NUGD! Squier Affinity Strat from????

[KuruPrionz]

5 hours ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

That makes perfectly good sense!
 

 

I cleaned-up, fixed-up, strung-up and set-up (there was nowhere to go but 'up' with this severely neglected, maladjusted, mistreated guitar!) a somewhat rare Made in USA Squier II Stratocaster ("by Fender"!). If I recall correctly, it was made in a US Fender factory in 1990 to fulfill promised dealer orders when a fire occurred at a Mexican factory; I think that's how it went. I described my resuscitating it in the "Ever do TOO good of a set-up on a guitar?"-thread here 'bouts in 2010...
          
 

Gotta love screwdriver guitars!!! Imbeciles take screwdrivers to them, make them bad and give up on them. Then we can rescue them!!!

[Caevan O’Shite]

6 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Gotta love screwdriver guitars!!! Imbeciles take screwdrivers to them, make them bad and give up on them. Then we can rescue them!!!

Well, I fixed it up and made it very playable and toneful again for the owner- the same person who messed it up so badly in the first place. I completely believe that he took a table-knife to it, rather than an actual screwdriver. There were multiple broken-off pieces of strings of all wrong gauges, along with their ball-ends, caught in the tail-block of the trem bridge- including electric, acoustic, one flat-wound, silk-and-steel, and even one nylon-cored classical. I mean, it was so jammed-up one couldn't get another string through any of the six holes! Their was some kind of oily goo- or wuzzitt, gooey oil?- on the guitar and in its case. (At least it had a case, and the original hardshell that it came in!) Fortunately, there had been no drilling, reaming, routing, chiseling, or hacking, and no real damage. It was actually a pretty nice Strat when I brought it back to life! Especially played clean. If one were a big fan of Robert Cray, Layla era Clapton, or swingin' Sultans Knopfler, this was a guitar for you! Although I did some pretty good Hendrix stylisms with it a few times jammin' at practice, if I say so myself- utilizing an octave-fuzz, a wah, echo, and a Uni-Vibe sim... He got a lot miles out of it for overdriven ZZ Topologies and the like.
    
 

[Winston Psmith]

13 hours ago, Scott Fraser said:

Choosing not to do something IS choosing to do something.

 

Or, as the song goes, "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made A Choice".

 

I'm just being realistic. It's a decent beater Guitar, but sinking money into it isn't going to substantially change that. It's playable, just as it is, and if the sound isn't exactly stellar, it's useable. With some tone contouring via my MFX, it sounds better than you might think from just looking at it. That was certainly my experience, once I'd done some tweaking and tuning.

 

If it really needed a major overhaul, $80-85 might not sound too bad, but I don't think I would have taken in a real wall-hanger, knowing that it would just cost me good money just to make it playable.

 

I already had some good straps on hand, a spare set of Schaller strap locks ready to install, and I always keep a supply of string sets, so the only money I've really spent is $40 for a good, used HSC. I won't mind spending another $20 or so on it, to replace some cheap plastic parts and some springs, and that'll be more than enough.

[Winston Psmith]

My final word on the subject - at least I think so?

 

Not looking to get yet another Affinity Strat, thanks, but seeing this at a nearby GC really settled the cost vs. value issue for me - Used Affinity Strat.

 

$85 for a Pickguard that might not really be an improvement, or $65 for a spare Guitar, one that looks pretty damned clean for "Fair" condition. I'm good with what I've got. No point messing with mediocrity.

 

[Doerfler]

6 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

Used Affinity Strat.

 

page already gone, you must have bought it. 

[KuruPrionz]

6 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

My final word on the subject - at least I think so?

 

Not looking to get yet another Affinity Strat, thanks, but seeing this at a nearby GC really settled the cost vs. value issue for me - Used Affinity Strat.

 

$85 for a Pickguard that might not really be an improvement, or $65 for a spare Guitar, one that looks pretty damned clean for "Fair" condition. I'm good with what I've got. No point messing with mediocrity.

 

Agreed, I've bought beater Squiers locally from craigslist and thrift stores and never paid more than $30 for one. 

As guitars go, they are pretty OK if you set them up properly. I sold them, somebody's kid got a properly set up guitar which is more than I can say for the guitars I learned to do setups on. 

And, I made a few bucks and got the cool blue body for my Strat. I'd buy one again if it pops up. They are good value for the money and we all have to start somewhere. 

[Winston Psmith]

10 hours ago, Doerfler said:

page already gone, you must have bought it. 

 

Not me, I wasn't about to drive to Fairfax in 90-degree weather for anything, thank you. Northern Virginia traffic is a little slice of Hell on Earth, as you've probably experienced. If you've ever made the trek to "the Lube"*, 'nuff said.

 

 

Local venue notorious for horrific access, and demolition derby parking lots. "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here."