Show Full Spec Comparison
| Ibanez AR520HFM | Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Ibanez | Fender |
| Year: | 2021 | 2020 |
| Configuration: | HH | HSS |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | United States |
| Series: | AR | American Professional II |
| Colors: | Sunburst | White, Sunburst, Blue, Green, Brown, Gray Burst |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Semi-Hollow | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Maple | Roasted Pine |
| Bridge: | Gibraltar Performer | 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Bent Steel Saddles, Pop-In Tremolo Arm and Cold-Rolled Steel Block |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Ibanez | Fender® Standard Cast/Sealed Staggered |
| Fretboard: | Bound Jatoba | Maple |
| Neck Material: | 3pc Maple | Maple |
| Decoration: | Acrylic & Abalone block | Black Dot |
| Scale Size: | 24.75" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | AR | Deep C |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) | 1st Fret: 0.8'' (20.3mm) - 12th Fret: 0.92'' (23.4mm) |
| Frets: | 22 Medium Nickel Silver | 22 Narrow Tall Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 12" | 9.5" |
| Nut: | Plastic | Bone |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 42.8mm (1.685'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Super 58 (Humbucker / Passive) | Fender V-Mod II Double Tap Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Fender V-Mod II Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Super 58 (Humbucker / Passive) | Fender V-Mod Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) |
| Switch: | 3 Way | 5 Way |
| Knobs: | Speed | Bell |
| Pickup Mods: | Tri-Sound | S-1 Switch |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | 2 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Gold | Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Ibanez AR520HFM over Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS
Reasons to Get
Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS over Ibanez AR520HFM
Other Key Differences
Ibanez AR520HFM vs Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS
Shared Features
Ibanez AR520HFM vs Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS
Common Weaknesses
- Locking Tuners
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Expensive Wood
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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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 .
Ibanez AR520HFM:
Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS:
Beginner Friendliness
The Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Ibanez AR520HFM meets only 4. 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 AR520HFM- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- 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 Ibanez AR520HFM
Jatoba is a hard and dense wood that emphasizes the mid-lows, giving a fuller, more round sound than, for example, Mahogany. However, it also has a lot of clarity in the top end. Find out more about Jatoba.
Woods Used in the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS
Some guitarists don't like Pine because they think it's too soft and dents easily. However, there are many types of pines, and the hardest pine is the one used for guitar building. The general opinion is that it tends to give a nice round and balanced sound.
Winner: Tie.
Pickup Configuration
The Ibanez AR520HFM has an HH configuration while the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS 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 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS pickups from a more specialized brand than the Ibanez AR520HFM. 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.
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS's online:
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 American Professional II Stratocaster HSS.
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 American Professional II Stratocaster HSS gives you 5 switch options while the Ibanez AR520HFM gives you 3. This means that the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS 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 Ibanez AR520HFM offers Tri-Sound.
Tri-Sound gives you the choice of using the pickup coils at the same time, splitting them or connect them im parallel for a brighter sound.
On the other hand, the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS comes with the following: S-1 Switch.
An S-1 switch can do a lot of different pickup combinations. It can split them, connect them in series, parallel, add more pickups to each position, and more. Check out the diagram to know how it affects this model.
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 American Professional II Stratocaster HSS.
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 AR520HFM compares to the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Ibanez AR520HFM is built in China while the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS is made in United States.
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.
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.
Winner: Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS
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 Ibanez AR520HFM has a Plastic nut. 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS 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: Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS.
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.
The Ibanez AR520HFM'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 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS'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
Both come with regular tuners. The Ibanez AR520HFM's are Ibanez while the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS's are Fender® Standard Cast/Sealed Staggered
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.
The Ibanez AR520HFM 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 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS 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: Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Ibanez AR520HFM
- Tri-Sound Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS
- Made in United States
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- S-1 Switch 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
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 AR520HFM has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42.8mm (1.685''). This is a 0.2mm (0.008'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Ibanez AR520HFM, 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 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS has the longest scale: 25.5". The Ibanez AR520HFM is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) 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 Ibanez AR520HFM has a SA type of neck. Like most Ibanez necks, it's thinner than most modern C necks. It's very similar in thickness and shape to their unique Wizard profile.
The Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS, 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 Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez AR520HFM'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 AR520HFM.
Fret Size
The Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS has Narrow Tall frets, which should be taller than the Ibanez AR520HFM's Medium 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.
