Show Full Spec Comparison
| Ibanez ALT20 | TCM50 | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Ibanez | Ibanez |
| Year: | 2021 | 2019 |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | Indonesia | China |
| Series: | Altstar | Talman |
| Colors: | ||
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Hollowbody | Hollowbody |
| Body Material: | Sapele | Figured Ash top |
| Sides Material: | Sapele | Sapele |
| Back Material: | Sapele | Sapele |
| Bridge: | Walnut | Purpleheart |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Set |
| Tuners: | Ibanez | Ibanez |
| Fretboard: | Walnut | Purpleheart |
| Neck Material: | Maple | Okoume |
| Decoration: | White Offset Dot inlay | White dot inlay |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 25.6" |
| Shape: | Acoustic Comfort Grip | Acoustic TCM |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.787'' (20mm) - 12th Fret: 0.827'' (21mm) | 1st Fret: 0.846'' (21.5mm) - 12th Fret: 0.925'' (23.5mm) |
| Frets: | 22 Medium Nickel Silver | 20 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15.748" | 9.843" |
| Nut: | Plastic | Plastic |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 42mm (1.654'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Pickups: | Ibanez Undersaddle (Preamp / Active) | Ibanez AP2 Magnetic (Preamp / Active) |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Black | Chrome |
Reasons to Get
Ibanez ALT20 over TCM50
Reasons to Get
Ibanez TCM50 over ALT20
Other Key Differences
Ibanez ALT20 vs TCM50
Shared Features
Ibanez ALT20 vs TCM50
Common Weaknesses
- Solid Top Wood
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- High-Quality Nut
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 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 Ibanez TCM50 favors large hands more than the Ibanez ALT20.
Ibanez ALT20:
Ibanez TCM50:
Beginner Friendliness
The Ibanez TCM50 meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Ibanez ALT20 meets only 3. 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
Ibanez ALT20- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Ibanez TCM50- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Soft Strings
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .
Woods Used in Both
It's similar to Mahogany in both color and tone. It can produce warm tones, and it's known for its beautiful figured grain patterns. Find out more about Sapele.
Woods Used in the Ibanez ALT20
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.
It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops. Find out more about Walnut.
Woods Used in the Ibanez TCM50
Okoume is an affordable wood and one of the first to replace Mahogany when the prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer lows.
Purpleheart (also known as Amaranth) is a hard, dense wood with a brilliant tone. As its name suggests, the purple color makes this wood look exotic.
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: Ibanez TCM50.
Electronics
Both come with electronics that allow you connect them to an amplifier or interface for recording.
Winner:Tie.
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 Ibanez ALT20 compares to the Ibanez TCM50.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Ibanez ALT20 is built in Indonesia while the Ibanez TCM50 is made in China.
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.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Winner: Ibanez ALT20
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 Plastic nuts. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
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.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. Both come with Ibanez.
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Ibanez ALT20
- Electronics
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- Laminated Top Wood
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Ibanez TCM50
- Expensive Wood
- Electronics
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- Low-Quality Material Saddle
- Laminated Top Wood
- Laminated Side Wood
- Laminated Back Wood
- 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 ALT20 has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 1mm (0.039'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Ibanez ALT20, 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.
The Ibanez TCM50 has the longest scale: 25.6". The Ibanez ALT20 is only 25.5" long. This is a 0.1'' (2.5mm) 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.
Both the Ibanez ALT20 and the Ibanez TCM50 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 Ibanez TCM50's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez ALT20's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Ibanez ALT20.
Fret Size
Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.
