Show Full Spec Comparison
| Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster | Ben Gibbard Mustang | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Fender | Fender |
| Year: | 2002 | 2021 |
| Configuration: | SSS | SS |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | Mexico | Mexico |
| Series: | Artist | Artist |
| Colors: | Black Patterns | Natural |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Alder | Chambered Ash |
| Bridge: | 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo | 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Mustang Tremolo |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Vintage-Style | Vintage-Style with Fender Logo |
| Fretboard: | Maple | Maple |
| Neck Material: | Maple | Maple |
| Decoration: | Black Dot | Black Dot |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 24" |
| Shape: | Fender Soft V | Modern C |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.9'' (22.9mm) - 12th Fret: 0.99'' (25.1mm) | 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) |
| Frets: | 21 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver | 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 9.5" | 9.5" |
| Nut: | Synthetic Bone | Synthetic Bone |
| Nut Width: | 42mm (1.654'') | 42mm (1.654'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Fender Standard Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | Fender Vintage-Style Single-Coil Mustang (Single Coil / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Fender Standard Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Fender Standard Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | Fender Vintage-Style Single-Coil Mustang (Single Coil / Passive) |
| Switch: | 5 Way | 3 Way |
| Knobs: | Bell | Bell |
| Pickup Mods: | None | None |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 2 | 0 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | Yes |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster over Ben Gibbard Mustang
Reasons to Get
Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang over Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster
Other Key Differences
Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster vs Ben Gibbard Mustang
Shared Features
Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster vs Ben Gibbard Mustang
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Weight Relief
- Locking Tuners
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster favors large hands more than the Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang.
Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster:
Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang:
Beginner Friendliness
The Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang meets 7 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster meets only 5. 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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- 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 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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster
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 Ben Gibbard Mustang
Ash is a type of wood that Fender used almost exclusively in the 50s, and it's still used by many brands. It's a dense wood with a light color that works well for a transparent, natural finish because of its beautiful patterns. In terms of sound, it's known for emphasizing the mid and high frequencies, but with strong low end. Find out more about Ash.
Winner: Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang.
Pickup Configuration
The Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster has an SSS configuration while the Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang has SS pickups.
SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.
On the other hand, 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
Both come with some of the top pickups on the market. You can't go wrong with either of them. You'll probably never need a pickup upgrade.
You can purchase similar pickups to the Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster'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: Tie.
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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster gives you 5 switch options while the Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang gives you 3. This means that the Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster 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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster.
Final Sound Quality Scores
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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster compares to the Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Mexico.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
Winner: Tie
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.
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.
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: Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster's are Vintage-Style while the Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang's are Vintage-Style with Fender Logo
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:
Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- 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 Strap Lock
Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Strap Lock
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- 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
Final Build Quality Scores
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
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
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.
The Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster has the longest scale: 25.5". The Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang is only 24" long. This is a 1.5'' (38.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
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
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.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster has a V type of neck. This neck shape was more common during Fender's early years. Some people like it because they use their thumb over the edge of the fretboard to press the lower strings. It's rather thicker than most modern necks, so it's not usually used for playing fast solos.
The Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang, on the other hand, has a C 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
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 Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster and the Fender Ben Gibbard Mustang 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
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.
