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quality difference in Squier Necks

#21
Gorn said:
In my experience, Squier necks across the board can be great, but the likelihood of getting a dud is higher than with a Fender. You can get ten Affinities and seven of them will probably be great, whereas you can get ten Fenders and nine of them will probably be great.
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I've played a few Affinitys (Affinities?) and owned two. Most had halfway decent necks. A few were bad (mushy, unstable, wolfy). A few were quite good. Of the two I owned (both bought used), the neck of one was "meh" and the other was exceptional -- very nearly quarter-sawn, straight, stable, and strong. Acoustically, the instrument was solid. Fretwork was pretty decent, too. Pickups were neither very bad nor very good, but the bass played nicely off the bat.

I changed the electronics (pots, caps, wires, added some shielding), installed a Wilde P/J set, had the frets dressed, and put a set of GHS Precision Flats on it. Played great, sounded great. Ended up being a gift to a friend with more musicality than money and I considered myself well-repaid -- that little Squier ended up accompanying its new owner through music school and playing some gigs around Europe.

I don't know if there are different ranges within the Affinity line (this was a red P/J with a 20 fret neck and a white pickguard). And, to be fair, while I've played some Squiers with nice necks, this bass had far and away the best neck I've encountered on any Squier -- nicer than the neck on some American Fenders. Not as nice as the neck on my old Japanese Fender, but not terribly far off...

What was the question, again?
 
#23
UNICORN BASS said:
Yeah, it seems to me the best necks from Squier are more "happy accidents" than a choice.
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A stopped clock is right twice a day lol
Lots of variation in cheaper instruments. If you ask your local music store when new instruments come in and show up early that day you'll find nicer ones. The cheap instruments that are not so good hang around a long time, the happy accidents sell quickly. Try it, I've done it lol
 
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#25
I had a Squier through my shop recently - Don’t remember which model specifically, but it had painted on “blocks”. While that sounds cheezy, it also means the fretboard is solid wood with no inlays. That neck would have been perfect for a fretless conversion - pull the frets, sand the ‘blocks” off, and fill the slots - a nice, solid neck.
 
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#26
I used to be very critical of the Squier Affinity line, in particular their Stratocaster guitar models. I played several and thought each of them were inferior instruments. As a result of that experience I always avoided even trying any Affinity model, bass or guitar. I almost always buy my instruments used, and I have a number of great players, including Gibson Grabber and Ripper, Peavey T40, Fender Jazz and Precision, along with a couple of Yamahas. About two years ago I bought a new Squier VM from an online retailer. Played in my music room it sounds OK, not great but acceptable. This model generally gets high praise here and I based my purchase on those reviews. The closest Guitar Center is 50 miles away, and they may or may not have what you want in stock. So I violated my practice of buying only after playing the individual unit; big mistake in this case. The fit and finish on the VM is good, and I don't see any defects, but played live at a gig was a big disappointment. I just could not get the sound I want. Now others who heard it live said it sounded good, but I didn't think so.

Anyway, fast forward to a few months back. I had been reading positive reviews of the Affinity P basses and decided to start watching my local pawn shops so I could try one. I finally noticed one that had been there for a number of months. I overlooked it for probably the same reason others had. This thing was covered with stickers, which in general is a turn-off for me. Anyway, I tried it and was impressed. Got a good deal since it had been there for so long. At home the first task was to get rid of the stickers; by luck they all came off without damaging the finish. I have not played a date with it yet because of the lock-down, but will try it the first chance I get. I will probably take along one of my tried and true basses just in case, but I think it will hold its own in a live performance, and it's something I don't have to worry about. Its a 1999 made in Taiwan P bass (according to the serial number) and is not a P/J, just a P, which is what I wanted.

So for me I fall back to my basic feeling about guitars and basses; that is, regardless of the price, each instrument is an individual and sometimes you can happen upon a gem. This particular Squier has a great neck that is straight and well finished, the electronics work as they should, and seems to be a solid player. I also have several other budget basses that I feel fall into this category. Will my budget basses ever be worth more than I paid for them; no. But that's not the reason I bought them.

Thump on,

One_Dude
 
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#28
I've found squier necks, most of which are from indonesia, to be very stable and very reliable.

What I have found that I dislike about many of them is the thickness and lack of refined shape near the nut, on the back of the neck. Just a thick nasty neck at that point, not nice and thin with some sort of feel. At least on indonesian affinity strat guitars that is a common issue. It seems like just the specs for the indo squiers, I guess? cuz not all squiers are like this, and many non-squier indonesian guitars are very high end super comfy to play with great neck shapes. And I've owned cort basses that had very slim necks with great feel for the first position back of neck location.

So it's more about the shape than anything, imho.

fretwork is often bad on the affinity necks. Less cheap Squier necks have much better fretwork. fretwork isn't important if you are going for fretless, though.... even if you get fretted and rip them out (carefully now, remember to heat them up!)

cheers
 
#29
I have a Squier CV p bass and a VM telebass (w/ DIY fretless conversion), and just traded an affinity j bass (traded for the CV P). I’ve found them all to be fantastic. No twists or uneven boards. The affinity did have less of a roll to the fretboard edges, and courser final sanding so the scratch marks from the sand paper were more visible and tangible, I kinda liked the texture it added to the neck under my hand though. As far as truss rod, they seem about the same in that they all work just fine. The nuts might not be cut as well, or from as strong a plastic, on the Affinity, but if you’re going fretless you’ll want to replace or refile the nut anyway.
 
#30
dkelley said:
I've found squier necks, most of which are from indonesia, to be very stable and very reliable.

What I have found that I dislike about many of them is the thickness and lack of refined shape near the nut, on the back of the neck. Just a thick nasty neck at that point, not nice and thin with some sort of feel. At least on indonesian affinity strat guitars that is a common issue. It seems like just the specs for the indo squiers, I guess? cuz not all squiers are like this, and many non-squier indonesian guitars are very high end super comfy to play with great neck shapes. And I've owned cort basses that had very slim necks with great feel for the first position back of neck location.

So it's more about the shape than anything, imho.

fretwork is often bad on the affinity necks. Less cheap Squier necks have much better fretwork. fretwork isn't important if you are going for fretless, though.... even if you get fretted and rip them out (carefully now, remember to heat them up!)

cheers
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Cheap, soft wood needs extra thickness. You're lucky they put it there.
 
#31
eastcoasteddie said:
I have experience with Affinity Jazz V necks, I have had about 3-4 of these basses over the last 10 years. The truss rods Work fine and very little adjustment makes a difference.
I have found that the neck wood can be “soft”, or not very stiff. You can do neck bends quite easily with them. But they usually spring back to where they were. Sounds funny, but I’m not kidding.
The last one I bought used. When I got the bass, The D string was cut too short and was only wrapped around the tuning post one half turn and was riding at a pretty high Angle to the headstock. This over time actually caused a slight twist in the neck. I replaced the string and wound it properly, within 24 hours the neck was straight again.

I actually defetted that neck and it came out real smooth as played very well. I wound up selling the neck and heard no complaints about it for the last 4 years.
View attachment 3975862
I pulled the 11th and 12th frets with the fretboard dry. All the other frets I pulled with the board slightly wet (let water soak in for about 5 min before pulling), major difference in amount of “teeth” come off with the fret. Filled the slots with epoxy.

The VM Jazz V necks are much stiffer. I have two and they barely move. I need to tweak them maybe once in Spring and Fall, 1/4 turn will do it.
I keep one in my work truck 24/7/365 for the last 4 years, so it sees good amounts of hot and cold (Down to the teen’s in winter and 102° in summer with everything in between). It’s been great.
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What type of mulch is that? I've read that shredded cedar bark offers the best sustain.
 
#32
"Q" said:
Cheap, soft wood needs extra thickness. You're lucky they put it there.
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True, if that's the problem. I doubt it's soft at all. Hard maple is actually what they're made of. Where do you find soft maple? ;-)

I play guitar too - my main ibanez guitar (japanese with USA assembly/finishing, around 1990/1991) has had it's neck repair where it fell on stage and the neck broke off around the nut.

The same thing happened to my Alembic bass, same location. Guitar was one of Ibanez's highest end models. Bass was one of the most elite known to our universe.

Wood breaks, depending on the cut, and the fool who holds it in his hands (easy for me to say - guitar wasn't mine when it fell, bass was on a stand and got knocked over by a child).

I think it's simply very poor design of the indo affinity necks that results in the thick neck around the nut... and I think it's left that way intentionally so they don't feel/play as good as their pricier counterparts.

Just my own conclusions - as you were. :-)
 
#34
One_Dude said:
. This thing was covered with stickers, which in general is a turn-off for me. Anyway, I tried it and was impressed. Got a good deal since it had been there for so long. At home the first task was to get rid of the stickers; by luck they all came off without damaging the finish.
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I have to say, I sometimes look for these sticker covered basses because usually it means people are turned off from purchasing the bass so you can often renegotiate the price with the store, but the hidden perk is that most of the body is protected from scratches by those darn stickers. ;)

Back on topic, the Squier necks today are so much better although some newer ones have that Indian Laurel fretboard as opposed to Rosewood. Don't know if that makes a difference or if you have a preference. If you prefer rosewood, you might have to look at the used market rather than going with a new bass.
 
#35
Well I snagged a tuxedo affinity P off craigs for $50 it had been in a closet for about 15 years frets were dangerously sharp perhaps hot weather over the years but the fretsprout was so bad it was dangerous to play knocked em down (shouldnt be an issue for you as a de-fret jobby) and been a solid neck so far, tuners hold fine on this one, weak p/u output jenky pots (easily fixed) these affinity's in my opion have alway been hit or miss. Bought a newer model affinity jazz and it was garbage sent it back immediatly. Good luck!
Edit: My VM as well as my CV jazz necks are excellent especially the CV better than my MIM. Seems a shame to de-fret a CV I think every one I played felt very nice!
All good though do your thing! Purchased a licensed Fender Ebonol Mighty Mite neck and it is fantastic!
 
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#36
Since all their necks are produced using a CNC program they should all feel much the same.
I doubt any of them get more than a few seconds of work on the frets.
My personal feeling is that there may be some difference in the degree of drying the wood gets before it becomes a neck.
Longer drying time means more stable and consistant wood.
It also means it will be taking up room somewhere which adds cost.
I suspect that one of the main difference between a Squier neck and a Fender neck may be drying two months or two years.
 
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#39
I think the street cred established for the MIC CV has driven supply down and prices up. Sure, they’re great necks, but I think VM (Or MII CV) would be your sweet spot, at least for return-on-investment for this project.

Affinities are just so hit or miss, if you’re buying mail order you’re rolling the dice. The 2 best Affinities I’ve ever seen were from 2005 (owned a P, played on a J) and those necks were unreal. They both had the skunk stripe- I have a running theory that the “skunk stripe” years were the best for affinities. (2001-2009??) At least in terms of necks.

Recent affinities have perplexed me, past 3 or so years of production. Fret work and over all construction is great for the price. But every single one, the neck just felt raw, barely sanded and finished at all. Definitely need a refinish if I were to keep one.

And I just bought and returned a Jazz, 2018 affinity, the neck had a terrible “V” shape to it. How that thing got through CNC like that is beyond me
 
#40
You are not the forst I have seen say this, but the neck on mine, while indeed having a minimal finish (which I kinda like), is well sanded and shaped, volute and all.

CallMeAl said:
[snip]
Recent affinities have perplexed me, past 3 or so years of production. Fret work and over all construction is great for the price. But every single one, the neck just felt raw, barely sanded and finished at all. Definitely need a refinish if I were to keep one.

[snip]
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