NBD - Squier Affinity Jazz (dateline 30-Sep-2018)

[RodRy]

Realized I neglected to post about my beautiful bass, Silver. OK, it's old news now, but I really wanted to give it a moment to shine. Also, this allows me to post updates with the changes I make to it as time goes on.

Purchased new from Elderly Instruments in Lansing MI on 29-Sep-2018 as a birthday gift from my wife. I played about 10 basses that day, and for the price, this was the one that stole my heart. The funny thing was that when I got home, I found that one of my bass books has a silver Jazz bass on the cover. Could have biased me.

Came with some un-silked roundwounds. They were OK, but didn't really impress me.

Overall build quality and components were far beyond what I expected for a $200 bass. Elderly's setup was top notch, and I can recommend them for anyone interested in travelling to their store. Sure, it's not a fancy bass, but I love it.

Hmm, first change is going to have to be those strings...

 

[CallMeAl]

Better late than never!

I rather like Affinity basses and guitars, especially the past 5 years of production or so. There, I said it!

No mods so far? Pretty impressive. Like I said, I think they're pretty good as-is, but it’s TB nature to tinker

(continue to) enjoy!

 

[RodRy]

And so it was. On 21-Aug-2019 I changed out the original roundwounds for some Fender 9050ML stainless steel flatwounds. Hex core. Sizes are .050, .065, .085, .100. I dig the multi-colored ball ends and the green silks! These feel nice and smooth, give some good old-school thump without being too thick. Been digging them for 3 years now, and no sign of taking them off.

I retuned Silver to be DGCF a few months after putting the strings on, at the suggestion of TalkBass thread D Standard Club (DGCF). It's very cool, and these strings hold up well to the detuning without getting all floppy on me. I find I enjoy rethinking how to play songs that I'm used to playing in standard tuning. Now, I have a few more low notes. And I do love bass!

Echo playing it cool in the background. You'll remember him from my avatar pic. Cotton and leather LM brand strap. Very comfortable at 3" wide.

I really like those green silks! I really don't like what that basic string T is doing to them!

Tight wrap on all strings feels good under the fingers. Ball end color changes don't add value for me, but they look pretty.

I have a Fender gig bag that Silver stays in, but don't have a pic of that yet.

More to come...

 

[RodRy]

Better late than never!

I rather like Affinity basses and guitars, especially the past 5 years of production or so. There, I said it!

No mods so far? Pretty impressive. Like I said, I think they're pretty good as-is, but it’s TB nature to tinker

(continue to) enjoy!

My friend, we agree these are pretty sweet basses right out the door, but there are a few mods on the way. I just have a few other projects to button up first.

 

[aus_bass]

Sweet. Same strings that I have on my Affinity Jazz. Although, mine are the 9050M (55 - 105). I tried a bunch of flats on this Jazz, but the Fenders just have something that makes it sound great.

 

[CletusMarley]

Nice score! Congrats!

 

[MirandM]

Great bass, two mods I would suggest: change the nut for a metal one and change the bridge to a high mass one, simple mods results are like this:

(just mounted, not adjusted to the right string depth).

you probably remember these from my fretless jazz project in the BHPD thread.

 

[RodRy]

OK, next in my line of incremental changes to Silver. This time, it's an accessory. Those of you who know me know that the next set of pics is all about dat strap!

Specifically the 5th strap I've purchased from Coco Guitar Straps on Etsy. CocoGuitarStrapsUSA - Etsy I love her work. She makes straps out of really beautiful fabric, with a soft padding in the middle and tough cork ends. They are light weight, soft and strong. And so dang pretty. I order mine custom 3" wide so there's both more of the pattern showing, and more padded fabric over my shoulder. It makes a big difference to me in both comfort and style.

I pair straps with basses, so this strap will not go to any other bass as long as I own it. I think the Art Deco pattern brings out the different shades reflected as the body curves. The fretboard finds some brown in the design, and the headstock finds some tan. There's also a bit of white and of of course black. My wife commented when she came home to find the strap on Silver, "I liked the design when I saw it online, but it looks better on this bass than I imagined. It's stunning!"

I could not agree more.

 

[RodRy]

Next update: Silver's Home

Fender Gig Bag, purchased same day as the bass, but not photographed until today.

Front view of the bag is stylish. You can tell from the rumples that this has been here for awhile. The two front pockets are decent sized for cables and assorted things. I like the shapes involved, and the very padded handle.

The back of the bag has 2 padded straps, so it can be set up like a backpack. I normally keep one tucked inside the long sleeve. The extra large padded sections probably help with backpack-style carrying, but don't do very much for my side sling or handle carry. There's an area just above where the top of the backpack handles attach which forms a reinforced upside down pocket to make an extra lifting handle. A nice touch.

Inside is a non-removable neck pillow and a soft plastic pocket for the strap button to fit into. There's also some scratch-resistant material above the bridge and headstock. Good thing, because the liner material is pretty soft and could be damaged by string ends and bridge edges.

Last, Silver fits into it almost like the case was made for a Jazz bass to fit.

More to come as the modifications happen. But don't hold your breath: this bass has been playing great so far. The tone is what I expect from a Jazz, the ergonomics are good, and with the DGCF tuning, it's a bit like playing a short scale bass.

 

[elgranluis]

Is this one of the basses with the thinner body ? How heavy is it ?

 

[RodRy]

Is this one of the basses with the thinner body ? How heavy is it ?

What is considered a thinner body? Ran up and measured the body thickness with my tape measure. It's 1 5/8" thick.

Last time I weighted it, I had the heavier leather and woven cotton strap on and it came in at 9.4 pounds. I mention the strap, because the strap weight was notable to me at the time (about 3 years ago). The new strap from Coco Guitar Straps weighs notably less.