So… I wound up scoring a Squier Affinity Jazz bass in a trade. I was taking a big chance because I’ve had bad luck with Squier before, and on multiple occasions I’ve heard that the Affinity line leaves a lot to be desired.
I’ve had it for two days now (three, maybe?). I’ve put new strings on it, done a basic neck/bridge setup for action and intonation, and you know what? It’s not bad at all. Aside of the unfinished feel of the neck, it plays and sounds really nice. There are no fret issues, the neck is straight, the truss rod and bridge both work without issue. I’m struggling to see what the issues with the Affinity Jazz bass are, based on this one.
Unless I finally landed in some good bass luck and got an exemplary example of one?
I have one and it’s great. The only minor thing wrong with it is tooling marks on the bass side of the fretboard near the nut and I don’t even touch the neck there so I haven’t even bothered to fix it. Stock pickups are a bit weak and it has a tiny bit of neck dive because of the light body but good enough for me. Play it enough and the neck will get smooth and shiny
As far as I know it’s mainly just that the Affinty range are the most affordable entry level models. So cheaper materials used, probably a less thorough/reliable quality check etc. Doesn’t automatically make any of them bad basses but to some people that might translate to “a bit crappy”.
But as always, if it feels good and sounds good then it’s fit for purpose! And if you save a few hundred [insert appropriate currency] over a higher-end model in the process, even better!
A line can have a reputation for bad quality assurance and still churn out stellar instruments. It’s just that the variance between instruments is likely high
It’s possible to get lucky.
Also, I assume this was used? Used is likely a better bet than new for such instruments. You never know what the previous owner fixed.
Yup. According to the guy I got it from, it was something of a gift (an addict he knew stole his p-bass and when the addict sobered up, the addict bought him this one in recompense) and he hasn’t touched it much as he prefers p-basses.
I can say the setup was weird… the action was way too high, and the pickups were way too low and set at unnatural angles. I don’t think it could have been seriously played setup that way.
from my experience, Squier Affinity are more than “not bad at all” actually great instruments for the price in my opinion. even the Bullet range is really nice, if we’re talking about the current range.
Not the best pickups obviously but still not that horrible.
I have an Affinity and I have no complaints. I changed the pickups and like it just about as much as the MIA Fender. Maybe good luck, but when it’s good it’s good.
I’ve been looking at an Affinity Jazz bass for my first one because I think they look the coolest for the budget I have. Is it that lucked based if the bass sucks or not? Is it a bad choice?
I recently purchased one and absolutely love it. I did do a full setup. I have to mention I did look at three Affinity Jazz before selecting mine. There were issues with neck finish and one had a slight twist. Everyone of them had loose clovers on the tuning pegs so I fixed mine with JB Weld. Easy fix.
I’ve had mine for a couple of years, i don’t play it a lot because i only bought it for slap and prefer my pbass over a jazz but it’s a good bass for the price. The only things i’d fault mine for is it’s got some neck dive because the body is light and it’s got some tooling marks on the bass side of the fretboard near the nut and i don’t touch the bass there so i never bothered to fix that. I did a setup on it and oiled the fingerboard when i got it, i haven’t done anything to it since then and it plays great
great instruments for the price in my opinion. even the Bullet range is really nice, if we’re talking about the current range.