NGD Affinity Tele

Okay, folks. I realize that it's a lowly Squier but it is my first T-style guitar and it's RED! I have to admit, I am rather impressed by the build and the tone of this lowly creature. The tuners feel solid and the pickups, although nowhere near as glorious as those inhabiting high-end models yield some very respectable tone that bests my other low-end guitars. It also sounds terrific when overdriven, producing a nice dry crunch along the lines of Malcolm Young's rhythm tone. It's also a dream too play and will most likely get updated pups, saddles and tuners when I get around to it (will be trolling clist for deals). For 60 smackers, I can't complain. Serial number dates it to 2000 and it may already have gone through some modding as it has a metal jackplate (as opposed to plastic). Next, I'll intonate and with the next string change I'll probably open it up to see what's under the hood.

My favorite color. You can't go wrong for that price especially if it has a good neck-- Darwin

I was going to mention your (ahem) affinity for the colour, Darwin; but I refrained. The neck is very comfortable and doesn't seem to have any dead spots. It is terrifically easy to chord on this neck and I am having a great deal of fun playing rhythm with it. It's also fairly easy to fingerpick on this guitar and the bridge pickup has a gorgeous chime to it for arpeggios and strummed chords (it sparkles like that D/C chord break before the solo in Stairway to Heaven), so I am thoroughly impressed. The pickups lack the definition that you'd get on a pro-level tele, so I'm looking at a set that will improve what this guitar already offers.

I had one just like that, I loved the colour - it's a perfect red. Is yours a top loader bridge?

Mine was a really bad example of a guitar. I ended up selling it for $50 and a 'jazz cigarette'.

Mine is the top loader. So far, so good. I may have gotten lucky, but I've heard a lot of good things about more recent editions of these puppies. Either the Squiers are getting better or the MIM Teles are getting worse. I tried a few MIMs and thought they were okay. The Blacktop was especially disappointing; the dullest tele I ever played. I was, however, completely blown away by the MIA 60th Anniversary Tele which is the best T-style guitar I've ever played, but that's a totally different beast and there's no way I can compare this Affinity to that one. But in terms of low end guitars I'm shocked at how well this one plays and sounds. It gives my Gibson Sonex 180 a good run for its money and it blows both my Yamaha Pacifica and Korean Squier Bullet Strat out of the water, so I'm pretty darn happy.

Any suggestions for good affordable replacement pups?

Any suggestions for good affordable replacement pups?

That's a great looking tele!

I've heard good things about Tonerider and Wilde pickups, either can be had for around $80/set. Blarg has a set of the Wilde pickups, I think, he may be more help.
Also GFS has some cheap pickups as well, their marketing is certainly good, not sure how they sound though.

Good Luck!

-Dave

I've heard good things about Tonerider and Wilde pickups, either can be had for around $80/set. Blarg has a set of the Wilde pickups, I think, he may be more help.

I have a couple of sets of the Wilde pickups. They're really well priced and, IMO, very hard to beat. These boutique makers make great reproduction pickups, but Bill's are something different. Very "pure". A set of Keystones will give you all the tele sounds you want and only set you back ~$60. The Micro-coils are even better.

There are a host of other manufacturers producing very nice products but to get them you'll be paying 3 -4 times the amount a set of Keystones will set you back.

Thanks for the advice, Blarg. Those pups seems to fit the bill. What I'll do in the next few days is post some samples of the tele through a couple of different rigs, just so that folks can hear what the current pups sound like and possibly uggest what might work well in terms of upgrades. Can anybody recommend a good resource for proper setup procedures for teles? I'd love to experiment and to get the action just right. One thing I can say for certain is that they are LOUD.

It's pretty hard to mess up the setup on a tele. If that neck is straight then all you have to do is play around with the saddles until you like it - a radius gauge might be helpful here if you haven't done it before. You can make one using a compass and a thin piece of card.

Are those saddles chrome plated brass or steel? That can make a big difference in tone - steel being brighter. What sort of music do you want it for?

I notice that your affinity has a truss rod - my old one didn't!

I believe the saddles are brass. I want it mostly for rock-and-roll and rockabilly. Think Johnny Rivers' tone on Secret Agent Man. I get a sound like that out of the bridge pup already. The tuners though are a pain and will most likely be the first mod sometime in the new year, unless I can remove the back covers and lube/tighten them as I really like the sound of this guitar stock. I should really take it down to a dealership to A/B some Mexi and Am standards before I start messing with it. The neck is pretty straight, so I will look into adjusting the saddles to get things just right. But I think I'll open it up in a couple of weeks and see what's under the hood.

affinities are pretty good. i have a strat i paid 20 bucks for in a pawn shop. the knobs were missing. i just got it back from a student i lent it to. he played it for 8-9 months, now he got his own guitar. mine is a 97, the one year it was solid bodywood (not plywood like before) and full thickness body and full size neck. the current affinities have a thin body and the neck is very narrow at the nut. other than the tuners, the rest of the guitar is very solid. have you opened this up yet? the pups are ceramic, but don't sound half bad, on the bright side though.