having fun with my Affinity Strat, surprisingly

peskypesky · 09-02-2010, 12:48 AM

just for the hell of it, i decided to pull out the blue Affinity Strat that's pretty much been in the closet since i bought it. the reason being that i didn't take to the narrow neck. it felt very cramped to me. so i've been contemplating selling it since i got it.

but for some reason, i've held on to it. and tonight, i started playing around on it, and the first thing i noticed and liked was the big frets. much bigger than on my other Squiers. maybe they're jumbo? in any case, i found that i really liked the feel of these big frets.

and then as i played, i also sort of started liking the narrowness of the neck. its definitely an adjustment, and my hands aren't used to it, but there was something sort of cool about how the strings are closer together. i found that i could do faster picking across strings with this more narrow string-spacing.

the one thing i did NOT like was the hard, almost sharp edge of the fingerboard. this neck needs some rolled edges bad, so i may try to do that.

anyway, i'm surprised that i was enjoying the Affinity. oh, the sound? quite nice. at least with certain amp settings. but to improve the sound, i may put in a set of alnicos and maybe upgrade the electronics. just to see.

ghostwolf · 09-02-2010, 01:00 AM

rolling fingerboard edges is easy, time consuming, but otherwise not a big deal. you can either use a screwdriver shaft to burnish the edge, or use a file to actually remove some of the wood. this is the method i use on my guitars, it makes a big difference in the feel. you pretty much just follow the same angle you'd use to do fret ends after installing new ones.

YeahDoIt · 09-02-2010, 08:04 AM

Every model of guitar is different. I like the differences, actually.

1935streetrod · 09-02-2010, 08:55 AM

Kept mine for a lot of the same reasons. It really is a pleasure to play, but not much to look at. So a black GFS wired pickguard with alnico's and a full sized tremblock plus some headstock modification gave it the sound and look I like. Now I keep it handy on the wall and play that sucker everyday.

Buddy · 09-06-2010, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskypesky

just for the hell of it, i decided to pull out the blue Affinity Strat that's pretty much been in the closet since i bought it. the reason being that i didn't take to the narrow neck. it felt very cramped to me. so i've been contemplating selling it since i got it.

I have an Affinity and it seems narrow. Is the Squier Deluxe Strat neck wider?