I see from online reviews that Sweetwater used to sell Squier Affinity Jazz basses, but apparently do not right now. Musicians Friend and other retailers still sell them, so what's going on with Sweetwater? I ask because I have a gift certificate from Sweetwater. What do you think? Thump on, One_Dude
Honestly it’s probably due to low demand. The Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified lines are much more popular due to their better quality. That’s not to say the Affinity line is bad but Sweetwater wants to stock what sells. For another $100 or so above the Affinity you’ll have several cosmetic options and hardware options. Edit to add- I’m sure that, if you contacted a Sweetwater sales engineer, they could give you a straightforward explanation of why they don’t show stock of the Affinity line and could possibly order one for you.
Hi One_Dude It's part of the worldwide conspiracy against Jazz basses! Unpopular Opinion (Fender Jazz) greetings Wise(b)ass
It's definitely the anti-jazz conspiracy. Since they are still selling the Affinity P bass, the evidence seems overwhelming. Thanks for the chuckle. Thump on, One_Dude
I bet if you called them they would happily order you one. Might have to wait a few weeks because they will likely include it in one of their bulk shipments
Amazon probably cornered the market for cheap basses delivered in two days, bought by parents and grandparents for little Johnny and Janie who will give up playing in a couple of months. I can't see Sweetwater wasting time shipping a $229 bass for free. But, this is just conjecture on my part. Probably won't see the PJs either when they run out. Use your gift certificate on a cool pedal instead and buy one of Johnny and Janie's used Affinity jazzes for ~$100 on Craigslist.
Specifically, what sells to a more experienced crowd. I can’t imagine Sweetwater does well with beginners buying their first instruments. It’s not their target market.
it's not that sweetwater doesn't carry entry level. sweetwater carries other affinities, the bottom-of-the-line ibanez GSR100EX (i have 2 of them) which i believe it's the cheapest long-scale bass from any major manufacturer, and the bronco, which is the very lowest of the entire affinity line. they also sell the affinity P Squier Affinity Series Precision Bass PJ - Race Red with Indian Laurel Fingerboard OP, maybe you should contact your rep and see if they can get the affinity J for you. since they carry the affinity line, it might be something they can do.
HAHA, SHOOT! I had a bad lemon with that one. A SBMM Ray34PB. I was also wondering why Sweetwater doesn’t carry that brand.
they say on their website they inspect instruments over $299, so they wouldn't have to inspect the affinity jazz. btw, i've gotten a bass from sweetwater that was all signed off on inspection that had problems no one noticed.
Yep. Two minutes and a phone call gets you better results than a week and 100 forum posts most times.
if you contacted a Sweetwater sales engineer, they could give you a straightforward explanation of why they don’t show stock of the Affinity line and could possibly order one for you.[/QUOTE] Ditto that. While purchasing some MarkBass gear, I inquired about Sweetwater not carrying it. The answer was a straight up "We're not an authorized MB dealer. MB makes some nice stuff and customers ask about it often, but we don't sell it." There was zero attempt to steer me to something else or denigrate a product line they didn't sell. I can respect that and it added to my trust for them.
I've never had this problem. I've only been called when it was necessary because of an issue. I've never been bothered by unsolicited phone calls by my rep and never had to ask them not to bother me. Within the last year or two I was asked by my rep if he could communicate by text and email for any special deals I might be interested in. Maybe I got lucky and have a rep who isn't into bothering his customers. At least when I do speak with my rep he doesn't flat out lie like another major music retailer has. In fact I'm currently dealing with those fools on an issue.