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View Full Version : Squier "20th Anniversary" Affinity Strat



Brian Krashpad
December 10th, 2007, 05:41 PM
Anybody know what's the deal on the specs on these?

There's one for sale locally used for only a little dosh, but I DON'T wanna bother with a plywood model. This'un is Indonesian-made, maybe agathis? Also I assume they are ceramic pickups?

Current Affinities are alder, presumably with ceramic pickups.

I have a poplar Peavey Strat (Predator) with ceramics, but this particular Squier has a rosewood board, which I've never had on a Strat.

This isn't a bunch of money, could probably pick up for 60 bucks or so.

Spudman
December 10th, 2007, 08:07 PM
See through colors are usually alder. Solid colors are mostly agathis or red cedar now from Indonesia.
The Standard series use alnico pickups. The Affinity series electronics are not quite as good so I'll guess the pickups are ceramic.
You won't get plywood. That is reserved for the Bullet series.
I can say that the Butterscotch Affinity Tele has pretty good electronics, but I don't know how the Affinity Strats stack up.

Brian Krashpad
December 11th, 2007, 06:23 AM
Thanks Spud. The seller got back to me, says it's probably agathis from the weight, which gibes with the info I've gotten here and elsewhere.

He's now offered it to me for $50, which is hard to turn down. Heck if the gigbag is worth $20 it's like I'm getting a guitar for $30. Even though I'm not a Strat guy and I need another guitar like a hole in the head. :messedup:

stingx
December 11th, 2007, 06:28 AM
For 50 bucks I'd buy it just to hang on the wall :rotflmao:

Brian Krashpad
December 11th, 2007, 06:33 AM
For 50 bucks I'd buy it just to hang on the wall :rotflmao:

I know, it's like some conspiracy to make me buy guitars!

Don't think I've ever bought one this cheap.

Hmm.

stingx
December 11th, 2007, 07:07 AM
Hey Brian, you have a pic to reference it? Is it a good looking guitar?

Brian Krashpad
December 11th, 2007, 07:18 AM
Hey Brian, you have a pic to reference it? Is it a good looking guitar?

It's just a regular-looking Blackie. Seller says big headstock.

This is the only pic I've seen, he says it's like new:

http://www.gainesvillebands.com/forum/uploads/images/speedfreak/2007-12-06_222800_P1010026.JPG

Since it's local I can inspect/play before buying.

Algonquin
December 11th, 2007, 07:54 AM
I've looked around and could only find info that they were made... sorry, 'crafted' in China. :rotflmao:

Squier's 20th Anniversary was 2002, so you're got yourself a five year old guitar on your hands.

A pretty good deal... even for Wall Art as folks have mentioned.

Duff
June 30th, 2008, 01:59 AM
Paid thirty dollars. Sounds super great. Super intricate flammed maple neck, unbelievable.

Only problem is that the tone controls have no effect. But the guitar has super tone, as is, bright and clear as a bell thru my SCXD on the clean channel. No noise whatever and all five switch positions work noislessly when switching and all have distinctly different tones.

I really like this guitar and was going to put new pups in it but don't think I will. It's sss and hot.

Got to get to the bottom of the silent tone controls.

Duff

Brian Krashpad
June 30th, 2008, 05:56 AM
Paid thirty dollars. Sounds super great. Super intricate flammed maple neck, unbelievable.

Only problem is that the tone controls have no effect. But the guitar has super tone, as is, bright and clear as a bell thru my SCXD on the clean channel. No noise whatever and all five switch positions work noislessly when switching and all have distinctly different tones.

I really like this guitar and was going to put new pups in it but don't think I will. It's sss and hot.

Got to get to the bottom of the silent tone controls.

Duff

$30 is great, probably just a wiring disconnect with the tone control, or maybe a bad pot.

Duff
July 28th, 2008, 03:13 AM
I had it to a tech and for fourteen dollars got a new neck middle pot, super nice quality pot. None of the pots were grounded except the volume pot. I took the screws out and loosened up the strings to save some money and had to reassemble it after.

Next I got a beautiful black pearl pickguard and back plate, it had no back plate. I put it on and had to drill a couple more holes because the new one had more holes but the others lined up perfectly.

Then I got black control knobs and a black switch knob and a new tremolo arm w black tip. Looking great at this point and sounding good too.

Then . . . . . I went to Mike's Music in Harrisburg, a pickup specialist internet guy and asked for advice which coincided with my ideas and the recommendation of the tech at Seymour Duncan. Consequently I bought and installed black pickups: an SD "hot" rail in the neck, the neck version; a 'lil 59 in the middle; and a JB Jr bridge version in the bridge.

You should hear this guitar. This is a great combination and I can switch them around if I want to. It sounds so good and is a little lighter than most strats. I love this guitar.

I always wanted to get an old Fender strat USA and fix it up. One from the fifties or sixties, but they are really expensive I discovered.

Never, never would have thought I'd get a Squire, much less a few of them. And this free one, I gave the kid the money even though he didn't want it, is one of my favorites. You can imagine how it sounds, maybe.

Most recently I removed my Fender locking tuners, spertzels, from a SX strat style and put them on this. It now stays in tune really well.

It is a really nice guitar and far surpasses several Mexican strats I have played. It looks slightly relic'ed, has low action, that beautiful flammed maple neck and a rosewood fretboard, smooth fret edges.

The kid couldn't believe it was his old guitar when I showed it to him this weekend.

My son, the kid I got the guitar from, and I went to Lake George, New York and jammed with a professional drummer friend of mine. The kid has a new PRS SE Custom amber burst that sounds really good, of course he thrashes. We had a blast. Several musical generation gap between us and the kids but we did good and had fun. We even thrashed with them and they jammed "Up on Cripple Creek", "The Weight", and some other songs with us. Plus we made up some just plain homemade jams. Great kids.

The Fender customer service guy said, two days ago, but the way, that the twentieth anniv. Squire affinity strat is made out of solid alder, not plywood or some other wood. However, I believe some foreign varieties of alder are called by different names. So, the same trees, in different parts of the world, have different names. This makes it confusing to know what exact type of wood your import guitar is made from. It might be mahogany but just sound like some inferior wood because of the foreign name.

It would be neat and educational if someone with the knowledge of guitar woods would post a list of English named woods and list their corresponding foreign names; also including strictly different woods that are not the same type of woods as we are familiar with and their tonal qualities.

What is Agathis, etc.? Is it unique or just another name for a wood we are familiar with.

Don't know what I'll do to my 20th aniv. Squire affinity strat next; but a nice two point tremolo with a great block would be nice. Or even a great direct drop in replacement bridge and block that would be of superior quality but a six screw type. Mine's not really sensitive like my two pointers, even with the screws loosened up. Any suggestions?

Duffy
mjbolduc@dejazzd.com

marnold
July 28th, 2008, 08:46 AM
What is Agathis, etc.? Is it unique or just another name for a wood we are familiar with.
Agathis is an evergreen tree that grows in the South Pacific. As I understand it, they grow it on farms too. With so many low-end guitars being built in Indonesia, etc., using that wood is a no-brainer. I've heard it called a "poor man's mahogany" but I can't really speak any more to that. Generally it gets a bad rap because it's used in low-end guitars. Basswood used to be the same way, now it's even used in high-end guitars. Go figure.

It seems to me that with the number of guitars that are being made overseas, using a local wood that is continuously being renewed makes a lot of sense both for the bottom line and from an environmental standpoint. Another guess on my part as to why agathis guitars get a bad rap is because they will come with cheap pickups. Wood is just one part of the tonal equation and with electrics, as far as I am concerned, it is an overrated one.

From reading various threads on different guitar websites about it, I've felt my IQ drop about 50 points.

Brian Krashpad
July 28th, 2008, 06:39 PM
Fwiw I had an agathis DeArmond M-75 (similar to a Guild Aristocrat/Bluesbird, an LP-type) and couldn't tell that much difference from my M-72, which was generally similar, but mahogany.

The agathis one was HEAVY though, and usually weight doesn't bug me.

Btw I never got that Strat, it got sold out from under me. That's OK, ended up buying a Bullte Strat that'd been modded with GFS P-90's, and subsequent to that an Epi WildKat.

PS-- Hey Rev, say a prayer for me, I'm rehearsing with a new church band tomorrow night. ;)

Duff
August 31st, 2008, 01:05 AM
Explained what I did to hot rod my affinity strant I got for free.

Really nice guitar now.

However, there was a glitch with the guy I bought the pickups from, a good guy in Harrisburg at Mike's music, specializes in pups. He jacks around and only deposits his checks once a month which spaced out my checking account, so today I went down and paid him cash for the pups.

Up to this point I couldn't play the guitar becasue the pups weren't paid for and I don't like to mess around with stuff that isn't mine. So now I'm playing the guitar and the honeymoon period has definitely passed. But I'm fully comfortable now and can enjoy playing this exceptional strat.

It does not sound like a stock strat in any position.

The SD hot rail in the neck is especially nice sounding up there where the amplitude of the string is greatest. It is not overwhelming and the JB Jr in the bridge is definitely louder. All three pickups form a great assembly: sd's all; hot rail in the neck, 'lil 59 in the middle, and Jb Jr. in the bridge. In between blend positions sound fabulous as well. Lots of gain and not obnoxious at all. Very smooth sounding pickups with super great tone.

Compared to my new Squire standard or Fender Hwy one they are different and not inferior but different. I'm glad I have standard strat sounds but I really like this hot rodded strat sound and tone as well. The hot rodded affinity really sounds versitile and pushes the tube amp really well, with or without a pedal. But there is, of course, no substiture for a true sss strat sound thru some decent pups. By the same token there is no substitue for a hot rodded strat with some high quality SD pups set up in the desired array.

I will discuss my new Squire standard in another post.

The neck on this affinity is stupendous, highly flammed maple an plays super well with low action, no buzz, rosewood board, sensitive six screw block with the screws loosened up to let it move easily, very easily, almost like a two point trem. All my trems float but I could see the value of setting them flat and just pushing down to get that light trem effect I like so much.

Hopes this helps with those thinking of getting an inexpensive used affinity strat and fixing it up.

Fixing it up was really a lot of fun. It needed electronics work, pots, etc, wiring corrections, etc., new parts including pickguard and spring cover, and the tuners were a big improvement.

I'm going to take some nice pictures of a few of my guitars and post them. I hope I can remember how to do a good job.

Duffy

thearabianmage
August 31st, 2008, 05:17 PM
The neck on this affinity is stupendous, highly flammed maple

I would like to add a comment here: I own two Squier strats, both identical (black 50th anniversary - the ones with the little gold sticker on the back of the headstock)

Just to explain the '2' part - the first I paid for, the second is practically mine (the dude said that he probably won't want it, so for the time being, I should hold on to it - so I consider it mine)

The first strat has a pretty normal neck, nothing stupendous. If you hold it by its horns with the front of the guitar facing the floor and move it about up and down, you can see variations in the chatoyancy of the wood, but not much.

The second strat, though, has a very very clear flame to the neck that is actually quite nice.

Considering they are both part of the same series, identical in every other way, I wonder why some have better necks than others in the 'flaming' department?

And just to make this relevant to the '20th Anniversary' Affinity strat, I'm working on one now for some dude, and it has got just about no flame to its neck what-so-ever.

I think you lucked out on your neck :AOK:

Duff
September 1st, 2008, 08:51 PM
That twentieth aniv. affinity strat is black and dinged a little, but with that black pearl pickguard and the black SD pups and knobs it really looks great. I waxed it up with some high quality wood wax and it looks sooooo good. I thought the neck was a lucky deal, you never see a neck this nice, rarely.

What are you doing to fix up the guitar? New pups? A new guard replacing that plain white one works wonders. I bet a gold one would look good, but being from the U. of Colorado, black and gold just seem to be a natural combination but it looks really good together and is unusual: black and gold.

I'm thinking of putting a new white pearl one on my new Squire Cherry Burst standard strat. A red pearl pickguard might look awesome on that as well. But I know a white pearl one would look great and I think they make an antiqued white pearl one that might even look better.

But the Cherry Burst has a really really cool mint green pickguard on it now that I love and I don't think I'll change it after all.

I'm lucky, I have some great looking guitars. My G & L Tribute ASAT semi hollow body swamp ash top tele has that rich curly dark burst finish with a really neat looking white pearl pickguard. That is a neat guitar I traded a white Hwy one sss for. Gotta say, I like my Cherry Burst Squire better than the Fender Hwy one. Just looks better and sounds super great. The Hwy one HSS I have has a deeper tone, not as twangy as my Squire Cherry burst. I like that twang.

I play all of my guitars. I haven't settled into any one or two. The all sound different. I guess I have a good ear, but I can hear distinctly different sounds. Some of mine have an odd sounding G string that I'm going to have to get to the bottom of.

Duffy

thearabianmage
September 2nd, 2008, 04:51 AM
This 20th Ann Squier I'm working on now is in Cherry Red and the dude has already changed the pickguard to white pearl, which does look quite attractive.

As far as fixing it up, I need to change all of the electrics, shine the frets and fretboard, polish the guitar, and give it a proper set-up: the back of the bridge is almost an inch off the body!!!

Black pearl guards look nice but I had the idea of taking one of my Squiers, and painting the whole thing chrome (neck included, but obviously try to preserve the logo) and then put a lacquer over that and replace all of the hardware with decent solid chrome parts so I'll have a completely 'metal' guitar. I think that would look pretty cool!

Saying that, an anodized (or gold) pickguard will actually look quite good if the pup covers and nobs, etc. were replaced with black ones. . . I'll keep that one in mind for the future :AOK: