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NBD: Squier Affinity J Bass

Diamond_Dave

Diamond_Dave

Apr 3, 2014
1,053
2,820
Roanoke, VA
#1
Brown sunburst. You've all seen one before. :) It arrived from Amazon (no local stores had one) this afternoon in great shape, except for the G string tuning peg which was bent. I manged to straighten it out with a hammer (it wasn't as violent an operation as it sounds).

So, this is my first bass. Not sure what to do with it, but I guess I'll figure it out. I'm pretty sure the long pointy end goes in my left hand, the round end in my right, and the stringy end facing away from my belt buckle!

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#6
metalhead398 said:
Sweet! I love mine, you plan on modding it?
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Well, first I plan to figure out how to make it make noise. After that...maybe.

Righteous Thunderer said:
Definitely a good place to start, congrats!

I'd recommend starting out by creating a profile on www.studybass.com (no affiliation at all, just a happy user). It's a great free website and seriously, the word "great" can't be overused regarding it.

Good luck on your endeavors!
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Thanks and I do actually plan to head to Study Bass. :)
 
#8
Congrats!
Diamond_Dave said:
So, this is my first bass. Not sure what to do with it, but I guess I'll figure it out.
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In looking at your photo, I’m reminded of my very first bass: a Cort P copy in sunburst. I, too, remember looking at it for a long time, admiring its coolness, but questioning what to do with it. Three decades and some twenty basses later, I still ask myself the same thing today. :p
 
#9
Haji said:
The noise part isn't that hard, its the music part that takes a little work. :D
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No doubt. :D But I've already learned the bass line to "Looking Out My Back Door," a song that my gig group is going to play next week.

garp said:
Congrats!
In looking at your photo, I’m reminded of my very first bass: a Cort P copy in sunburst. I, too, remember looking at it for a long time, admiring its coolness, but questioning what to do with it. Three decades and some twenty basses later, I still ask myself the same thing today. :p
Click to expand...

It's like anything else--the more you do it, the more questions you have and the more opportunities arise. This new sound is great. It's truly a different instrument than the guitar, which I've been playing a scant two years and some change.
 
#10
Nice score!

I had one just like it. It was my first, straight-up Jazz bass and one of the first I'd ever modded. I added an all-black pickguard and put on a set of DR Black Beauties. It looked great, sounded quite decent and was conveniently light since it was meant to be a "traveling bass". My only complaint was the tuners; they were the cheap closed-box ones and couldn't hold their tune all that well. If I still had it, I'm sure I would've swapped them out by now. On the up-side, it looks like Squier switched the Affinities to the open-gear tuners last year.

Just out of curiosity, Dave, what kind of tuners is it sporting?
 
#11
Malak the Mad said:
Nice score!

I had one just like it. It was my first, straight-up Jazz bass and one of the first I'd ever modded. I added an all-black pickguard and put on a set of DR Black Beauties. It looked great, sounded quite decent and was conveniently light since it was meant to be a "traveling bass". My only complaint was the tuners; they were the cheap closed-box ones and couldn't hold their tune all that well. If I still had it, I'm sure I would've swapped them out by now. On the up-side, it looks like Squier switched the Affinities to the open-gear tuners last year.

Just out of curiosity, Dave, what kind of tuners is it sporting?
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Hi, Malak--they"re open-backed but not especially smooth. They do the job I suppose!
 
#12
I just got one as well. I've played quite a few of the affinity's, guitar and bass. They're pretty hit or miss sometimes, which leads them to get a bad rap sometimes. I splurged and bought a new one just because i really liked the blue paint, which is odd for me as I never buy new gear, always used.

I recorded an ep on a 70s jazz bass and fell in love with it. went out and tried the affinity the next day. obviously it wasnt nearly as nice, but besides the affinity's neck being much, much more flat of a radius, it wasn't worlds apart.

One thing I've noticed on the one that i've bought, is that the electronics are a little better than older affinities. it has full size pots, although they are the incorrect 500k pots they put on a lot of the squiers, guitar or bass. BUT, the pretty paint I like on mine is extremely thin. I've already racked up quite a few small chips near the bottom strap button from setting it down against an amp. This doesn't bother me, but may bother some. I have never seen cheap urethane paint be that thin though, they usually coat it on thick. Maybe it's the blue being more expensive, or maybe it's squier cheaping out on paint overall.
Anyways, I hope you like yours as much as I've enjoyed mine! I joke with my friends that it's so cheap they couldn't afford the extra three letters in jazz.
 
#15
tadnuge said:
I splurged and bought a new one just because i really liked the blue paint, which is odd for me as I never buy new gear, always used.
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For $179 new shipped, I figured it was worth an extra $50 for the warranty. Do you have the "Lake Placid Blue"? That is beautiful. But I went for the vintage burst. It stand out less in a crowd. Still, that shade is sweet. Check out Dave Grohl's blue Gibby:

21_foofighters_lg.jpg


Playing this thing is incredibly fun and easy. Much shorter learning curve than the guitar. But I studied fingerstyle for several months on guitar so the whole notion of plucking notes comes pretty naturally. And I have a decent grasp of music theory so intervals and octaves and all that is already second nature.

So, yes, I'm already a bass master. :rolleyes: Not hardly, by any stretch of the imagination. But I have a good start. ;)
 
#16
tadnuge said:
I joke with my friends that it's so cheap they couldn't afford the extra three letters in jazz.
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Good one!!!

I have an Affinity "J" bass as well. Picked it up barely used with stickers still on it at GC for $99. It plays well and has been a good bass for me to practice doing setups and mods on.

I prefer my other basses honestly (MIM Precision and Rogue Viola) but the Squire is a good backup bass and I always wanted a Jazz Bass. I mean a J Bass . . . .

Congrats to the OP on your new bass. Enjoy.
 

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