Squier affinity P Bass buying advice.

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BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
Want to get a precision bass to lay down some simple basslines for recording. Does anyone have any experience with the Squier Affinity P Bass PJ? That is the one I'm looking at. Are there any particular problems that I should look out for when testing? 
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  • theimageofalltheimageofall Frets: 121
    edited November 2018
    I did the same as you.

    I wanted a cheap bass to lay some ideas down and do some recording. I went for the Squier Affinity P Bass. It didn’t take me long to realise that I couldn’t get it to sound as good as I wanted.

    Ive since upgraded most parts of it. I changed the pickups to Seymour Duncan quarter pounders, upgraded the wiring, pots and jack and then replaced the bridge with a Gotoh bridge.

    it is now a completely different bass and sounds really good. I couldn’t be happier and competes favourably with our bass players Fender Modern Player Jass bass.

    So, final thoughts are that the body and neck on mine were fine and it is really nice to play. Low action and fast.

    Tuners are ok and it stays in tune well.

    However I decided to invest into it, since I liked how it played. Having done that l, it sounds so much better and it competes with more expensive basses.
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    The Affinity range seems to have decent bodies and necks, but cheaper hardware.

    I've got a couple of Affinity Strats, which are just like Fenders, except every component is not quite so good and things aren't so well finished. As an indicator of price, I've offered them for sale at £60 each.

    I've also got an Affinity P at the moment and I'm going to change it to black hardware, including upgrading the machines to the generic Chinese ones (yes, I did say "upgrading"!), which needs the post holes widening. I think that maybe going to be a nephew's Christmas present.

    As far as upgrading goes, these are a sub-£100 instrument, so don't spend a load on them and expect to get it back if/when you sell.

    All-in-all, I would say that they are remarkable value compared to the beginner guitars when I started, but just bear in mind their monetary value.



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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    Can't be bothered to upgrade really. I'd rather spend abit more and leave it stock. Any thoughts on the vintage modified one which costs 50% more?

    Affinity is about £200
    Vintage modified is £300
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  • I tried VM Jazz and MIM Jazz over four years ago. Couldn't work out why the Mexican was £200 more expensive, so I bought the VM. 

    I'm still rehearsing, gigging and recording with it. I did the intonation and trussrod myself over the years, got a tech to sort out the fret ends a year ago. Tuners and bridge still holding up, may upgrade pickups within a year or so. Would a regular Squier have lasted this long?
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  • theimageofalltheimageofall Frets: 121
    edited November 2018
    Branshen said:
    Can't be bothered to upgrade really. I'd rather spend abit more and leave it stock. Any thoughts on the vintage modified one which costs 50% more?

    Affinity is about £200
    Vintage modified is £300
    Yep, I completely get that. It was an experiment for me, after which I was more than pleasantly surprised with. I do like a bit of individuality with gear though, so it worked for me. I now find it easier to record with than the Fender Modern Player Jazz that our bassist uses.

    Squier guitars that I have used tend to be pretty decent, so I think a VM would be good as well. There's second hand that could be a consideration as well for similar money perhaps?

    The cons of the bass I had were:

    Pickguard screws rusted pretty quickly, so I replaced them. Pickguard also faded from white to cream, so that went. Both replaced with all black, as below.

    From stock, it also had a very middy sound, which I know is a characteristic of the P Bass, but I found it difficult to work with in a mix.

    In case anyone is interested, I ended up with this:




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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Branshen said:
    Any thoughts on the vintage modified one which costs 50% more?
    The Squier VM series instruments are a definite step up from the Affinity. The pickups and hardware are better. More attention has been lavished on details such as the fingerboard edges and fret ends. 

    I tried VM Jazz and MIM Jazz over four years ago. Couldn't work out why the Mexican was £200 more expensive
    This, pretty much. 

    I changed the pickups ... , upgraded the wiring, pots and jack and then replaced the bridge with a Gotoh.
    To be brutally honest, these sorts of modification are equally desirable/necessary on Affinity, VM, Classic Vibe and the MIM Standard series instruments.  
    Be seeing you.
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  • I changed the pickups ... , upgraded the wiring, pots and jack and then replaced the bridge with a Gotoh.
    To be brutally honest, these sorts of modification are equally desirable/necessary on Affinity, VM, Classic Vibe and the MIM Standard series instruments.  
    Agreed. If you want to use them in a meaningful way (recording/live).
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  • Hence my moaning thread about my VM Jazz elsewhere. The guitar is great, but maybe after four years of regular playing the pickups are on the way out.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Branshen said:
    Want to get a precision bass to lay down some simple bass lines for recording.
    Do you feel the need to have the word Precision emblazoned on your instrument? Could you be content with something that approximates the sound of a Fender bass without necessarily being one?

    There are plenty of viable alternative new and pre-owned bass guitars in the same price bracket as a brand new Squier Affinity. 
    Be seeing you.
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    FYI, I nipped into Dawsons today to buy some strings and noticed there's an Affinity PJ + Rumble amp in a box for £229.


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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    Branshen said:
    Want to get a precision bass to lay down some simple bass lines for recording.
    Do you feel the need to have the word Precision emblazoned on your instrument? Could you be content with something that approximates the sound of a Fender bass without necessarily being one?

    There are plenty of viable alternative new and pre-owned bass guitars in the same price bracket as a brand new Squier Affinity. 
    I do like the look of a precision. But I guess I'm open to ideas. What do u recommend?
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Other than Squier, the usual suspects are the Yamaha RBX, Cort Action, Ibanez Soundgear SR and SRX, Schecter, JHS/Encore/Vintage, Epiphone Toby et cetera.
    Be seeing you.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    Having tried a few on a Fretboard outing to PMT, I’d say the Ibanez SR are by far the best in that price range.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Ibanez SR
    Ideally, not one with the unique own brand soapbar pickups and cavities.

    P, J, MM and EMG-35 sized pickups are far easier to upgrade in the future.
    Be seeing you.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    Ibanez SR
    Ideally, not one with the unique own brand soapbar pickups and cavities.

    P, J, MM and EMG-35 sized pickups are far easier to upgrade in the future.
    Either way, I’d take the playability and hw quality of the SR over the squiers any day.
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  • I wouldn’t bother with the Affinity tbh. If you don’t want to spend CV/VM money, try a Standard. 
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  • I just bought a Squier Vintage Mod PJ (Lake Placid Blue) and I'm very happy with it ...£250 s/h and you get the P bass thump, but with the ability to dial in some Jazz twang when you need it ... I think it's a nice bass to play, but I am no expert  :s
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    I think it's a nice bass to play
    That's because it is. :)

    Hopefully, yours is old enough to have the Duncan Designed PB101 and JB101B pickups. These make a better output level match than the  "Fender Designed" in-house units that succeeded them about five years ago.

    I have a 2014 example. I fed mine a pre-owned (passive) EMG-GZR pickup pair. 
    Be seeing you.
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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    I tried a squier VM precision. Nice guitar and would suit me but I didn't get a try an affinity side by side as they didn't have in stock. So I'm holding out to see if I can save myself some money in case the affinity works for me.

    And then I tried a squier VI which boggled my mind as it is basically a long scale guitar that goes as low as an ordinary bass. Bonkers! But fun! 
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