Swap
Swap
Ibanez ART120QA
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
VS
Playability
73
Sound
62
Build
50
Value
72
Score
62
FIND IT ON:
Sweetwater logoMusician's Friend logo
Playability
72
Sound
65
Build
54
Value
74
Score
64
FIND IT ON:
Sweetwater logoMusician's Friend logo
Add to Compare
Add to Compare
Add more to comparison
Show Full Spec Comparison
Ibanez ART120QA vs Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Specs Comparison
Ibanez ART120QA Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
General
Brand: Ibanez Fender Squier
Year: 2020 2019
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: China Indonesia
Series: ART Affinity Series
Colors: Sunburst, Black Burst White, Black, Red, 3-Color Sunburst
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Semi-Hollow
Body Material: Poplar Laminated Maple
Bridge: Gibraltar Performer 6-Saddle Adjustable Bridge Fixed
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Bolt-On
Tuners: Ibanez Die-Cast
Fretboard: Purpleheart Maple
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: White block Black Dot
Scale Size: 24.75" 25.5"
Shape: ART Modern C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.79'' (20.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) 1st Fret: - 12th Fret:
Frets: 22 Medium Nickel Silver 22 Narrow Tall Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 9.5"
Nut: Plastic Plastic
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 42mm (1.654'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Classic Elite (Humbucker / Passive) Standard Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: Classic Elite (Humbucker / Passive) Standard Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Speed Bell
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 2 1
Tone Controls: 1 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Chrome Chrome
Show Diagrams Comparison
Ibanez ART120QA and Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Ibanez ART120QA and Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's switch options

Reasons to Get
Ibanez ART120QA over Squier Affinity Series Starcaster

Decorative Top
Quilted Maple Art Grain vs None
Finished with beautiful natural wood patterns
Release Year
2020 vs 2019
From a more recent year
Type of Frets
Medium vs Narrow Tall
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings
Body Type
Solid Body vs Semi-Hollow
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
2 vs 1
More volume control
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm) vs 1.654'' (42mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Scale Length
24.75'' (628.7mm) vs 25.5'' (647.7mm)
Easier bending, shorter fret separation and warmer natural tone
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm) vs 9.5'' (241.3mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend

Reasons to Get
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster over Ibanez ART120QA

Country of Manufacturing
Indonesia vs China
Built with higher quality standards
Frets Height
Taller vs Shorter
Easier to press down strings and bend them
Type of Frets
Narrow Tall vs Medium
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings
Neck Joint
Bolt-On vs Set
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Body Type
Semi-Hollow vs Solid Body
Lighter and allows more gain than a hollowbody
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm) vs 1.693'' (43mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm) vs 24.75'' (628.7mm)
Lower action and brighter natural tone
Fretboard Radius
9.5'' (241.3mm) vs 12'' (304.8mm)
Easier to play chords without muting strings
Value Score
74 vs 72
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Ibanez ART120QA vs Squier Affinity Series Starcaster

Bridge Pickup
Classic Elite vs Standard Humbucking
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Classic Elite vs Standard Humbucking
Different Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Poplar vs Maple
Different Body Wood
Fretboard Wood
Purpleheart vs Maple
Different Fretboard Wood
Headstock
3-3 vs 6
Different Headstock

Shared Features
Ibanez ART120QA vs Squier Affinity Series Starcaster

Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Nut Material
Plastic
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Switch Positions
3
Same pickups versatility
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people

Common Weaknesses

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Nut
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Price History Comparison

SET PRICE ALERT

Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Prices

SET PRICE ALERT

These are affiliate links. We may earn a fee if you purchase after clicking. These prices are prone to error. Make sure you're buying the right product after clicking on a link from our site. We are not liable if you buy the wrong product after following these links. As an Amazon Associate site we earn from qualifying purchases.

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 ART120QA:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Ibanez ART120QA 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 ART120QA
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
  • 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 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 ART120QA

Purpleheart wood pattern used for guitar building
Purpleheart
Poplar wood pattern used for guitar building
Poplar

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.

Poplar is a cheaper and heavier alternative to Alder wood. It terms of tone, it emphasizes the low-end and has cutting mids. It's relatively soft compared to most body woods. Find out more about Poplar.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HH. 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.

Pickups Quality

None of these use a specialized pickup brand for their pickups. Some of the best guitars on the market come with pickups from brands like EMG, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. You might want to replace your pickups eventually if you want to get the best sound out of any of these instruments.

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

Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

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 Squier Affinity Series Starcaster.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Ibanez ART120QA
Pickups 60
Sustain 70
Versatility 51
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 62
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
Pickups 60
Sustain 80
Versatility 54
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 65

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 ART120QA compares to the Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Ibanez ART120QA is built in China while the Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster is made in Indonesia.

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.

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.

Winner: Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster

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.

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: 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.

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 ART120QA's are Ibanez while the Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's are Die-Cast

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 ART120QA 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 Squier Affinity Series Starcaster 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 Squier Affinity Series Starcaster.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez ART120QA
  • 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 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
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Ibanez ART120QA
Quality of materials 45
Features 50
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 50
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
Quality of materials 41
Features 55
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 54

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

Ibanez ART120QA Nut Width
Ibanez ART120QA Nut Width
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Nut Width
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Ibanez ART120QA 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 ART120QA, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Ibanez ART120QA's Scale Length
Ibanez ART120QA's Scale Length
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's Scale Length
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's 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 Squier Affinity Series Starcaster has the longest scale: 25.5". The Ibanez ART120QA 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

Ibanez ART120QA Neck Profile
Ibanez ART120QA's neck profile
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Neck Profile
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster'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 Ibanez ART120QA and the Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster 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

Ibanez ART120QA Fingerboard Radius
Ibanez ART120QA's Fingerboard radius
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Fingerboard Radius
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's Fingerboard 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 Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez ART120QA'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 ART120QA.

Fret Size

Ibanez ART120QA Frets Size
Ibanez ART120QA's Frets Size
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster Frets Size
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster's Frets Size

The Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster has Narrow Tall frets, which should be taller than the Ibanez ART120QA'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.

Final Playability Scores

Ibanez ART120QA
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 70
Playability 73
Fender Squier Affinity Series Starcaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 72