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Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
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Playability
75
Sound
67
Build
55
Value
76
Score
66
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Playability
73
Sound
81
Build
84
Value
74
Score
79
FIND IT ON:
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Show Full Spec Comparison
Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster vs Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige Specs Comparison
Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
General
Brand: Fender Squier Ibanez
Year: 2019 2020
Configuration: HH HSS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Indonesia Japan
Series: Contemporary AZ
Colors: Black, Blue, Green Black
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Laminated Maple Alder
Bridge: 6-Saddle Adjustable Bridge Fixed Gotoh T1802 Tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Die-Cast Sealed Gotoh Magnum Lock machine heads w/H.A.P.
Fretboard: Maple Roasted Maple
Neck Material: Maple Roasted Maple
Decoration: Black Dot Black Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Modern C AZ Oval C
Frets: 22 Narrow Tall Nickel Silver 22 Jumbo Stainless Steel
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Synthetic Bone Bone
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'') 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Squier SQR Active Ceramic Humbucker (Humbucker / Active) Seymour Duncan Hyperion (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Seymour Duncan Hyperion (Humbucker / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Squier SQR Ceramic Humbucker (Humbucker / Active) Seymour Duncan Hyperion (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 5 Way
Knobs: Bell Bell
Pickup Mods: None Series Split
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Black & Chrome Chrome
Show Diagrams Comparison
Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster's switch options
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige's switch options

Reasons to Get
Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster over Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige

Pickups
HH vs HSS
High output without hum
Bridge
Fixed vs Tremolo
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Pickups Power
Active vs Passive
More output
Value Score
76 vs 74
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige over Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster

Country of Manufacturing
Japan vs Indonesia
Built with higher quality standards
Fret Material
Stainless Steel vs Nickel Silver
Best fret material that will last forever
Release Year
2020 vs 2019
From a more recent year
Pickups Brand
Seymour Duncan vs None
Pickups from a renown brand
Pickup Mods
Series Split vs None
Connects pickups in series to imitate a humbucker
Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options
Pickups
HSS vs HH
High output with beautiful cleans and tone versatility
Locking Tuners
Yes vs None
Easier to change strings
Luminescent Sidedots
Yes vs None
Assists you when playing in dark environments
Bridge
Tremolo vs Fixed
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance
Pickups Power
Passive vs Active
Cleaner sound and no battery needed

Other Key Differences
Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster vs Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige

Bridge Pickup
Squier SQR Active Ceramic Humbucker vs Seymour Duncan Hyperion
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Squier SQR Ceramic Humbucker vs Seymour Duncan Hyperion
Different Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Maple vs Alder
Different Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple vs Roasted Maple
Different Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Maple vs Roasted Maple
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Synthetic Bone vs Bone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster vs Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige

Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
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
Narrow Tall vs Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut
  • High-Quality Frets

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Strap Lock
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Price History Comparison

Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster Prices

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Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige Prices

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both favor small hands .

Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster 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 Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • 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 the Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster

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 Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige

Roasted Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Roasted Maple
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

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.

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 Contemporary Active Starcaster has an HH configuration while the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige has HSS pickups.

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.

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

The Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige pickups from a more specialized brand than the Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster. 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.

The Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster's pickups are Active while the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige's are Passive.

Passive pickups are what most guitars use. These have a normal output that works well for most genres. However, Active pickups are the preferred choice of heavy metal players because they offer extra output thanks to their 9v battery, which results in a heavier, more distorted sound. Bear in mind that achieving a completely clean tone with them won't be easy. So if you want to also use clean tones, you might want to avoid Active pickups.

Winner: Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige.

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 Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige gives you 5 switch options while the Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Only the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige comes with some kind of pickup modification: 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: Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster
Pickups 60
Sustain 90
Versatility 49
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 67
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
Pickups 90
Sustain 80
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 81

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 Contemporary Active Starcaster compares to the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster is built in Indonesia while the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige is made in Japan.

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.

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: Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige

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 Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster 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 AZ2204B 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 AZ2204B 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 AZ2204B 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.

The Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster's brige is a 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.

On the other hand, the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige's is a 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 AZ2204B 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 AZ2204B 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:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster
  • 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 Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
  • Stainless Steel Frets
  • Locking Tuners
  • Made in Japan
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Series Split Pickups
  • Luminescent Inlay
  • Tremolo
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster
Quality of materials 51
Features 50
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 55
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
Quality of materials 86
Features 75
Quality Control 90
Build Quality 84

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 Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster 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 Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster and Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige'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 Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster Neck Profile
Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster's neck profile
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige Neck Profile
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige'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 Contemporary Active Starcaster and the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige 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 Contemporary Active Starcaster 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 Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster and the Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

Fret Size

Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster and Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige Frets Size
Both have a similar Narrow Tall fret size

Both have a Narrow Tall fret size. Their height is very similar to Jumbo frets, but they have a narrower crown. They won't let you feel the fretboard when playing, which will make it easier to get clean notes. However, if you press down too hard you might get the notes out of pitch.

Final Playability Scores

Fender Squier Contemporary Active Starcaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 80
Playability 75
Ibanez AZ2204B Prestige
Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73