Show Full Spec Comparison
| Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige | Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Ibanez | Fender |
| Year: | 2018 | 2019 |
| Configuration: | HSS | SH |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | Japan | United States |
| Series: | AZ | American Performer |
| Colors: | Blue, Pink | White, Sunburst, Green, Red |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Alder | Alder |
| Bridge: | Gotoh T1802 Tremolo | 3-Saddle Vintage-Style Strings-Through-Body Tele with Brass Barrel Saddles |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Gotoh Magnum Lock machine heads w/H.A.P. | Fender ClassicGear |
| Fretboard: | Roasted Maple | Rosewood |
| Neck Material: | Roasted Maple | Maple |
| Decoration: | Black Dot | White Dot |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | AZ Oval C | Modern C |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.81'' (20.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.89'' (22.6mm) | 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) |
| Frets: | 22 Jumbo Stainless Steel | 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 12" | 9.5" |
| Nut: | Bone | Synthetic Bone |
| Nut Width: | 42mm (1.654'') | 42.8mm (1.685'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Seymour Duncan Hyperion (Humbucker / Passive) | Fender Yosemite Single-Coil Telecaster (Single Coil / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Seymour Duncan Hyperion (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Seymour Duncan Hyperion (Humbucker / Passive) | Fender American Performer Double Tap Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Switch: | 5 Way | 3 Way |
| Knobs: | Bell | Dome |
| Pickup Mods: | Series Split | Coil Split |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige over Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum
Reasons to Get
Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum over Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige
Other Key Differences
Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige vs Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum
Shared Features
Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige vs Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- 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 Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum favors large hands more than the Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige:
Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum:
Beginner Friendliness
Both meet 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. 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. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum- 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
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.
Woods Used in the Ibanez AZ2204 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.
Woods Used in the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum
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.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Winner: Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum.
Pickup Configuration
The Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige has an HSS configuration while the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum has SH pickups.
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.
On the other hand, SH is a more versatile version of the classic telecaster (SS) configuration. The bridge pickup usually produces a bright and twangy tone, while the neck Humbucker gives you the warmer tone you'll need for more Jazzy/Bluish solos and chords.
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.
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum'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: 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 AZ2204 Prestige gives you 5 switch options while the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez AZ2204 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 Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige offers 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum comes with the following: 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.
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 AZ2204 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 Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige compares to the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige is built in Japan while the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum is made in United States.
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.
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: 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 Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige has 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum comes with 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.
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 AZ2204 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 AZ2204 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 Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige's brige 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.
On the other hand, the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum's 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.
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 AZ2204 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.
The Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum's tuners have a higher ratio of 18:1. This means that it takes more turns of the pegs to reach a full revolution. In other words, you can tune your guitar with more precision this way, although it will take you more time to restring it.
Winner: Ibanez AZ2204 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:
Ibanez AZ2204 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
Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- 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 Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum has the wider nut with 42.8mm (1.685'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.8mm (0.031'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum, 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 Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige and the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum 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 Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez AZ2204 Prestige'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 AZ2204 Prestige.
Fret Size
Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.
