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Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
VS
Playability
68
Sound
72
Build
69
Value
60
Score
70
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Playability
68
Sound
65
Build
54
Value
72
Score
62
FIND IT ON:
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Show Full Spec Comparison
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster vs Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Specs Comparison
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
General
Brand: Fender Fender Squier
Year: 2018 2019
Configuration: SS SS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: United States China
Series: American Original Affinity Series
Colors: Sunburst, Blue, Pink White, Black, Green, Orange, Red, Yellow, Gray, 2-Color Sunburst
Left-Handed Version: No Yes
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Double Bound Alder Poplar
Bridge: 3-Saddle Vintage Style Tele with Barrel Steel Saddles 6-Saddle Hardtail with Cast Saddles
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Pure Vintage Single Line Fender Deluxe Standard Die-Cast
Fretboard: Rosewood Maple
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: White Pearloid Dot - 7mm Black Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Mid 60s C Modern C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.825'' (21mm) - 12th Fret: 0.975'' (24.8mm) 1st Fret: - 12th Fret:
Frets: 21 Vintage Tall Nickel Silver 21 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 9.5" 9.5"
Nut: Bone Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'') 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Fender Pure Vintage 64 Gray-Bottom Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil / Passive) Standard Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil / Passive)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: Fender Pure Vintage 64 Gray-Bottom Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil / Passive) Standard Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Chrome Chrome
Show Diagrams Comparison
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster and Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster and Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster's switch options

Reasons to Get
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster over Squier Affinity Series Telecaster

Country of Manufacturing
United States vs China
Built with higher quality standards
Frets Height
Taller vs Shorter
Easier to press down strings and bend them
Pickups Brand
Fender vs None
Pickups from a renown brand

Reasons to Get
Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster over Fender American Original 60s Telecaster

Release Year
2019 vs 2018
From a more recent year
Value Score
72 vs 60
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster vs Squier Affinity Series Telecaster

Bridge Pickup
Fender Pure Vintage 64 Gray-Bottom Single-Coil Tele vs Standard Single-Coil Tele
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Fender Pure Vintage 64 Gray-Bottom Single-Coil Tele vs Standard Single-Coil Tele
Different Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Alder vs Poplar
Different Body Wood
Fretboard Wood
Rosewood vs Maple
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Bone vs Synthetic Bone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Fender American Original 60s Telecaster vs Squier Affinity Series Telecaster

Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
3
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Pickups
SS
Beautiful cleans
Number of Frets
21
Same maximum octave
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
9.5'' (241.3mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Vintage Tall vs Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Locking Tuners
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Price History Comparison

Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Prices

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    Hand Size Comfortability

    And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster favors large hands more than the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster.

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster:
    Big Hands
    Small Hands
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster:
    Big Hands
    Small Hands

    Beginner Friendliness

    Both meet 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

    New Player Friendliness

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
    • Comfortable shape
    • Easy-to-use bridge
    • Comfortable fretboard
    • Tall frets
    • Narrow nut
    • Comfortable neck
    • Short scale
    • Locking tuners

    New Player Friendliness

    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
    • Comfortable shape
    • Easy-to-use bridge
    • Comfortable fretboard
    • Tall frets
    • Narrow nut
    • Comfortable neck
    • Short scale
    • Locking tuners

    Sound Quality Comparison

    The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

    Woods Used in Both

    Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
    Maple

    Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

    Woods Used in the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster

    Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
    Rosewood
    Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
    Alder

    Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

    Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.

    Woods Used in the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster

    Poplar wood pattern used for guitar building
    Poplar

    Poplar is a cheaper and heavier alternative to Alder wood. It terms of tone, it emphasizes the low-end and has cutting mids. It's relatively soft compared to most body woods. Find out more about Poplar.

    Winner: Fender American Original 60s Telecaster.

    Pickup Configuration

    Both pickup configurations are SS. SS is the classic Telecaster configuration. It's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion, and it's very popular for the country genre because of their brightness. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.

    Pickups Quality

    The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster has pickups from a more specialized brand than the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster. Its pickups should simply give you a better, fuller sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Country and similar genres.

    You can purchase similar pickups to the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's and use them on any guitar:

    Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

    Winner: Fender American Original 60s Telecaster.

    Versatility Comparison

    Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

    Switch Options

    Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

    Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

    When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

    Winner: Tie.

    Final Sound Quality Scores

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
    Pickups 100
    Sustain 65
    Versatility 54
    Tuning Stability 70
    Sound 72
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
    Pickups 70
    Sustain 65
    Versatility 54
    Tuning Stability 70
    Sound 65

    Build Quality Comparison

    When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster compares to the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster.

    Country of Origin

    The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster is built in United States while the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster is made in China.

    The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

    China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.

    Winner: Fender American Original 60s Telecaster

    Nut Material

    If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

    The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster has a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.

    On the other hand, the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.

    Winner: Tie.

    Fret Material

    Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

    Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

    Winner: Tie.

    Bridge

    The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

    Both come with a similar bridge: Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.

    Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

    Winner: Tie.

    Tuners

    Both come with regular tuners. The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's are Pure Vintage Single Line Fender Deluxe while the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster's are Standard Die-Cast

    Winner: Tie.

    Neck Joint

    Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

    Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

    Winner: Tie.

    Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

    Strengths & Weaknesses
    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
    • Made in United States
    • Expensive Wood
    • Bone Nut
    • Top Brand Pickups
    • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
    • No Locking Tuners
    • No Neck-Through Build
    • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
    • No Weight Relief
    • No Luminescent Inlay
    • No Tremolo
    • No Compound Radius Fretboard
    • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
    • No Strap Lock
    Strengths & Weaknesses
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
    • Synthetic Bone Nut
    • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
    • No Locking Tuners
    • Made in China
    • No Expensive Woods
    • No Top Brand Pickups
    • No Neck-Through Build
    • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
    • No Weight Relief
    • No Luminescent Inlay
    • No Tremolo
    • No Compound Radius Fretboard
    • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
    • No Strap Lock

    Final Build Quality Scores

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
    Quality of materials 61
    Features 50
    Quality Control 95
    Build Quality 69
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
    Quality of materials 56
    Features 50
    Quality Control 55
    Build Quality 54

    Playability Comparison

    Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

    Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

    Nut Width

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Nut Width
    Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

    The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 42mm (1.654'').

    This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

    If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

    Scale Length

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster and Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster's Scale Length
    Both have the same scale length

    The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

    In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".

    This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.

    However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.

    Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

    Neck Profile

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Neck Profile
    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's neck profile
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Neck Profile
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster's neck profile

    No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

    Both the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster and the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

    Fretboard Radius

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Fingerboard Radius
    Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

    Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

    Both the Fender American Original 60s Telecaster and the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster have the same fretboard radius of 9.5". This is the most common radius for Stratocaster guitars. It's considered curved when compared to most other models. This allows you to play chords very easily without muting strings accidentally and gives you more space between strings for fingerpicking. However, this curve also gives the guitar less allowance for lower action. If you bend too hard at the high frets, some of your notes might get muted because the curve will make the string fret out.

    Fret Size

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster Frets Size
    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster's Frets Size
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Frets Size
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster's Frets Size

    The Fender American Original 60s Telecaster has Vintage Tall frets, which should be taller than the Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster's Medium Jumbo frets.

    Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.

    Final Playability Scores

    Fender American Original 60s Telecaster
    Bending & Vibrato Ease 65
    Chord Playability 80
    Solo Playability 60
    Playability 68
    Fender Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
    Bending & Vibrato Ease 65
    Chord Playability 80
    Solo Playability 60
    Playability 68