Make Your Tele Play and Sound Better! | Squier Affinity Telecaster Setup
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
- Today I'm setting up my Squier Affinity Telecaster and wanted to share in case it could help someone out. These are some basic steps to get your 6 saddle telecaster in good playing shape. The things I'm going over today are cleaning the frets, setting the action, and adjusting the intonation.
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Gear Used:
Squier Affinity Telecaster - amzn.to/3Jaf74q
Marshall DLS40CR - amzn.to/3sVonCh
Tools I use:
Ernie Ball Guitar Cleaning Kit - amzn.to/2Wi1SuP
Music Nomad Neck Cradle - amzn.to/2Wj9DRp
Baroque String Action Gauge - amzn.to/3zdQBu1
Ernie Ball String Winder - amzn.to/2UHGZbZ
Music Nomad F1 Oil - amzn.to/3ybFTmI
Music Nomad FRINE Fret Polish - amzn.to/3mv42Cq]
String radius gauges - amzn.to/3JdJ1oj
Pedal Board - amzn.to/3gvvooi
XLR to USB Cable - amzn.to/2UK3kpx
Movo1 USB Lavalier Mic - amzn.to/2UHYl8G
Adobe Premiere - amzn.to/386NpEG
Lights - amzn.to/2WmwV8Y
0:00 - Intro
0:41 - What needs to change?
1:49 - These frets need polishing
3:51 - Stretching new strings
4:18 - Fix the action
8:25 - Make sure the action is not too low
8:41 - Set the intonation
11:27 - Let's test it out
12:53 - Final
#SquierAffinity #TelecasterSetup #OneMoreGuitar - Zábava
Most comprehensive videos yet. Finally someone who knows how to explain the procedure to those of us new to advanced tuning. I look forward to bringing my new Affinity to the edge. Also, I plan to switch out the stock saddles to solid brass.
i got one of the newest affinty teles and it was setup perfect and sick low action as well and it plays and sounds awesome
Ditto
Mines coming tomorrow
Missed out step 1. Truss rod neck relief adjustment. Set correctly, neck relief 'facillitates' the rest of the adjustments to give you the best range of action adjustment, especially low action.
It has to be measured and set super accurate though with feeler gauges. Can't eyeball it.
Thanks so much, I just unboxed this same guitar in sunburst and cannot get or hold tune. I'm a near 70 guy, cannot read music, taught myself by ear on my brothers 1953 Fender Telecaster. My wife passed on, so to keep myself bust I will relearn guitar at near 70 years old. Thanks, I unboxed and could not the strings by ear. I may be 69 but my ears still work perfect. Let's see if I can get my fingers working. I always played to music on the stereo. My guitar skills used to be a pretty decent hack. My dogs always liked me play and singing off key. It was hilarious to watch the ears and head telling me by their body language. I the gone off the deep end. But they did like it. Wife thought I was nuts.
Keep at it and don't give up..I've been playing guitar since I was 13 . I had a 64 Tele in1967 wish I would have kept it. I;ve been in a few bands but now just play for the family. Oh.. BTW I'm 74..
Just bought another one. First thing I did was revisit your tutorial before I set up the new Squier telecaster. This still is the most informative and practical tutorial on this subject. Thank you again.😊
Great video walk through and tutorial. All aspects of setup in easy layman's terms . I setup my tele (same model as this one ) last night. It now plays and sounds amazing. Thank you so much for this pal. !!!
this is one of the best guitar videos Ive seen
thankyou for sharing your workflow and how and why ❤🎉
did everything you said and the guitar sounds way better. thanks a lot man, very helpful.
Nice work. Simple and to the point. Didn't have to show off, make it about you instead of the tutorial. Much appreciated. Yes, subscribed.
Thanks boss right to the point and indepth. Love the camera angles too, the perfect tutorial. 10/10
Man, that video is amazing. I really appreciate your effort. I learned a lot. Thank you!
THANK YOU for all the information. This helps me out so much. Excellent channel!!!
About to purchase my own Squier Tele and this video was crazy helpful! Thank you!
Thank you for this video! We appreciate the help explaining how to do it. Set up at home. Definitely helped my new squire.
Thank you, thank you for making this video. I own one of these Affinity Tele's and I love it. I got it 2 years ago for Fathers Day from my wife and son. Mine has the regular tele "slab" style body. I have checked out the newer ones with the contour cut on the back on the body, and I like them. They seem to feel lighter than mine. I also own 2 Squire Bullet guitars, a Stratocaster HT and a Mustang. The Mustang is very light. It's good to see how you can set up your own guitar with just a few tools. Thanks.
Great tuition so massive Thumbs Up!👍
Great video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. Greetings from Chile!
This is so informative. Thank you for sharing how to do this correctly.
Just wanna say, thank you so much, I bought this and after 2 days of playing, I started to hearing a bunch of buzzing noises from the saddle, which concerned me a lot since i'm a total beginner and this is my first ever guitar. Again, thank you so much for the video.
Brilliant video, nice and simple and well explained. Thank you
Excellent tutorial! I love you showed how to radius the bridge with the radius keys! You often don't see people do this, but it makes a huuge difference to how the bridge feels!
Thanks! I didn’t use a radius gauge for years and when I finally bought one it made a such a big difference! I couldn’t believe I waited so long haha.
@@onemoreguitarchannel same here! Haja
Great video. Thanks for the help getting my tele tuned up. Didn’t know how to do this before. Not many videos on this!
Thanks! Very helpful.
Nice job going over the setup.
This video helped me a lot. Thanks, man!
Just got myself this exact model, hoping to learn about guitar set up and this video was a great help, straight to the point and kept everything simple, thanks a lot
Yep I got the same.My guitar shop set it up perfectly ,saved me from doing it😀Btw I am 61 yrs old and it’s the first Tele I have owned.Always Strat styled guitars and the odd SG and V.Then a couple days later picked up a rough but decent Tele copy at a tip shop for $30.Already cleaned up with a squire Tele neck I had hanging around and sounding good but I love my new Squire Affinity and it just had its first gig.
Awesome dude...thank you so much!
Super helpful video - thanks a lot!!!
Great help, great video. subbed! Thanks.
Just got my one today just set it up plays lovely, I did wax the neck came up beautiful.
Great thanks. Bought same guitar today!
found my first squier tele rotting away in a friends garage, havent seen it in 18 years, rescued it and cleaned it, needed a new jack which I bodged in. I look forward to setting it up properly thanks to your advice.
Cool Guide! Liked it!
Thanks mate, awesome video!
Great tutorial video on setting up a guitar Kyle. Plus you didn't cut much of the tedious matters of adjustments, tune up, and check it then repeat until you get the desired objective completed. Thanks brother man!!
Thanks! It takes a little time but it’s totally worth it haha!
Good and useful info, well done.
Thanks great tips.
Thank you for this video !
Very nice setup job!...Another tip...The nut on these guitars are cut for the size strings that come on the guitar which is 9s.. if you go bigger always use nut juice to lube it up so the strings don't bind.
you're a legend mate
Very helpful. Thanks.
Great information thanks !
Great video, thanks.
Great job!!
Thank you so much for your video. It taught me a lot on how to set up my guitars. I just wish you didn't have music playing in the background so I can hear more about what to look for.
Thank you for doing this. I have a 2016 squier affinity tele and it is all sharp at the 12th fret and the action is too high. So this video is perfect for me. I am going to essentially do the exacts steps you just did. Thanks!
Glad to help!
Thank you !
I love your videos. You always make adjustments on guitars look easy.....maybe even I could do it. I need to get some tools.
Thanks! It really is pretty simple with a few tools. There are so many good videos to help too. Learning to do it lets you be comfortable tweaking a guitar and it will save you some setup money too! Thanks for watching!
Great video. 👍
Thank you so much
Hehe gonna get my affinity next week hopefully 😊 if it needs set up I’ll defo come back to this though I’m a bit nervous cause this is my first time 😅
That music in the background helps a lot
Excellent video!
Thanks!
Hey Kyle! That is a very helpful video. Thanks! I’m still loving my Squier Affinity Jazzmaster in Burgundy Mist.
Glad to help! I love that jazzmaster too! It’s funny, when my friends come over they always grab it. They start taking turns with it haha. That’s a sweet guitar!
@@onemoreguitarchannel That is making me laugh. I bought mine because the next guitar on my list was too far off, but that Jazzmaster was only $50 less than a pedal I wanted. I think anyone interested in Jazzmasters would do well to try that one out.
I have one just like that... It's fun to play after you work out all the kinks. My truss rod had 0 tension on it from the factory and was warping up, but I caught it early on
Good catch! Yeah they need a little tlc but they are nice guitars and fun to play!
Awesome
Kyle...best tip I ever got for intonation...move the saddles the direction the tuner is pointing...if its flat, move the saddle to the left...if its sharp, move the saddle to the right (the direction the tuner needle is pointing)....easy breezy....great vid as always bro!!!!
That’s a great way to think of it! Thanks man!
Sharp move away flat move toward (the headstock)
Thanks man, I'm only a month into the journey, and I thought I was doing something incorrectly, hitting all the strings, not being able to barre properly, etc.
Turns out my string action was cranked up to the max. Even eyeballing the height made a massive difference.
I'm surprised shops don't offer you basic setup service at the time of sale.
Setup makes a huge difference in playability and sound. I agree it seems like either the manufacturers or retailers would want to do that so the players will get the maximum enjoyment out of their products. Some places will do it for you. Others like Guitar Center and Sweetwater offer it as a service. I look at it as another cool thing to learn in your hobby. It’s fun tinkering with them. Congrats on starting to play! Stick with it, it will go faster than you think and it’s a lifetime of fun!
Gracias por tu conocimiento compartido. Saludos desde LimaPerú. Rock On!!!
Got one of these this past March. Was surprised how much umbrella there was on the neck pickup the first time playing it.
Newbie here..."Umbrella"?
hi. that's really useful for this one, thank you so much, so when do we need to adjust the truss rod ? is it okay to do that right out of box ? which I should go first if there's lil buzz on the fret ? saddle or truss
I just got mine new. this afternoon. All strings' intonation was sharp but easy enough to adjust. Did you notice the close together volume and tone controls? That's actually a good idea as the volume knob doesn't get in the way of the pickup switch selector. I'm not sure if that would be possible with full size pots installed.
I've never had an electric guitar that didn't have a too high 6th string. A bit of the bridge adjustment and a too high nut slot. Always, as though the fingerboard has no radius there.
Good information. Don’t forget about the nut height too.
Thanks! Yeah I thought I was going to have to get into it with that E string but it turned out to be alright haha.
Great video... any videos on a neck/truss rod adjustment ? I got a new cheap tele..and the neck changed over months..not i got a bad bend..strings are way off fretboard now :(
Thanks, well presented ! Which Marshall amp is that ? Cheers
Good coverage of adjusting action and intonation but you left out checking for neck relief. I would start with this (i.e. before action and intonation adjustments). I'm glad you mentioned about keeping the saddles level. This ensures optimal tone and sustain by maximizing downward force on the saddle. I've seen lots of folks who (mistakenly) think you should try to have the saddles following the arc of the radius, but you should always keep them flat or parallel to the surface of the bridge plate. Maybe that's a belief transferred from the vintage 3 saddle style bridge where you have no choice but to tilt the saddle to ensure proper string height.
I don't think that applying a radius to the bridge is at all mistaken, unless one has a flat fretboard as on a classical, or "shredder" guitar. There is even a tool for the very purpose of setting the radius at the bridge, offered by Stew-Mac for luthiers and others who adjust their own instruments. But I agree with you that the neck relief should be established, under tension, before making the other adjustments, due to its large influence on playability.
@@stephengunterdc9651 I think you misunderstood (and I did not describe it very well). You set different saddles at different heights for sure. But when you have individual saddles for each string, each with 2 adjustment screws, to try to keep both adjustment screws for a given saddle at the same height. If you tilt the individual saddle, you divert some of the downward force of the string (because physics and vectors and such), thereby robbing sustain and tone. It can also cause buzzing and sometimes the saddles can even start pivoting on the longer screw when you bend the strings.
@@donald-parker You are right, that I misunderstood your point. It sounds like you are describing Fender style saddles, which do have two "tilt" screws, and I have purchased used guitars that "problems" with sound that only needed attention to the various threaded devices that Leo was fond of incorporating into his instruments!
Hi Kyle, any advice how to improve the feel of the neck of the affinity ie to lessen the raw wood feel?
I decided it was finally time to learn to set the action on my guitar. I've had the gauge for three months. But it turns out Squier set the action perfectly and I've nothing to adjust!! I would like to ask they the capo needs to be in place for this?
Greetings from Montréal, Québec, Canada !!! Just bought the same model because I did not see the logic of spending thousands of dollars on an original FENDER guitar when a Squier could do the same job for me...or almost, being a recreationnal home guitar player. I noticed that the fret ends were a litle 'rough/scratchy, so they shall need a bit of filing and...noticed that altough I find the action HIGH, playing between the 7-12 fret, it seemed to buzz, soooo, shall have to have it looked at OR you could guide me into fixing it myself, Master !!! Ha Ja Ha Have a great saturday and Thanksgiving weekend, warm wishes to you and your familly, my good man !!! Cheers !!!
Nice Mod! Do you know where to buy the replacement pickguard for this model? I have been trying out few other thrid party pickguard, but they all dont fit the Squier Affinity Telecatster.
Can the pickup selector switch and volume/tone pots on the Affinity be upgraded to American CTS components? Is the routing deep enough? I'm thinking of using this guitar as a modding platform as I really like the tummy cut contour.
Where did you get the micro mesh? Would you mind dropping a link? Thank you.
What do you do if the saddle crews are poking out over the top and scratching your hands?
Question. Are these tele affinities ok with even frets out of the box or do they need dressing?
Great instructional video Kyle, really helps us beginners out a lot. I don't know if you remember back when you did the unboxing of this guitar that I had mentioned that I just got one off of Ebay from Adorama and was waiting delivery. Well, long story short, after waiting about 12 days I emailed them about my order and they said that for some unknown reason it was in their returns dept. They asked if I wanted a refund or to have it shipped out again and since waiting 12 days for nothing wasn't going to happen again I got the refund but sadly no guitar. I went on Amazon and they have it but the seller is, you guessed it Adorama, so I didn't order it. What I did order with the money that was going to the Affinity was 2 guitars both the same price of $109 each, one is a Lyxpro telecaster and the other is a Donner Telecaster. Both guitars arrived in perfect condition and is a world better than the Harley Benton nightmare I bought awhile back. The Lyxpro literally only needed tuning and string height adjustments, the neck was adjusted just right for me, no sharp and/or high frets the tuners needed to be changed out because the weren't very good so I put on some Wilkinson tuners and the pickups were okay but I changed them out also with some Wilkinson pickups, the strings were changed also. Now the guitar is good to go, as far as the Donner it came with a lot of back bow so I had to adjust that, all the frets were just a little sharp no high frets though so they had to be sanded down a little and polished, the tuners were okay but the ones on the Harley Benton felt a little smoother so those were swapped out, perfect fit too, the pickups were okay but the bridge one was too microphonic so those got replaced with some budget pickups from Amazon and lastly the fretboard needed some cleaning and conditioning. Now I have 2 guitars that can be played as is or used for future projects when I get to feeling ambitious again.
Bummer about the affinity tele! I had you in mind when I made this lol. Well maybe it’ll be helpful for one of your new guitars, it’s pretty similar for 3 saddles too. Congrats on the new guitars btw! I haven’t heard of Lyxpro, I’ll check them out. Glad you’re enjoying it! So the Donner had some issues, I was curious what the quality would be on their stuff. Like you said, you can always use it as project guitar. I picked up the stuff to upgrade the Glarry, not sure when I’ll start but I’m looking forward to it.
@@onemoreguitarchannel Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention about the Donner, the saddles were replaced with the ones from the Harley Benton because the saddles that Donner uses is the most rinky dink toy saddles you may ever see. Honestly, it's plain terrible, you just have to see it to believe it.
@@hwnfrd Wow I need to see this haha!
@@onemoreguitarchannel I tried to add a link to what the saddles look like but I can't figure out how to do it , but if you search under "asuda outdoor tremolo bridge" you will find it being sold under Walmart. You'll probably get a kick when you see what I'm talking about.
@@hwnfrd Lol! I’m getting a kick out of not knowing they sold saddles at Walmart! I see them listed and I’m cracking up. They have them pictured with a Les Paul 🤣
I have the previous version of the Classic vibe with the brass saddles and string through body. I think the neck is a little nicer than the new ones. I don't know what other things changed over the years.
Same here. An "Aged White Blonde" 2010 CV 50s w/the 3 brass saddles in near perfect condition. Love it to death. Found it on Craigslist over 10 years ago for only $125 from an old dude who couldn't play anymore due to very bad arthritis in his left hand.
Sad that, but it was a good deal for me.
It seems like in my case the bottom E string's saddle's "leg" (hight adjustment screw) goes already far over the plate screw beneath it, if I want to set up its intonation. Also the spring on this saddle is already squeezed all the way. Am I doing anything wrong here, please? Or is that okay like that?
Straight on video. Isn't it necessary to check the neck before all this? Buzzing could be caused by bend neck (?)
this is so cute!!!! (i am ukrainian i dont kow englisg XD)
I had to lower the action at the nut on mine. It was way too high.
Hi when setting your intonation at the 12th fret do you hold down the string on the fret wire or on the fret ?
On the fret behind the fret wire so the note can ring. Hope this helps!
Mine came with frets rougher than a bears ass. Guitar sounds great, I can't complain at the price but it feels terrible.
Just waiting on the 0000 steel wool to arrive now.
very helpful, but fyi I found the background music at 7:00 annoying because it competed with what you were demonstrating
To Mark Ferguson, FYI we don't give a fk, bc we find Ur observation annoying and irrelevant!!
What about the truss rod?
👍🎸
🤘🏽👽🎶
Is it possible to add a tremolo arm to an Affinity Series Telecaster guitar from Fender?
would say definitely not without significant modification
Great tutorial. Explained things clearly. Just got this same model. I would like to upgrade to locking tuners. Any recommendations?
Get fender locking tuners. Work great and fit the vibe
U 😎
😍🙏🙏
I’ve done this and when I play a D chord it sound out of tune please help
would you prefer this over the affinity jazzmaster?
I like the Jazzmaster more personally. I find that I play it a good bit more than the tele. Cheers!
Hi there first time viewer to the channel , Ive been playing Guitar for near 20 years now and ive noticed the QC on guitars is getting worse and worse , for example when i bought my USA Standard Strat in 2007 it cost me £750 here in England , for that i got a well set up guitar with Alnico Pickups , a Bone Nut , A special greasebucket circuit in the tone controls for that Clapton type woman tone from the bridge pickup , also a Solid steel 2 point trem which stayed in tune well and a bonus i even got a hard case from Fender , now in 2022 i would have to pay £1200 for same guitar and the QC will not be as good , Squiers have been getting really bad in my opinion , if your paying 200 or 300 for a guitar it should at least be set up with well polished frets but Fender/Squier are cost cutting , its really sad and they do need to improve as rival new brands like EART are making guitars that cost the same but have stainless steel frets , solid steel trems Mahogany bodies with roasted maple necks , so take note Fender/Squier.
Thanks for watching! I’ve noticed several QC issues with Fenders lately. I haven’t experienced it as much with Squier, but I still get shocked seeing some of those latest prices. I think the other brands have to go all out with specs and customer service to try to compete with the bigger brands, so you get more value for you money with them usually. I’m struggling with current market as well, the prices are becoming unreasonable. Cheers!
@@onemoreguitarchannel Cheers
Thanks for this Tutorial! Can you do the exact same with PickUp Height on that Aff. Tele? My Neck PU sounds like it has a HighCut EQ on it - like absolutly no Highs 🤔 I think I did sth wrong as a swapped out the Pickguard 😵💫 Like & Subbed
Thanks! My neck pickup is like that too, when I did the review I said “muddy” but I knew that really wasn’t the right word. I think you nailed it, it’s clean but with very little highs. I’ll try to put something together for the heights but I’m not certain that will fix this issue. It’s likely just the pickup itself. Thanks for the sub!
@@onemoreguitarchannel But your PU sounds reeeeally good 😂 Playin' thru a Marshall Amp with no Bass? 😂 thanks for the quick and detailed Reply!
@@jann_rygh Just checked the amp and I had the bass, mid, and tremble at 10, 11, and 1 o’clock respectively. I usually tweak the amp for each guitar so I may found the sweet spot for it haha. I felt like the neck pickup was missing something in the room though.
How do put the strings on those weird tuners
Press the end of the string down into the hole of the tuner and it will hold the string as you tune. You will need to cut some of the string off before hand, a good rule of thumb is to clip the string two peg lengths longer than the peg you are stringing. There is a short on my channel that will show you how to do it too. Hope this helps!
What is the name of the blue tape you are using
Painters tape
Thanks for the setup video!
I got this model a couple years back .
I guess it’s me but it’s my least favorite guitar and I have quite a few
The neck feel is just weird and doesn’t quite fit the tone it should have and also it’s pretty heavy.
I ended up getting a HSS player strat which is way more versatile and playable.
I also got a contemporary Jaguar , it’s worth the price and feels way lighter with a roasted maple neck that’s fast and smooth
If your just starting the journey this Tele is ok but try it first hands on
I can’t even give mine away😂😂
@ 13 soulz... you can give it to me! If you live near D/FW I'll meet you today and buy lunch. I'll have it playing fantastic by tonight.
Thanks, luthiers can be expensive
So a set up on a Tele does not include checking the straightness of the neck or the height of the strings on the nut? Actually in that order before messing with the bridge … 🤔
🙏🏻🇫🇷👍🏼🍒