Newbe questions

Hello all,
Hopefully I posted in the right forum and if not, Mods please feel free to move it.

Well first of all, I just bought a new Squier Affinity tele. I did a lot of research and most all of the reviews I read seemed pretty good for the price. Like many people, our money is tight, so I figured this is as close as I can get to the real deal. I don't play professionally, I'm just looking to make this guitar the best I can make it. I bought it from Music 123 and should have it in a day or two.

Ok, time for my million questions lol.
I know this seems to be a very popular guitar, so my first question is ..... What should I do for upgrades and in what order. Also, places to get good pricing on replacement parts??

I'm no Joe pro, but I know my way around a guitar pretty well.
Any feedback or tips are much appreciated .

Thanks for any help
Vic

You could replace every single part of that guitar... and waste a lot of money changing things that were fine to begin with.

So to begin with don't change a thing. Make sure it is set up properly (ask a friend who knows about a guitar or visit your friendly local guitar tech if you are unsure) and play it for a few weeks.

Then let us know if there is anything about it in particular that you don't like before you start upgrading.

Hey Vic, welcome to the Forum.

In my opinion, pickups are the obvious starting point since they are all about sound. But if I were you, I wouldn't do anything until I played it for some time. You might be happy with it as is. Next would be any hardware which degrades performance (not so great tuners, bridge, etc). You can make minor improvements there too. There are so many sites online for pickups and hardware, I don't even know where to begin. When you have played it for a while, and want to change something specific, ask some specific questions and you will get lots of advice and opinions from those who have gone the same route.

A word of advice: pay as much attention to the amp as the guitar. A modest guitar can sound great through a good amp. A great guitar will sound very modest or worse through a lousy amp.

Thanks guys,
I should have been a little more specific with my info and questions.
I play a bit of everything, but love rock and oldies the most. Showing my age I guess :smile: I have a Gibson SG that I use for hard rock such as AC/DC style music ect. I have a Marshall 100watt full stack as well as a MG 15watt mini stack. These were bought back when I still had some money lol.

What I hear about the Squiers is that even though they don't have the string through set up, the bridge set up is pretty good right from the factory. Also I guess the action is supposed to be fair to good right out of the box. I would prob want to change out the pups, and also swap out the pots to 250s.

I'm looking for a good all around tone that I can change at will to fit different styles of playing. I know a lot of guys will ask why I didn't just buy the US Fender, but by doing it this way I can upgrade as my wallet allows .

Vic

My advice, such as it is, would be to play it stock for a while and if you do anything, invest in a good setup for it. If you know tools pretty well, try the setup yourself--it's really pretty easy. In order to do intonation properly, you will need a strobe tuner such as a the ones Peterson makes. My Peterson clip-on cost $69, if memory serves, but it's pretty accurate and does intonations well. For other things, standard hand tools work well, but you need a feeler gauge.

As to mods--I have a Squier Bullet Strat--there is no cheaper Strat anywhere to my knowledge. Mine is now probably the most expensive Bullet on the planet. It has four original parts left on it now. I put a set of Lindy Fralin Blues Special pups on it, new tuners, new saddles, a new nut (carved it myself), all new electronics and a new pickguard. This axe was (is) my test mule to see if I have any talent at all for working on guitars, and I'm quite pleased with the way it sounds now. I see no need to buy a "real" Strat now. BTW, this is a top-loading hardtail.

I had bought a brand-new MIM Tele and was loath to modify a perfectly good guitar until I knew whether I could pull it off on the Bullet. Once I discovered I could, I installed a 4-way switch in it and it rocks pretty good.

Hope this advice helps some. Don't worry about what's on the label--only "cork sniffers" do that. It is pretty easy to get a good-sounding bargain guitar and it all starts with a decent setup.

Thanks guys,
I should have been a little more specific with my info and questions.
I play a bit of everything, but love rock and oldies the most. Showing my age I guess :smile: I have a Gibson SG that I use for hard rock such as AC/DC style music ect. I have a Marshall 100watt full stack as well as a MG 15watt mini stack. These were bought back when I still had some money lol.

What I hear about the Squiers is that even though they don't have the string through set up, the bridge set up is pretty good right from the factory. Also I guess the action is supposed to be fair to good right out of the box. I would prob want to change out the pups, and also swap out the pots to 250s.

I'm looking for a good all around tone that I can change at will to fit different styles of playing. I know a lot of guys will ask why I didn't just buy the US Fender, but by doing it this way I can upgrade as my wallet allows .

Vic

Well I guess that takes care of the amp question Vic. How do you get along with your neighbors? LOL

Seriously, the guys have provided good advice. Just play it for a while and evaluate what you do and don't like about it. Affinity's are nice enough guitars but they also make a great platform to mod when you're ready.

My tendency is to evaluate the pickups first. They can do more to change the basic tonality of that guitar than anything and there is no lack of Tele upgrades available. Once you know how you want it to sound making a choice of what to upgrade with will be much simpler.

Following that you can evaluate how the pots and caps work with those pickups and adjust accordingly. If you swap those first to get what you want out of these pickups it may not be right for whatever you choose next. What you can do now is put in a 4-way switch and a high pass filter. Those are two things I think every Tele should have.

Last I look at the hardware. The bridge and saddles can affect tone but not near as much as the pickups will. Crappy sounding pickups won't turn into Nocasters just by installing a new bridge with brass saddles. Then the nut and finally the tuners although a new nut may be in order anyway if that one is giving you any grief.

Well, FWIW that's the way I'd go about it but YMMV. Safe to say enjoy it for now as is until you get the whole modification process figured out and then plot it out in whatever way seems best to you. Happy NGD! :grin:

Thanks for the tips guys!
I agree with the plan of trying it on for size before doing anything besides proper set up.
But I have the feeling I'm going to want to ... shall we say ... tear into it ?? lol

What's the difference between the stock 3way switch and the 4way upgrade? I've heard a lot of guys do this, but what are the benefits. I'm thinking this may be one of the first upgrades I do before doing anything else.

Thanks for the help and info
Vic

The 4way switch gives you a lot more tone sounds than a 3way ie, 1 bridge 2 bridge/neck series, 3 bridge/neck parallel, 4 neck only, it is a Great upgrade from the old 3way switch!, not that I don't love the 3way, I have 2 teles I keep a 3way in but for rock,blues, pop, jazz, and country, I use a 4way with Texas special pups!..love it!!

The 4way switch gives you a lot more tone sounds than a 3way ie, 1 bridge 2 bridge/neck series, 3 bridge/neck parallel, 4 neck only, it is a Great upgrade from the old 3way switch!, not that I don't love the 3way, I have 2 teles I keep a 3way in but for rock,blues, pop, jazz, and country, I use a 4way with Texas special pups!..love it!!

Thanks for the info. This upgrade sounds like it may be just what I'm looking for, as I like the idea of being able to get different tones from one guitar and one amp. Is the 4way easy to swap out??

BTW- I have a brother that lives in Homosassa. Waldon Woods on Rt19

Thanks for the reply

Vic

Thanks for the info. This upgrade sounds like it may be just what I'm looking for, as I like the idea of being able to get different tones from one guitar and one amp. Is the 4way easy to swap out??

BTW- I have a brother that lives in Homosassa. Waldon Woods on Rt19

Thanks for the reply

Vic

There are all kinds of wiring diagrams for them on this site plus the site of a company like AcmeGuitarWorks where you can get the switch for about $20 shipped. There are two ways it's typically wired so you can review the wiring for each and decide which you prefer.

If you half-way decent with a soldering iron and you switch isn't possessed like mine was :wink: it's not difficult to DIY. If you order from Acme you may also want to get one of their "volume kits" for a couple of buck.

This is a cap/resistor combo you add to the volume pot to keep the treble from rolling off as you cut the volume. These two mods are pretty useful on any tele and the material will cost you less than $25. Good Luck!

Lots of good advice above. Play around with it stock for a while. Adjust the pickup heights to see how it changes the overall sound--before you just say "they're crap! I'm replacing them!"

I've never had a problem with Squier sealed tuners, though some scrap them immediately. YOU decide if they're crap, based on your experience.

I've replaced lots of things on my Affinity. To be honest, I really didn't need to do most of it. It was a great-sounding guitar from Day One. What I did replace I did because it was so damn easy and fun to mod this thing. I have no regrets about the mods I've done, I'm just saying that I didn't have to do any of them.

I've even un-done at least one mod a few times. I replaced the stock bridge with a vintage-style top-loader, but I've gone back-and-forth between it and the stock one a few times (the stock one's back on it now, I needed the vintage one for another project). Other than looks, I couldn't really tell the difference between the two bridges (Gasp! Heretic!).

One mod I do recommend is replacing the 3-way switch with either a quality 3-way or 4-way (4-way will require a new ground wire on the neck pickup, tons of threads here on this). The stock switch is a piece of crap.

Other than that, play it for a while (and do adjust those pickups), then decide what you want. I wanted mine to look more classic, so I tinted the neck, replaced the bridge, added a button-style string tree (I love those), an cup-style output jack (I may un-do this mod, as well), etc...

Affinitys are great platforms for fun, whether you mod the heck out of it or leave it alone.

This is a cap/resistor combo you add to the volume pot to keep the treble from rolling off as you cut the volume. These two mods are pretty useful on any tele and the material will cost you less than $25.

These two parts should cost you under a dollar. Google "Treble Bleed Mod" for details.

+1 on replacing the selector switch.Showing your age? Yes,Malcolm Young was born 1953 and Angus 1955.As far as I know they are not sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons!

I know it may be a bit too late, but an SX tele from Rondo music is, IMO, a better guitar and it is string thru. I have owned several SX teles and they are hard to beat for the price.

As for your Affinity Tele - a bone nut is always a nice upgrade. Good luck.

Geez guys,,,
Your giving me all kinds of food for thought here! I'll be honest, when I ordered this guitar it was with the thought that it would become a project. I mean isn't modding half the fun?
Plus I want to put my own stamp on it so to speak. At the price of this guitar, I can afford to use it as a guinea pig.

I feel pretty confident after reading what some of you guys have done here.

You guys do realize that me joining this site, is like letting a 3yr old loose in a candy store ?????

Well guys,
I got my new tele this morning and I can't begin to tell you how overwhelmed I am at the quality of this guitar for the price paid. I was surprised to find how nice the action is in stock form. After tuning it, I checked the intonation and though it's not perfect, it's darn close !! I can't get over it !!:grin:

I am one happy camper today. Tonight I'll spend some time going over set up just to get everything as nice as I can, and then I'll go from there as far as what I'd like to do for mods.

But I gotta tell you guys,, anyone thinking this is a cheep throw away guitar is in for a pleasant surprise. I know I had very low expectations and to my delight, I can't get over the overall quality for under 200 bucks.

I feel like a 16yr old who just met his first love :grin::grin: The action on this is actually as good if not better than my Gibson SG. Hard to believe I know !!
Later today I'll try to snap a pic or two and post it.
Once again,, thank you all for the good tips and advice on how to improve on my newest toy.

If it's this good out of the box, I can only imagine how good I can get this puppy with a few good improvements.

Vic

Play it.... then go from there....

But I gotta tell you guys,, anyone thinking this is a cheep throw away guitar is in for a pleasant surprise. I know I had very low expectations and to my delight, I can't get over the overall quality for under 200 bucks.

As has been mentioned many times, the quality of today's cheap guitars is amazing compared to those of the 1960s, 70s, and even 80s. We are living in a Golden Age of budget guitar gear!

Congrats on your new baby!

As has been mentioned many times, the quality of today's cheap guitars is amazing compared to those of the 1960s, 70s, and even 80s. We are living in a Golden Age of budget guitar gear!

Congrats on your new baby!

I have to totally agree with you. As I said, I really wasn't expecting much when I pulled it out of the box and had planed on a complete tear down. After giving it a test drive, the mods will be far less than I thought. After seeing this, I now plan to order a Strat lol.

Vic

After playing around with it most of the day today, I'm really impressed.
Here's the one thing I noticed and maybe you guys can help me out on this. Having never owned or played a tele before, I find the overall sound very tinny no matter how I have the pups or amp settings set. Is this normal for a tele ? Not that it's a bad thing but I'd like to get more depth out of it if possible.

Other than that I am in love with this thing !!

Vic

Having never owned or played a tele before, I find the overall sound very tinny no matter how I have the pups or amp settings set. Is this normal for a tele ?

This is where the inexpensive, ceramic pickups may be showing their worth. Do spend a bit of time adjusting pickup heights (I know you've already begun). There's a Fender guide to setting up a Telecaster which includes basic pickup height starting positions. I'll see if I can find the link. (FOUND IT! (http://www.fender.com/support/articles/telecaster-setup-guide))

There's an art to setting the height of a Tele neck pickup. Hint: it's best lower than you think.

You may have to do some experimenting to decide whether you're after vintage-strength pickups (generally lower-powered) or modern overwound pickups. I like underwound vintage-style pickups. They force me to do the heavy lifting with my amp.

Start listening to YouTube clips of pickups (search in the Just Pickups forums for a million suggestions). You can find great deals (GFS, Keystones, etc...) or pay more than you paid for your entire guitar (Lollar, Don Mare, etc...). I have GFS Vintage Alnico 50s repros (http://store.guitarfetish.com/Repro-1950S-Telecaster-Alnico-Boutique-Bridge-Pickup_p_653.html) in both my Tele bridges. Very satisfied.

Also, the value of the capacitor and pots can affect overall tone.

A final note that I probably should have started with: I think one of the biggest factors in overall balls/tone for a Tele is string weight. Most come with 9s. I stepped up to 10s and liked what I heard, but it was not until I moved to 11s (Ernie Ball Power Slinkys, to be exact) that my Teles "came alive." When I'd hit a chord, suddenly I could feel the guitar vibrate in my hands--and the sound that came out of the amp was fuller and better in every way. I haven't made the move to 12s (don't think I need to). Go get a set of Power Slinkys--for a $3 investment, you can get a good idea if this will help you.

Good luck. Keep us posted on your journey!

Hey, Vic!

The crux on this model is, do you like the neck, or is it too small for you to get going on?

I agree with Gigsbyboy: Play it as it is, play it this way until you're simply sick of it. Don't change anything but the strings.

Then, in 6 months or a year, think about it and either trade up or upgrade a few things. Or keep it as is and just wear it out.

Vic,
Glad to hear that you're setting it up yourself. I've seen very few guitars come from the factory set up to their best playing potential. Often the truss rod will need to be tightened from the climate changes since it left the factory.

I do think that the thin harshness you're hearing is caused by the ceramic magnets in the pickups. Also note, that the bridge pickup in a squire doesn't have a bridge plate (misses a little of the tele twang because of this). Also, the wiring harness uses really cheap pots and an output jack. This might also be making your guitar sound thin (though not as much as the pickups).

I don't like Fender's guide for adjusting pickup height. I find the best way to adjust pickup height is to do the following:

-set pickup selector to bridge pickup
-lower bridge pickup to about the same level as the bridge plate (careful to not let it slip off the screws)
-plug your guitar into an amp on the clean channel with all tone controls on the amp set to 12 o clock
-turn the guitars volume and tone knobs wide open
-raise your bridge pickup while strumming it
-listen to hear for a sweet spot
-fret the guitar at highest fret
-strum the guitar to make sure the string doesn't buzz from being too close to the pickup
-lower the pickup as little as neccessary if required
-switch back and forth between the neck pickup and bridge pickup
-adjust the neck pickup so it is the same volume output as the bridge pickup


Glad to hear that you're so thrilled with your new telecaster. They truely are fantastic guitars

This is where the inexpensive, ceramic pickups may be showing their worth. Do spend a bit of time adjusting pickup heights (I know you've already begun). There's a Fender guide to setting up a Telecaster which includes basic pickup height starting positions. I'll see if I can find the link. (FOUND IT! (http://www.fender.com/support/articles/telecaster-setup-guide))

There's an art to setting the height of a Tele neck pickup. Hint: it's best lower than you think.

You may have to do some experimenting to decide whether you're after vintage-strength pickups (generally lower-powered) or modern overwound pickups. I like underwound vintage-style pickups. They force me to do the heavy lifting with my amp.

Start listening to YouTube clips of pickups (search in the Just Pickups forums for a million suggestions). You can find great deals (GFS, Keystones, etc...) or pay more than you paid for your entire guitar (Lollar, Don Mare, etc...). I have GFS Vintage Alnico 50s repros (http://store.guitarfetish.com/Repro-1950S-Telecaster-Alnico-Boutique-Bridge-Pickup_p_653.html) in both my Tele bridges. Very satisfied.

Also, the value of the capacitor and pots can affect overall tone.

A final note that I probably should have started with: I think one of the biggest factors in overall balls/tone for a Tele is string weight. Most come with 9s. I stepped up to 10s and liked what I heard, but it was not until I moved to 11s (Ernie Ball Power Slinkys, to be exact) that my Teles "came alive." When I'd hit a chord, suddenly I could feel the guitar vibrate in my hands--and the sound that came out of the amp was fuller and better in every way. I haven't made the move to 12s (don't think I need to). Go get a set of Power Slinkys--for a $3 investment, you can get a good idea if this will help you.

Good luck. Keep us posted on your journey!

Great info and thank you,
I'm going to take all the good advice given here. I figure I'll do it one step at a time and not go crazy. Starting with strings and pup adjustments, see what I get from that, and go from there. You are right though, it's hard to justify spending big bucks on new pups for a 200 dollar guitar lol.

I spent a some time going over everything and setting the intonation last night, and I only had to make 2 very minor adjustments. Can't get over it !!

Very happy with my new Tele

Vic

Hey, Vic!

The crux on this model is, do you like the neck, or is it too small for you to get going on?

I agree with Gigsbyboy: Play it as it is, play it this way until you're simply sick of it. Don't change anything but the strings.

Then, in 6 months or a year, think about it and either trade up or upgrade a few things. Or keep it as is and just wear it out.

I have to be honest, when I ordered this guitar I wasn't sure how I was going to take to the smaller neck. After setting it up and playing it for most of the afternoon yesterday, I actually like it. It does take a bit of getting used to, and the higher bar/power chords are a little tricky, but after some time spent feeling it out I don't mind it at all. The neck is smooth, the action is fantastic and no buzzing anywhere to be found. All this in pretty much bone stock form. All I did was very minor adjustments so far.

Vic