Squier by Fender Affinity P/J Bass Guitar Review – Best Of Both Worlds

Body And Neck:
Electronics:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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Squier has always been a go-to brand for beginner and entry level instruments. A lot of their appeal comes from the fact that they are allowed to copy the style and design of Fender's classic models, which is something that will always be in high demand.

Squier by Fender Affinity P/J is one of their better bass guitars in this segment of the market. It brings a great combination of build quality and performance at a reasonable price, which is why we consider it to be one of the most beginner friendly models out there.

Body & Neck

What we have here is a standard Fender style body shape that is made of alder. Choice of finishes for this particular model are Black, Metallic Red, White and Race Red. The neck is a standard C shape profiled maple design with medium jumbo frets on a rosewood fretboard. Build quality is pretty decent and so is intonation right out of the box. In some rare cases, you might need to tune this bass up at a shop. However, that is something that you'd probably want to do no matter what kind of bass guitar you just got.

Hardware

In terms of hardware, we are looking at an average setup. That means a fixed vintage style bridge with four fully adjustable saddles, and a set of standard die cast tuning machines on the headstock. For the most part, the quality of these components is good enough to serve under normal conditions. In other words, the intonation and tuning are going to hold unless you push the bass outside of its comfort zone.

Electronics

Just like its name states, this Affinity version comes with a Precision/Jazz combo. These are passive pups with a good amount of output and clarity. Controls available for tone shaping come in form of two volume knobs for each pickup and a master tone knob. While it's not the most versatile control section out there, it gives you enough maneuvering space to dial in a decent tone.

Sound

Sound is one of the things where you really feel the difference a P/J configuration makes in comparison to other Affinity variants. You get a lot of range to work with, and the output is pretty decent. Squier by Fender Affinity P/J offers good definition when you dial in a more treble oriented sound, but it still gets fat when you need it to. In terms of entry level bass guitars, this one is ranks pretty high.

Conclusion

Squier is definitely a brand you can trust to give you a solid foundation you can work with in your beginning stages of learning bass guitar. This Affinity we have showed you offers a great performance for the money, and is something that you can use even after you've built up some skill. With that said, there's a decent number of great bass players who get one of these as their secondary rig. That just proves that Affinity series are pretty capable basses.

For more info about the Squier by Fender Affinity P/J, click here.
For the Best Beginner Bass Guitars, click here.