I just found this bloke(Nov 12 /2022) as I played this exact guitar this past Thurs and loved it. Sadly the second comment from the top was my deceased American friend Acess2084 who passed the same month! All this sadness, RIP John Wombat and Tom(Skip) 😢
snobs crap on affinity teles but i love mine. I have the same exact one in the vid. I love the way it sounds, i love the feel of it and the Damn thing stays in tune, i got hurt and couldn't play for 6 months, once I picked it up again it was still in perfect tune. I like the neck I have chunky stubby fingers it was very comfortable to play. I get the sounds im looking for just fine with the right effects and tweaks. I have no complaints. if you really know how to play it will work just fine in my opinion.
My advice for cheap guitars is always this (in case you have a hardtail bridge): - Get the frets done; - Get new pickups, tuners and nut - If necessary get new pots and electronics. Most cheap guitars cheap out on the electronic department and quality control, which means it would need to be setup properly. Besides that, you can get away with mostly any guitar unless you're touring constantly and have weather and different environments changing the wood. But even so, if it's setup properly and has these changes that I mentioned 90% of people will get more than what they need on cheap guitars
I bought an Affinity Tele in February and love it! Sure, some Alnico pickups would give it a bit more power. But, I'm happy with it being stock. I have a Squier Bullet Strat which I replaced the pickups with Alnicos. That takes care of the need quite nicely. The stock pickups on the Bullet Strat are as weak as can be. The pickups on my Affinity Tele are somewhere in-between.
I love these cheap pickups..only replacing the tuners..i put this exact guitar into a battery run Roland microcube for gigs/jams & get no single coil 60htz hum ;-)
Thank you for the video. Very insightful. As you said it’s you’re opinion.. I received my exact copy for my 60th birthday from my wife. She spent $260.00 for it here in Oahu Hawaii. I plugged it into my VOX 30 watt amp. I own 17 different guitars and this one does have its own sound and feel. I like the middle settings the best. I do own a ‘63 Fender tele’ and found I love the way this one sounds. I have a saying. If I own two guitars that sound the same, why have the second one. Again. Thank you for the video. I did enjoy it.
Im slowly but surely gonna upgrade my squier tele. Seymour Duncan hot rail pick ups, fender locking tuners, and a maple roasted fender neck. Mod stuff at my own pace
Been playing my Les Paul for 12yrs, just bought this Tele and i find it does the job perfectly.. I get great tones. I think people don't use the right gear or don't setup their amp settings accordingly... Great guitar all in all, and now with strings through body!
I picked up this exact guitar this past Thursday and wasn't expecting much but was seriously blown away. After playing some real dodgy ones a few months ago.It played like a dream and not my fave colour but thinking of going back and buying it!
I would check the tone pots. I got a really old affinity tele. When I first opened up mine it had 500k tone pots in it. Which would explain the extra top end. 500k pots are generally used for humbuckers, but in the case of single coils it can get a bit overwhelming and like you said piercing. It's a simple fix though, I found rolling off the tone and volume dial slightly with it darkens the pickups a bit for a more balanced tone, it does help it with 60 cycle hum too. This makes playing with gain a bit more manageable. 👍
Bought this guitar when it came out many years ago. Amazing guitar value. Replaced the pickups (which are good to begin with) with Dragonfire Texas Blues for Tele, a rosewood affinity Tele neck, Planet Wave auto/trim tuners (direct drop-in no drilling). The stock PUPs are not balanced but he’s right - you can live with it but invest in at least new PuPs and better tuners. The electronics are average so replacing the switch would also help improve things.
For the price if one likes to dial in the pliaybility and tone this is the one to keep costs in line. You could pay twice as much and still replace the pickups instead use the money to buy some great PUs for a few hundred and rock on. Thanks!
I just got a new one. I had an older model that sounded a bit darker. I still have the older and the neck (maybe due to time) is much darker, almost it looks it is tinted like the Vintage Vibe. The older is sumburst, and the new is naturla, like the one in this video. I might swap the necks and maybe even the pickups. Don´t know if it is worth it. Greetings from Brazil!
Great review. I have a "versus" question: this Affinity for the satin neck or the Classic Vibe 50s Tele for the clearer plckups and nicer fit/finish? Anybody? Thanks.
I like all these guitars. Here is the thing, the G110 and Bullet Strat are around the same level of instrument. The Yamaha and the G200DX, however, are another step up in terms of build and hardware. All are decent guitars so you can't really go wrong, but if you can stretch to the G200 or Yamaha, do it.
Don't know about longer but the saddles have to be in the same place due to the scale length of the guitar. The ashtray style of bridge can be tricky to internate properly so they don't put them on beginner guitars very often.
It's really all about the amp and that guitar seems to really love Vox amps from what I've seen. All the bad attributes regarding the bridge were nowhere to be found with the Vox AC series.
This is a difficult question as most guitars in this price range seem to have quality control issues. I have not played the Artist Tele and I hear good things about it but I have also heard complaints about quality issues. Not to mention that the Artist Tele at the moment is a dual humbucker set up, not your regular Telecaster. When I decided I wanted a cheap Tele a while back, I tried quite a few in some stores and I also reviewed a couple. The one I liked the best was the SX SST Ash Series. I reviewed it here on the channel, took it back to the store when I was done, then went back the next day and bought it because it was that good. The pickups are great for this price range. However, I have heard from people who own one that theirs is terrible and bad quality. The best I can recommend is to get to some stores and play a few before parting with your cash.
For my money the SX STL Ash Series is a better all round guitar and the pickups are much better. In fact, it was so good, for the money, I ended up buying it.
Got same model guitar the neck pick up is to low. Once I raised it the neck pickup came alive. Bit difficult on these as they dont have neck pickup adjusting screws
Hey Wombat, Names Josh Im from Syd Aus, Mate Im looking for a Black Cort X1 or X4 in a black gloss finish, Where would you reccomend trying to find one? Would really appreciate a replay man, Thanks!!
I’ve just ordered the exact same guitar from Better Music, but I have to say I’m not hugely impressed by the Butterscotch Blonde finish on yours. I hope mine looks more like what I see on the website (more of a natural look with the grain much more visible) otherwise I’ll be exchanging it for one of the other colours. Mine also has black Squier lettering on the headstock - any idea why it would be different? As always, thanks for the review 🤘🏼
No idea why they have the different logo. I have also noticed the logo thing. Most of the Butterscotch Blonde finishes I have seen have been very similar to this one in the video. I hope yours is more to your liking.
Wombat Page well it arrived and while it’s a bit more to my liking than yours, I’m not in love with it. In hindsight I probably should have gone with one of the solid colours. I think it will grow on me.
lobster whisperer my guitar arrived and it has the gold logo on the headstock. Guess they just had the wrong image on the website. As previously noted, the colour is more orange than butterscotch blonde.
Great review! Pretty much the typical review of this guitar. A fantastic value, barring the occasional quality control issue. One funny thing; in the review I watched before this the gentleman said the width of the neck was a little narrower than he was used to. 😃 Subjective stuff. Anyways, thanks for the review.
Where's Wombat? Nothing posted for an aeon mate. Aware Variety Music sadly shut its doors around the time your vids stopped. Hope all is well with you.
Yes... he was my best mate. Sadly Wombat passed in January 2022, he will be greatly missed by many. Please keep watching his videos to keep his voice out there
Wombat Page i agree ! there are tons of awesome budget guitars out there now and if you have a little bit of skill working on them you can come up with something great for cheap.
WHy should I care about the opinion of a guy who cna't play? Takes more than long hair and a beard to earn creds, Bro. Go take some lessons and come back in 10-15 years
Rip Darin John "Wombat" Page, passed away on the 14th January 2022, aged 51, I will miss you my friend.
Came to his last video hoping somebody said something, thank you 🥺
@@otakuholly8885 Does anyone know something about him?
I just found this bloke(Nov 12 /2022) as I played this exact guitar this past Thurs and loved it. Sadly the second comment from the top was my deceased American friend Acess2084 who passed the same month! All this sadness, RIP John Wombat and Tom(Skip) 😢
Damn. Sad news.
:(((((( He looked like a very cool dude...
snobs crap on affinity teles but i love mine. I have the same exact one in the vid. I love the way it sounds, i love the feel of it and the Damn thing stays in tune, i got hurt and couldn't play for 6 months, once I picked it up again it was still in perfect tune. I like the neck I have chunky stubby fingers it was very comfortable to play. I get the sounds im looking for just fine with the right effects and tweaks. I have no complaints. if you really know how to play it will work just fine in my opinion.
My advice for cheap guitars is always this (in case you have a hardtail bridge):
- Get the frets done;
- Get new pickups, tuners and nut
- If necessary get new pots and electronics.
Most cheap guitars cheap out on the electronic department and quality control, which means it would need to be setup properly. Besides that, you can get away with mostly any guitar unless you're touring constantly and have weather and different environments changing the wood. But even so, if it's setup properly and has these changes that I mentioned 90% of people will get more than what they need on cheap guitars
RIP Wombat Page
Bought that exact guitar about 8 months ago. Love it
I bought an Affinity Tele in February and love it! Sure, some Alnico pickups would give it a bit more power. But, I'm happy with it being stock. I have a Squier Bullet Strat which I replaced the pickups with Alnicos. That takes care of the need quite nicely. The stock pickups on the Bullet Strat are as weak as can be. The pickups on my Affinity Tele are somewhere in-between.
They always cheap out on electronics, if you do that and a good setup any guitar is AMAZING
I love these cheap pickups..only replacing the tuners..i put this exact guitar into a battery run Roland microcube for gigs/jams & get no single coil 60htz hum ;-)
RIP my friend, it made me sad to see your comment 😢
Thank you for the video. Very insightful.
As you said it’s you’re opinion..
I received my exact copy for my 60th birthday from my wife. She spent $260.00 for it here in Oahu Hawaii.
I plugged it into my VOX 30 watt amp.
I own 17 different guitars and this one does have its own sound and feel.
I like the middle settings the best.
I do own a ‘63 Fender tele’ and found I love the way this one sounds.
I have a saying. If I own two guitars that sound the same, why have the second one.
Again. Thank you for the video. I did enjoy it.
Im slowly but surely gonna upgrade my squier tele. Seymour Duncan hot rail pick ups, fender locking tuners, and a maple roasted fender neck. Mod stuff at my own pace
Been playing my Les Paul for 12yrs, just bought this Tele and i find it does the job perfectly.. I get great tones. I think people don't use the right gear or don't setup their amp settings accordingly... Great guitar all in all, and now with strings through body!
I picked up this exact guitar this past Thursday and wasn't expecting much but was seriously blown away. After playing some real dodgy ones a few months ago.It played like a dream and not my fave colour but thinking of going back and buying it!
I would check the tone pots. I got a really old affinity tele. When I first opened up mine it had 500k tone pots in it. Which would explain the extra top end. 500k pots are generally used for humbuckers, but in the case of single coils it can get a bit overwhelming and like you said piercing. It's a simple fix though, I found rolling off the tone and volume dial slightly with it darkens the pickups a bit for a more balanced tone, it does help it with 60 cycle hum too. This makes playing with gain a bit more manageable. 👍
Good on Ya Mate! Thanks for the video! I´ve got mine here in Brazil and it was handcrafted in China!. Cheers!.
I picked up a used one and agreed with what you said about the pickups.I swapped them out with a set of alnico pickups and it came alive.
Yeah, if you're happy to replace the pickups, and I would also consider replacing the tuners, then you have a great guitar.
Hey! Did you change the electronics as well? thks
Bought this guitar when it came out many years ago. Amazing guitar value. Replaced the pickups (which are good to begin with) with Dragonfire Texas Blues for Tele, a rosewood affinity Tele neck, Planet Wave auto/trim tuners (direct drop-in no drilling). The stock PUPs are not balanced but he’s right - you can live with it but invest in at least new PuPs and better tuners. The electronics are average so replacing the switch would also help improve things.
For the price if one likes to dial in the pliaybility and tone this is the one to keep costs in line. You could pay twice as much and still replace the pickups instead use the money to buy some great PUs for a few hundred and rock on. Thanks!
Wombat. What are the others in that price range that sounded better please mate?
I just got a new one. I had an older model that sounded a bit darker. I still have the older and the neck (maybe due to time) is much darker, almost it looks it is tinted like the Vintage Vibe. The older is sumburst, and the new is naturla, like the one in this video. I might swap the necks and maybe even the pickups. Don´t know if it is worth it. Greetings from Brazil!
Great review. I have a "versus" question: this Affinity for the satin neck or the Classic Vibe 50s Tele for the clearer plckups and nicer fit/finish? Anybody? Thanks.
Classic vibe all day everyday.
what color is this? looks warmer than a solid blonde i've seen at the store
I think it's called butterscotch blonde
thanks. the one from store is more like dog vomit blonde
I have 2 squier strats that I love too play but I think it's time to buy a Tele. ☮️ Wombat
I love guitars that are stripped down workhorse type guitars. No bells and whistles, just a flat out worker.
Onya! - Nice straight forward review.
Sir , which do you think is best
Cort g110 / squier bullet strat / cort g200dx / yamaha 012
I like all these guitars. Here is the thing, the G110 and Bullet Strat are around the same level of instrument. The Yamaha and the G200DX, however, are another step up in terms of build and hardware. All are decent guitars so you can't really go wrong, but if you can stretch to the G200 or Yamaha, do it.
@@WombatPage thank you very much sir
Really like ur videos, from india
this orange looks 10000x times better than yellow butterscotsch
This tele will always have a special place in my heart, i used to own one
Hey awesome video! you think this one is better than the SX ASH telecaster?
I bought the SX Ash Tele, I did not but this one. The Ash tele is a better guitar.
@@WombatPage thanks man that answer saved a lot of time for me! Happy new year 🥳🥳
@@lcswyssbrod same to you mate.
I have to wonder in an ashtray bridge would make a nice change, or is the existing bridge longer?
Don't know about longer but the saddles have to be in the same place due to the scale length of the guitar. The ashtray style of bridge can be tricky to internate properly so they don't put them on beginner guitars very often.
It's really all about the amp and that guitar seems to really love Vox amps from what I've seen. All the bad attributes regarding the bridge were nowhere to be found with the Vox AC series.
Hi Wombat, what's the better alternative? Artist Telecaster?
This is a difficult question as most guitars in this price range seem to have quality control issues. I have not played the Artist Tele and I hear good things about it but I have also heard complaints about quality issues. Not to mention that the Artist Tele at the moment is a dual humbucker set up, not your regular Telecaster. When I decided I wanted a cheap Tele a while back, I tried quite a few in some stores and I also reviewed a couple. The one I liked the best was the SX SST Ash Series. I reviewed it here on the channel, took it back to the store when I was done, then went back the next day and bought it because it was that good. The pickups are great for this price range. However, I have heard from people who own one that theirs is terrible and bad quality. The best I can recommend is to get to some stores and play a few before parting with your cash.
@@WombatPage I probably will wait for sales of Sx thinline telecaster, def better guitar than Squier affinity
Hi Wombat,
why don't you keep uploading videos?
There are several reasons why I haven't done a new video in a while. I do hope to do some more videos soon.
So, what are the guitars in price range with better pups...?
For my money the SX STL Ash Series is a better all round guitar and the pickups are much better. In fact, it was so good, for the money, I ended up buying it.
how does it compare with the SX that you reviewed before?
Let me put it this way. After reviewing the SX, I went and bought one. I did not buy the Squier after reviewing it.
Sir, why are you not uploading any videos??
There are a number of reasons that I haven't done any new videos in a while. I am, however, hoping to have a new video up sometime soon. Stay tuned.
@@WombatPage sure sir, thank you
did you do any basic setup before testing? like pickups height and maybe some truss rod adjustments?
Got same model guitar the neck pick up is to low. Once I raised it the neck pickup came alive. Bit difficult on these as they dont have neck pickup adjusting screws
Hey Wombat, Names Josh Im from Syd Aus, Mate Im looking for a Black Cort X1 or X4 in a black gloss finish, Where would you reccomend trying to find one? Would really appreciate a replay man, Thanks!!
They have discontinued both of those models so your best bet is second hand, maybe Ebay?
Where are you Wombat?
Pandemic land
Hey uncle.....this seems to be nice with a good blues type tone.......how are you ???
Interesting to note, the tone in the video is the bridge pickup not the neck pickup.
Good review, Wombat! Great to see you again, mate!
Thanks mate, been flat out.
All good buddy.
Love mine $220
I’ve just ordered the exact same guitar from Better Music, but I have to say I’m not hugely impressed by the Butterscotch Blonde finish on yours. I hope mine looks more like what I see on the website (more of a natural look with the grain much more visible) otherwise I’ll be exchanging it for one of the other colours. Mine also has black Squier lettering on the headstock - any idea why it would be different? As always, thanks for the review 🤘🏼
No idea why they have the different logo. I have also noticed the logo thing. Most of the Butterscotch Blonde finishes I have seen have been very similar to this one in the video. I hope yours is more to your liking.
initially the gold logo was only on the affinity guitar pack guitars, as far as the strats go.
Wombat Page well it arrived and while it’s a bit more to my liking than yours, I’m not in love with it. In hindsight I probably should have gone with one of the solid colours. I think it will grow on me.
lobster whisperer my guitar arrived and it has the gold logo on the headstock. Guess they just had the wrong image on the website. As previously noted, the colour is more orange than butterscotch blonde.
@@tomedwards81 Whilst I don't own that guitar, if I was to purchase one I would go with that finish simply because it's different from the norm.
Could you tell us the brands of the other 200 dollar telecasters that have better pups? I sure would like to buy all of them.
Great review! Pretty much the typical review of this guitar. A fantastic value, barring the occasional quality control issue. One funny thing; in the review I watched before this the gentleman said the width of the neck was a little narrower than he was used to. 😃 Subjective stuff. Anyways, thanks for the review.
Where's Wombat? Nothing posted for an aeon mate. Aware Variety Music sadly shut its doors around the time your vids stopped. Hope all is well with you.
⚰
0:00 That was a lot of energy, I was not expecting that
wheres the wombat?
Does anyone know something about him?
Yes... he was my best mate. Sadly Wombat passed in January 2022, he will be greatly missed by many. Please keep watching his videos to keep his voice out there
Just here to check if you still there? If yes give a like or a comment
Sadly Wombat passed in January 2022, he will be greatly missed by many. Please keep watching his videos to keep his voice out there
Where are you mate :(
Australia.
lol 😆 i meant why dont you upload anything for like a year haha :(
Wombat Page lol haha i mean i miss your videos
There are several reasons, which I won't go into, but I hope to maybe upload some more soon.
Wombat Page oh its ok, wish you the best, hope you can get something up in the future.... saludos desde Chile in south america :)
İn the my country (türkiye) it's 2323tl
(Minimum wage's=2324tl)
And usa telecaster's 14.000 tl xd
1 dolar =7 tl
thans for the tax
Daha dün 2500 tl ye aldım kanka
@@iiicardiii h.o bu arada sana ve devlete
Anıl Abi Tab Var Mı? hahaha sağolasın
@@iiicardiii memnun musun aga ben de düşünüyorum bundan almayı
Another great review mate.
Thanks mate
I hear the Chinese Squire plays much better.I have one coming in so we will see.
Welcome back dude, missed the reviews.
You
I getting my for 179 dollars
Is that in US Dollars? The prices I quote in the videos are Australian Dollars.
it's a great guitar. when i was a kid you could never get a guitar like this for the price.
@@kevinc1968 I think it's safe to say that we are in a golden age of quality for low cost as far as guitar is concerned.
Wombat Page i agree ! there are tons of awesome budget guitars out there now and if you have a little bit of skill working on them you can come up with something great for cheap.
very bad guitar, shouldn't be sold, even
WHy should I care about the opinion of a guy who cna't play? Takes more than long hair and a beard to earn creds, Bro. Go take some lessons and come back in 10-15 years
He passed away bro