I love mine that much, DR strings sound as great as they shine, Fender double jazz add punch to the boomy P.
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The new Affinity Squier P/J
- Thread starter ics1974
- Start date
Agathis is in the alder family. Coming from Asia the two woods are probably effectively the same.
Very cool looking, I would never have thought about using neon green string, I would have taken the tuxedo look of black strings which would be mundane and safe by comparison. Good choice. I also like the idea of the double j at the bridge.
Just seen one of these today in a shop and was surprised at the quality for the price. Could anyone do me a huge huge favour and let me know how wide the neck is at the heel?
(May be tempted to get a black one and replace the neck for maple), be great to know if it was standard Fender specs
(May be tempted to get a black one and replace the neck for maple), be great to know if it was standard Fender specs
So, I ordered a black p/j and it should be here Monday. The reason I got this instead of a c/v is that it will take a standard Fender spaced bridge and it is not basswood. This is for modding purposes. I already have a neck for it that has great tuners, a bone nut, and a roller tree. Pick up duties will be handled by a set of Bartolini p/j. An antique pearl white Fender pick guard. V/b/t will be the knob assignments. A Gotoh 201 bridge, and some Dunlop dual purpose strap locks will finish it off. The stock neck, pickups, bridge and pots will go up for sale as I do not need them. That will help to get a little money back! I already have everything else here except the Bartolini j which will be here Saturday. I will post up picks when it is done....and when it arrives 
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Thats great to know thanks! I've heard about users with older affinity's being a bit hit and miss whether fender parts fit or not. Is it just me but do the newer affinity's seem much better quality? I've tried out a couple of Affinity's recently where the quality is much better than MIM's or even VM's (in terms of neck and body). Actually went into a guitar store today and compared the Affinity PJ to a US Fender in terms of neck heel. Measured both and they were both exactly the same. That makes it a great modding platform!
Yes it does! And that is why I like to mod these basses....its an inexpensive way to do a little "custom" work and learn about what works and what does not. The last one I did was a white p with a Duff neck and various other bits. Sold it on TB and I am sure the new owner loves it. It was nicer than ALOT of american Fenders that I have had!!
Just got one in for myself a few days ago! And I must say that it is very nice looking (red, black pickguard, rosewood fretboard). I liked the way it sounded (and that is a lot coming from bassist with a liking for active preamps), but I did modify it a little: electronics are now volume-blend-tone, and the bridge pickup is a fender super55. This bass is amazing as it is now, will not be adding a preamp anytime soon. The only thing I am wanting sometime in the future would be a bridge "upgrade." Peace! 
Good choice , Super55 is a Precision split design in a Jazz housing, I suppose your bass now no longer has the 2 weak strings syndrom with both volumes full opened one gets in P/J configuration.
How does it pair with the Precision ?
That is pretty accurate. my bass sounds more "even" throughout all the strings. i did notice a bit of output (compared to the stock) increase from the super 55 at the bridge, which balances better with the precision pickup. i also liked that the 55 retained a lot of the jazzy tone, it makes my bass pretty darn flexible!
Update on this bass: just finished doing a complete shielding and grounding of the pickup and electronics cavities. this bass is now quiet as a mouse (no humming or buzzing), even with the volume and tone all the way up!
I've ordered the white version and should receive it tomorrow! It will enjoy the company of my Standard series PJ Special (black/white/black headstock) and Affinity J Bass (metallic red/white).
I am so sold on Squier!
I am so sold on Squier!
Definitely sold on squier. For $400 on 2 brand new basses I couldn't be happier.
I like it!
Note that all the Spec's seem to call it a 1.5" nut. It's not; it's Precision width.
Hey hope you guys don't mind a beginner's post here documenting some experiences with budget bass testing. Been goofing around with my friends' gears all this while, Epiphone EB-0 and some Cort basses... So I decided it was time to get my own stuff!
Just thought of setting up a budget bass rig and this seems to fit the bill.
1. PJ configuration
2. Not too heavy (many sub-$300 basses seem to have this covered)
3. Fairly well-made (no major flaws, nice fit and finish)
4. Budget below $200 (unless I wait and save up more)
5. Decent pick-ups for its price range
6. Will be used for small gigs and occasional demo recordings
Tried the Yamaha RBX170 and Ibanez GSR200, the two most popular starter basses according to forums but never truly connected with either. The Yamaha was a near buy, plenty of tonal variety but not enough "boom" whereby the P pickup doesn't seem to deliver as this bass has an overall trebly sound going for it. Out of the 2 Yamaha RBX170s I played, one had solid built quality while the other had sharp fret ends throughout the neck (not sure why since Yamaha has a pretty solid reputation for build quality).
The Ibanez GSR200's active electronics, once you've played higher end stuff, just doesn't quite cut it
feels like I'm paying for the sake of owning active electronics but not exactly the quality I want.
Was gonna save up more for a Cort A4 (nearly triple the price where I live + pretty heavy bass), then I stumbled upon these guys in a local store. The Squier Affinity and Vintage Modified Precision PJ were placed side by side, much to my luck. I tried them out with the new Fender Rumbles and couldn't really tell the difference. Maybe just a tad more polished sound with the VM PJ, but I was trying hard to justify paying an additional $120-150 for the VM PJ. Other notable differences are the neck (super glossy on the VM PJ - sweat's best friend! vs. some kinda satin finish for the Affinity) and the weight, which is lighter for the VM but causes slight neck dive as a result. Earlier folks have mentioned about similar tuning pegs (open style) being used but slight differences in hardware (bridge or something).
Body wood was much debated in some forums, VM - Agathis vs. Affinity - Alder. But a consensus was reached saying that the Alder could made from multiple pieces and of a much lower grade vs. decent grade Agathis with less pieces put together. While Alder could be a "more interesting" sounding tone wood, I'm not sure how much this will go in favour of the Affinity if other factors are considered.
So yeah, here I am torn between these two. My gear snob friend and one of the sales assistant strictly recommended that I get the Vintage Modified line if I'm going the Squier route, but apart from the opinions of a few seasoned bassists I kinda wanna trust my ears as well. One thing of note, however, is that the black Affinity PJ I tried seemed to differ in quality vs. the red one that was next to it. Can't exactly tell you how different due to my limited knowledge, but the moment I played it thru the amp I knew it sounded more bland for some reasons. So my theory as of now is:
8-9 out of 10 vintage modified guitars are well set-up and sound awesome
vs.
5-6 out of 10 of Affinity guitars
QC issue perhaps with the Chinese vs. Indonesian factories. But if I'm to change my current plan, save up more for the VM PJ model, I could actually up my budget a tad bit more to get active electronic models like Cort B4 (which seems to resemble the Ibanez SR600 in terms of swamp ash body and Bartolini pick-ups). So my point here is for my budget of $200, the Affinity PJ seems to be great simple fun and decent quality (if you test a few and find the right one!).
End of rambling, sorry for the length. I would love to hear someone from each party try to convince me to get the Affinity or the VM PJ though. What exactly justifies the additional $120?
Just thought of setting up a budget bass rig and this seems to fit the bill.
1. PJ configuration
2. Not too heavy (many sub-$300 basses seem to have this covered)
3. Fairly well-made (no major flaws, nice fit and finish)
4. Budget below $200 (unless I wait and save up more)
5. Decent pick-ups for its price range
6. Will be used for small gigs and occasional demo recordings
Tried the Yamaha RBX170 and Ibanez GSR200, the two most popular starter basses according to forums but never truly connected with either. The Yamaha was a near buy, plenty of tonal variety but not enough "boom" whereby the P pickup doesn't seem to deliver as this bass has an overall trebly sound going for it. Out of the 2 Yamaha RBX170s I played, one had solid built quality while the other had sharp fret ends throughout the neck (not sure why since Yamaha has a pretty solid reputation for build quality).
The Ibanez GSR200's active electronics, once you've played higher end stuff, just doesn't quite cut it
feels like I'm paying for the sake of owning active electronics but not exactly the quality I want.Was gonna save up more for a Cort A4 (nearly triple the price where I live + pretty heavy bass), then I stumbled upon these guys in a local store. The Squier Affinity and Vintage Modified Precision PJ were placed side by side, much to my luck. I tried them out with the new Fender Rumbles and couldn't really tell the difference. Maybe just a tad more polished sound with the VM PJ, but I was trying hard to justify paying an additional $120-150 for the VM PJ. Other notable differences are the neck (super glossy on the VM PJ - sweat's best friend! vs. some kinda satin finish for the Affinity) and the weight, which is lighter for the VM but causes slight neck dive as a result. Earlier folks have mentioned about similar tuning pegs (open style) being used but slight differences in hardware (bridge or something).
Body wood was much debated in some forums, VM - Agathis vs. Affinity - Alder. But a consensus was reached saying that the Alder could made from multiple pieces and of a much lower grade vs. decent grade Agathis with less pieces put together. While Alder could be a "more interesting" sounding tone wood, I'm not sure how much this will go in favour of the Affinity if other factors are considered.
So yeah, here I am torn between these two. My gear snob friend and one of the sales assistant strictly recommended that I get the Vintage Modified line if I'm going the Squier route, but apart from the opinions of a few seasoned bassists I kinda wanna trust my ears as well. One thing of note, however, is that the black Affinity PJ I tried seemed to differ in quality vs. the red one that was next to it. Can't exactly tell you how different due to my limited knowledge, but the moment I played it thru the amp I knew it sounded more bland for some reasons. So my theory as of now is:
8-9 out of 10 vintage modified guitars are well set-up and sound awesome
vs.
5-6 out of 10 of Affinity guitars
QC issue perhaps with the Chinese vs. Indonesian factories. But if I'm to change my current plan, save up more for the VM PJ model, I could actually up my budget a tad bit more to get active electronic models like Cort B4 (which seems to resemble the Ibanez SR600 in terms of swamp ash body and Bartolini pick-ups). So my point here is for my budget of $200, the Affinity PJ seems to be great simple fun and decent quality (if you test a few and find the right one!).
End of rambling, sorry for the length. I would love to hear someone from each party try to convince me to get the Affinity or the VM PJ though. What exactly justifies the additional $120?
Forget the sales guy he's trying to maximize profits, your snob gear friend isn't much of a snob if he's recommending Squier equipment to begin with (I have two Squiers.) What do you care what a bunch of strangers think? It all comes down to this: Do you like the sound and how it handles? If the answer is yes, that is all that matters.Hey hope you guys don't mind a beginner's post here documenting some experiences with budget bass testing. Been goofing around with my friends' gears all this while, Epiphone EB-0 and some Cort basses... So I decided it was time to get my own stuff!
Just thought of setting up a budget bass rig and this seems to fit the bill.
1. PJ configuration
2. Not too heavy (many sub-$300 basses seem to have this covered)
3. Fairly well-made (no major flaws, nice fit and finish)
4. Budget below $200 (unless I wait and save up more)
5. Decent pick-ups for its price range
6. Will be used for small gigs and occasional demo recordings
Tried the Yamaha RBX170 and Ibanez GSR200, the two most popular starter basses according to forums but never truly connected with either. The Yamaha was a near buy, plenty of tonal variety but not enough "boom" whereby the P pickup doesn't seem to deliver as this bass has an overall trebly sound going for it. Out of the 2 Yamaha RBX170s I played, one had solid built quality while the other had sharp fret ends throughout the neck (not sure why since Yamaha has a pretty solid reputation for build quality).
The Ibanez GSR200's active electronics, once you've played higher end stuff, just doesn't quite cut it
Was gonna save up more for a Cort A4 (nearly triple the price where I live + pretty heavy bass), then I stumbled upon these guys in a local store. The Squier Affinity and Vintage Modified Precision PJ were placed side by side, much to my luck. I tried them out with the new Fender Rumbles and couldn't really tell the difference. Maybe just a tad more polished sound with the VM PJ, but I was trying hard to justify paying an additional $120-150 for the VM PJ. Other notable differences are the neck (super glossy on the VM PJ - sweat's best friend! vs. some kinda satin finish for the Affinity) and the weight, which is lighter for the VM but causes slight neck dive as a result. Earlier folks have mentioned about similar tuning pegs (open style) being used but slight differences in hardware (bridge or something).
Body wood was much debated in some forums, VM - Agathis vs. Affinity - Alder. But a consensus was reached saying that the Alder could made from multiple pieces and of a much lower grade vs. decent grade Agathis with less pieces put together. While Alder could be a "more interesting" sounding tone wood, I'm not sure how much this will go in favour of the Affinity if other factors are considered.
So yeah, here I am torn between these two. My gear snob friend and one of the sales assistant strictly recommended that I get the Vintage Modified line if I'm going the Squier route, but apart from the opinions of a few seasoned bassists I kinda wanna trust my ears as well. One thing of note, however, is that the black Affinity PJ I tried seemed to differ in quality vs. the red one that was next to it. Can't exactly tell you how different due to my limited knowledge, but the moment I played it thru the amp I knew it sounded more bland for some reasons. So my theory as of now is:
8-9 out of 10 vintage modified guitars are well set-up and sound awesome
vs.
5-6 out of 10 of Affinity guitars
QC issue perhaps with the Chinese vs. Indonesian factories. But if I'm to change my current plan, save up more for the VM PJ model, I could actually up my budget a tad bit more to get active electronic models like Cort B4 (which seems to resemble the Ibanez SR600 in terms of swamp ash body and Bartolini pick-ups). So my point here is for my budget of $200, the Affinity PJ seems to be great simple fun and decent quality (if you test a few and find the right one!).
End of rambling, sorry for the length. I would love to hear someone from each party try to convince me to get the Affinity or the VM PJ though. What exactly justifies the additional $120?
I'd go with the satin finish back of neck non-neck-heavy one with an acceptable fret job. If the Affinity feels and sounds good to you, then congratulations, you just saved lots of money!
The music store I patronize includes a set-up on any new purchase. That includes dressing the frets if needed. My Squier VM 70 Jazz had the sides filed down so they weren't sharpie pointie any more.
