Fender Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster Guitar Reivew

The Fender line of guitars is a long standing tradition among some of the best musicians in history. It has long been a preferred line in blues and rock, and continues to be one of the most popular and easily identified brands on the market today. But, for those who don't have much money to spend on instruments, they are often unattainable. For this reason, Fender created its Squier line of guitars. One of these is the Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster. Let's take a closer look at it to see how it matches up with those guitars it imitates.

Features: The body of the Affinity Series Strat is made of solid alder wood, and is contoured to reduce the amount of ply and glue needed to make the entire thing. The neck is bolted onto the body, and is made of hard maple wood. Its fingerboard is made of rosewood, and has 21 total frets. In reality, however, only the first twenty are really usable, unless you're a big fan of dead notes. On the fretboard are white dot inlays, in the exact style of the Fender Stratocaster. The headstock of the Affinity Series Strat is modeled after the '70's era Fenders. The bridge of the guitar is a 6 screw rocking tremolo system, complete with tremolo bar. All of the hardware, including the tuning heads and tremolo bridge, are chrome. Electronically, the Affinity Series Strat has one volume and two tone control knobs, with a five way selector switch. There are three single coil Squier brand pickups as well.

Playability: The lower end of the Fender Squier line is known for a few issues with playability. Usually, it takes a lot of effort to keep the guitar in tune, and it's knocked out of tune if the strings are bent too much. If you're looking to make an investment in this guitar, a good idea would be to get some new tuning pegs. Other than that, however, the Affinity Series Strat plays nicely. The body is lightweight and has a slim profile, and the double cutaway design allows for excellent high fret access despite the bolt on neck.

Sound: If you're looking to play hardcore metal, don't expect to get excellent distortion from this guitar. Although its pickups are relatively decent, they tend to lag a bit and get muddy with too much distortion. But, if you're looking for some nice blues or clean sounding tones, it performs pretty well. Again, if you are looking to upgrade this guitar as you progress as a musician, it's going to be a good idea to switch out the pups.

Overall: If you are looking to learn how to play, and are a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer styles of music, the Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster is a great instrument to start with. It has all the essentials to get your playing off the ground. You can find the Affinity Series Strat in music stores for about $150.