Butterscotch Squier Affinity Tele - help please!

[Fatmanstratman]

The wife asked what I wanted for Xmas yesterday....

Jokingly (as I already have 10 Telecasters) I showed her a nice pic of the Squier Affinity Tele on the net and said "Well - I'd really like one of these....."

She only went and said "OK - if you'd really like one, I'll buy you one.... why not buy one now then you're sure of getting one".

Talk about 'knock me down with a feather...'

Now I'm all excited! I know it's only an Affinity, but I hear such good things about them. I'd like to take the route followed by Rob Di Stefano, and make it a string-thru, with a 3 saddle bridge and upgraded pickups & tuners (and nut, of course). But can someone help me with the following:

a. Is the body thick enough to take an Electrosocket jack socket? And is the existing routing large enough, or will I have to get the drill out? (The black plastic 'Les Paul' type fitted as standard looks - IMHO - pretty poor).

b. What pots are fitted as standard? Are they the small 500k type of the full sized 250k CTS type?

c. The volume & tone knobs look slighly smaller than a standard Tele - is this the case?

d. What sort of selector switch is fitted as standard? If it is one of the Japanese style 'plastic' jobs, is the body thick enough to take a CRL switch?

e. Is the existing white single ply pickguard the 'normal' size? Will any standard black 8-hole pickguard fit?

f. What size holes are in the headstock for the tuners - 8mm or 10mm?

And finally - I'm not so keen on the pale satin finish on the neck - I'd like to spray it with an amber tint laquer. As you know, we can't (easily) get nitro sprays over here in the UK. Does anybody know of a UK based supplier of amber tinted acrylic laquers?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm all fired up! I'm gonna try to make this little beauty into (as near as possible) a "Squier 52 RI". I'll be leaving the Squier decal on the headstock (there's absolutely no reason to change it) but I may possibly remove the "Affinity" part and replace it with a "Fatman Custom Shop" decal on the end of the headstock (if it doesn't look too naff!... ).

Thanks guys.

* EDIT * Apologies if all these questions have been answered before in another thread. I couldn't find one, but if there IS one, please point me to it. Thanks.

[Togman]

Hi Fatman,

It sounds like you've got a mighty fine wife there. Does she run training courses for other wives? LOL.

If you are interested, they have an affinity in stock at Fenland Music over here in Ely. It sounds like a lot of your questions would be answerd just by seeing one 1st hand. Probably best to call before hand just to check they still have it though - 01353 666313. The store is owned by Nigel & Frances Smith and managed by Will. All very nice folks.

No affiliation. etc.

Good luck.

[Fatmanstratman]

Thanks, Togman.

I did have a quick look at one in a store nearby earlier today, but they won't even let you TOUCH, let alone unscrew the control plate! I just thought the body looked a wee bit thin for an Electrosocket, but again - not having one to hand, and with the local shop not even knowing what an Electrosocket is - I couldn't glean any useful information.

For what it's worth, behind the ONE Metallic Purple MIM Standard on display, the Butterscotch Squier Affinity Tele was the SECOND most expensive instrument in the shop!!!!

Great choice in the UK, eh?

I could still use your help, please guys....

[SOUNDMIXER]

Fatmanstratman,

I'll tell you what I know, but my Affinity has an older , thicker body.

"a. Is the body thick enough to take an Electrosocket jack socket? And is the existing routing large enough, or will I have to get the drill out? (The black plastic 'Les Paul' type fitted as standard looks - IMHO - pretty poor)."

I stuck a chrome Les Paul plate on the outside, which looks much better. The Electrosocket probably will fit, but you're left with 4 holes that need filled and painted to match the body. Not easy with the poly finish.

"b. What pots are fitted as standard? Are they the small 500k type of the full sized 250k CTS type?

c. The volume & tone knobs look slighly smaller than a standard Tele - is this the case?

d. What sort of selector switch is fitted as standard? If it is one of the Japanese style 'plastic' jobs, is the body thick enough to take a CRL switch?"

The body should take all the electrics that you want. Yegbert is probably the man to talk to about that. I retro fitted proper 250k pots and CRL switch and it does make a big difference. The knobs I kept as they were just fine.

"e. Is the existing white single ply pickguard the 'normal' size? Will any standard black 8-hole pickguard fit?"

Any Tele pickguard will fit, but be prepared for an odd hole to be out of line and require filling before fitting. I put a 5 hole bakelite on mine (Allparts) and it looks the business.

"f. What size holes are in the headstock for the tuners - 8mm or 10mm?"

If I recall correctly the holes are 8mm. I had to drill mine out to 10mm to fit Gotoh Klusons. (Allparts TK_7880-001) A word of warning though. The gap between the tuner holes means that the tuners won't butt together on the back of the headstock, but that could be just mine.

"And finally - I'm not so keen on the pale satin finish on the neck - I'd like to spray it with an amber tint laquer. As you know, we can't (easily) get nitro sprays over here in the UK. Does anybody know of a UK based supplier of amber tinted acrylic laquers?"

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/

You'll need clear nitro lacquer and tinted nitro lacquer and they run at about £15 a can. The website gives good instructions on use. Don't use the amber lacquer as it goes too yellow. You are better off applying many coats of tinted instead. I sanded everything off the neck on mine, including the Squier logo, back to the bare wood and gave it two coats of gloss, 6 coats of tinted, applied the decals and finished it off with another four coats of gloss. Check here for pictures;
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...-affinity.html

As for decals, try here http://www.thedecalshop.co.uk.
He does some cracking Fender ones as well as custom ones. Not cheap but totally worth it. The quality is fanatastic.

My last piece of advise is about the bridge. I kept the standard bridge (mine is a string through anyway) but fitted decent Squier saddles to it. These can be picked up on E-Bay fairly cheaply, or from Allparts. I kept it six saddle for two reasons. It intonates a bit better (IMHO) and you don't have to fill if holes in the body if you fit a vintage bridge. My talents for that are limited so I chose not to feck it up and ruin a perfectly good guitar. Drilling string through holes is a difficult job and can really screw up a good body.

The nut on mine is the one that came with the neck. I like the small neck, but if you don't, buy an Allparts fat neck instead and refinish that. Pick ups are up to you and there is plenty of advice on here. I have a set of SD Alnico Pro 2's on mine and I am in heaven with them.

Above all, take your time any enjoy the experience.

Have fun.

[f69tele]

hey fatmanstratman,
I put CTS 250K pots in mine and I had to drill out the control plate to get them to fit. The body is thick enough for an electrosocket, but you've got the issue with the 4 unused screw holes. I put a std. Fender 4-way switch in mine, so yes you can put a good 3-way switch in there. The stock one is really flimsy. The knobs are smaller than std. sized Fender knobs. I replaced mine with some I had laying around. I put a 5-hole pickguard on mine and one of the holes didn't line up, so I had to plug it and drill another one. The vintage bridge ordeal depends on how much work you want to do. I did it to mine and wasn't happy until I did. I tried to like to stock bridge for a few months but couldn't stay with it.
Also, I went the tinted lacquer route on my neck also. But after playing it live a few times I realized that it just sounded kinda lame. Even with Fralin pickups in it. I came to realize that the neck just isn't beefy enough to give a good thick fat tone, so I replaced the neck. It's crazy, but the only thing stock left on mine is the body, neck plate and control plate.
I did put Kluson tuners on my stock neck, but the hole were too big even for the adapter bushings, so I had to epoxy them in. Then, the holes were too close together, so I had to grind the edges of the tuners to get them to all mount properly. It was definitely a lot more work modding this guitar than I had thought it would be. Also, I put a 4-way switch in mine, and the slot in the control plate wasn't long enough, so I had to notch the switch to get it to go into the 4th position.
All in all, I'd do it again. After all the modding and Fralin pickups,new neck, etc.. I still only have around $400 in this guitar.

Hope you have fun with yours!

[aunchaki]

I've not had [m]any of the troubles with my BSB Affinity that others have had. I had no problems with the ElectroSocket install (though the four original screw holes are exposed). My control cavity is roomy, mine came with full-size pots.

I did the vintage bridge replacement (drilled new holes). I haven't filled in the three original holes yet. Every time I switch strings I switch bridges -- I'm trying to discover if I can tell a difference. Honestly, I never notice the three holes. For myself (YMMV), the bridge I end up with will be about looks; They sounds pretty similar to me.

I have vintage Fender tuners on my neck. I got the conversion bushings to work with a paper spacer. The tuners butted up to each other perfectly on the back of the headstock. I really didn't need to replace the stock tuners -- they worked fine -- I just like the look of the klusons. I also swapped out the string tree for a vintage-style button. It looks great!

Overall, mine is still pretty stock. I like the neck. I've swapped tuners, string tree, pickups, pickguard, and output jack. I really like fiddling around with it. A great base for modding, but leaving it stock is OK, as well.

Good luck!

[Rob DiStefano]

I'm sure to be echoing what others may have already posted in this thread about the SAB ...

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

...
a. Is the body thick enough to take an Electrosocket jack socket? And is the existing routing large enough, or will I have to get the drill out? (The black plastic 'Les Paul' type fitted as standard looks - IMHO - pretty poor).

Yes, it'll fit but you'll hafta deal with the remaining 4 holes from the stock jackplate.

b. What pots are fitted as standard? Are they the small 500k type of the full sized 250k CTS type?

I've seen SAB's come with both small and large Asian pots - if they're 250K and large, I'd leave'em, otherwise replace with standard 250K CTS.

c. The volume & tone knobs look slighly smaller than a standard Tele - is this the case?

No, they fine for me.

d. What sort of selector switch is fitted as standard? If it is one of the Japanese style 'plastic' jobs, is the body thick enough to take a CRL switch?

Junk - replace with a CRL (I'd recommend a 4-way).

e. Is the existing white single ply pickguard the 'normal' size? Will any standard black 8-hole pickguard fit?

I replaced the SAB's p/g with an AllParts standards Tele 5 hole black matte guard - the fit was perfect.

f. What size holes are in the headstock for the tuners - 8mm or 10mm?

Large, for modern sealed tuners - you'll need adapter bushings in order to retrofit vintage style tuners. Also, realize that the SAB neck sports a 1.610" (or thereabouts) narrow nut width!

And finally - I'm not so keen on the pale satin finish on the neck - I'd like to spray it with an amber tint laquer. As you know, we can't (easily) get nitro sprays over here in the UK. Does anybody know of a UK based supplier of amber tinted acrylic laquers?

Sorry, dunno. If you have Min Wax products in the UK, that'd be a good choice. Whatever you do, you must used tinted clear and not straight stain.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm all fired up! I'm gonna try to make this little beauty into (as near as possible) a "Squier 52 RI". I'll be leaving the Squier decal on the headstock (there's absolutely no reason to change it) but I may possibly remove the "Affinity" part and replace it with a "Fatman Custom Shop" decal on the end of the headstock (if it doesn't look too naff!... ).

Go for it, mate! The conversion should be a fun excercise and the results will be pleasing I'm sure ...



Thanks guys.

* EDIT * Apologies if all these questions have been answered before in another thread. I couldn't find one, but if there IS one, please point me to it. Thanks.

....

[Fatmanstratman]

soundmixer, f69tele, aunchaki and of course Rob DiStefano - a constant source of inspiration - THANKS, guys, for all your input!....

It is very much appreciated.

Man, I just LOVE this place!!.....

[PraiseCaster]

I couldnt add anything more to waht was already said except, have fun with that fatmanstratman! Your gonna get a big grin on your face when your finished, TRUST ME!


Yep, it's a Squier!

[TG]

Does the thinner body make for a thinner sound, in any way? I'm (vaguely) considering getting one for a project and putting a thicker neck on it but I want to be sure it'll end up as a solid sounding guitar with a reasonable sustain.

[SOUNDMIXER]

TG,

Like Nike says, just do it.
Try the "thin" neck first and see how you get on. If it doesn't work out, put on a fat neck.
I still use the "thin" neck and I get some great sustain and thick ZZ Top type sounds out of mine. It's a real guitar, no mistake.

I'm kinda hankerin' after another one in white to make into an Esquire, now that I know what's involved in doing it.

Affinity GAS, oh my!

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by TG

Does the thinner body make for a thinner sound, in any way? I'm (vaguely) considering getting one for a project and putting a thicker neck on it but I want to be sure it'll end up as a solid sounding guitar with a reasonable sustain.

The thinner body isn't at all an issue for me in terms of tone - it's thick and juicy. I absolutely prefer a thinner Tele body and my modded SAB is my main axe. In fact, I now have a SAW (Squier Affinity White) Tele as a backup (also with a TMO-FAT neck and Keystones).

[Jim_in_DC]

Sometime next week I should receive a Squier Affinity Tele that I bought on eBay, and I have a question about the recommendation to install a 4-way switch.

Rob mentioned using a CRL 4-way switch, but I haven't actually seen any listed online as CRL switches. I have, however, seen 4-ways by Oak Grigsby, and I was wondering if they would work. I guess I'm a bit nervous about the thinner body and likely shallower control cavity depth. Thanks for listening.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by Jim_in_DC

Sometime next week I should receive a Squier Affinity Tele that I bought on eBay, and I have a question about the recommendation to install a 4-way switch.

Rob mentioned using a CRL 4-way switch, but I haven't actually seen any listed online as CRL switches. I have, however, seen 4-ways by Oak Grigsby, and I was wondering if they would work. I guess I'm a bit nervous about the thinner body and likely shallower control cavity depth. Thanks for listening.

The Oak 4-way is excellent. No worries at all about the thinner body.

[Jim_in_DC]

Thanks Rob.

[yegbert]

The control rout on my son's '04 Affinity Special was deep enough for the better switch I installed. It was a CRL or similar, it reached deeper than the stock rectangular switch.

The stock pots were 500k, I replaced them with CTS 250k pots and had to enlarge the control plate holes slightly to get those to fit.

I didn't measure the knobs, but didn't get the impression they were smaller outside diameter than others. They have a somewhat smooth grip, I prefer the more coarse grip of the knobs Fender puts on MIA/MIM Teles. So I chose solid shaft pots and bought the more coarse feeling Fender knobs, and installed them together.

[Jim_in_DC]

Thanks Yegbert.