yeah, cheap-o's are great for modding and learning how to setup necks, de-gut and rebuild..cool.
depending on the player (and their finances),
I also find the cheap guitars are played more around my place. I had a Squire 15yrs or so it must of had a million hours on it, was loaned to friends, was taken on road trips yadayada,
a mint US STrat I had following it was so nice and valuable, i handled it with care and it was frequently hanging and polished and locked in a closet, the kids were not to even think about it..hahaha.
it was like a collectible, or had that "crystal glass" thing too...it was a gorgeous work of art and the best playing G I ever had, imo, a perfect guitar.
In agreement on the cheap G,
I just grabbed a $100 G and it's everywhere, the kids play it, i play it....probably already has more hours on it already than the pristine one.
a good groove is had by all. there's something to this.
looking at the real relics of the pro's, like Beck and EC etc...
many of the old pro's played the old Strats, and I doubt they were looking at the 1961 Strats or whatever year, like it was a $40,000 retirement investments to be kept in a safe, I assume.
geez! some of them are beaten to hell!
the Affinity I played felt really nice too. I guess its the setup for the initial feel. I played $1300 Tele side by side and prefered the Affinity (as far as setup of the neck etc..) it's all personal taste.
but you can't hardly complain for the money spent.
I wonder, had they been available if the old pro's like Hendrix and EC would have played these early on? being broke.
But the cheap guitars my brother and I remember, were real dogs and came with stickers on them saying "guarenteed not to split"!!
sounds like you got a good one!