Show Full Spec Comparison
| Gibson Victory | Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Gibson | Ibanez |
| Year: | 2024 | 2021 |
| Configuration: | HH | HSS |
| Strings: | 6 | 7 |
| Made in: | United States | Japan |
| Series: | Modern | AZ |
| Colors: | Gold, Green, Brown | Black |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Mahogany | Alder |
| Bridge: | Aluminum Stop Bar | Gotoh T1872S |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Grover Mini Rotomatic | Gotoh MG-T locking machine heads |
| Fretboard: | Ebony | Roasted Maple |
| Neck Material: | Mahogany | Roasted Maple |
| Decoration: | Acrylic Dot | Black Dot |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | Slim Taper | AZ7 Oval C |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.92'' (23.4mm) | 1st Fret: 0.81'' (20.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.89'' (22.6mm) |
| Frets: | 24 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver | 24 Jumbo Stainless Steel |
| Fretboard Radius: | 10" to 16" | 12" |
| Nut: | Ivory Tusq | Black Tusq XL |
| Nut Width: | 43.1mm (1.695'') | 47mm (1.85'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | 80s Tribute Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) | Seymour Duncan Hyperion 7 (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Seymour Duncan Hyperion 7 (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | 80s Tribute Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) | Seymour Duncan Hyperion 7 (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Switch: | 3 Way | 5 Way |
| Knobs: | Bell | Bell |
| Pickup Mods: | Coil Split | Series Split |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Gibson Victory over Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige
Reasons to Get
Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige over Gibson Victory
Other Key Differences
Gibson Victory vs Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige
Shared Features
Gibson Victory vs Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- High-Quality Frets
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Strap Lock
- 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 Gibson Victory favors large hands more than the Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Gibson Victory:
Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige:
Beginner Friendliness
The Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gibson Victory 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
Gibson Victory- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Ibanez AZ24047 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 Gibson Victory
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Woods Used in the Ibanez AZ24047 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.
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: Gibson Victory.
Pickup Configuration
The Gibson Victory has an HH configuration while the Ibanez AZ24047 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
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.
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 Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige gives you 5 switch options while the Gibson Victory gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Both give you different pickup mod options.
The Gibson Victory offers Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
On the other hand, the Ibanez AZ24047 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: Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige.
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 Gibson Victory compares to the Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Gibson Victory is built in United States while the Ibanez AZ24047 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 Gibson Victory has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
On the other hand, the Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige comes with a Black Tusq XL nut. TUSQ nuts are usually the highest quality you can get. Black TUSQs are made from a special slippery material that helps the strings get back to its original position (one of the keys to tune stability).
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 AZ24047 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 AZ24047 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 Gibson Victory'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 AZ24047 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 AZ24047 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 AZ24047 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.
The Gibson Victory has a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
On the other hand, the Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige comes with 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: Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Gibson Victory
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in Japan
- Black Tusq XL 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
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 AZ24047 Prestige has the wider nut with 47mm (1.85'') vs 43.1mm (1.695''). This is a 3.9mm (0.155'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Ibanez AZ24047 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.
Both the Gibson Victory and the Ibanez AZ24047 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
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 Gibson Victory 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.
Fret Size
The Ibanez AZ24047 Prestige has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Gibson Victory's Medium Jumbo 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.
