Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Electric Guitar, with 2-Year Warranty, Lake Placid Blue, Laurel Fingerboard

This is simply a great guitar for the money. I bought an open box unit and when I opened the box, the tone knob had fallen off. There is a tiny screw that holds these knobs on, and even my computer screwdriver was too big to tighten it. I used the end of a tweezer and that did the job. Then I checked for dead frets. The last eight or so frets on the low E string were all dead. The frets were fine. The string was actually hitting the neck pickup. A few turns of a screw to lower the pickup and this problem disappeared. The neck feels very good. I'll knock off a few sharpish fret ends with a fret file, but it's actually very playable even if I don't. I see almost nothing in the way of finish flaws. I imagine this is open box because someone received it and didn't figure out why it had dead frets. Maybe they didn't even find the loose knob in the bottom of the foam bag that held the guitar. I don't know, but someone missed out on a really nice guitar. Right out of the box the higher five strings were well intonated. The action is just slightly on the high side, but I can always adjust that. If you're a new player and can't figure out how to set up this guitar, it might be worth spending a hundred more dollars for a setup. But you can probably buy 30 dollars worth of tools and set it up yourself with a little help from you tube. At some point, I'm likely going to change out the pots/3 way switch and maybe the pickups. But everything is working very nicely now. It's got that trademark Tele twang on the bridge and a more even sound in the middle position. The neck pickup is just the slightest bit dark. The neck seems like a very nice slim C carve. The guitar weighs 7.2 pounds. I have a Glarry that weighs less than 6 pounds and was about a third of the price, but this is hands down a better instrument. So, I'm very happy with this guitar and sad for the person who sent it back.

Full disclosure: at the time of writing this review I still have not received an amp to ensure all electronics are in working order, meaning that I also have not been able to hear how the stock pickups perform. I will be writing this review from the viewpoint of how the guitar feels in the hand, how it sounds acoustically, and how it is setup from the point of arrival. I will update soon with further information, as my Orange combo arrives tomorrow.The guitar arrived with all strings flattened by about the same amount (about 3-4 half steps), a shipping choice that is appreciated due to keeping even tension across the neck while simultaneously keeping it from receiving too much tension from being applied due to temperature and elevation fluctuations throughout transit.The action feels good. Slightly high but not too bad. This is more or less preference anyways, the average new player should not be bothered by it and it can easily be remedied by an intermediate player who understands their instrument. Slight truss rod/bridge adjustment soon to come, but nothing major.The overall intonation out of the box was pretty surprising. Once tuned up to standard tuning it was quite in tune with itself across the fretboard with a few exceptions. The nut is set too high, leading to really sharp notes across the first 2 frets on most strings. It's upwards of 25-35 cents above where it should be on the low E and A. This guitar obviously does not have a true temperament fretboard, so perfect tuning across the neck is not to be expected, and there are a few troubled frets outside of the first 2, but for the price it's honestly surprising how few and far between I have found intonation issues... The overall intonation is fantastic.Better than any sub $300 fretted stringed instrument I have ever purchased.I imagine that with minimal nut, bridge, and neck adjustment this guitar will be far beyond the quality of what is expected for the price range. With some further upgrades I imagine this guitar will perform above the next price tier.I plan on upgrading the pickups regardless of stock performance and will more than likely replace the pots, knobs, and output jack before they become an issue just because I know this price tier will eventually run into issues on 2/3rd of those components and the other 1/3rd will just be quality of life improvements.Biggest complaint: NUT HEIGHT. You would think that all these companies would know better by now... When you can't play a proper low F/F# you think that you would take notice and pop that baby down a bit... But this is not enough to knock this down to a 4 star review due to price and ease of resolution. I just hope that beginners don't blame themself when playing around there and it sounds like garbage.

The guitar is a great value at this price point. Mine is made in Indonesia, and the construction and fit/finish is very good. No problem with neck, frets, or tuners. The finish on the body is very pretty, and was applied smoothly and without blemish. The pickups are...fine. Not bad, not great. At this price point, the manufacturers have to cut costs somewhere, and in this model it is in the lower-end pickups and hardware. Don't get me wrong; it works fine and sounds fine. But at some point I'll definitely want to replace the pickups and maybe the tone/volume controls and selector switch (the switch in particular feels a bit sludgy and feels flimsy). But nothing is terrible; this guitar is perfectly playable right out of the box once you tune up. I'm playing it through a Fender Champion 40 amp, and it sounds pretty good to my ear.At this prince point, the guitar is a steal. It's a great guitar for musicians on a budget and modders who are looking for an inexpensive platform to build on.I remember back when Squier was a joke brand, and I'm glad to say that this guitar is proof that Squier is now a viable choice for musicians who can't (or don't want to) pay the premium for a "real" Fender.