charjodie

I am an intermediate musician. Not an absolute pro, but I do record and produce all of my work by myself, along with releasing my own projects and songs. I was looking for a new and affordable guitar to capture the tones of my favorite artists (specifically Cavetown) while crafting a new tone for myself. After looking through different options, I settled on the Squier Affinity Telecaster that had released in 2021. I've had this guitar for 11 months, as of me writing this review, and I can confidently say that this guitar looks excellent and sounds great. It captures indie/rock/alternative tones with ease, especially when paired up with a bit of overdrive and chorus. The neck feels excellent, and it's very easy to traverse it without any problem. The guitar stays in tune incredibly well too, just a nice guitar all around. I will say, there were small quality control issues once the telecaster first came. It seems the second knob (which controls the tone/treble of the guitar's output) is a bit too long or unfinished, as it grinds against the metal on the guitar (that contains the pickup selector, volume knob, and tone knob), especially compared to the volume knob, which turns easily. The output jack has fallen out a few times at first, but two screws were missing from said output jack, so once I put them in, they were fine. The guitar sounds excellent too. It's a telecaster, it provides a nice indie and alternative sound, something you will be familiar with if you've listened to the likes of indie pop, bedroom pop, etc. It's a bit twangy and mellow, but can bite when needed. It doesn't sound the greatest with fuzz (though that could just be my cheap fuzz pedal), but it sounds excellent with overdrive, reverb, chorus, etc. It is also incredibly versatile for different genres. I have recorded lofi rock, power pop, indie rock, indie pop, bedroom pop, and many other sounds, genres, and ideas with this guitar, and each time they have worked a wonderful amount with those songs. And with the price point (around $260 USD, as of writing this) you would be a madman to not get this if you are looking for an affordable and versatile guitar. I can't give it a 5/5, since it's not absolutely perfect, but it might as well just be. 4/5

This guitar sounds wonderful. The guitar doesn't feel or sound cheap at all, and it is quite nice to play on. It has a weird sort of mellowness and softness to it, and can add some nice attack with ease. The guitar sustains surprisingly well, and all in all, is just a great guitar. I personally keep it by my bed instead of with the rest of my guitars/basses so I can just pick it up and write songs on it with ease. I will say, the neck is a bit too chunky or thick for me, if that makes sense, and it can cause some slight hand pain when playing barre chords for long periods of time. You could associate this to my relative inexperience (although I've been playing guitar for two years), but I think it's just the fact that acoustic guitars are a bit too uncomfortable for me neck-wise. I am much more comfortable on electric guitar. It might not be the same for you, however. The guitar has a nice sort of mellowness and softness to the sound, it sort of reminds me of the sound of the acoustic guitar on Nirvana's "Polly." It sounds especially nice when playing barre chords on the bottom three strings (E, A, D) and has a nice balance of frequencies in the sound. All in all, a wonderful guitar. 4/5

I wanted to be able to record songs without having any white noise or static from my fans, or just general ambience in my apartment, so I chose to buy this guitar after looking for affordable acoustic-electrics. I actually do quite like this guitar. Not perfect by any means, but for the DIY rock/DIY pop music I make, it fits the bill incredibly well, not only in looks but in sounds. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it has a weird squeakiness or tinniness when recording (if you need an example, listen to the instrumental bridge on Animals by STOMACH BOOK, specifically listen to the acoustic guitar in that song) and while some might be turned off from it, I do quite think it works well, especially for background elements or when distorted. I will say, there are some quality control issues. The output jack feels a bit cheap, the tuners work weird, although they stay in tune well, and the first fret on the D and G string create a weird plucky sound, which has a lack of an actual acoustic-guitar sound. It creates for a bit of a weird experience, especially when playing the open E chord. If you can see the guitar past those issues, however, you will get a nice and cheap guitar. I paid $123 for it, but it's, as of me writing this, $85. Definitely pick this up if you just need an acoustic-electric that works and can sound well if done right. 3/5