Squire Affinity vs. Bullet

[Into Nation]

I went to the local store today looking to try out the Bullet. Well, they had none - said they were discontinued but had the Affinity.

 

The Affinity played nicely, but cost a bit more than the Bullet. After coming home I did some research and found that they have different body woods, the Affinity I played had a Maple neck vs what I think are only Rosewood on the Bullets. I don't know if the pups differ with the two. The Affinity had a non-functioning tone on the bridge as I have heard here.

 

Anyway - has anyone played both, any comments on whether an extra fifty bucks for the Affinity is good or bad?

 

Thanks:)

[rockulikeastone]

No strats have tone knobs for their bridges. I haven't played the bullet, but you can certainly find reviews for them. I personally don't like the Affinity because it will not stay in tune if you bend somewhat frequently and the neck feels cheap. But I do like the tone on them. So, if no one ends up replying about playing both of them, I'd have to say look for reviews, see if you can find a bullet somewhere, if not, if you liked the Affinity, buy it. It's your money, and it's not like you can't return it unless you buy it from the black market or something.

[stratitude]

Bullets were discontinued sometimes in 05 or 06 but returned in late 07. The models come out of China, and are nice on the budget, esthetically pleasing and have some pretty nice stock pickups. You'll probably find many positive reviews, but I don't know if you'll find any direct comparisons between them and Affinities.

 

Seems to me the affinities haven't had the most wonderful reviews in the past, but it is possible things have changed since then. Seems to me the bullets from 05 and 06 didn't get the best reviews either... It is possible that Squier has just tightened up their quality control all the way around.

 

In any case, the new bullets are a safe bet.

[One]

You should really check out the Harmony Central gear reviews. It has been my experience that older Bullets were crap. Don't know about them now. I do have an Affinity Tele Special that is pretty good. The reviews for the Tele were pretty good also. I really believe that it is hit or miss if you do not do the research first. Check out the reviews. I think that will help you out a lot.

[Rydock]

Good to hear that the new bullets are good. I was actually thinking about getting some sort of squier. How does the wood quality compare to the affinity? How do the new bullets compare to SX guitars. Just looking for a cheap strat that will actually sound good to let a friend borrow to learn. But ultimately I'll be keeping it, so I want it play and sound well.

[clay sails]

The great thing about Squier is they are piss cheap on eBay. You've got plenty of other Squier options at the price point of $100 - $150. (Squier II, Squier 51 are two that come to mind)

 

My story: I bought a white Squier II strat thinking I'd use its lovely neck for another instrument. Instead, I liked it so much that I got rid of the other instrument and kept the Squier.

[cratz2]

Yeah, the Bullet series seem to come and go. I have one from about 1994, Made in Korea. GREAT guitar! The most recent Bullets are the ones everyone seems to be raving about are traditional 3 single coil strats with rosewood fretboards and, while they are a bit hard to find, come in some cool colors not widely available a couple years ago, notably Shell Pink and Daphne Blue. I've seen one sunburst Bullet, one black one and three or four white ones. They have ranged from 'outstanding for the money' not 'not too bad at all'.

 

The Bullet series that was recently discontinued was a single bridge humbucker version that was offered in a few colors, but the market seemed to be flooded with a darker blue version and a black pickguard.

 

The Affinities, in my experience, aren't really a step up. I think I've had three used ones from 2003-2006 or so and had no desire to keep them whereas if I found a current model Daphne Blue Bullet, I'd buy it, replace the pickguard and probably the neck pickup since that's the one I use most of the time with something from eBay... probably a Fender 69 or Fender 54.

 

As far as cheap Squiers in general, if you look around eBay for a 1989 Squier or Squier II, Made In Korea... those are really nice guitars! I have three of them that cost me between $95 and $125 and other than the fact that two of them have plywood bodies, I'd say they are better than current MIM Standards. Glossy necks, slammer frets, very decent pickups. They are several steps better than either hte Affinities or the current Bullets.

[wagdog]

I just got a bullet strat, it's pretty decent for an $85. No, it's really decent for an $85 guitar.

 

See NGD thread here: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946820

[Willyguitar]

 

No strats have tone knobs for their bridges.

 

 

Not true - my Fender American Series Strat, 2004 has a tone pot that covers the bridge and the middle. It's their so called 'delta tone' system. It has always amazed me why they didn't do this on all their strats in the past.

[fuzztone]

I had an Electron Blue Squier Affinity and I now have a Brown Sunburst Squier Bullet and IMHO the Bullet is a better guitar.My Bullet has a better fretboard and pickups than the Affinity I had.The body on the Affinity I had felt thinner and lighter than my naw Bullet.I looked at the Bullet Sunbursts against the Affinity Sunbursts at GC and the Bullits look like sold wood and the Affinitys look like a veneer.