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Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
VS
Playability
68
Sound
73
Build
64
Value
78
Score
68
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Playability
72
Sound
85
Build
70
Value
81
Score
76
FIND IT ON:
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Show Full Spec Comparison
Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass vs Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass Specs Comparison
Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
General
Brand: Fender Squier Fender
Year: 2021 2022
Configuration: SS HH
Strings: 4 4
Made in: Indonesia United States
Series: Affinity Player Plus
Colors: Sunburst, Black, Pink, Gray Sunburst, Blue, Orange, Silver
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Poplar Alder
Bridge: 4-Saddle Standard 4-Saddle Adjustable HiMass
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Vintage-Style Standard Open-Gear
Fretboard: Maple Pau Ferro
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: Black Dot White Pearloid Dot
Scale Size: 34" 34"
Shape: Bass C Shape Bass Modern C
Frets: 20 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver 20 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 9.5" 12"
Nut: Synthetic Bone Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 38.1mm (1.5'') 38.1mm (1.5'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Ceramic Single-Coil Jazz Bass (Single Coil / Passive) Fender Fireball Bass Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Fender Fireball Bass Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Ceramic Single-Coil Jazz Bass (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 0 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 2 1
Tone Controls: 1 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Chrome Chrome
Show Diagrams Comparison
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass's switch options

Reasons to Get
Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass over Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass

Volume Knobs
2 vs 1
More volume control
Pickups
SS vs HH
Beautiful cleans
Preamp
Passive vs Active/Passive
Doesn't require a battery, so it's more dependable
Fretboard Radius
9.5'' (241.3mm) vs 12'' (304.8mm)
Easier to play chords without muting strings

Reasons to Get
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass over Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass

Country of Manufacturing
United States vs Indonesia
Built with higher quality standards
Release Year
2022 vs 2021
From a more recent year
Pickups Brand
Fender vs None
Pickups from a renown brand
Switch Positions
3 vs 0
More tone options
Pickups
HH vs SS
High output without hum
Preamp
Active/Passive vs Passive
Providing the best range of tonal options
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm) vs 9.5'' (241.3mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend
Value Score
81 vs 78
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass vs Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass

Bridge Pickup
Ceramic Single-Coil Jazz Bass vs Fender Fireball Bass Humbucking
Different Bridge Pickup
Body Wood
Poplar vs Alder
Different Body Wood
Fretboard Wood
Maple vs Pau Ferro
Different Fretboard Wood

Shared Features
Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass vs Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass

Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
4
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Synthetic Bone
Same Nut Material
Strings
4
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Number of Frets
20
Same maximum octave
Nut Width
1.5'' (38.1mm)
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
34'' (863.6mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
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
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
  • Retainer Bar
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio

Price History Comparison

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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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass favors large hands more than the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass.

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass meets 4 out of our 6 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass meets only 3. 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.

New Player Friendliness

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
  • Comfortable shape
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass

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.

Woods Used in the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass

Pau Ferro wood pattern used for guitar building
Pau Ferro
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

Pau Ferro has a dark, chocolate-like color with straight dark grains that is being used as a replacement to Rosewood due to the regulations. It produces a warm tone that is somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood. Find out more about Pau Ferro.

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.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

The Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass has an SS configuration while the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass has HH pickups.

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.

On the other hand, Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.

Pickups Quality

The Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass pickups from a more specialized brand than the Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.

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.

Preamp Circuit

A preamp in an electric bass functions as an electronic circuit that acts as an interface between the bass's pickups and the amplifier. Its main purpose is to amplify and customize the bass's initial signal before it reaches the amplifier, offering enhanced control over factors like tone, volume, and sound attributes. Preamps typically come equipped with tone adjustments, equalization options, and sometimes built-in effects, empowering bass players to fine-tune their sound to suit their personal preferences and the musical environment.

The Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass's preamp is Passive while the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass's is Active/Passive.

Passive: A bass with a passive preamp lacks an onboard electronic circuit for tone shaping and signal boosting. Instead, it relies solely on passive pickups and basic tone controls, typically consisting of volume and tone knobs. Passive preamps don't require an external power source like batteries, making them low-maintenance and dependable. While they offer a simpler and more straightforward tonal character, passive basses are appreciated for their warm and vintage sound, often favored in genres like classic rock, blues, and funk. They are an excellent choice for musicians who value the simplicity and timeless appeal of their instrument's tone without the need for active electronic components.

Active/Passive: This type of circuit combines both passive and active electronics in one instrument. This versatile setup allows the player to switch between passive and active modes, providing a wide range of tonal options. In passive mode, the bass relies on traditional passive pickups and tone controls for a warm and organic sound. In active mode, the onboard preamp circuit is engaged, offering enhanced EQ shaping capabilities and sometimes a signal boost. This flexibility caters to a broader spectrum of musical styles and playing preferences, as it allows the bassist to switch between the classic, vintage tone of passive operation and the more versatile and finely tuned active mode, all within the same instrument.

Winner: Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass.

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

The Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass gives you 3 switch options while the Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass gives you 0. This means that the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

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: Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass
Pickups 70
Sustain 65
Versatility 77
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 73
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
Pickups 95
Sustain 75
Versatility 90
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 85

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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass compares to the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass is built in Indonesia while the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass is made in United States.

Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.

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.

Winner: Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass

Nut Material

If you want your bass 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.

In this case, both have Synthetic Bone nuts. 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.

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.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass's are Vintage-Style while the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass's are Standard Open-Gear

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a bass 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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 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 Active Preamp
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Retainer Bar
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
  • Made in United States
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Active/Passive Preamp
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Retainer Bar
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass
Quality of materials 56
Features 70
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 64
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
Quality of materials 56
Features 75
Quality Control 80
Build Quality 70

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 bass 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 bass feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass 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 38.1mm (1.5'').

This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 4-string bass. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Scale Length

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass and Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass'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 34".

This is a scale used for baritones and guitars with more than 6 strings. Since the scale is so long, the tension of the strings will be higher. This means that bending will require a lot more strength than with a shorter scale. However, it also allows you to use really low tunings without causing fret buzz and without needing to increase your string gauge too much.

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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass Neck Profile
Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass's neck profile
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass Neck Profile
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass'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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass and the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass 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 Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass Fingerboard Radius
Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass's Fingerboard radius
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass Fingerboard Radius
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass's Fingerboard radius

Most bass 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.

In this case, the Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass.

Fret Size

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass and Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium Jumbo fret size

Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.

Final Playability Scores

Fender Squier Affinity Series Jazz Bass
Bending & Vibrato Ease 65
Chord Playability 80
Solo Playability 60
Playability 68
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 72