Squier Affinity Precision Bass PJ

I am not going to use the phrase "for the price" throughout this review. Standing on it's own two legs as a legitimate musical instrument, this bass stands tall. If you're a beginner looking to get started or a seasoned veteran looking for a reliable backup, look no further. I noodled on bass in bands years ago and wanted to get back into it recently. I have a "Frankenstein" Jazz Bass that I was reconditioning and trying to make as playable as I could... the action was very high and irregular, so I built a clamp-style rig to straighten the neck, did some truss rod work, wired in new electronics (I bought it used and it was set up as a sizzling slap bass i.e. trebly, buzzy, noisy). It still needs new tuning machines, yada, yada. All in all, a lot of effort to play. Instead, I opted to look around and, as usual, I researched thoroughly. I pulled the trigger on this Squier and am SO happy that I did. Here's the breakdown...Out of the box, the setup was far better than I'd expected. The neck is perfectly straight. The strings are "centered" on the fretboard (equidistant left and right from the edges). The action was set low and consistent across all strings with zero fret buzz (FAR more playable than the Frankenstein I was wrestling). I made exactly two adjustments... the G string was a few cents sharp at the 12th fret. I adjusted the intonation (very slight tweak). The other 3 strings were right on the money up and down the fretboard. The other adjustment was for my own purposes. I raised the action on the E string slightly as I tend to be an animal on that particular string and I get a bit of clatter when head-banging. Sue me. :) Summary: One minor adjustment out of the box for a wonderfully playable instrument? Well done, Squier. Very well done.On to the best of it... tonality. My intent is to practice. A lot. Silently. I have tons of audio gear (DAW's, digital mixers, powered PA cabs, outboard processors, name it) but I sold my little Mesa Walkabout Scout bass combo in a pinch for cash months ago. I have no dedicated bass rig, but that's ok for now. No gigs on the horizon. I plugged the Squier directly into an audio interface (a MOTU Ultralite mk 3, if it matters) that I use for sound from my main PC. I used no EQ, compression, limiters, or effects at all and routed the output to headphones (old Sennheiser HD 280 pro @64 ohms again, fwiw). I was quickly and easily able to use the tone controls on the Squier to dial in a perfectly usable bass tone for practice purposes. I've always liked the Precision bass pickup (neck position) and the tone it excels at. The addition of the Jazz bass single coil at the bridge position (and why Squier calls this a "PJ") allows you to add a bit of attack and upper-mid frequencies if you feel the need. The tone control knob (closest to the bottom of the bass) works great to roll off some or all of the higher frequencies overall regardless of any combined use of the two pickups. In short, versatile and effective. Play around with it. It all works. Plugged into the audio interface, of course, allows me to mix and play along with all of the songs in my local music collection as well as any and all streaming services. Dial something up, dissect, and play along as you will. All in headphones. No noise complaints. No cops. Have at it.I am extremely happy with this purchase. I love the feel of the unfinished maple neck and fretboard. I'll close with an anecdote. I have a friend who is a piano teacher (with many students). I told her about my purchase of this new Squier bass before it arrived and she was happy that I was going to apply myself at getting back into playing. It arrived the next day and I did the above setup. I saw her the following day and tried to look crestfallen. I said, "Guess what happened with my new bass"? She picked up on my sad face. "Oh, no. What"? I said, "It made me practice for 3 hours yesterday". Big grin. THAT, peeps, is music to an instructor's ears. This bass will make you want to pick it up and play it and is WHY I left price out of this whole review. That part of the equation is priceless. Buy one and see for yourself. You'll find the fun. Hope this helps. Great job, Squier/Fender. Keep up the good work.

I like the look and feel of this Bass. I took it to Guitar Center for a setup. The action was lowered a little and the Truss Rod was adjusted. The strings it came with are brand new and didn't need replacement. So I saved some money. It doesn't have any neck dive that I can tell. Overall a great Bass and great seller Austin Bazar. Arrived in 3 days in excellent condition.

I'd been browsing around for another item to add to my home studio, and I'd already seen this at my local Guitar Center (although an hour away). Set up was a little confusing, but a few videos help.I think it is great to play, even when using tabs, but having an audio interface w/a DAW makes it much better on its own. The controls are negligible to understand, given the time taken to really dial in the tuning parameters. (I personally use Standard, which becomes easy to understand where users need to start before experimentation.)I love the feel of the guitar, once it is set to tune, and the quality of the guitar is new to me. You're going to need to buy a strap alongside it, which is a drawback, but it's also inconsequential because of the investment you'll be making by purchasing a musical instrument.

Did a lot of research into an ideal bass as a beginner, like guitar, you need an instrument with great action and firmness, as bad instruments are harder to play and are quick to discourage new players. This is so easy to tune, it is light as a feather, the neck is a full size, very firm, smooth, with a great shape that makes it easy for your left hand to move around. And it just sounds great, I barely fiddle with the knobs or the amp, and as I'm playing scales or exercises I'm hearing this rich, professional bass sound while wondering how this instrument is making me sound so good! I need some more time before I can jam with others, and to hear it the Squier blend into the mix, but geez if it already doesn't sound like some of the records I've been listening to for decades.

This is a really nice bass. It checked 3 boxes that I have been looking for over the years: Surf green finish, PJ pickups, and a maple neck. It seems to be built well and sounds great. The single coil pickup really allows for a variety of tones. My only complaint is that the neck does not have the darker wood inlay on the back that the pictures show. I’m not sure why. It’s a feature I appreciate. 4.5/5

The bass came without issues. The action is fine, the sound is good, easy to play, etc. What you'd expect for a Squier. I bought this for my 15 year old son who had been playing my precision bass. Good value for the expense.

This instrument offers incredible value and tonal range. Its build quality is impressive for an instrument in this price range.If you are looking for a P bass, the only other slightly better value is the Squire Sonic line of P basses.This P/J is fantastic!

Arrived damaged. Blame it on FedEx. Good bass overall though. I’ve played this model at a few guitar shops