Brand new affinities have crazy good necks on them
I have to preface this by saying I am a big fan of El Cheapo basses, incuding Squier stuff. I have played and owned many Squier guitars and basses and have been impressed with most I've played; happy with what I've owned.
Pretty much all of the VM and CV Squier series I have played have been close to perfect completely stock. I find the consistency and level of QC, particularly with the CV series, to be top notch. To be clear, I have not owned a Squier VM or CV but I have played many all over the country and haven't come across one yet that I wasn't impressed by.
I have also played some very nice Affinitys, as well as the "Squier Standard" series when they were still around.
Also, for the record, early on when Squier production first started I had some 1982-83 MIJ Squiers including a Telecaster and two different P basses, that were really amazing instruments. I contend that the early 80s MIJ Squiers were, generally, nicer instruments overall than what Fender USA was churning out during that same time period.
No I am NOT trying to start a
"Squiers are all just as good or better than USA Fenders or (insert brand name here)" argument.
A few months back I was bass shopping and I tried many Squiers in many different shops. I played a CV Classic 50s SC P bass that was very hard not to buy, as well as a Squier Cabronita for $179 (at the time) that was also hard to walk away from. They were both very nice, as were most of the other Squiers I played (I ended up buying an MIM P bass, incidentally, but not because I thought it "better" than the Squiers--I was just specifically looking for a regular ol' P bass with a rosewood fingerboard.)
While shopping, I played a couple of the new Squier Affinity models with the P/J configuration. I only played two examples, one CAR and one Oly White, both in the same shop, but it was where I could see a lack of consistency in QC.
The basses seemed fine overall--sounded decent, balanced well, nice and light but still seemed solidly made...a good platform for mods if one wanted to upgrade some hardware and electronics--but both had
The Worst Case of Sharp, Overhanging Fret Ends I have ever encountered in my life. I wish I had inspected the neck more thoroughly before I started playing, because it was literally like dragging your hand rough against a cheese grater. It was actually painful. This sounds hyperbolic, but I honestly thought I had carved up my hand enough to draw blood.
So in the big scheme of things, filing down frets is cheap and easy, and I'd re-state that over the decades by far the majority of Squier instruments I've played/owned have run the gamut from serviceable and decent to really extremely nice. But these two brand new Affinitys never should have left the factory, at least not without first addressing the fret end problems they both had.
Just to wrap up, this past weekend I was shopping for a bass amp and I tried a few at some nearby pawn shops. Just so happened that the basses I grabbed to try out the amps were all older affinity P basses the shops had laying around. One of them was perhaps the lightest P bass I ever picked up...neck needed adjustment and the pots were scratchy, but it played and sounded very sweet.
One of the other shops I found an amp I wanted to try out and way back in a dusty corner, nearly covered over by guitars and other gear, nearly invisible, was another Squier P bass...they only had three basses at this shop and I went to the trouble to grab the Affinity P because I primarily play Precisions.
Well, I fell in love. I plan on going back to that pawn shop this week and cut a deal to put both the amp AND this Squier Affinity P in layaway. I already have a new wiring harness w/ jack, chrome Fender knobs and an SD 1/4LB P pickup I was going to use for a different project, but that Affinity is calling to me.
Maybe I'm overly sentimental and sensitive, but seeing that cheap old blue P bass made me feel like I do when I see a small animal that needs help. I want to take it home and feed it. Make a few changes to it to make it a real player.
I have been at this a long time and I am well aware that a used pawn shop Squier Affinity, regardless of what mods/upgrades you do to it, will never be anything other than an upgraded Squier Affinity you found beat up in a pawn shop. I don't care about resale value--I care about what fun I can have with it after I give it a little help.
Nice jaguar bass btw
