Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster vs Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige
Reasons to Get
Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster over Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige
Reasons to Get
Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige over Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster
Other Key Differences
Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster vs Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige
Shared Features
Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster vs Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- High-Quality Frets
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige is probably the better product overall with its final score of 80 compared to the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster's 72 score, although not by a lot.
The Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster in every aspect.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige is the better choice.
The Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige meets 7 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature 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 Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster Overview
- From Fender Custom's 2004 Custom Artist series
- Eric Clapton Signature
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- Select Alder body
- Maple neck
- Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Vintage Noiseless Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Fender Vintage Noiseless Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Vintage Noiseless Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Blocked American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo bridge
- Soft V Bolt-On neck
- 22 Vintage frets
- Vintage-Style tuners
- Compare Specs >
Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige Overview
- From Ibanez's 2022 AZ series
- Made in Japan
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9" to 12" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Roasted Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Fortuna (H) (Humbucker/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Seymour Duncan Fortuna Single Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Fortuna Single Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Gotoh T1702B bridge
- AZ Oval C Bolt-On neck
- 22 Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- Gotoh Magnum Lock machine heads w/H.A.P. tuners
- Compare Specs >
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
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 Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster
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 Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige
Roasted Maple is just maple without a finish. It's technically cheaper than regular maple, but it doesn't have any extra disadvantages because of this. The color is darker, and it's lighter weight and very stable even when there's a lot of humidity.
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.
Winner: Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige.
Pickup Configuration
The Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster has an SSS configuration while the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige has HSS 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, HSS provides a great balance if you like to play with a lot of distortion, but also love to use clean tones. You'll get a lot of output at the bridge position, but you'll be able to play bright clean tones at the other positions.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
You can purchase similar pickups to the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature 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: Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster.
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.
Both give you different pickup mod options.
The Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster offers Boost.
A Boost will give your pickups more output, similar to an active pickup. It's great if you like to use a lot of output for heavy genres, but also like to use a cleaner tone often.
On the other hand, the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige comes with the following: Series Split.
The Series Split feature allows it to split and connect some of the pickups in series. When wired in series, the resulting tone is similar to a Humbucker's. The pickups will work together and produce a fuller tone with more output than single-coils, but less than Humbuckers.
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 Custom Eric Clapton Signature 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 Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster compares to the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster is built in United States while the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige is made in Japan.
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.
Japan has a long history of high-quality guitar building. Little has changed in terms of their manufacturing and quality control over the years. Many guitars made in this country can be compared—and even beat—others made in the US.
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.
The Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster has 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.
On the other hand, the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige comes with 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.
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.
In this comparison, the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige.
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
The Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige.
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 Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster
- Made in United States
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Boost Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Series Split Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
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, the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige has the wider nut with 42mm (1.654'') vs 41.9mm (1.65''). This is a 0.1mm (0.004'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
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
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 Custom Eric Clapton Signature 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 Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige, 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.
In this case, the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster favors large hands more than the Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige.
Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster:
Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige:
Fret Size
The Ibanez AZ2204NW Prestige has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Custom Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster's Vintage 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.
