument is very sound. I would not hesitate to take this to a gig without a backup.

Any problems I have will be taken care of you a local music shop.

This guitar is great because it gives you the basic material to turn it into whatever you what it to be. I would be a great guitar for either a beginner or a veteran. It is inexpensive enough that you can make some serious upgrades to it and still be under the price of more expensive instruments. I have several high end acoustics and several low to mid-range electrics. In its own way, this Squier is as good as my 50s RI Telecaster. I would buy another Squier without hesitation. I had wanted a butterscotch telecaster and just couldn't bring myself to pay $1200 for one. This is like having you cake and eating it, too.

Standard Tele features, IE beautiful in their simplicity and functionaliy, but the parts are CHEAP!. The first thing that had to go were the tuners. The only things I could find that the screw holes matched up on were Allparts. They're terrible, but they're ten times better than what came with it. I hate the bridge. After two years it's still a pain in the ass to change strings, and the tonality's nothing to brag about. Teles should have through the body bridges. The tone knob covers the whole range of tone in about a quarter of a turn. The input plate is plastic rather than metal. The body is about 1/4 inch thinner than a regular Tele, which probably cuts down on the sustian. Most of these things can be fixed, though, and you still would have a great bargain. They had to cut corners somewhere to produce a guitar at this price, And it was done in a manner that had a minimal effect on sound and playability. A lot of people complain about the pickups, but I've seen worse for a lot more money. If you buy one of these, figure on at least changing the tuners. The rest I've managed to live with.

I was quite surprised that a $99 guitar could sound like this. If you'rew looking for something that sounds like a Tele, this is it. I play it through an '88 Fender Twin and a Peavey Delta Blues 115. I got a decent tone initially, but thought I could probably change pickups and do a lot better. However, when I hooked it up to a Boss CS 3 compressor/sustainer, this guitar came alive! The pedal seemed to make up for any defiencies from the pickups, body mass or cheap bridge. There was a vintage Tele trapped inside this guitar, and this pedal brought it out. The pedals list for $89 , I got mine for $69, I think. This is cheaper than putting high end pickups in it, and considerably easier. I play in a trio, with a bass, an acoustic guitar and me. We play what could loosely be called Americana, a blend of country rock, folk, blues and jazz. I have a '69 Thinline Tele RI that, because it is semi-hollow fits in better with what we do, but I have gigged extensively with this guitar and found it to work for anything I need a vintage Tele tone for. With the compressor, it's a 10, without it, an 8, so I' splitting the difference.

This guitar was a display model so that may account for the set up, which was excellent. The frets had rough edges, but have held up well. The action was about as good as it gets. I use .10s and have not have to change the action. Per Fender literature, the wood is either poplar or alder, whic you get across the Fender line until you reach the Swamp Ash price range. The neck has remained good after about three years playing. The neck pocket is still tight. Workmanship does not seem to be an area where they scrimped. Who'd of thought Chinese people could make guitars? The finish has a few dings, but the guitar's been out and around some. I haven't abused it, but I haven't babied it either and it's doing ok. I don't like the color (Torino Red)but It's what was there for the price. No complaints in the fit & finish department. It would be a ten if not for the fret edges.

I've played this guitar quite a bit over the last 3 years, and gigged with it often without a back up. It's been reliable. Of all the things I thought were of inferior quality, only the tuners have required replacement. (I would suggest doing this immediately, figure it in with the price) A lot of things are on my "someday list", but just haven't bothered me enought to mess with.

No idea, never dealt with them. I usually either buy used equipment, or void the warranty real soon by working on it.

I've been playing for over 35 years, oftem semiprofessionaly. Im no expert, but I've played LOTS of guitars. I currently own an 89 Strat, a 69 Thinline Tele reissue, acouple of acoustics, and the Squier. I can't think of a guitar that was a better value than this. Look at what you'll find for $99. Plywood,with a picture of wood pasted on it. Even on higher end guitars you get crap. Martin uses plywood, they call it hpl or something. What the Hell is Nato, anyway? I've never heard of a Nato tree, but people are making guitars of it now days. Most people posting here payed $120-150 for their guitars new. If you can find a better guitar for the price, I want ten of them! Take away the price, add a compressor, and this guitar will hold it's own tone-wise with the best of them. And the action and playability are excellent at any price. I may buy another one just to take it apart and play with it.

Don't need to go into this one, you know what a Telecaster comes equipped with. Don't you?

I originally bought this for my Grandson at Christmas, however, when I got it home and played it, I went back and bought him a Squire Strat. I don't like Strat's so this whole thing worked for everybody. I played it thru my 64' BF Super Reverb and besides the nosy single coils, I loved that vintage sound, when cranked it takes you way back Daddy-o!!!

Well the MI China logo really fooled me when I played this at the store! I thought about changing the PU's but I'm keeping the originals in for now. Too much fun with these anyway. The finish is Butterscotch with the pale unfinised maple neck. The action was low, set up was good and played fine right out of the box! The old Squire bridge helps the old tone sound too.

Appears to be bullet proof. Very Solid! Very tuff!

Never had to deal with the Reps....

Have been playing for 30 years plus. Currently gigging with my band. I haven't used this guitar yet, but have been using it at rehersals and is really fun to play. I have a Custom Shop 52' re-issue and will semi retire it to keep it safe.... for the money, I would buy another for invitory before they stop making these. A truly great value!!

Typical Telecaster stuff. You already know the features or you wouldn't be looking at this. Telecasters are the epitomy of less is more!!!!!

I have been playing for 9 years now, I play a wide variety of music from Classical to Jazz and this thing does them all. The neck pick up is dreamy as anything with a lovely bell like hypnotic tone and the back one comes up and kicks you in the ass with it's high powered twang!!!!!

Action was nigh on perfect when I got it months ago and still is now, I may take it for proffesional set up to make sure theres nothing more I can get out of it though. The paint job is lovely and the neck feels like the nicest I have played on any guitar, let alone one at this price, and I have played Fender Deluxes and all the Les Paul variations that you can think of!!!!!

I'd gig with it without question, it's all solid, reliable and just beautiful!!!!!

N/A!!!!!

As I said, I've been playing a long time, this is without doubt the nicest electric I have ever owned (and played to be honest), there is no excuse for not getting one of these beaties, don't be a snob, you don't have to pay #1000's for a vintage when there is something this perfect for #150. Get one in , even if you have guitars falling out of your ass, these are amazing. I won't be suprised when the discontinue this line, it's a vintage in the making believe me. So stop reading this and order one while you still can!!!!!

It's a chinese made butterscotch tele with a maple neck...I think it's really pretty...the black pickguard and the butterscotch combo looks fantastic.

Well i would like to modify the guitar later on, but somehow when I plugged it on my 62 Airline (montgomery ward which i put a vintage 30 celestion)it had this nasty, gritty vomit midrange sound that i love. I don't really care about the neck pickup, but by some reason the bridge pick-up doesn't sound tinny at all ( it really rocks). I think I will just replace the neck with a stock fender strat pick up. For now, I will keep it the way it is and make some ears bleed.
I play a lot of country, blues and jazz...so it really fits what i play...I kinda just cop it some Jimmy Bryant licks if i play a bit of Jazz..

it was perfect out of the box...

the guitar looks really sturdy...I think i can wack it on our singer's head and it will be still in tune. the real test would be if I would demolish my drummers drum kit with it and still remain intact then it's good with me.

never dealt with any of those peeps... if it's broke i just fix it myself.

been playing for 15 yrs...and I am really happy with this guitar...I am not much of a vintage snob, but I will play anything that is wood with strings on it. The stranger sound I can get off the guitar ...the better...

This is a 2003 Affinity Squire Telecaster in butterscotch blonde . New at Guitar Center. I special ordered it(you get a free setup)bought a tweed case for 50 bucks too. Made in China, they stick it on the neck like they are proud of it , and when you check one out you will understand why. 21 frets, med jumbo.( They feel a little smaller than a med jumbo fret to me.) They are straight installed well, needs dressing though, the ends are a little rough. It is an alder body and 1/4 inch thinner than a standard tele. The paint is a butterscotch color, but darker than the real 52 reissue.Polyurithane finish. It looks beautiful to me. I use to own a 1972 telcaster, I love teles. I can't keep my yes off of it , sitting in the living room. I own several other guitars priced well over $2000.00, but I really do like this guitar. It's not my Les Payul but I like it very much.The pickups will be replaced with Lyndy Fralin Pickups, his office is less than a mile away and I love his pickups. They are about the best.The stock pickups are to bright sounding and not enough tone for me. The electronics are cheap. I will replace all of that withvintage spec controls. I was going all the way with replacing the bridge and the neck but after reading the review below. I have decided to skip those upgrades.
The tunning keys work well, stay in tune. I do not like the plastic nut and probably will have that replaced and the neck dressed and guitar setup.
The neck works it is straight feels nice it is a two piece maple neck. I miss the skunk strip but we are talking about an $170.00 axe.The neck feels good though, It sports a 9.25 " radius. Width at the nut is 1.61". It fits my hand well. I give it a 9 because I am replaceing the pickups and the flimsy electronic switch.

Over all for the price again. The guitar stock sounds nice. I would practice with it. To gig I am puting in the Fralin Pickups. Oh yes I will gig with it... I may one day upgrade the neck and bridge. This is kinda like a cool looking project guitar to me. To get a guitar this nice looking and be able to replace the pickups , You get a great guitar for the money.

I took the guitar apart when I got home. I put tens Diadarios on it, The finish is great. I do not like the plastic nut and will replace it. I had to raise the pickups some and I need a wrench to adjust the action, the neck is straight and the curvature is correct. The bridge works well, after reading the reveiw from the gentlman below, I have decided not to drill holes in the axe and put on the vintage bridge. He has a good reveiw, read it also.ACtion was not bad, I will reset it, better than the action on some american teles in the stores.

I would and will gig with it after upgrading the pickups and some of the electronics and have it setup well with a new nut ( the current one works fine, I just want a bone nut)Give it an 8 because of the flimsy electronic switch.

Have delt with Fender in the past w/o any complaints.

I am forty, play in two reggae bands, have been playing since 9th grade. I have owned 8 guitars. This one is great for the money BUY ONE. You will like it. I can leave it out anywerer w/o the worry of it getting messed up , I practice more .I would buy another. I compared it to the vintage reissue, for the low cost , this was the answer for me. They need bettter picups and a good setup job with 10 strings and your good to jam out with it. Again it is not my Les Paul but I love it.

This is a Butterscotch Squier Affinity Telecaster, crafted in China, purchased from Musician's Friend. Ok, I'll be critical and compare it to my '52. If you're in a hurry and want a judgement from me up front...BUY IT. NOW! Excellent beginner, fine backup for an advanced player with a few, cheap mods. My rating numbers are for those you'd expect on a $170 guitar.

BODY
I'm a sucker for black guards and butterscotch. The color is way oranger than the reissue, but it works. The alder grain pattern on the 3 piece body is striking. It could easily pass for ash. They trimmed about a quarter-inch off the thickness. Result: guitar weighs the same as the reissue, 7lbs. I don't miss the quarter-inch. I'd rather have a lighter guit than a thicker body. The top-loading bridge plate is acceptable. BTW, for you other vintage, 3 saddle bridge snobs out there, this guit resonates and sustains as well as my '52. I'm keeping it as is. I do prefer vintage, however. Neck pocket looks tight and right.

ELECTRONICS
I bought this knowing full well that the p/ups would be swapped out for some Duncans I had (JD bridge and Alnico ll Pro neck) waiting in the wings. Actually. The stock (ceramic) p/ups were OK except they got too bright at higher volumes. Pots were smooth but the selector switch was real flimsy. I ended up replacing everything in that rout, including the plate, which is so thin that you can twist it. The jack plate is a little disappointing but functional. A regular Fender 3 pos switch JUST fits in the shallower rout.

NECK
I couldn't ask for a nicer 2-piece maple neck on a $170 guit. Perhaps a little pale in color. Some use brown shoe polish for tinting. I'll keep it pale. Some earlier Squiers I've seen in stores had sharp fret ends. These are very satisfactory but not as well dressed as the '52. The FB edge is not as well-turned as '52 but acceptable. No uneven frets anywhere. I like the '52's Kluson tuners way more but these stay in tune. Strings: came with 9's (Fender 250) but changed to 10's (Everly's).
I should note that the FB is 1 mm thinner than my '52. I'm a medium hand size and it's just fine. Beware if you have big meathooks. The neck's thickness and shape is very similar to the '52. The nut is fitted perfectly and works just fine for me. No skunk stripe.

I've A/B'd this modded guit it to my '52 Result: no perceivable difference in tone, sustain. Real nice. I play country, blues and rock. Mostly clean, some OD.
It was very close before mods. Slightly brighter at volume.

I'm thinking this guitar was last setup somewhere in China. If so, the setup and action are excellent right out of the box.
The poly coat is not as thick as a '52, which is a good thing. Compared to the '52 ri, the neck feels like bare wood. It's not really, but you get the point.
The Chinese are knocking out some very fine guitars (I never thought I'd say that). Some of the hardware is cheap. Overall fit & finish is better than some American factories. Peavey, for one. I know. I have a 6 yr old Reactor (tele clone). Definitly on par with MIM. Just don't expect the quality of a $1200 '52 ri. I'm beginning to think that the '52 is slightly overpriced.

The body is a little thinner but if you had to hit someone upside the head, the results would be the same as the reissue: DOA

It's a Tele, but I wouldn't gig this w/o first swapping p/ups and that switch.

Ooops, one week old and I've already voided the warranty.

I have a two-year old AV '52 RI Tele and I wanted another tele for the occasional open-mike, use at my workplace and for using in the studio beside my bedroom: the family room. I'm mostly a hobbyist. If you have an extra set of p/ups with no where to go and you're GASing...this would work.
I had been looking for something either new or used with more vintage features like a MIM 50's Tele, a Muddy or a Highway 1. I just didn't want to spend that much for a second guitar.
I have a peavey clone tele to use as a back-up but just can't shoulder it's 10 pounds for more than 5-10 minutes.
I like this tele. I do like my '52 better. Oh yeah, if'n you already have the '52, the Squier will fit in the vintage case! If not, you'll need a gig bag.
Take the word of a geezer: buy it before it's discontinued.

When I got it 22nd hand from a music shop, it had standard Tele layout - 2 pups, three way switch selector and...er...that's about it, which is one of the things that makes the Tele a great guitar! I don't know the year but I do know that it's one heavy beast. It's black with a white scratch plate. Some of the supplied gear is a bit ropey and I didn't buy this guitar for it's amazing features so somewhere in the middle of that it scores a 7!

Sounds like a Tele. What can I say. However, I have had it modified. The pick ups are not too bad but die when you throw distortion or a lot of gain at it (apparantly this can be overcome by spraying sealant (like damp start for cars) on the pups but I never tried it). They are also quite low frequency and hum like demons. Also the machne heads are utter rubbish. Swing your body 45 degrees when you are playing and it's like you've hit the wang bar (which doesn't exist on a standard Tele!) With the mods (new pick ups and machine heads) it sounds ever so slightly short of a classic Tele (but about a quarter of the price!) Score without modification - 6 With modifications - 9.

No flaws - all bog standard stuff. Set up was from the shop I bought it from so was fabulous.

You could drag this thing to hell and back and it would still play as normal - it's a Tele! (It'd give Old Nick a few bumps and bruises on the way too!)

I never gig without a backup - and that would be the same no matter what I was playing - but that's more to do with breaking strings than doubts about the guitar.

No idea

I have been playing 20 years plus and am semi-pro. With all factory built guitars, just occasionally you are going to get a gem, one that plays like a dream. And, for me, this is the one. As soon as I picked it up it felt right and played beautifully. As I said, the weak points are the pick ups and the machine heads. So...there's now a Rio Grande vintage tallboy on the neck and a Seymour Duncan vintage in the bridge. And a set of standard Gotoh machine heads. The Rio Grande pup was 2nd hand and all that lot cost #135.00 - the guitar cost #100 so for #235 I have something that looks, feels, plays and sounds like a #850 USA Tele. It does not quite have the sustain of the USA models but this is barely noticeable. I have no qualms gigging or recording with this guitar and I love it. I put it through a pre 1995 Fender Twin and the sound'd cut your balls off! I use this is in my main band and sometimes when I dep. I would never use this guitar for heavy rock or metal - Teles just aren't made for that. And I don't play it anyway! I have four electric guitars in total (the other three are much more pricy) and this is my favourite.

Other reviews can tell you the features.

I do not own this guitar. My friend owns one, and I play it alot. Anyway, the guitar is GREAT for the price. I am a country/rock player and it suits that style fine. My friend plays his through a Rogue 50 watt amp. It sound good, except for a little buzz. I like this guitar.(Not as good as my Gibson).LOL.

I heard this guitar pretty early on, and it was great. It has some cheap parts, but alot of guitars do. The pickup selector was noisy, and the pickups as well. The finish is fine.

My friend plays this Tele in our band, and it is great. Great for lead. It has a spanky sound like a real Tele. The finish is fine, like I said. Strap buttons are OK, but, I wouldnt really trust a Squier button. My buddie has played this guitar everyday (for many, many hours), and it has held up fine. Alot of times, it will spend the night on an old guitar stand. It is played outside. It is hauled around. It has been borrowed. My friend wouldnt gig without a backup. He has a Ibanez(which is more exspensive), and he always ends up with a Tele in his hands. He would die if this guitar was lost.

N/A

My buddie has been playing for four years. He owns a Rogue 50 watt amp, a Ibanez?, and a Yamaha acoustic. Out of all those he loves his tele the best. However, my Gibson could kick its ass! lol. kidding.

Mine's a chinese-made squier, fairly recent, year not known. 21 frets, volume and tone controls, 3-way selector that's more of a 2-way, 2 stock pickups, black body, white plate, tele body, that's all i can say for that. i don't know much about it.

number of features is standard tele i guess, but the bottom line is the neck pickup is utter crap, which makes the left and middle selector switch sound the same, which is also crap. bridge pickup is decent, depending on music style. tone knob is fine, but i wish it went higher. the most frustrating one is the volume knob though. half of the time (on different amps), it won't change the actual volume. it'll either take distortion off for some reason or kill the bass. it makes no sense.

basically, the number of features is fine, the the features themselves are very problematic.

I try to play hardcore stuff (metal, aggressive punk,) with this guitar, and all i have to say is : THIS IS NOT A METAL GUITAR. not by the looks, but by the sound. clean, it sounds great for the most part, but turn on distortion and you'll realize your little metal-head brain made a big mistake spending 350 canadian for this. it lacks a lot of treble, though the bass is a-plenty. it's fine for other styles, but for aggressive stuff it's terrible. i use a small 20watt Hiwatt amp and a Mega distortion boss pedal, but i've tried it on at least 5 other amps with similar results. I'd say it's okay for blues, rock, slow things and others, but not metal. oh god not metal.

but the biggest problem is the noise the bridge pickup emits. i jam in a metal band, and the guitar won't stop screaming when i try to put the volume even remotely high when i'm in the same room as other guitars. i know it's not the pedal or the amps, i've tried different combinations and it always comes up. and the background noise is so bad sometimes i can't hear myself speak. basically, the pickups are utter shiznuts.

there was only once that i found it sounded good, but it was on an old expensive jazz amp of high quality that nobody will ever afford anyway.

the actual layout and esthetics of the thing look fine, although the bridge is alot too high (which i haven't changed, cuz it's good practice for the fingers). fingerstains on the fretboard are annoying, but what the hell can i do about those anyway. overall, its looks are fine, and the knobs turn like knobs should turn.

DO NOT PLAY LIVE WITH THIS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. it has trouble with high sounds and it can't compare to any other guitars. the fretboard is getting stained a bit, but i've played this for about a year so it's understandable. it does last fine, i guess, but i wouldn't use it explicitely for a gig. though maybe AS a backup it'd be fine, considering what type of music you play. i guess it's durable, but not necessarily reliable.

i don't talk to other people unless i really have to. and i didn't talk to fender.

I've had this for one year, and a bit more. in the music store it sounded great, and i especially liked the button layout (no buttons in the way of my palm-mutes), but a few months in it started having problems when i started playing more seriously. i got into metal and found it was terrible compared to all the other guitars. basically, it's okay for beginners or single practice or with no distortion, although i guess you could get better sound by tweaking (A LOT). BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T PLAY METAL WITH THIS.

Duh. It's a tele, everyone else has extensively listed the features, so I won't go on. The only differences between the Affinity and the Standard series is the top load bridge, and plastic plate output jack instead of a traditional STB bridge, and tele input cup. It's bare-bones, but then again so are all teles, so there you go. Gotta rate it 9 for simplicity.

In case you were wondering, it is indeed an Alder body (check the Fender 2003 Catalogue if you don't believe me). And FYI, all Fender bodies are machined in Corona and sent to their perspective factories, although sometimes they contract Samick to do their parts for their overseas guitars.

Before I modded mine, the sound was acceptable. Very reminscent of a Tele. Squier pickups however, are not the nicest ones. They will suit beginers and anyone who doesn't want to spend $200 more on a MIM tele. I however, replaced them. They are fairly succeptable to 60 cycle hum because of the strange ground wiring, but they are single coils, and single coils hum. I never keep the stock pickups on my guitars/basses, but I'm very picky.

Once I put .10's on it, Fretbuzz said goodbye. The pickups were fine. The intonation was slightly off, but then again, for $170 I didn't expect it to be perfect. If there is a flaw to this guitar it is the thin finish. It will chip easily, but if you tape care of your guitar, it will last you. No major flaws in the frets or the nut. The frets were actually leveled very well, and had no sharp edges.

The tuners on this guitar are actually very good. Granted replacements would be better, I've seen far worse tuners on guitars of this price range ::cough::epiphone::cough:: Strap buttons haven't failed me yet. As I mentioned above, the finish is slightly fragile, but treat your guitar with care and you'll be fine.

No idea. But it's Fender....I've heard horror stories, and I've heard success stories. You be the judge.

My only grievances with this guitar is the cheap plastic pickguard (for which, for a reason that eludes my sense of logic, doesn't match up with standard mounting holes for other tele pickguards) and the top load bridge which makes string changes slightly annoying. I can live with it though. I've had this guitar for a year, and I like it alot. I heavily modded mine though and now it sounds even better, I get 7 distinct tones out of mine and it's an amazing guitar. Some people will look down their nose at you for having a Squier, but nuts to them. I used to be one of them too, but this guitar converted me. I started playing bass on a Squier Bass from 99, this guitar was an '01 model I believe, and since then Fender has revamped the Squier line even more and I have no doubts that the newer guitars are far more competitive in terms of price/value than was previously thought. Anyways, my '99 Squier bass sucked. My Tele however is a fine guitar that plays amazing, sounded good, but now sounds better, and with a new pickguard looks cool too.

The newer Squiers are excellent beginner-midlevel guitars, although I would still be wary of ordering over the internet. I still recomend you go out and play extensively with the actual guitar you plan on buying as their quality control is still a little shaky. But there are gems out there that play great. With a nice setup, you're good to go.

Standard Tele so ill give it ten. Has two single coil pick-ups, one volume, one tone. Body is probably made out of Alder, Rosewood fretboard.

I love the sound of the clean neck pick-up, sounds almost acoustic. Really great. THe bridge pickup is good for rock. Only prob is some buzz i get from the 1st and sometimes third positions when i have put some gain to it.

Action was a lil high, so i easily lowered that. Also i brought the pickups a lil closer to the string. The finish is blue, and beware, chips easily, very easily. The tuners really suck. They are not smooth at all when adjusting the tuning and there is a lil clamp for the high e and b strings to hold them down that can mess up your tuning

I have had this for three years, my first guitar. It has had only one problem. The volume knob fell off. So wrapped a layer of duct tape around the potentiometer and stuck it back on. Now it is snug. This guitar plays surprisingly well. I really love it

dunno

This guitar is soooo awesome for the price. It plays awesome, In the three years i have had it, ive progressed in my playing ability. This song is great for rhythm but I can play summer song by joe satriani with ease on this guitar. Awesome starter guitar.

My guitar(as stated in previous reviews) was "crafted in China" it has 21 frets ,2pickup and tone and volume control. It's the usual Telecaster set up. The neck and fingerboard are both maple.

The sounds that this guitar can produce are nothing short of stunning(for any price, let alone #125). The front pickup is mellow and smooth and the back provides a nice twangy(I had to say it at some point) cutting tone. The middle selection offers a great combination of the two for perfect jazz style chord work. The sound is basically what a guitar is(or should be) all about. And beleive me this guitar gives you bucket loads of variation and great tone.

The action of the guitar, in addition the tone and general feel of it, was one of the major selling points for me. It is perfect for my style of playing. The finish is a poly based baltic blue and is flawless. Intonation was absolutley perfect out of the box and as a hole it is faultless. As soon as I picked this up I felt like I had been playing it for years. A first class product! A mate of mine came to have a jam and agreed that this does not feel like a "budget" priced guitar. It feels like a #500 instrument. I have been playing for 10 years and this is the nicest guitar I have ever played. The facts that beginners can now start withg something like this is amazing. Fender really have done a brilliant job.

Feels solid as a rock. Great sustain. Stays in tune no matter how many bends you throw at it and how hard you strum it. I would use this to play live or record without a worry.

Never spoken to them. Goit a 1 year warranty from the shop

Overall I would say that this is an ideal guitar for anybody who wants a Tele but doesn't have #900 to throw at an American Fender. I tried a number of Tele's and this was the nicest of them all. Yes that correct THE NICEST. I tried a couple of Mexican Fenders and this soundend much fuller and well...more like a Telecaster. I think that Squier have come on leaps and bounds in the last ten years as I remember the Squier stats feeling cheap and nasty and having a horrible action. Now however they have made me very happy indeed. Many thanks to Fender for an excellent product.

Made in China, twenty one medium size frets, solid Alder body with a C shaped Maple neck, volume and tone controls with a three way pickup selector switch, two single coil pickups, Arctic White finish with white single layer pick guard, top loading bridge with six individual saddles. Supplied with allen wrenches for the saddles and truss rod. A Twentieth Anniversary model.

I play a variety of styles, standards, rock and roll, soul/R&B, country, blues. I find this guitar useable for all of them. I play it through a Ampeg Gemini II and also use a Kramer K-15R amplifier when I don't feel like firing up the old Ampeg. I don't utilize any external effects at the present time but do sometimes utilize effects that are built into the amps. A little hum when selecting the neck or bridge pickup, none on the middle selector setting when both pickups are on. I like the sound of the stock pickups. The neck pickup, which has a chrome cover, sounds nice and full - almost like a humbucker. The bridge pickup, which is definitely louder, is nice and bright. Both pickups have good clarity and tonal range providing a wide variety of sounds just by adjusting the volume and tone controls. If you want that distinctive Telecaster sound, this guitar has definitely got it. Before I actually played this guitar through my amp, I was thinking of the possibility of replacing the pickups. Now I see no need to because I'm satisfied with the way the stock pickups sound.

The action on my Tele was playable right out of the box. The intonation and neck releif were set well. Pickup height required no adjustment. It was assembled very well with nicely made parts. The fret job was very well done. The paint on the body and chrome plating on the steel parts are flawless. The nut could have been notched and finished better but is useable as is. I will need to deepen the D string slot a little. The neck has no angle in relation to the body and that in combination with the type of bridge results in the bridge saddles being set lower than they should be. I will shim the neck at the heel so the bridge saddles can be raised slightly.

I think it will stay in one piece as long it is treated like a guitar.

I haven't dealt with Fender/Squier.

I've been playing for nearly thirty years off and on and have owned Fender Strats and various Gibsons. This is the first Tele I've ever had and I'm totally happy with it. If anything happened to it I would definitely get another. It is as nice or nicer than any genuine Fender I've ever played! I was thinking of using it as a platform to do a bunch of modifications on but now I'm just going to set it up real well and enjoy playing it. I got a Squier Strat a few months ago and it's the nicest Strat I've ever had as well. For less than the price of a genuine Fender I got a really nice Tele and a Strat from Squier! Bottom line: If you want a Telecaster but don't want to spend alot of dough, get a Squier Affinity!

All the features of the usual Tele, maple fretboard, alder body. Nothing to get excited about

It was my main guitar for about two years and then I bought a mex standard strat. When I compared the two the Tele seemed kinda dull and lifeless. It doesn't really have that twangy sound (atleast to my ears) I use it with my 68' Twin Reverb silverface. Sounds pretty good distorted, and with reverb.

When the guitar arrived, it was set up pretty well, action wasn't too high or anything. I switched out the .009's for 10's however and never ran into any problems. a few of the frets stuck out through the sides of the fretboard on the higher part of the neck, but if you're not really picky it shouldn't really bother you. The Affinity Squier comes with those cheap tuners you see on basically everything nowadays - mine stay in tune OK. I bought it from musicians friend as a scratch and dent (a dent and chip below the pickguard) with that arctic white color; which really isn't white at all, it's like a light yellow (yuck)

Yeah, this guitar would withstand live playing. It would probably take a few years before the hardware started going bad... I'm guessing saddles and tuners would go first. The strap buttons on mine have never loosened up in the years i've been playing it.

I've been playing for three years. I play blues,rock,surf. I own the Squier Tele, Mex. Fender Stratocaster, Epiphone Les Paul, Harmony Strat, Samick Acoustic, Yamaha 12 string acoustic, a 68' Fender Twin Reverb, a shitty Danelectro distortion pedal, and various knockoffs. I haven't had any regrets about this guitar except the color. If you're a beginner looking for a good electric to start on, then this might be the way to go.

i have not long bought an affinity squier strat,it is a limited edition blonde.
It was released in july 2002 and i am not sure if it is still made.
it has 3 single coil pickups with 2 tone controls and one master volume control,other features are a 5 position pickup switch and synchronous tremelo bridge.
it has 21 frets and the body id solid alder with a maple neck.the machine heads are standard die-cast tuners.
it has a 60's style headstock with a black scratch panel and had dot position inlays.
i havnt had it long enough to see what happens if it gets knocked about but it does have a polyurethane finish which is usually quite tough.
it came with no accessories but the shop assistent was feeling generous and gave me a gig bag and a handfull of plectrums.
all in all it is a good quality guitar for the money as you can spend the same money and get something that wants to cut your fingers and sounds like someone just stood on the cat.
if you are after a good all round cheap guitar this is the one to get

with the 5 positions you can get the sound you want for individuall songs.i play rythem on it and my son likes playing lead and it does both fine

i have found no rust flaws ect,it is still factory set up as i havnt had a fiddle with the bridge and pickups yet

i would be happy to play this quitar live and bt the feel of it it seems very solid so hopefully it would take the knocks,i think i would go and buy some higher quality feder strings first though as you get what you pay for

i have had bo dealings with fender

i have been playing for many years and have quite a few different makes of guitars and for the money this one is good,if it was stolen i would consider buying another one

my telecaster is a chinese telecaster made probably 2001 or 2000
its a 12 fret guitar with a rosewood fretboard all metal hardware no cheap plastic tuners 1 volume one tone knob typical tele stuff 3 way slector switch with lead and rhythm pickups the finish is black with a white pickguard standard tele bridge though it is top loading not string through body the neck is abit thinner than a strat neck very comfortable it gets 10 cause it c0mes with everything i normal telle does but except it has a top loading bridge

the guitar sounds awesome i have used it to play an array of musicial styles from ska punk reggae funk metal rock classical blues you name it ive pretty much played it on this guitar i ran it thru a ds-2 and a ce-3 the guitar handles the effects pretty well as good as a guitar with humbuckers does the tele has a bright sound not too bright but brighter than a strat some might think its to bright but if you much around with your amp you can get it how you want. It has the normal twang you expect from a telecaster i have used it to play reggae and funk songs and this guitar sounds wicked, the guitar can be noisy at times but you expect that with single coils. The guitar has a really great sounds as an example i was playing a gig with my mates and we had a strat copy a jackson with so seymour dunc's and a floydd rose in it and my mates stillw anted to use my guitars to play punk songs with they used it to play i want you bad and kryptonite the guitar is very good for palm muting cause of the bridge and cause you dont hit the middle pickup cause there isnt one. i play it thru my tubeworks td-762 amp sounds great on it.

The Guitar was setup alright when i got it but i had to tweak it abit to how i like it, the only problems i had with the guitar was when i bought it the tone knob was bent the nut had been glued on nad the tone knob didnt work in the lead position. The Paint work is a falw on the guitar it looks good but if you nock it hard enough which doesnt have to be very hard it chips and dings easily.8 cause of the paintwork

The guitar would withstand playin live but i have had some dramas i put 10 to 52's on it and while playing live i snaped a string at the saddle i put another one on and snapped the string below it. it was annoying but i had adjust the strings abit but its fine no no problems. The rest of the hardware on the guitar is goning to last its good quality i havent broken anything on my guitar and ive had it for a yr or so. the strap buttons on it seen to be alittle smaller then on a strat so the strat can fall off pretty easily nothing a few rubber bands on your strat or some strap locks cant fix. tnhe guitar wont breakdwon anytime soon. i would gig without out a backup ive already done it but you should take some strings with you. 8 againc ause of the paint work thats the only thing i think lets it down

i havent had to deal with the company so thats says abit i never had to get it repaired it didnt come with warranty when i bought it

Ive been playing for about 4 or 5 years, i own 3 strat copies ones in peices ones custom made by me the other has 2 humbuckers i also own 3 acoustics a ds-2 and ce-3 chorus tubeworks td-752 tube driver map and a drive cd-200 30 watt amp. If this was stolen id buy another one in a flash i really love this guitar its unique. I love the twang in the guitar which i used to to play everything from nirvana, stabbing westward,nin, mest, goldfinger,placebo,led zepplin,n.uf.a.n, reggae music. The only thing i hate well dislike is the paintwork it looks really good but it chips to easily, one thing i like is it works for heaps of styles of music. Ive compared it to a jackson 4 strat copies a fender bullet and i like this the best same with my mates. Anything i wish it had harder paint work that doesnt chip. I reccomend this guitar to some that wants a descent guitar that works well for lots you can play from nirvana to goldfinger with this thing and it works well for all them types of music

Fender Squier Affinity Tele, Chinese, Cream w/white pickguard, maple neck. In terms of "features", it's a Tele.

I modified the guitar as soon as I got it home by replacing the bridge pup with a Fender Lace (Red) Sensor. Therefore, I can only comment on the stock sound by comparing it to an Indonesian Squier I played in the store. The Affinity was thin and lacking in bass with the stock bridge pup. However, as I recall, it was very nice and twangy on the high end, though somewhat noisier than the Indonesian.

Set-up out of the box was perfect. The neck is wonderful! The easiest-playing neck of my 5 guitars. Saddles are lighter than the Indonesian, body thinner and less resonant. No string-thru design. However, that's where the bad news ends. The Indonesian rosewood necks were extremely variable in finish. I wanted white/blonde; the color of the Indo was a sickly yellow-brown, somewhere between diarrhea and vomit. The Affinity, OTOH, is really beautiful! And with the Lace Sensor, she sounds absolutely stunning! I can't describe to you the sheer playability of this guitar. I actually hate to put it down. She responds to every touch, with resonating, chiming subtleties that must be heard to be believed. I don?t care if the body is thinner, or if the saddles are lighter, or if the strings don?t go thru the body. How ever she does it, she does it right. I have never before sat down and played for four hours straight, feeling absolutely and wonderfully exhausted afterwards, not being able to wait to start again. I adore my Dean EVO SS, whose LP-like dual humbucker design is far richer with overtones and harmonics; and my Stagemaster w/3 Seymour pups + Floyd Rose, with its magnificent range of Duncan tones; but there is something unique about this guitar that just lets me get down to the music. It?s clean tone is to die for, and is not equaled or even approached by any of my other axes.
I have no trouble with the tuners. She stays in tune very well, considering the strings are new and still stretching.
I should add that, in addition to the Lace, I shielded the cavities with aluminum foil; which made the instrument much quieter. Further, in all fairness, the 3-way switch looks pretty crappy and could definitely use an upgrade. The pots are fine, though, and the cap looks like plastic rather than ceramic. The wiring is light, and perhaps one day I will rewire it. And the stock neck pup is decidedly inferior. However, these slight shortcomings must be viewed in light of its price, with was $160. Add $55 for the Lace, and I have an awesome instrument for $215. If I put a Lace in the neck, installed a new 3-way switch, and rewired it, I would be into it for another, oh, $75 max. And as far as I?m concerned, would be well worth the time and expense.

If you're worried that your friends will laugh at you for having a Squier, don't buy this guitar. If you aren't willing to put a few upgrades into it, think twice. Otherwise RUN down to your music store and check this baby out. Buy a Lace (or maybe a Duncan) pup, shield the cavities and replace the switch. The sit down and enjoy.

My Squier Affinity Tele is black with a white scratchplate and maple neck. It came in one of these Fender starter packs, which meant there was a 10w amp (which is surprisingly powerful) gig bag, strap, video blah blah blah included. I have a number of guitars and this one of my favourites even though it is considered a 'beginners' guitar. It has two single coil pickups, a 3 way pickup selector and volume and control knobs, black dot inlays. It is exactly the same as a Fender one except perhaps not quite as well constructed, or expensive!

It sounds pretty good in my opinion. The pickups produce a really nice tone. I favour the bridge pickup, but your playing style will determine this. There is lots of variety in sound and the guitar would suit any music style i reckon. I play mine through a 25w Marshall amp and a Zoom GFX707 effects station and the range in sounds is amazing.

Sometimes I use a capo too which is really cool 'cause when I have the bridge pickup set on it makes some really lovely sounds. It is well built and which always improves a guitars sound

When I recieved the guitar I was surprised at how well it was set up. I thought I would have to get the all that sorted out before I could start playing it, but all I had to really do was tune it so I was playing it more or less straight away. The finish was perfect - no dents or knocks. The neck fells great at the back too because it isn't painted or heavily finished. It still has that natural wood finish which I love.

The action was perfect. In fact I adjusted the action on my other guitars to match it. There were no badly fitted frets or anything like that. Great quality for the price.

Ive had the same strings on this guitar for ages (the ones it came with), everything has been reliable, no problems at all. It stays in tune very well and is still lovely to play. No noeck warpage or anything like that. Very dependable

I got it from Great Universal, the home catalogue company (who I doubt know much about guitars). Kind of fortunate really that I've had no problems with it.

I love this guitar. Its dependable, looks nice and sounds good too. It is much better than any other of my guitars and I sincerely reccomend it to anyone who wants a great guitar for not much money!

I got my tele when trading in an Epiphone Flying V and saying that I wanted to have a telecaster, the guy said "pick one, no extra charge." So I tried a whole bunch of them until I grabbed one that just felt right, one that felt like I had been owning it for years.
My tele is a Chinese made affinity series telecaster in black probably made in the late nineties since it had a thicker body than the others, through body stringing and a rosewood fingerboard. It came with the standard Telecaster set up of two single coils and passive electronics. As soon as I got it home though I began modifying it, the first to go were the tuners, the original ones were okay but I prefer Gotoh tuners on all my guitars because of their stability. Second to go were the pickups as I replaced them with a seymore Duncan "Little '59" in the bridge and a Dimarzio Red velvet in the neck position. This worked fine but the neck pickup and the mixed setting sounded too weak so I got out my router, widened the hole and put in a humbucker coming from a Gibson Les Paul Custom in it and thus balanced it out more evenly.

Because of my modifications, my tele sounds a lot fatter than most teles do. The Duncan really makes it rock, when using a distortion it sounds really good, it doesn't go muddy like with a les paul. When played clean my tele sounds like a tele, which surprised me concerning the mods I did. It does sound a little less brittle and much warmer but still like a Fender. The tele became my main stage guitar and I have bought (and quickly sold on) other teles as spares but none of them can match this. My one complaint is the weight, the older affinity teles are very weighty.

As I said before I did all the mods and ajustments myself so I don't think I can remeber how it originally was, I love using heavy strings 011-056 as a minimum and the neck took no ajustments to cope with that. My only complaint is the weight, it's heavier than my les paul but due to the sound and how it plays it stays the first guitar i pick up when I want to play.

I used this guitar live from the first day I got it, I took it out instead of my usual stage guitar (a red 1989 Squier Stratocaster)and played it the whole gig through. at the next gig I left my Strat at home. I replaced the old strap buttons with Schaller strap locks (again a mod I do with all my guitars) so there's no danger of my guitar coming loose from the strap. I tried buying telecasters to use as back ups but so far I haven't succeeded in finding one that's equally fit to dub in for it. (I even had a 1983 Tokai strat copy, amazing guitar, but I sold it again because I couldn't get it to sound right.) I would be really bummed out if somebody took it away from me.

Considering the mods I made, it probably wouldn't worth a dime right now but hey, I love it.

My current guitar line up includes the previously mentioned 1989 Squier strat (my baby), a self built mini flying V with Telecaster pickups (I am a luthier and I love my job!) used as a backup but due to it's too bright sound not for long, a heavily modified Peavey T 15 guitar and a self made Nylon string solid body. My amps are a peavey VT series tube head (the "Mace" the same amp Dave Davis uses) with a marshall cab, for smaller gigs I use my recently acquired Hughes and Kettner Attaxx Club 65 combo (great amp.)

The setup is fairly standard, although without a reverb tray. Intonation and action is easy to adjust via the bridge. The 3-way selector switch feels sturdy, as do the tone and volume controls. In fact, the whole unit feels very well put together. I've found with Squire, that you could have three guitars of the same model in a shop, and they'd all feel and play differently. I've found Squire strats and teles that feel better than Fender's own, but it's the luck of the draw, and to some extent, personal taste.

The affinity tele I picked up had a great low action and playable, 'friendly' feel. There was no fret buzz, despite the low action, although the nut is a little shallow and vigorous playing will cause strings to jump out of the nut.

The only other complaint I would have, is that there is little or no sustain. This is no doubt due to the thin body and cheaper electronics, and for the money you can't complain. All round, after a week of playing it, I find the affinity tele a great buy. How it will age is another thing, and I would have actually prefered to get a standard fat tele, if only for the neck humbucker for a greater tonal range.

The guitar stays in tune very well. I had an Ibanez and a Gretsch which were more expensive than the tele, but would not stay in tune half as well. The only problem is the G string, which is common to most guitars, it seems, and that doens't go out much or often.

The maple neck is very nice to play, compared to a rosewood neck, but again that's personal preference. Overall I'd rate it five out of five for the price - the most importnat thing is that I enjoy playing it completely!

it's a chinese tele, don't know when it was produced. 21 frets, 3-way selector, volume and tone control, 2 single coils of the cheapest nature, maple neck, don't know what the b/w body is made of, the finish is flawless so far (got it one week now), the pickguard is of cheap plastic and you already see traces of strumming. non locking brass tuners, brass bridge.

i play different styles, mainly punk/rock but also folk and jazz as far as my ability allows me. i mostly play at home with my pod II with headphones and directly plug it into a four track recorder. i also use a cheap no name 10w amp, i own an old acoustic 50w but can't use it at home for my neighbours would lynch me. i shall change the pick ups for sure, for they are rather thin sounding and tend to be noisy. in general the guitar features that twangy sound i was looking for - it's my fourth guitar, my main axes are a fender mex fat strat and a ibanez rg470. the tele sounds well when it is played clean or with some overdrive, with the new pick ups (i think of texas specials or dimarzio) it should be even better.

i got it via ebay from a shop in germany - it's setup was surprisingly good! i have tried out dozens of fender teles earlier this years and believe it or not, i didn't like them as much as this one (that's why i bought the strat then). the action is great, neck is very easy to play (i started playing with cheap guitars 25 years ago, i know what it means to play on a shitty set up guitar) it stays perfectly in tune though i bend a lot, no string buzzing, selector and volume knobs work fine, haven't detected any flaws so far except for that mainly cheap materials were used for it - but who complains about that at this price? for this price it's perfect.

i have played it for hours and it worked fine, it seems dependable but what do i know after one week. wouldn't gig with it without a backup though, but even good guitars can have problems at the wrong moment so i'd always have a backup guitar anyway.

as mentioned i got it through ebay so i have no warranty though it's a new one.

i play electric for 25 years now. started on a framus strat copy that i gave to a friend, then for a long time on a ibanez pf200 that i still own. aside from that i have a fender mexican stratocaster and a ibanez rg470.
i am very satisfied with this guitar considered the price (don't be fooled that it's higher than in US, instruments are more expensive here, it's about the cheapest price you get a new guitar for). i was looking for a cheap tele because i wanted that sound and i got it, simply and plain. it's an incredible good guitar for that price, i love to play it!

2000 Chinese made Squier Affinity Tele. As cheep as it gets ;) 21 low/thin frets, rosewood fingerboard, maple neck(no skunk stripe) on the thin side, tele bridge and neck pickups, 3 way switch, 1 butterfly tree, volume and tone controls, solid black finish, 1 ply white pickguard, plastic tuners, 6 chrome saddless, no string-thru-body design.

I bought this off the internet (eBay) as a cheap backup guitar, so did not even worry about trying it out beforehand. That said, I was pleasantly surprised at how the pickups weren't complete crap. The neck pickup has a decent mellow sound, and I agree with the other review here that says it might actually be worth keeping. The Bridge pickup alone sounds very dull and nasal, but the comination of the 2 also gives a half-decent sound. The pickups amplify any knocking on the pickguard. Surprisingly low-noise. Does *not* give the classic, magic, Telecaster twang, but came closer than I expected considering the price.

Purchased used from original owner, who basically never touched it. The intonation at the saddles definitely needed adjusting. Finish seems OK (solid black, not especially glossy.) The chrome saddles and plastic tuning knobs reek of cheepness, so consider yourself warned. I will be replacing them as soon as I can (I was assuming I would have to as this is must be the most "entry-level" electric Fender makes.) The nut is also cheap; the slots are low and the strings slide right out when I bend them! The body and neck wood seem fine. The frets are low and squarish.

As is, This guitar would not make it through a single song onstage. I say this because the tuning keys are like rubber and pretty much any kind of playing will cause it to go out of tune. Replace them right away and the guitar will become a much better instrument, one which would be fine to keep around as a backup instrument.

Have never dealt directly with Squier/Fender

I have been playing for about 5 years, and am a full time student (music major) at the University level. I also own a 1996 American Standard Strat (an *awesome* instrument,) a decent Yamaha acoustic, and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp. In the past I have owned Hamer and Charvel guitars, and have played on some very nice Gibsons and Teles. Overall I like this instrument because it gives me an approximate Tele sound, Tele looks ;), and a good starting point for basic instrument mods. One small regret is that I didn't double check to see if this were a standard Squier or the Affinity model. Read the reviews on H-C for the Indonesian standard Squiers -- they seem like a better value for similar cost. But compared to some other $100 guitars I have seen, this is pretty good!

I got this guitar in 2001, its made in china 21 frets, volume, tone, 3 way selector, typical tele set up. Its alder just like all the other fender instruments that are manufactured so dont think its made with a different cheap wood. It has a blue finish on it, nothing spectacular but what difference does it make... over time its gunna get scratches and nicks in it unless youre a bedroom musician who sits and polishes your les paul four hours a day. Its a basic standard strat... no difference except in the name on the headstock and the finish.

Its not as high output as most guitars, but its very smooth and has a warm tone to it. Ok before you start laughing hear me out ok... i use a sovtek mig-100. Thats all i use... guitar straight into amp. Therefore all i rely on is that the guitar sounds good and so does the amp. No funky effects, reverb, and rack processors to make my instrument sound fake. I use the distortion that is on my amp. Straight tube distortion. Yes if i mess up its very noticeable but thats what drives me to play flawlessly. The distortion is similar to a jcm-800. Its not noisy since its pretty low output but it sounds very smooth and its rich. It has a low tone on the neck position, still a low tone on both positions, and a very crisp bridge position. If you can make sounds with the guitar (um ok) im proud of you... basically i play chords and notes if you know what i mean. The only thing i disliked about the guitar is that everyone complimented my sound then they asked what kinda guitar i was using and then they said ew thats a p.o.s..... so i scratched the name off and people stopped asking me. Ive played sg's, and other gibsons.. i love them they sound great but they arent comfortable... i play with the strap so long (comfort is key to playing well) that i cant play Les Pauls.. i hit the toggle switch. Sg's are too light, and well other guitars are designed similar to those. So Fenders all the way baby. Its a decent guitar, if you want to save an arm and a leg buy one of these and fix it up to your liking.

It came in perfect condition. I have nothing to complain about. Well constructed instrument.

I would use it, not without a back up... i wouldnt play any guitar without a back up... i dont care if its a 5,000 dollar gibson. Strings break and shit happens... so there you go. AS for reliability... the guitar is great, no problems and ive had it for over a year. Ive used it as a back up at shows and it cuts through and works great. Never had to service it.

never dealt with them

I own several guitars.... Squier Stratocaster.. very nice 50th anniversary strat, amazing guitar, I love it with all my heart. Washburn acoustic, Yamaha AEX-500 nice guitar but not good for punk. its nice and for anyone its a good back up or learning guitar. Heck i use it as a main line guitar some nights so hey if you want an inexpensive guitar go for it

This Tele has a pretty simple and plain Squire set-up. It has a 3 way selector switch, 1 volume control and 1 tone control. I suppose the pick-ups are what everyone has got on their Squire Tele pretty standard really. I don't exactly know the name of them and don't really care, just as long as they work. The bridge is normal Tele style. The frets are reasonable with black dot inlays. The tuners are excellent for a Squire really. No other included accessories, i provided them myself EG: strap locks and strap.

I mostly play every Radiohead song on the planet and has proved to have a great feel for Radiohead. If you are a Radiohead fan and are a reasonable beginner i would recommend getting one of these. Just add a dab of overdrive to the twang and you're off. With this i'm using a VOX Cambridge Twin 30, Boss Super Overdrive, Tremelo, Delay, ProCo Rat and Crybaby Wah. I suppose it is kind of noisy compared to my start up guitar(strat) which was bloody silent. It has a very warm sound plugged into a tube/valve amp and has a nice balance. Not much variety with the 3 way selector switch, i think they stand for rock/blues and jazz.

The guitar was set-up crap when i got it. I didn't actually realise how bad it was until i got it properly set-up. I had to get th whole bloody guitar done, the pick-ups everything. The bridge was in a terrible state, they were everywhere!!!! When i bought it though i had to go back 6 times and then finally get a new selector switch put in because the one they put in the first place kept on cutting out.

This will easily last anyone a really long time, your whole life even if you really take care of it. The body on mine is keeping very well, but the neck isn't-so far 5 of the frets are worn away! They have grazes all over them from where i've been playing it so much, i can't help it! If you're gonna buy a guitar to practice with get this, but if you wanna guitar that you want to rock away with don't get this, it won't last!!! I wish i'd known that when i bought this. If i did a gig i would proberly bring a backup just to be on the safeside, but i'm sure i'll be alright.

I've been playing for quite a while now and it has served me well but i would of chose another, proberly would of saved up for a Fender if i knew any better. I wish i had asked whether the neck would last longer!! If it was stolen i wouldn't buy it again, i would save up for a wonderful 72' Tele Custom(dream guitar!!) The thing i love about it though is its' lovely bright twang, that's what is keeping me with it, what i don't like though is the neck!!!! I've compared it with an Epiphone SG which was really good, proberly better actually. I wish it had more variety in the selector switch. Pretty good though for the money. The problem is though the weight of the the bloody thing, it weighs a tone!!!

yep, my tele was made in china. 21 frets, standard tele, with thinner body, 2 single coils. mine is black, with white pickguard.

this suits my style nicely, but so do all electric guitars. I send the signal through effects, straight into my 4-track or pc. my music is sort of noise-metal-punk, and then not at all...this guitar has a better sound than my cheap no-name stratcopy, better sustain and better pickups.
it is noisy with my setup, i mean, it sort of buzzez exept with the pickup selector in middle position...

the action is really good! it feels like a fender, and the action is actually better than a mexican strat I used to own. the finish is just standard for a guitar in this pricerange, but who cares about the finish?

I deem this guitar reliabel. yes, I can depend on it. boss pedals and fender guitars, please...they are build to last...

I like this guitar! I think my old mexican strat sounded better, but this affinity-tele has much better action. maybe I was just lucky, I've never owned a squier before...
I only use decently priced equipment, and I am very pleased with the price/quality ratio of this guitar.

Brand New (Chinese) Squire Tele, the real cheap one! Its a tele... you know two single coils and a three way switch. I quess that gives it all the features it is supposed to have. very pretty Baltic Blue with a white single ply pick guard. - 1 point for the cheesy tuners.

Sounds like a cheap tele... The bridge pup is pathetic... it does sound twangish, but.... well its weak. No surprize here however for two reasons, first its a cheapo guitar! second, second, I played it at the shop and knew what I was getting! So am I dissatisfied? no not really. Neck pup is a pleasent surprise, sweet, smooth, jazzy, not perfect, but nice, almost (almost) acoustic like. This is no doubt due in part to the light weight alder body, which on the affinity is not a chunky as other fender(Squire) Teles. Strum a few chords with the guitar unplugged and you will hear what I mean, Maple neck and fingerboard add to the mix. Bridge pup is unbearably noise even at low gain settings. I got what I paid for and knew before I walked out the door that I would be replacing the pup's actually I am only pulling the bridge pup out because, like I said I kinda like the neck

Action was to my liking right out of the box, low, no fret buzz. paint was perfecto, not a mile deep glossy but nice, not a single flaw, no loose hardware. neck fits snug. I dont care for the chrome saddles (they look cheesy) also, be aware that this is not a string thru body set-up. Frets are poorly finished, rough etc... but hey, they dont cut my hand so whats the big deal? One thing to be aware of if you are thinking of purchasing this guitar, the frets are small, thin and dont lend themselves to large diameter strings, and Ohhh.. does this ripple effect add misery to an already weak and thin sounding bridge pup. I tried many string variations ( that is diferrent mix and match sets of Ernie Balls) until I hit upon some Dean Markley's 10-38 dia. These strings are by far the best I have used and if I may mini-review, please pick up a set and try them they are very nice. anyway, in all I would say not a bad guitar for the money in terms of overall fit and finish, choose carefully if you are accustomed to Ibanez style jumbo frets, otherwise the neck is very sweet, not for guys with sausage like fingers but fine for a pip squeek like me. And I am a sucker for the look of that all maple neck!

Tuners will sh*t the bed first chance they get, otherwise no problems. Not as heavy and plank like as a "real" tele but thats not a big deal for me.

Couldnt tell ya, Fender does have an A-1 web site however, if that helps? Check put Mr. Gearhead

I am a rank amatuer player, no live gigs, probably never will, I basicaly suck to be honest. I love teles and this was an easy and cheap in for me, $160 for the guitar, $6.00 for the string thru body ferrules, $25 for a "real" tele bridge, and $50 for a Bill Lawrence noisless bridge pup and voila, I'm Chicken Picken' or doing a bad muddy waters impression for less than the price of even the more expensive Squire model, let alone a real fender

Made in China, 2001. 21 Frets, standard tele pickup configuration, bridge and neck. 3 way switch. Finish is Baltic Blue with a white pickgaurd.

Sounds much better than expected. Tried it in the music store on a small Ibanez amp. Play it through a Marshall 8240 stereo chorus amp and a Behringer GX 110 amp. Sounds great through both amps. I play jazz and classic rock. Sounds great on both.

The only thing I did was raise the pickups a little. The setup was excellent. The finish is flawless. Pickguard is cheap. Tuners are good. It doesn't have a through body bridge arrangement like I'm used to on my American tele, but it seems to stay in tune.

I am currently using the guitar as a practice guitar and in a home studio. It is excellent for that. I don't see why it wouldn't stand up to live playing. The 3 way switch is tight and the control knobs feel very solid. I think it could take a little abuse without any trouble.

Good support with Fender in the past.

I would rate it a 8.5. I think it's a lot of bang for the buck. I like it so much I've ordered a Squire Affinity Strat for my home studio. Hope it's quality is as good as the Affinity Tele.

Mine is the Chinese model in black. Fender's website claims that this model was introduced in May 2000. The features are well enumerated in the reviews below and on Fender's website. Basically, it's a typical Telecaster-type guitar. Fender says the body is somewhat scaled down from their other models. I'm giving it a 9 because it seems to have everything that their American Standard models have and what else could you want? After all, you're buying a Tele.

I bought this to keep in my office as a cheap practice guitar. I have several other "classic-style" guitars such as an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Fender American Strat, and an Epiphone Jorma Kaukonen Riviera Deluxe (basically an ES-335 w/a Bigsby-style tremlo). So I bought this guitar in order to add a Tele-style sound to the collection.

To my inexperienced and untrained ears this guitar is amazing for its price. Of course, the "real" Telecasters are known for their thin, twangy tone and this guitar more than captures that sound. If you're looking for a "fat" sound, then any Telecast model is not going to work for you. Buy something with Humbucker PUs instead.

I've never played a real Telecaster but from what I've heard, this one is close. Probably a little thinner that the real deal, but close.

I'm playing it mostly through a Marshall VS15R (not a very good amp) so the sound isn't great.

I auditioned several of these models at Sam Ash and decided on this one even though the strings were thoroughly corroded when I tried it. It seemed to be the best of the lot. I seem to remember that some of the others they had did not play as nicely. Some had poor fret finishing or other "defects". If you buy this model, choose carefully.

As for this guitar, I couldn't ask for better; especially for the price! After I re-strung the guitar and broke it in, it's possibly the best guitar I have in terms of playability. The action is a low as anyone could want. The neck is perfect. The fret finishing is very good (unlike some of the reviews below). I have no buzzing anywhere on the neck. As for intonation, I'm not good enough to hear subtilties but I don't hear anything wrong with it. It seems to stay in tune reasonably well.

As for finish; I haven't had any problems. Granted, I'm not fifteen years old and I don't keep it on the floor of my bedroom and I don't have a bunch of my friends beating on it after school but I still can't believe some of the reviews here that talk about the guitar falling apart in two or three days. I've had this guitar for about a year. I've taken it out for lessons and I occassionaly transport it between my office and my home. I use it nearly every day and it doesn't have a single chip or scratch in the finish nor have any parts fallen off. For the price, I'm giving this thing a 9.

See above. I don't gig, so maybe that's the difference but still; to have a cheap guitar for a year; play it every day and still have the thing in pristene condition; I think that's pretty good!

I don't know. I haven't had any problems with it.

As I've stated; at this price, I'm amazed. It's an excellent value. Granted the tone and sustain probably aren't as good as the real thing but it seems amazingly close. I think this thing would be great as a starter/practice guitar or just something to have that you don't have to worry about (traveling, rowdy gigs, etc.). I would highly recommend it for those purposes which is probably exactly what Fender intended. After all, if they wanted it to compete with their American Standards, etc. they'd have to be pretty stupid.

Previous reviews (I read all of'em before checking an Affinity out) have covered the the features. It's a no-nonsense Tele, comprised of, well, cheaper parts. The durability of the thing remains to be seen, but it has all the goods needed to make music on. Despite the kinda shoddy parts, it looks and performs great. Features? It's a Tele, fer cryin' out loud. What should it have that it doesn't?

I made a run to Guitar Center (always against my better judgement) to check one out, as they were blowin' 'em out. I have new Dimarzios for a Tele and figured if an Affinty played well, I could change the pickups and be set. Well surprise, surprise. I LIKE the way this guitar sounds!!! A lot. It reminds me of the paired down "electric guitar features" of yesteryear. It sounds like a Tele. Twangy and expressive, but broad and usefull. A ton of tunes came to mind as I meandered about the thing. The real deal.
I'm something of a novice, playing guitar as recreation. I've been a professional keyboard player for 25 years, and guitar has become a wonderful hobby. Given my lack of time on the instrument, my progress is alright. I can play a chorus or two of T-Bone style blues, a little bop, and lots of classic rock rhythm. The Affinity suits me perfectly -- vastly superior to my Jaggmaster, which seems unsuitable for any style.
I use a Peavey Delta Blues 210, and various cheaper "vintage" amps. For me the Affinity is the right tool for the job. Yep it's a little noisy, but not to the point of distraction.

Apparently these things are a crapshoot, so I didn't want to order one through the mail. The action on the floor model that I bought is great. All hardware was secure. Finish (black), flawless, near as I can tell. Construction tight and solid. The hardware, I reiterate, is cheap, but I have no intention of bangin' the thing on the floor. Satisfied. Look, the thing costs $139.00. A ton of axe for the $.

I see no reason why this thing wouldn't go the distance live, if one treated it like a musical instrument rather than an entry in a demolition derby. The hardware remains questionable, but everything works. The finish seems to be durable. I could depend on it, but I wouldn't consider using any instrument live w/out some kinda backup.

I've been playing seriously for 5 months, after a 20 odd year hiatus away from the instrument. Having been a professional musician for my entire adult life (jazz, blues, rock performing - university level teaching - hundreds of jimgles), I find it pretty easy to navigate the ins and outs of guitar. My knowledge at this point far exceeds my technique.
I love this thing -- it's doubtful whether I'll ever pine for some geometric nightmare to shred on.
My other fave is an original Fender Bullet, which is funky beyond measure.

I believe this was made in 2000, in China. It's the regular tele, 2 single coils, etc, etc. No major features, but I am not a knob jockey, so no big deal for me. I give it a seven, simply because what do you expect for $129?

Well, I was a bassist in my former life (6 months ago) Got the Tele just to get started. I use a Dano Nifty Fifty and Marshall Master Reverb 30. I play varied rock, everything from Floyd to Peppers. The Dano is a gimmick amp, cute, nice for practice in the bedroom, so don't expect any good sound out of it. The Marshall however..... well, it's a Marshall man! The nasty single coils on this guitar buzz and screech when I am plugged in to either amp, unless I use the middle position. And I made a tragic mistake- the default pickup heights are fine, I decided to be brave and adjust the neck to get a brighter sound. Well, I went to high, so I clicked when I pick the strings. So, I adjusted it down, and now I get a click when I hit the pickguard. Had I left it alone, I would have been fine. I adjusted the bridge pickup, and had no adverse affects from that though. I give it a seven, simply for price and the fact that factory it did sound decent......

The action was okay. Since I was a bassist, I have no problems with action on guistars. For intonation though, I had to do some tweaking. The 12th fret was about 1/4 step off. I grabbed my allen set and fixed that with about 15 minutes of playing around. I did have a buzz on the B and high E strings, but the adjustments I made on the bridge fixed that at the same time. And let me say something about the damn saddle bridges, it may just be the Squire version, but I hate it. Everytime I restring, I have to readjust the entire bridge, it won't hold. Also, this thing will not hold a tune. After every other song, I have to check my tuning (what do you expect for so cheap of a guitar right?) The finish is thin, I have numerous scratches from retringing, when the tip comes out and hits the body. I give it a five, mainly because of the bridge. I expect a cheap guitar to go out of tune with how hard I play.

I would not play this guitar live as a main axe. Maybe if I need a dirty sound, but you can emulate that on most other guitars. I am buying a new guitar very soon, and am thinking about using this one for alternate tunings. I have no faith in the hardware. And will use this as a backup until I get something to replace it.

never dealt with CS

For a cheap guitar, this is fine. My main intent was to use it write music, not as a main axe. Funds dictated, so I have been using as such in practice. If it were stolen or lost, I'd be pissed, simply since it's my only guitar. After I buy a new axe, I could care less. I am soured to Teles, mainly because of that saddle bridge, and the bridge pickup. All things considered, this was a decent value, again, it cost be 129 bucks.....

2000 made, I dont know the exact location of production.
21 frets, 3 way switch, single coil/single coil config, cheap no-name pickups, wood is a mystery, plywood maybe? standard hardtail tele bridge, plastic tuners, no accessories. Torino Red paint job, nice and glossy though. Paint job gets it a 2, and thats the reason why.

To be frank, I never got to hear too much of this guitar in action, but from what I did hear...
I was using through a Marshall 15 watter, no effects except some amp distortion. The sound was pretty twangy, like telecasters should have. It wasnt very rich and full, it was kind of puiny sounding.
The sound was ok, I still have the pickups for it.

The action was setup when bought, since it was a floor model. The pickups were adjusted as well, but that changed as soon as it went home. This was my second guitar, I had a Cort for almost 3 years when this was purchased, I went to my friends and plugged into his Dad's Marshall, and it sounded great. I woke up the next morning, ready to play, and voila....everything went downhill. Instead of the metal plate around the input jack, it was plastic and it broke off. Installing a tele input was too hard, so I decided to call up the store where I bought it. Their reply was "Our repair man is out of town for 2 weeks". After enough complaining, they decided to fix it that same day. I play it unplugged for the remainder of that day. I went to tune it, and crack, off goes the d tuning key, which was plastic painted to look metal. I was irate, I finished tuning, using plyers for the d string, and snap off goes the high e tuner. Then the volume knob falls off, and the black tip of the breaks off.....

This guitar couldn't stand a day on a stand in my room that gets locked when I leave, let alone play live. After a while, I just smashed the body to pieces. I have the hardware still, and I might slap the bridge on a project tele. The bridge was really the only decent hardware for the guitar. The finish seemed sturdy, it didn't chip too much, it was very solid during my anger and breaking it. It took about 5 minutes to knock it into about 4 pieces. The strap locks were horrible, the straps constantly fell off.
Not dependable, I would never use it for a gig...

I dont think it had a warranty, if so, I was never told about it. The store I bought it from were jerks about repairing it, considering I bought it the day before. I have never spoken to Fender or Squier themselves, so I will keep this one unrated.

This guitar was horrible, it literally lasted me about 2 days. I have been playing for 4 years now, and this was a waste of money. My first guitar was a cort, then a Fender Jagstang, and now a nice new American Strat, along with an Epiphone, and a Martin Acoustic. I have played shoeboxes with rubberbands attached to them that are better.
My final opinion is that, it is pure crap. I couldn't find a good thing about it, it broke the next day. I may have just gotten a dud, but mine was awful. I am not Tele-phobic anymore, I am Squier-phobic. I love Fender's, I have a fender strat in my lab as I am typing this, but I am staying about from anymore Squiers.

2001, 21 FRETS, BLACK W/ WHITE PICK GUARD, STANDARD TELECASTER
SETUP, 2 PICKUP'S, 3- WAY SWITCH, UPGRADED TUNERS, MUCH NICER
BRIDGE SADDLES, TOP LOAD BRIDGE.

I NORMALLY PLAY JAZZ, (CHORD LEAD STYLE), COUNTRY SWING,
AND POP COUNTRY. PLAY THROUGH A 1983 PEAVEY BANDIT 65. WITH THE
ADDITION OF AN EQ I CAN APPROACH ALMOST ANY TONE I WANT WITH THIS
THING. FULL BODIED, TWANGY, HARMONICS AT WILL, ALMOST ANYTHING A
PLAYER WOULD WANT, THIS WILL DELIVER IT. I HAVE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY
PLAYED STRATS OVER THE YEARS, MUST WHEN I READ THE REVIEWS ON THESE
PAGES I WANTED TO HEAR IT FOR MYSELF. VERY IMPRESSED.

THE ONLY THING I DID TO THIS AXE WHEN I GOT IT HOME WAS INSTALL
A SET OF 10'S AND LAY THE NECK BACK TO ACCOMODATE THE EXTRA TENSION.
DIDN'T NEED TO LOWER THE STRINGS AT ALL. BEAUTIFUL JOB FENDER!

I JUST IT 3 DAYS AGO THERFORE NO COMMENT YET.

N/A

I'VE BEEN PLAYING ABOUT 35 YEARS, (DAMN!!!) HAVE OWNED APPROX 15 STRATS, 10 TELE'S, 1 LES PAUL, 2 GIBSON HOWARD ROBERTS FUSIONS, AND
EVEN A 60'S SILVERTONE BY KAY (ONE OF MY FAVORITES), WITH MOST RECENT
BEING A BLACK STRAT. I MAY BUY ANOTHER SQUIRE TELE (WHITE) JUST FOR
THE CONTRAST IN COLOR. I WOULD USE ON STAGE WITHOUT A BACKUP. I BOUGHT
A 25TH ANNIVERSARY STRAT IN 1979 OR 80 (WELL BEFORE THEY TURNED GREEN)
AND I AM MUCH MORE PLEASED WITH THIS LATEST PURCHASE THAN THAN I WAS
BACK THEN. GREAT TONE, GREAT PLAYABILITY, LIGHT WEIGHT, GOT IT ALL!

Bought new in 2000. "Crafted" in China. 21 Frets (rosewood fretboard). 1 Volume, 1 tone, 1 3-way switch. Stock Tele pickups. 7 for features because it's a Tele - not much going on.

I play blues, classic rock, some metal. This guitar is great for blues in the neck position. I will be replacing the stock pickups with Texas Specials, which will make it that much better. Classic rock sounds great with the bridge pickup (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Mellencamp, etc). The stock pickups are kind of noisy unless you have the 3-way selector in the middle position. This guitar puts out kind of weak sound, and it's pretty bright. Sometimes I'll just turn the treble down a little on the guitar and it sounds okay. Overall, for a $130 guitar, the sound is great.

Good, low action, withough too much vibrating. I might take it in and have it professionally setup, that would make a big difference I'm sure. The paint is cheap and chips easily, but I was going to customize it anyway. The nut broke loose on some serious bending, but can just glue it back in place.

I don't play live, but it stays in tune and doesn't break strings, so I would trust it on stage. No hardware problems yet, and it's just over a year old.

I use this through a Supra Distortion pedal and a Crate GX30-M amp. If it were stolen, I would probably save up and buy a real Fender, not the Squier, only because I make more money now than I did when I bought this guitar. For a Squier, though, it's much better than any other $150 or less guitar out there right now, especially the Squier Strat (yuck!). I tried out several different Squier Teles in the store and this one played and sounded best. You can get a quality guitar if you try out different ones before you buy. Not all are equal.

Nothing fancy-tone, volume and 3-way switch. The bridge would be the biggest downfall, tricky to restring. everything else works fine.

Very nice low end sound, and the neck pickup works well for fuzzy psychedelia. I also like it for jazz. If you want loud metal tones stay away, needs a humbucker for that. For anything else it should work.

The guitar was set up perfectly from the get go. The cap on the 3 way switch came off while i was moving cross country, but it turned out to be an improvement, since now i don't accidentally switch pickups as often,

the finish is cheap and will chip, but hey, give the guys a break for $150.

superficially, no, the finish will not last forever and you might lose a button here or there. other than that, seems to be built to last well past its monetary value.

for the price you pay, this guitar is like a gift. tele sound and playability at the price of a boss pedal that will probably break down.

if it were stolen, id buy two more.

My Telecaster was made in China, probably in early 2001 as I bought it in July. 21 Fret, 2 passive single coil pickups, one volume and one tone pot and a 3-way selector.
The neck is of a 2-piece maple construction, laquered with a satin finish. It is reasonably thin, more so than that of a Squier Stratocaster. The body is 'solid agathis' as stated by Fender with a gloss black finish on my particular example.
Didn't come with anything of note except an Allen key for truss rod ajustment.

This guitar is suitable for most types of music, except for metal and hard rock, you really need a humbucker for that type of application. The acoustic sound of the guitar is quite bright due to its maple neck, this is relected in the plugged in sound, brilliant clean sound but lacks that top-end sustain of many upmarket Tele's.

From the factory the guitar was reasonably well set up, the intonation was great and the pickups were as close to the strings as I usually like. The only two gripes I have with the overall setup is that most every screw on the guitar needed tightening, besides the ones in the neckplate and the fact that the strings do not go through the body into embedded ferrules, rather into the back of the bridge making restringing a slight pain, having to bend the string to get it though the saddle.

The guitar holds up to various abusings at home involving dropping it, having my cheap strap slip off and dragged around in a gig bag. The finish on these low end models is reasonably tough but if you drop things onto it like my friend did to his Squier Strat it gets chipped quite easily. I don't intend to gig with this in the near future but I've seen people playing Squiers at local gigs and they have held out for years.

Never dealt with them.

I have only been playing for around 6 months so this caters for my every need besides the lack of a humbucker. I chose this guitar because I wanted a similar tone to the Fender Standard Telecaster I played previously to buying this and it delivers exactly what I wanted. I'm not saying that this guitar is on par with the Mexcian and American Teles but it is great for what I use it for, learning.

made in china, black with white pickguard. two single coil ceramic pickups, closed tuners and string through bridge. we modified it - two kent armstrong hot rod tele pickups, three saddle string through bridge and string ferules to take the strings through the back. a fantastic guitar with great sustain. three hours at the workbench and it sounds as good as a USA model for a third of the price (perhaps better because the body had so little routing to help it sustain). jacksons cafe sticker on pickguard makes it look groovy. features afetr modification are ten, but before four only.

before modification quite good, after it is beatifully sweet alnico and percussive and twangy. before 4 after 10

tone knob was loose, but easily fixed. fingerboard rosewaood was a bit drt, but used some baby oil and it came up great. action fine. fit and finish beautiful for a budget guitar.

totally relable and durable plank, entirely dependable. a few very simple modifications make this as good and better than more expensive guitars we have. but take a backup, as anyone can bust a few strings.

one year warranty. fender are helpful, but a little confused on some problems. never had to contact them about this reliable, gorgeous little twangster.

i have been playing for several years. this was my first tele style guitar. i preferred humbucker style guitars, but this tele has grown and grown on me. vive la difference.

Made in China, 2001. Standard Tele setup (dual pickup,three-way switch, 1V, 1T). Torino Red (great color), Maple neck and fretboard. Toploading bridge, 6 piece. Neck is satiny smooth (Feels smoother than my ten year old Strat right now, but it IS new). Came with two allen wrenches (truss and knob caps). I like the features,but I'm a "basics" kinda guy. The jack is mounted on a little plastic patch which is then screwed into place (may look a little "cheap" to some, but if you've ever had to try to resolder one of those, it looks like a good idea).

I play older rock (60's 70's type of stuff, mostly) and this thing is great. Plugged into my Zoom and it had the sound right away (think Page on LZI) and it's real good on that just past clean, about to break-up Stones sound. Brighter than my Strat, and it can definitely make that twang it you want it.

Near perfect setup right off the UPS truck! Just had to tune it up and go. Couple very slight (cosmetic only) flaws: tiny mark on side of fretboard, cutting residue (shaving) still on the edge of the pickguard at one place, and a ding/scratch (size of a pencil lead ) on the neck pickup cover (which has that classic tele chrome can cover). All extremely minor, and don't affect playability at all, and if you didn't know what to look for, you'd never see them.
Neck (4 bolt) is set in TIGHT, beautiful cut.
Action is very low out of the box and yes it does rattle a little, but so does my Strat. And it was intonated very very close to DEAD ON . Neck is much thinner than I'm used to (Strat), seems a little close quarters in open postition, but it's okay.

I don't play out, but If you're gonna play it live, buy two of them (they're VERY INEXPENSIVE), you can afford it, you big rock star. So far, I don't have any qualms about it, and I think it'll stand up to my use (6-10 hours a week in the laundry room). Everybody talks about the tuners, but I haven't had it long enough to tell.
Seems extremely well-made, regardless of the price, and when you add in that factor, well, you CAN afford two of them, so....

It was what I ordered, so for this price, that's all I expect. However, I have been satisfied with Fender products in the past. But who goes to the factory sypport for repairs? You take it to the local guitar shop if it needs help.

I've been playing for 20+ years and I WISH I HAD ONE OF THESE WHEN I STARTED! It's a GREAT guitar for even the book price, never mind the deep discount if usually sells for. I'm gonna mostly play it thru a Zoom into a mixer, headphone setup (neighbors) and it's comparable to the best sound quality any of the guitars I've ever owned (Fender Strat, Fender Prodigy Strat, Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Aria, Yamaha, Sears) Of course, it's a TELE and it's got the Tele sound.
Only one complaint, the string tree seems to put alot of tension on the B and E strings, causing them to catch tension between the tree and the tuner (1/8 turn and no change in tuning, then "ckink""Weawaoh" as the tension "falls thru" the tree. Maybe alittle oil or a little filing...
I considered several Epiphone models, but eventually just had to have the Telecaster, and went shopping for the best Tele for the least money and this is it.
Again, I wish I had one of these when I was starting out. It's inexpensive ("cheap" would be an insult to such a well-made guitar), it's an excellent product, and it's a FENDER, regardless of what it says on the headstock.

21 frets. 3-way tone switch. a volume and a tone control. single coil.

Just to damn bad. Its my brothers guitar, hes a newbie. I have an epiphone les paul standard so everyone who has tried this tele and compared it to a les paul must have died of sorrow. I play some blues, some mettalica and som rock'n'roll. This damned guitar can't make even one of these styles sound good. To much noise and to little balls.

Looks like a telecaster should look. I can't notice any difference between the original fender and this one.

Nope Nope Nope. The buttons are already after 6 months breaking down, it feels as if they will fall of any time now. The tuning suck

I play with a mashall and lots of shit but this guitar wont work with anything. i've tried it in all of my friends amps and this baby suck cock

2000, made in china. 21 frets. usual tele controls/pups. maple fretboard, butterscotch blond finish (nice). bridge is not through-body.

i liked the clean sound of this instrument, and i am sure other examples may not be the same. noisy when going through distortion.

the guitar was very well setup. this one was hanging in the shop, and when i bought it they got another out to replace it - which was setup very well too. the finish is really why i got it. i like the classic tele look, although this has a white pickguard (i might get a black one). the intonation was fairly good, although i did adjust it when i got it home.

not sure about this. i think the finish on my maple board will wear off with time. it was a matt varnish, which i dont really like the feel of, but its becoming slightly shiny (the neck is) and where i play most, the fretboard is too.

i have always wanted a telecaster, and this is cool to have as a prelude to getting a finer example. which i think i will do, although i would probably go for a MIJ as opposed to usa one because i think they are better. i would never sell this (actually i could never sell any of my guitars). its a good guitar for beginners, and if you want to own another guitar that has the tele sound but without the price. i have to say, i have really been looking at teles now that i own one (sort of..) and the only difference between this squier and the mexican fender is the name. perhaps.....hmm. obviously pickups etc. but i think that squier are really giving the parent company a run for their money.

Typical tele- you should know them by now. The bridge is where I really think Fender skimped on this guitar. Come on guys, would it have killed you to run the strings through the body?!!?

Stock the guitar produced very warm clean sounds, and the dirty tones were what you would expect from singlecoil pickups. However, I wanted a thicker sound in the bridge that didn't hum through massive distortion. I replaced the stock bridge pickup with a Duncan HotRails Tele model. Much more to my liking. The stock neck sounds fine for what I do, but I may replace it with something that has a bit more output.

I play the guitar through a Rivera K-55 head and a Marshall 1936 2x12 cab. I can get a wide array of sounds.... so I'm happy.

Oh my.... the action sucked! But of $150, what did I expect....? THe finish chips off easily... so I helped it along, and now there's not much of the black paint that was previously there... I did not buy this guitar to look pretty, I bought it to play on. I had to make several setup changes to make this guitar fit my playing style, and truth be told- I'm still making changes with every string change. I would have expected a better job, even if it's a cheap guitar.

I don't see why this guitar shouldn't hold together just fine.

I own a 1974 Les Paul custom and have always wanted a Tele. I just didn't want to spend a lot of money incase I didn't like the way it played. THis has become my main gigging guitar. It sounds good and I'd rather something happen to a $150 guitar that my Les Paul.

Made in Mexico. Ceramic pickups. Maple neck with a satin finish. Top loading bridge.

I play Blues and Blues/rock. The guitar has the normal single coil noise and no extra noise. This guitar has suprisingly good sound for a cheap axe. All pickup positions sound good with a nice variety of tones that you should expect from each PUP selector setting. What I like most is that the bridge position doesn't sound too twangy. The high output PUP's overdrive my tube amps quite easily! I may end up trying Texas Specials just for shits and grins tho'.

The guitar was set up nicely from the shop. It plays really well. It is finished in a beautiful Lake Placid Blue with a w/b/w pickgaurd. There was some glue or something between the 12th and 13th frets but it doesn't affect anything. The nut seems to be cut pretty well.

The finish should last a long time (I hope). Strap buttons seem sturdy (I may put strap locks on for insurance).

I saw this guitar hang in a shop for almost two years and that was the first time I went in that shop since the early '90s. I liked the color instantly but I had reservations about the top-loading bridge. I also didn't like the glue on the fretboard.
I have had this guitar for about three weeks now and the other night I took out my James Burton signature Tele and sat it next to the Squire.
The top-loading bridge doesn't affect the sustain enough to matter IMHO.
This guitar was a bargain and I'm glad that noone else was interested in it.

Year ? made in China
21 frets cream color rosewood fingerboard ,usual Tele electronics and harware,except top loading bridge
cheapo tuners
paid 70.00 canadian used

I play almost everything except classical and bebop and it suits my playing style fine.The pups are not microphonic and can produce good tones.Although I might drop in some higher output pups.I have only plugged it into my Pod and listened through headphones,and I can practically dial up any tone under the sun through that.I haven't yet ran it through my live set-up,which is a Rivera R55 with various Boss pedals.I trust it would sound half decent,since those amps are killers.

The guitar was set up terribly ,but I bought it used.Maybe the other guy likes his strings 8 miles off the fret board.When I got it home, I adjusted the neck which had a nasty concave in it and adjusted the saddles and intonated it. Boom! now it plays nice.Lightning fast neck.It came with a good set of 11's on it and plays well with this guage string.Will try it with 10's. The neck surprisingly was nice with no sharp fret ends.No flaws really.Finish is perfect.

I would bring a backup to a gig,because you can't really trust those cheapo electronis,but they are doing just fine as of now.I can see myself playing this all night,as long as she stays in tune.
This is a solid axe with a tight neck joint.I like the lightness of it too.

Fender is touch and go,although I usually do my own repairs.No need for support.

Have been playing for 23 years,and have done many ,many gigs.This guitar is fun to play and I like the fact I paid the price of a used pedal for it.There's something really satisfying about finding a great bargain guitar.I like to brag about it.I would reccommend this guitar to anyone regardless of experience,just make sure you find the right one.I guess I got lucky.

This one was made in China. 21 frets, 3 way pickup selector, volume/tone controls, black body, maple neck & rosewood fretboard. The tuners stamped metal w/plastic bushings. This came with a Squier 15watt practice amp, a KORG tuner and a good quality gig bag :) Also a shitty 3 metre cable..

I play mainly Punk and Ska music...this was my first guitar, and for these styles it fitted pretty well. The guitar plays ska very well indeed, with a bright tone on the bridge PU. Unfortunately, it doesn't cope with punk rock very well, simply because the pickups (although great for the money), are frankly poor.

Because I like punk rock, i don't experiment with sounds - but my friend is a blues fan, and he can get some very convincing blues sounds out of it...in other words, he has talent, and i have none!

The pickups are terrible when the guitar is played at a high volume on the amp - the only remedy is to back off the guitar volume, and this makes it sound even weaker. The pickups are very noisy. I play through a 100watt Peavey Bandit, and the guitar does not do it justice.

I hate playing this guitar when in a live situation.

I've gotta say, this guitar has one of the nicest necks ever! It invites you to play! The action was set very low, and there was no trace of any buzzing. This guitar really is made incredibly well, the only flaw being the bulky nasty plastic cap on the pickup selector. Yuck. It is finished in black, and personally I think it is a stunning guitar for the cash paid for it.

The guitar does withstand live playing, although nowadays it's my backup guitar. It is 4 years old, and the frets are getting very worn, although admittedly i do play it very agressively, and I have also been told this! The finish will last, the strap buttons are of good quality, it is very reliable and I have never had a problem which wasn't my fault.

The company sent me a spare scratchplate free of charge as the original did not fit comfortably for some reason.

I just wish the pickups were of better quality.

1999 made in china.40 mm Solid wood body(alder).Maple neck with 22 fret rosewood
fretboard.I got it in blue.String through bridge(not body).Two ceramic tele pickups.
3 way switch,vol and tone controls.Covered chrome tuners.It came with the adjustment
tools,and a box.It's a standard telecaster,Has all the features,simple and effective.

The stock pickups(ceramic)sound O.K.they would be great for a beginner,They sound "like"
a tele but are pretty bright and brittle sounding.I had a alinco set I took out of
my standard when I upgraded it to texas specials.I swaped them in and fully sheilded it.It really helped "warm"the sound
up.I run the guitar direct into my fender blues deville and I can get good country twang to
nice blues/jazz tones.Thats what I play mostly anyway.

I got the guitar as a dealer second because it had some flaws.The factory setup
was real bad.I had to compleatly set it up to make it playable.The finish has a mark
in it(it don't bother me)And the switch don't work properly(I was going to replaced it
anyway).There was also some box wear.I got it a great discount price for these imperfections
so i'm not complaining.These guitars are inconsistant but are generaly good.They are
aimed at students or low buget musicians.You can't get a thousand dollar guitar fit/finish on a under two
hundred dollor guitar,but they are decent.The neck is amazing,it plays so easy.A great bargin

I'm sure the guitar would withstand live playing.It feels as solid as most other guitars
I've played.The finish durability/tuners would be my only concern for using it as a road
axe.The strap buttons are O.K for a greenhorn but If your a giging musican you use straplocks on ALL your
guitars.It's a solid guitar.It would definatly be dependable.

I Never dealt with them but they were helpful when my brother had trouble.

I have played for 7 years.I got this guitar to practice and travel with(I have a classic
pignose amp)Plus it was a great deal.I don't have much scratch in it so lost or stolen ain't a problem.
The only real shortcomings on these guitars are the tuners,electronics and the
pickups(they're O.K).It's a pretty solid,great playing guitar.It's also a great value.I love tele's,
I have a Fender 52 Ri,a standard tele(with a strat middle pickup)and a Gretsch.I can use this one at
the beach or let somebody use it with no worry.I put in my standard tele pickups and a 4 way switch and I
have a great bang for the buck axe under $100.00.

2000 model, made in china. 21 Frets, Solid top/body. Standard Tele controls/pickups. Maple body/neck with rosewood fretboard. Tele-style bridge, topside string mount. NO accessories came with it.

I play mainly hard blues and rock... Well, trying to get back into it anyway... With a basic practice amp it sounds pretty good - bright but not perfect. I am still toying with the electronics, hoping to find the right sound.

This area rates low. I now understand this this is the beginner series for Squire, but when I got it home to a more "quiet" invironment, I the action was way low. I could not fret the first fret without an irritating buzz, and still had problems on the second fret. For a low end axe, it seems to be quality wood, but the frets need to be sanded a bit cause they stick out a tad. The plastic nut makes a funny click when I bend the G, but I plan on replacing it with a bone nut.

The hardware and stuff seem pretty well built, but I plan on replaxing it all with more traditional Tele bridge and replacing the p/u's with some Texas Specials. I would depend on it for light gigging, but will mostly use it to practice and learn and practice more (and maybe play some gigs at the park some I can get some cash for a US Tele Deluxe

I have not dealt with Fender... but the place I purchased it was not helpful at first, but after a well offered letter to the mananger of the "planet" I bought it from, he has offered to take care of some complaints on my next trip to Dallas.

Unfortunatly, Fender does not offer a warranty on this series... but I plan on building a newer guitar on it anyway.

I have been playing on an off for 15 years. I own mostly older and well used amps and am in the process of starting over. This is a good starter ax, but knowing what I know now, I would have spent a little more and at least gotten a Mexican Tele.

2001 Squire affinity tele made in china. Standard Tele features: 2pu, 1 vol, 1 tone, 3way selector. Nice artic white finish with with pickguard. String throught the bridge,NOT through the body. NO accessories (except for two hex wrenches). Just what you expect from a tele.

For the $ this guitar is fantastic. Bridge PU had a very nice bite, you will have to roll off the treble, I was taken back on how smooth the clean sound was. Neck PU very clean and twangy. The only fault I have is that the neck PU needed a little more punch/output. The sound when using both PU is extremely clean, smooth, and silky. Distortion is a different story, all PU combinations came out muddy, no matter how much I played with the amp EQ. This guitar is best for the traditional Fender clean sound.

This is where I had a major problem. The maple neck (and fingerboard) was totally unplayable! The fret wire was sticking past the fingerboard for all frets on both sides. I actually cut the inside of my thumb as I was sliding down the neck. This is unacceptable and very sloppy. The frets were not properly rounded off when layed on the neck. Everything else was very nice, but this is the reason I am giving this rating a 1.

The guitar seems solid. The hardware feels questionable especially the PU selector switch. But what do you expect for $150.

No experience with Fender support

When I first took the guitar out of the box, and played a few notes I was totally shocked at what I got for $150. At that time it far exceeded my expectations. But as I played with it more, the fret problem pissed me off. It ruined an absolutely beautiful guitar. I have bought guitars for $200 that had far superior necks (silk finish and bound edges. Because of this I can only give this a 5. What good is a guitar if you can't play it..

Mine is a 1998 model made in Japan. This guitar is set up with 21 frets and a black finish that was originally complemented by a white pickguard, but I found it a little plain (as I do most fenders) and picked up a black pearlized one which looks pretty unique with the finish. Like, a regular tele, it has a volume and tone control with a three-way selector switch. It's got two stock single coil pickups, rosewood fretboard, maple neck, and alder body. Tuners are stock and so is the normal tele-style bridge.

This guitar is an exellent buy for the money. I'm playing through a little peavy rage 152 amp with my DOD GS30 for effects. It's not quite the best for my style of playing though. I like to do a lot of quick runs, harmonics and big bends (steve vai, joe satriani eddie van halen kind of stuff). I know, so why did I buy a tele right? Well, the truth is I just couldn't pass it up for the money (that and i was a little less capable at the time I purchased this.) The guitar gets good clean sound with of warm, rich tones from the neck pickup and an articulate twang from the bridge. The neck pickup seems to be a little weak, but it's not bad. The guitar is a little noisy but this is somewhat expected from two single coils. It seems a little limited in it's vesatility. It's not much for really crunching, and with the stock pickups it doesn't really cut like i would like it to. It sounds a little weak and somewhat lacking in clarity with distortion, but I am very pleased with it's clean sound which is very precise and full.

The guitar's action was pretty high, for me when I first bought it, but more manageable after I made adjustments. Even still though, I just can't seem to get the feel I want. I have also raised the pickups a little to try and get a little more bite. Other than that it was perfect right from the shop. A few things about it.... First, the neck plays a little slow. It's a little to thick for doing a lot of quick movements. Also, I personally like maple fret boards. The rosewood just seems to soft. (Of course I haven't been the gentlest with it.) But overall, I would say It's a pretty good set-up.

This guitar has been very reliable for me. I don't gig with it. But it's taken a beating and it's still ticking for me thus far. One thing...the finish is pretty weak. It's fairly easily chipped, but if you take good care of it there shouldn't be problems. The strap buttons have been solid, the tuners aren't the greateset as I get a fair amount of slipping, but it's not a big problem.

I've never had to deal with any customer support thus far, but I've heard good things about fender's people.

I've been playing for about 5 years now, and this guitar is very well suited for beginning players, but I find that it's getting to be a little insufficient for my playing style and preferences now. I would say if your looking to play heavier stuff or something with a lot of distorition, this guitar just isn't going to be able to really scream for you, although I'm a really big fan of it's clean sound. Basically this guitar just wasn't for me and I was asking a lot of it by trying to play my kind of music with it, but if your loooking for a guitar that's got solid tone, aren't planning on anything too aggressive, and don't want to go broke, this guitar is for you.

2000, Baltic Blue, 21 Frets, Basic telecaster. Nothing special

The sound on it was pretty good for the price but it wasn't bad. I upgraded the pickups to lace sensors and they sound great. It has a nice twangy clean sound clean, and a pretty good sound while distorted through my Boss Metal Zone.

After some changes the action is pretty good. I bought the guitar because I wanted a blue tele and I could only find it on the Squire. The finish isn't bad but it chips real easy, not that I'm that gentle with my guitars. I also hated the neck on it and threw on some cheap neck from ebay. I'm still not crazy about that neck either because it is too fat but it is made a lot better than the stock neck. I also threw Gotoh tuners on it and it stays in tune great. The bridge isn't that bad for a cheap bridge but I also had it professionally set up.

The original neck seems pretty cheap and it did not stay in tune for long with the original tuners. But after the changes I would have no problems gigging with it.

Don't know yet.

Unfortunatly I only bought it because of the color but after the changes I love the guitar. It is still noisy but it wouldn't be a fender if it wasn't. But even unmodified it is still great for the money.

twenty one frets, two single coil pickups, three way switching. Made in China with a laminated top and decent tuners. volume and tone control

Sound excellent for the rock/alternative that I play. I use it with a fender frontman 25r. the bridge pickup has that great tele-twangy sound, and sounds really bright with distortion. the neck pickup has an almont creamy crunch sound to it. put them togther and sounds like the one it was just on. the tone is either on or off, no in between. you get this wierd buzz on high gain/volume, unless you touch a metal part, which i think grounds the electrical current and it wont buzz.

the action on the fingerboard is awesome. you can go up and down all day without you're fingers sticking. the pickups were set up fine. one thing I really dont like is the bridge. to replace a string, you have to like bend the string to get it through the two respective holes on the bridge. thats a pain is the @$$. the pegs are decent, and hold fine. the black finish kicks tail.

Never played at an actual gig, i just jam with my friends. the finish, hardware, strapbuttons, etc. are all fine. i probably won't have this guitar for a really long time, but it's pretty good. one thing is the pickups. every now and then, one will stop working for a few seconds. it comes back on after a second or three, but it freaks me out.

don't know about the warrenty, never had to deal with the fender people.

just started playing, but i'm quickly learning that it really doesnt matter what brand it is, but the sound. some of my friends are like "Squiers suck", and i'm like "screw you" because it plays better than some gibsons i've looked at. for a guitar of only 140 bucks, it kicks ass. highly recommended for a beginner player.

Made in China (1999). 21 frets, volume + tone control with 3 way selector. 2 pickups, one at the neck and a slanted one at the bridge. Alder body with a maple fretboard. Body is artic white with a white pickguard, Very cool!!!
Simple and sleek, just the way i like it.

This is great for clean tones and for heavy rock. I play mostly Radiohead tunes through my Marshall MG15RCD and they come out as if Jonny Greenwood was playin it himself. There is the usual Fender hum through the amp but once you start rolling off those riffs you'll never know it was there.

The action is superb, i can easily barre up to the 15th fret, but i dont play past there unless im soloing. Finish is great, no smudges flaws or dodgy pain jobs. The fretboard is a nice calm beige which lets your fingers flow through notes.

I doubt this guitar would stand up for live playing with me as i tend to really go mad on my axe. But i dont see as if it going to fall to pieces or anything, since i use it for practicing.

I think i got a 12 month warranty, but i doubt the guitar is gonna blow up, and im sure they'd be very good about it if i rang them.

This guitar is superb for the price. If you love playing rock or alternative but dont have the cash for the BIG teles, get one of these and you will not look back.

2000 Baltic Blue Telecaster presumably made in Japan. 21 frets. Regular Telecaster volume and tone control, 3-way selector, and Pickups. Alder body, with a maple fretboard and u-shaped neck.

I mainly play funk, pop, new-wave, and dance music. I love the way this Telecaster sounds with the Crate GFX-65. I have your basic Sqiuer amp, the ones that come with the Strat Pack. It sounds pretty good on my little Squier amp with the help of my Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal, can't put down my practice amp I can only do so much. I have a high level of respect for all my equipment. It sounds great unpluged! Of course I like the Telecasters for their twang, but it's up to the player to take that twang and go beyond. I have the diseases called Teletitis, I love every thing about telecasters. And I have my own concept of how they should sound.

Beautiful, because I picked it.

Though it said that Telecaster are pretty hard-bodied and rugged, I know that if it's man made it will break. I would'nt look for trouble even if this guitar is made out of adamantium.

N/A.

I've been playing the guitar for 4 years. This guitar was a must have in my small and upcoming arsenal. If I were stolen or lost I would'nt hesistate to purchase a new one. Excellent budget guitar. Prince's Telecaster was a budget guitar and see how he made it sound, see all the hits he made (Prince, Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, Purple Rain). Now that guitar is named after him as the Tour De Prinz. You can see what Prince's Telecaster guitar looks like on the Purple Rain movie or the his late seventies early eighties concert photos. See Ya!!!

Made in 2000, in China! 21 frets. Volume, tone, 3-way switch. Two pickups, usual Telecaster. I believe it has a maple neck, but I'm not sure. Pretty standard Telecaster, not a whole lot for features, but they are good enough.

I generally play rock, blues, country, whatever sounds good. I bought a Telecaster because I recently watched Crossroads for like the hundredth time and it influenced me to try a Tele. I'm using a Crate GXM30 or something like that for my amp, just a little one with a single 10" or 12" speaker. I'm also using a Supra Distortion pedal. The sound it amazing. I did try a few different guitars in the store (Mars), and the one I bought was definitely the best one. I love the way it sounds with the bridge pickup. The pickup on the neck doesn't sound that great with distortion on, but with a clean sound it does pretty good.

I like the action on this guitar. The neck is just about the right size for my hands, and I can play pretty quick when I need to. The bridge appeared to be okay, I'm not an expert on these things. The strings were all about the same height from the neck, which I thought was good. No flaws that I could see. The paint is smooth and looks good - no runs, low spots, scratches. The tuning pegs seem strong to me, despite what some people have been saying.

I think this guitar would do fine for live play. it would probably be better with different pickups, but what are you gonna do? I mostly play for me, and generally use headphones, so I'm not too worried about playing live. It would do better than my other guitar, so that's all that matters. I don't see anything on this guitar that wouldn't last. It seems much stronger in materials than the Squier Strat that I bought about 5 years ago.

N/A

I've been playing about 8 or 9 years, but hardly at all the last 4 years since I"ve been in school. I'm just trying to get back into it so I will have something to do when I am done with college. If this guitar were stolen, and I had the money, I would definitly buy it again--it's a great guitar.

This one was made in China. It has standard features - 21 frets, 3 way PU selector, volume/tone controls, black body, maple neck & fretboard. The tuners are the typical stamped metal w/plastic bushings.

This guitar is typical of your twangy Teles, but not quacky like a strat. It sounds amazingly good, given it's pricetag.

I cannot say that I have a consistant musical style, however, I really like the clean sound that this produces. It has a quiet little hum as you would expect from single coils. I haven't really tried to crank up the gain for a distorted sound, but there are other guitars for that. Lately I have just been using this as the one that I leave upstairs with my practice amp to pick something out when I feel inspired.

I have to say though, that I compared this one in the store to other Tele'e (Squires, Mexicans, American Standards...), and that is one of the big reasons why I brought it home. I could not find a substantial difference in the sound. Now, you need to remember that when you are in the store, you typically don't crank up the volume too loud, & I haven't had another Tele to compare it to since bringing it home. But I'm happy with it so far.

This guitar was set up as good as anything else that was already on the floor. The action is very light - you can play this for hours without ripping all of the skin off of your finger tips. The tuners are a little weak, but can he changed out later. The intonation was ever so slightly off, and easily corrected. I don't feel like messing with changing out the PU's. If I was that serious I would just buy a more expensive guitar. For my purposes, they are just fine. All in all, everything is very good.

If I were going to use this live, I believe that I would change the tuners. Aside from that, I think that it would do just fine. It would be especially nice to know that if you were somewhere, and a beer/soda happened to get spilled or someone accidentlly knocked it off the stand, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Never used them.

For $140 bucks, I cannot complain at all. I originally went to the store to replenish my supply of strings. My brother in-law went with me to check out some MIDI stuff for his computer. While I was waiting for him over on the other side of the store, I started messing around this tele that was under the "ON-SALE $139!" sign.
When he came back from buying his stuff, I told him to check this this thing out. Next thing I knew, we were thinking up stories of how to explain why I bought another guitar. Obviously, it is not the price tag that would be the problem, but between me, my kids, friends, and other relatives, there are a lot musical instruments already laying around the house.

I have been playing for about 25 years. I am not what you might call a serious musician, however, I love to play & collect as much stuff as I can fit into that end of the basement. The short list of what I have are a Gibson Les Paul, a Yamaha 604w strat copy, a Washburn strat copy, a Mexican strat, a Fender Gemini II accoustic, a Series 10 bass, a George Steck piano, two Yamaha Stage Custom drumsets (two daughter's - both on drums), a Crate GFX212, a Crate taxi, a Crate GX15, an old Fender Twin in need of repair, a Fender 100w Bassman head&cab, & a bunch of other bits and pieces. I'm a basically a junk collector.

If it were lost or stolen, it would take me a while to figure out whether I ever owned it in the first place or whether it was someone else's who left it there during a jam session. But I would probably be out somewhere when the mood struck me & buy another one. It's just my nature.

This guitar is highly recomended for the following people: 1) someone looking for a starter guitar for their 10-13 year old. 2) the experienced musician who wants that twangy strat/tele sound for just a few songs and doesn't want to spend $800 to get it. 3) Hack musicians like myself who are not offended by the word "Squier" on the headstock and would like another toy. 4) Guys who already have a Tele but would like to have something to use in it's place so that the expensive one doesn't get destroyed.

Features: My white Tele, w/ white pick-gaurd was made in 00. Bassically it's a Tele, w/ a top-load bridge, and slighly smaller knobs than my A.Standard, or my 50's Tele.

The guitar sounded pretty decent stock. But, as with most innexpensive guitars, the pick-ups were lacking, espescially the bridge p/u. I immediately replaced the bridge p/u with an American Standard p/u that I had taken out of my other guitar-- BIG improvement. More clarity, output, fuller sound, No feedback. I play this guitar through my Rivera Suprema 55, with a fair amount of gain. and w/ the better p/u, it sounds great. I am actually amazed how well it performs compared to my more expensive guitars. It has a nice low-end, and the tone control has a very useable range, although I back it off a bit, as I do on all my Teles.

I must say, I have been playing for over 25 years, have owned many different guitars, including many Telecasters, and this little cheapy guitar hangs with the best of them. No shit. It plays that well. After doing a quick intonation adjustment, standard 12th fret procedure, using my tuner, the guitar played flawlessly. No dead-spots, very little string-buzz, near perfect intonation, all over the neck, and most of all, good tonal quality. It amazes me how Fender (China) can produce such a useable instrument, for such a low price. I hate to sound like I am shooting down expensive guitars, because I own several,and I do not profess to say that a "hardwood" guitar is superior to my ash-bodied A. Standard, but you know what-----this guitar, despite whatever it's made of, sounds and plays great! If I would have played it before I bought my other guitar, yes, I might have bought this one instead, and saved @ $800! I am not one who cares what it says on the headstock. If the guitar rocks, it rocks,....period. This one does. I'm sure I got a good one, and I bet there are some that vary in fit and finish, but this one's a keeper.In some respects, and it pains me to write this, it sounds BETTER than my other Teles. It has better punch than my A. Standard or 50's Tele, both of which are premium ash-bodied guitars. This Squiers high E and B strings lack a little resonance when compare to thew other two, but the remaining strings sound better, have more bite, and have a more usable frequency range. It's a damned flukey guitar....really. I find myself reaching for it every day, and plan on using it at gigs.

Finish is flaweless. Hardware - well as I mentioned, I swapped out the bridge p/u, and I put on Vintage styled, round-top knobs, as well as vintage tuners. Now it is as solid, good-looking as any Tele I've seen. As far as the top-load bride, I don't mind it at all. I'm beggining to wonder if I might actually like that system/tone better than my through the body Teles. I would/will use it professionally. I always take a b/u guitar, but I would trust this as my main, anytime.

Fender has always been fairly good with their customer support.

Been playing for over 25 years. Bassically, I have learned through trial and error that a "cheap" guitar can perform very well, with a few up-grades. This guitar is a perfect example. Fender needs to be careful, because if they keep making guitars this cheap, that play/sound this good, more and more people will opt for them over the high dollar stuff, including us professionals! Don't get mne wrong, the American made stuff is wonderful, and ther is a such thing as "pride of ownership", and the good feeling you get when telling other players what cool gear you have-----but, as I get older, I get more utilitarian in gear choices. Does it hold up? If I dent/scratch it, will I cry? Does it sound good, night after night? If it got ripped off, could I easily replace it? And of course, does it look cool? This Squier answers all these questions with a resounding "yes."

- Made in Indonesia
- Black body/White pick guard
- s/s/s pickups
- Tremelo bar
- 21 Fret

- Strings vibrate off the 1st fret slightly, even after raising the bridge, and that is with the stock .09's.
- Sound is bright, which I play primarily through my computer's SoundBlaster Live! card with some of the environmental effects.
- Pickups hum a bit when played through an amp, but not noticable when played through the PC (Fender has a mod listed on their web site).
- Cannot play the fretboard as fast as I can on my friends BC Rich (and my finger reach seems to be off by one fret on this strat than on the BC Rich)

- Finish was perfect
- Pickups seems to be adjusted OK
- Guitar was pre-tuned for drop-D tuning. When in this tuning, the strings vibrate on the frets really bad when played open and hard
- Cable input guard is loose and cannot be tightend

- Seems to be very rugged.
- Heavy tremelo playing will make it out of tune very quickly
- This is my first guitar, and it seems like it will withstand anything I can do to it

- Warranty - 1 year limited
- Since I just purchased it, I have not had to use the warranty

I just started playing a few weeks ago, and have been playing on my friends BC Rich Bich until I bought my own guitar (what a HUGE difference). Since I did not want to spend over $150 to start out with, I looked over all the user reviews on Harmoney Central and decided this guitar was the lesser of the evils, for each guitar in this range had some problems. I was most interested in this model because it had the tremelo bar and the front input instead of the bottom input. I wish it had a humbucker pickup to complement the single coils though.
I give it a 10 rating, for so far it seems to be perfect for a beginner.

Made in China
Blonde body, white pick-guard
Medium weight body, type of wood?
Two single-coil pick-ups
Nothing fancy, no special features

Amazing!! I was just fooling around in the guitar store, trying out guitars, and for a lark i decided to pick up this $149 Chinese Squier...hey! this neck plays pretty nicely!! man, i just might have to plug this one into an amp....
so i plug it in, and whaddayaknow? it sounds great!!so great that my friend mike comes over and says,"what guitar is that? it sounds awesome!"
we couldn't believe our ears, so we started pulling $1000 and $1200 Strats and Teles off the walls and comparing them side by side with this cheapo Tele...and i shit you not, this Squier Tele sounded as good as or better than every single one of those deluxe models....

we were appropriately shocked...the sound is full and warm, chime-like...the bridge pick-up is bright and plucky without being harsh...most of the Fender Teles we tried were actually painful when using the bridge pick-up...not so with this guitar...

the neck pick-up was full and lush, not muddy....and the middle position was a nice mix of the two...

i bought this as a back-up for my Strat, but after comparing the two at home through my amp, I've decided to make this my main axe...

the neck is what first grabbed me....smooth and easy to play...the action was nice and low....the factory set-up was surprisingly good for such a cheapo guitar....intonation was just about spot on...

The maple neck and rosewood fingerboard are solid, straight, and made for playing...

This thing is rock solid...it feels like truck could run over it and all you'd have to do is put on a new set of strings....

i'm not very concerned with cosmetics, and this thing is stripped dowm, but it remains a handsome guitar....stylish and cool like all classic Fenders....

the hardware may not be top-notch, but that's minor stuff which can be replaced down the road....what's crucial is that a guitar have "soul", that it wants to sing, and this one does...

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and you can imagine I've played a lot of different guitars in that time....Now, I wouldn't say this is the best guitar I've ever had my hands on (that honor goes to a late 1950's Les Paul Gold-top), but considering the price, this just might be the best I've ever played in terms of value per dollar....

great sound and great playability for $149!!! and cool, classic looks!! There's almost no contest....

I think it is a 2000 or 1999 model. It is made in japan it has 21 frets volume and tone controls and a 3 way pickup switch.It comes with two single coils and is black tele-style cheap tuners and comes with nothing.

It pretty much plays every thing when i use it on my vox ac-30 top boost its a tad noisy on the 1 and 3 pickup positions. It gives a chunky kinda bright sound on the bridge pickup and a very warm tone with the neck pickup.

After fixing the rattle on a couple of strings it sounded okay but the black finish gets easily scratched.

The finish is fairly easily to peal it probably wouldnt withstand playing live i would use my 52' tele live.

Fender is my #1 company so they were pretty helpful.

I have been playing for six years and find it pretty acceptible for practicing.

This is a Fender procuct made in China, in 1999. It is equipped with 21 frets, and fairly cheap tuners. It has a hardwood body, maple neck, with rosewood fingerboard. Came with a top load Fender bridge and stop that is thinner than the Mexican models. It has six saddles on the bridge instead of three like some. The neck is a little thicker than the American Telecaster that I have owned. There were no accessories with this little guitar, but did get a free pair of 10-49 size strings. Two cheap single coil pickups that look exactly like the american made ones. The pick ups are cheap but will certainly get by for practicing and that is about the only use I have for this guitar, but it serves that purpose very well.

The squier is played through a Crate GFX65 most of the time as it was bought for the weight. It has the normal Fender sound. I would put it against an american tele up to a high gain sound. I play mosty country western, country Gospel, bluegrass, and blues. I use a blues driver at times with a Chorus between it and either the Crate, the Fender Ultimate Chorus, or the 71 twin reverb by Fender. It does very well with all the amps but is better with the Fenders.

As everyone knows these come in a little triangular box with an outer box marked Fender. It came out of the box looking very good and very well set up. The only problem was the guitar plug as it was not connected to the guitar. Fender has put a little square of hard fiber with four screws that holds the plug with washer and nut. I think I like that because I have had and have heard many people say that they have had problems keeping the little nut tight on their strats mostly and some teles. With this little square there is easy access to the plug and the wires to it that have been known to come loose from the solder. I bought this guitar mainly because I have a blue Gretsch 6120 and decided I liked the blue and it is the only Fender that I could find in blue. I do think we will see an influx of colored guitars in the near future. Ones that once came only flamed or sunburst tobacco style. The fret wires could have been much smoother on the edges but with a few hours of playing I don't notice it any more.

I would not use this guitar live unless it was just jamming or playing in a situation where it didn't make much difference. I don't care about showing off, but I am not sure enough of the guitar to try it as a loner. It seems to have a very good finish on it. In fact I have seen worse in the higher end Fenders. Think this guitar will certainly last the $129.95 that I paid for it.

Don't know much abut Fender customer service as I have always been able to work thigs out with the dealer as I get to be known with them. All I have read about Fender service from the factory reps is not too good. I would say it is about the same as I read about Gretsch Enterprises. If people run out and buy their products without even being enticed then i guess they feel they make a very good product and don't have to answer to anyone. It is certainly not right but as long as Joe buys, who cares as long as the dealer can solve it.

I have been playing and singing for as long as most of you readers are old. It went by fast, in fact too fast. I have owned 30 or more guitars, not because I am looking for something to make me sound better but have bought many for the uniqueness of the guitar. I have owned and played many very high priced guitars. Gibson, Fender, and Gretsch are not as good as they were. You are paying very high dollar for guitars that are very good but made with the cheapest electronics and hardware with which they can get by. This body on the Squier Affinity and other Fenders on the lower end are put on many guitars, the name goes on the neck. I do own the Gretsch 6120 which is fairly expensive, an arch top made in Japan and an accoustic electric. Sold all the other guitars as I can only play one at a time and I am getting over 50 and don't need that many. I mentioned the price of the Gretsch on purpose. I keep it in my music room. I have found that since I have bought the affinity, the Gretsch stays in the case and I am constantly practicing on the Fender because I actually enjoy it very much. I am not blowing smoke, but for $130, this is one good playing little guitar. Fender may have shot themselves in the foot for making a guitar so cheap. It is cheap enough that you can add pick ups to suit, put on a new nut, and tuners, still have a good guitar that didn't cost a fortune. The only problems some snobs will have is the name on the head stock. The three way swithch looks kind of chinchy but doesn't make any noise and I get the sounds I want out of this guitar. If this guitar were stolen I would just go buy another. If the Gretsch were stolen I would have to deal with the insurance co. etc. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this little axe. I read considerably on the internet, and read several comments on the Harmony Central page about this little guitar. Thought I would see if it would come even close to what I read. It did what one would expect for so cheap a guitar and much more. I will add that I put in a submission on the Gretsch that I own, only gave it a 9 for any category. It retails for $2500.00. This retails for $199.95 and bought on sale for $129.95. You take your pick.

1999, made in China, already described in details by other submission. Blonde or cream in colour. Finish is very well done and the whole guitar looks like a tele.

This is a tele like sounding instrument. The bridge pu is a little thinner than a regular tele (I owned several through the years) but one can get really close to the real thing. I found out that by rolling off lightly the treble control and sligthly turning down the volume, I can get rid off the thinny sound. It really gets tele like. The neck pu is another matter. It is not as close to the real thing. This should be changed. I use this guitar with a Vox Pathfinder and a Fender Bronco. Sounds good through these amps. I have a few other guitars (Rick 360 and 620, Epi 400 custom) and this cheap thing sounds very good as a practice instrument. I leave it on the stand by my practice amps and don't have to worry about a thing. This cost only 200$can. On stage usage? Probably too noisy with the current pu's. It stays well in tune with the current tuners but I would not trust these on a live performance. With good pu's and tuners, would be a great back-up for stage use.

This is the most astounding part! Out of the box, it was better set-up than both of my Ricks when I bought them! Intonation and action are excellent. Feels as good as my 620 once this rick was professionnaly set! A pleasure to play. Boy I wish I had a guitar like that when I started to play electric in 68!My first Tele cost me $400 in 1971. If this is proportional to the current prices, this thing should have had a price of $50 back then...

See previous comments.

Been playing since 1966. I would certainely buy another. Great playing guitar for very cheap price. They should make versions in blonde and sunburst already fitted with a really good brige tele pu and charge a little extra like they do for special issues. I'm certain it would sell. I did not buy the regular squire because I like this neck with the rosewood fingerboard better. It was only $90 more for the regular but I preferred this one and later on I will change the pu's. I am very satisfied with the bridge: very solid and looks like a strat bridge. At first, I thought I would replace with a regular through the body one but it is not necessary. I am giving it a 9 for what it is.

Blonde finish , solid wood , looks like ash , rosewood fretboard , nice fat maple neck , 21 frets , almost crappy tuners , bridge seems o.k. and has through-body-stringing ! , CRAPPY pu's ! , standard post '67 Tele-electronics
Bought with mega-crappy Squire Sidekick-amp , use it a chair for my cats

Unplugged : very O.K. ! ( good platform for better pu's ) Plugged : like Neil Young ; Talking through pu's ! has no body , very bright and very microphonic Nice gadget , but I'm looking for a SD strat-neck- and broadcaster-lead-pu !
rating is for platform-concept !!!!!!

10-52 Strings , no string-retainer for G+Dstring
I tweaked it a little bit after buying it
very good for this price

With better pu's this guitar will be used as much as my Am.Std.Strat . I think I change the tuners too . I sometimes use a affinity - reliced - sunburst strat for busking .

Buy the blonde one and change the pickup's and tuners AND you've a ASS-KICKING-TELEcaster !

This is a 1999 Fender Affinity Series telecasters. It comes in in a small triangular shaped box, and includes adjustment tools, and nothing else. I own two other "pricier" telecasters, and although it's not built as good, it does the job. The price for one of these is reasonably great. The neck on these is pretty thick, which I don't like, but everything else is awesome. This model comes in four different basic colors, and I bought it because it's not easy to find a blue telecaster of any kind.

I use the guitar with the clean and overdrive channels on my Crate Blue Voodoo amp. There is a slight buzz produced when you're not touching any of the metal parts, but this is typical of Fenders. I own an American Standard telecaster but play this one much more because I think it sounds just as good and I don't have to worry about mishaps with this one.

Straight out of the box this guitar is ready to enjoy. The action seemed to be set properly, and despite everyone else's complaints about the finish, mine seemed ok. The machineheads are really cheap covered ones, but the guitar stays in tune pretty good so you might not bother even replacing them.

Very dependable. You can hold this guitar and just know it's solid.

I think it came with a 1 year warranty. I'm not guessing it's gonna crap out soon on me or anything, but if it would I'd just take it to a friend and have him fix it.

I'd prefer this guitar at this price over any other tele knock-offs. It's a well-built, well-sounding, and well-priced guitar. You can get better advice about the pickups and modifiying from the other submitions. I don't think you'll be disappoined here.

Webster's defines "affinity" as: "a natural liking". This Chinese- made Tele features 21 frets,maple neck,rosewood fretboard,single-ply pickguard,and a solid body(possibly Alder). Controls: 3-way switch, one volume and one tone using chrome-dome type knobs. Pickups: single-coils at the neck and a slanted one at the bridge. The controls are passive. My guitar's body is finished in solid red paint and the neck has a "light" satin clear-coat. The frets are medium-sized and the radius is relatively flat. Tuners are the enclosed type. Guitar came with allen wrenches for truss-rod and bridge adjustments. The neck is "U" shaped. The bridge saddles are similar to a strat's and the strings DO NOT pass through the body like other telecasters. However, pilot holes were drilled into the body(under the bridge)thus lending itself to a future upgrade. The controls mount to a chrome plate. There is a single string-tree on the "E" and "B". Purchased new in January 1999.

Has the Fender Tele "twang" and brightness. Played through a Peavey Supreme head and 4x12 cabinet with some gain caused lots of howling and feedback. This was fixed with an upgrade to Duncan hot-stack bridge and vintage neck pickups. Sounds good clean and dirty. Great for blues, country, rock(my favorite). Not recommended for heavy- metal. Nice with finger picking styles. The tone control has a very narrow "range-of-effect" and could stand to be upgraded for those players who really do use it.

Factory set up was done well. Fret, body, and neck finish was impressive on such an economical instrument. However, examine a few different guitars since I noticed some are fair while others seem quite good (this is called variability, my friends)! I purchased this guitar knowing it needed some upgrades. For the price, the instrument had a good foundation on which to build upon. As noted above, I replaced its pickups due to feedback problems. I also changed the tuners to grover minis due to tuning instability and control. Another string tree was added onto the "D" and "G" to increase string angle on the nut. A better quality switch was installed. These upgrades have made this guitar a good instrument and at a fair price. After the upgrades I give it an eight.

I've used it live and the guitar holds up well. This is a serious chunck of wood at 45 mm thick! Although still relatively new, the finish should hold-up well. But who cares at this price! The strap buttons are solid and designed well. I would use it live without a backup guitar. I believe the neck to be made from a lower grade of maple. Not "hard maple", but perhaps the cheaper "white maple". I've had to make a few truss-rod adjustments to correct for excessive relief. But, do not fret(pun intended), the truss-rod seems to work well.

I've never had to deal with Fender directly, so I consider this to be favorable. But, I honestly feel that if there ever became a problem, Fender (or their dealer) would make the situation right. After all folks, Fender Musical Instruments is no fly-by-night operation! I can not remember if there was a written warranty on this instrument.

I've been playing guitar for the better(or worse) of 20 years. I currently own ten guitars. I honestly wish that guitars of this quality and price were availablie when I first started playing! I would recommend this axe to anyone looking to start playing or others looking for some Fender "twang" that's "easy" on the wallet. I've seen this guitar offered in mail order catalogs for $129.00 now. That's a deal! Now with all my upgrades it may have made more sense to purchase a higher-end model, it was fun to improve this guitar as finances permitted.

very plain , 4 solid colors , basic tele pickups and controls , rosewood fingerboard, maple neck. slightly thinner body, not sure what kind of wood. Strings dont go through body like old teles ,but though rear of bridge. A bit difficult to get strings up though saddles.

Sounds nice , neck pickup sounds creamy like it should , bridge pickup sounds stinging like it should. not sure if pickups are alnico or ceramic but i cant tell.

guitar was set up very nicely w/ very light strings. I put on 010s soon after. Great paint job, beautiful neck and fingerboard. No flaws at all . Im very impressed w/ this guitar for 129.00 . It feels like a much more expensive ax. not a chunky feeling neck/fingerboard , smallish more vintage type frets. but you can still bend strings ect. comfy 9.5 board radius. Made very well in china. no sloppy workmanship.

its a tele!

impossible , but why would you need it?

not great for metal ect. but if you want a cheap tele get one

1999 Model Affinity Series Tele, made in China. Standard tele set-up, nothing too surprising. You know what you're getting with one of these. Nice white finish, no blemishes, rosewood fretboard, white pick guard.

Been playing for a little over a year, and have a Epiphone Les Paul, but decided I wanted a lighter sound -- this one fit that perfectly. That classic tele sound is there, no complaints. Very bright sounding. Playing it through a Peavey amp, and sounds good, with or without distortion.

This guitar was ready to go right out of the box. The action was perfect, though the strings were a little light. Once I replaced them with heavier strings, I wouldn't change anything. No flaws that I can see (and I looked pretty carefully).

This guitar could withstand a nuclear blast. It's heavy, solid, and, if I dropped it, I think it would break whatever it landed on before it got damaged. I would definitely use it without a back-up.

Haven't talked with the folks at Fender.

I've been playing for a little more than a year, so this is a great guitar for me -- not too expensive, and, to my ears at least, equal to or superior in sound to the Mexican Tele's. I also have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, and a Yamaha Aucoustic/Electric. I've only had the tele for a couple months, but I'm starting to use it more and more, and find myself leaving the Epiphone behind.

made in china spent alot of time picking this guitar to back a strat, jackson the other teles a guitar centar the tone nobs were lose , so i would take youre time a dont just pick any model play it turn all the knobs the tuners and find the best one they arnt all the same if you want a good one take you time or drive back and forth three times with differnt guitars

great sound

look at all the models i picked this model because it feels like the fender model and sounds the same.

solid as a rock

look before you buy the strat of the same make had bad tuners

compared to epiphone explorer , fender strat,jackson js-1,epiphone les paul, they all faltered all of these guitars had volume or tone knobs that turned past were they were spousted to stop all three of the other teles had the same problem this one dont thanks to me i am very pickey

1998, Crafted in China, Features: one-piece maple neck, 25.5" scale, 9.5" rad fretboard, solid alder body, single-ply pckgrd, 21 frets, two SC pu's, volume, tone, chrome hrdwr. Finished in a very thick natural finish which looks better from a distance. Gets to look more like a sick colour close up but it was better than sky blue. Lovely neck, Rosewood board, tuners that are actually staying in tune really well (very suprising) Got a lovley moulded Fender case to go with it too.

Ok first the bad part. It hums like crazy. And then when you touch the strings it clicks and stops. So ive gotta keep at least my pick on the strings. This is my first Fender and ive heard about them humming but i reckon its just these shitty pickups. Ok now onto the sound. Compared to my Les Paul, my LP is much darker and fatter. I can get much more of a bite from my tele which was exactly what i was looking for. Excellent for all my clean on the neck pu especially. Bit too bright on all the other positions in the clean sounds. I was also very impressed with the tone knob. It really makes a difference rolling off some tone and muffling the sound. Much more versitile than im used to. Whacking in the overdrive you are greeted with an excellent lead tone on the bridge pickup. I can nail early Jimmy Page with it. If there wasnt that hum the pickups would get at least an 9 but i make it 7 cos of that. When i change the pu's im sure it will sound amazing so thats what i intend to do.

Action is great, quickly changed the factory strings and im happy with everything. No probs at all apart from the hum

Im sure this would be fine for live playing but the pickups need to be changed. Finish is very thick, bit too thick if you ask me. Wouldnt mind getting straplocks but im lazy :))))

i think ive got 1 year warranty nothing special, gibson do lifetime

i been playing a few years now and ive gone through tons of gear. My main squeeze is my LP but this comes clsoe in second. Definatley better for rhythm and also lead but my LP edges it cos of its fat tone. I love the look of the tele. I love Radiohead and Jonny Greenwood is one of my fave guitarists and he uses teles so ive always wanted one. Same because of Page. Im not too keen on the thick finish and the hum from the pickups but when i modify it it will be one sweet axe. Great value for money too.

Typical Fender Squier. Came in a trianglar cardboard box. Black body, white pickgaurd, very nice. Two single coil pickups, neck and bridge, neck pickup is an ashtray type (doesn't have six metal dots) 21 frets. One volume, one tone control; the way I like it, more that one tone control confuses me. The bridge is a proper one like you'd find on a strat on real tele, it is not like the type which you find on a Standard Squire Tele, which to me looks a bit dodgy. Came with two alen keys, one for the truss rod, one for bridge adjustments. Nice neck, could be a touch thinner.. A touch, tiny tiny little bit.

You can get as good a range of sounds on this tele as you would with a squier strat, even though it has one less pickup. The neck pickup is a bit disapointing (ok, more than a bit), the sound isn't quite as good as what you expect. The bridge pickup is OK for a heavy distortion sound (I use a Nobles ODR1) but you may have to fiddle with the tone controls as it sounds a thin. With both pickups selected it make more noise, good for feedback noises and pickscrapes. It can make the classic tele type twang. This guitar sounds best with a good quality amp. I had a cheap practice amp for a while and when I used it for gigs I noticed the difference is sound is substantial.

Out of the box the action was good, thanks to incredibly light strings. The length the strings were set to were not great. Harmonics were in the wrong places and around and above the tenth fret the notes were sharp. All strings were adjusted too short. The finish was disapointing. On the back there are lines in the paint work, as if the paint wasn't as thick in some areas. Incidiently, I've chipped the paint a couple of times (violent playing style) and there are a good few coats on it. There is a string tree for the High B and E strings but i wish they'd put one on the the G string. Also the low E machine head is way too close to the nut. The nut which is perfect apart from the fact it is wearing out at an alarming rate. Worryingly the 16th fret is not hammered into the next properly. On the B string it causes fret buzz because it juts out higher than the rest, to fix this problem requires destroying the low action I've set it to. The truss rod works, but it isn't that effective. It will take about a week of wrestling with it to find a setting that suits. I don't like the pickup switch, since it is a squier, it breaks the circuit with the last position before making contact with the next one, making annoying noise when changing settings

Unless you smash this guitar about it will not fallter. I have my doubts about the machine heads. They are the enclosed types and two of them (A, B) are very stiff (worrying)... One big solid lump of wood. Dead relieable. You won't need a back up. The neck pick up isn't as well attached as the bridge pickup. If you take the pickgaurd off you can rattle the neck pickup about a fair bit and the wiring is a bit exposed.

N/A didn't talk to them, don't want to. Strange people...

Despite it's faults, I love this guitar. It has servered me well over the time I've owned it (one year). For the money, I don't think you'll get a better guitar. It beats crap out of Elipiphone LesPauls I have played. But then again I hate Humbuckers. If it got stolen I'd buy another, but this time I think I'd get a bit more money together and but a TelePlus. Must get that bank robbing gear out of the garage.