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Ibanez GSA60
Ibanez GRG121DX
VS
Playability
70
Sound
64
Build
50
Value
71
Score
61
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Playability
75
Sound
66
Build
49
Value
73
Score
63
FIND IT ON:
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Ibanez GSA60 vs GRG121DX

Reasons to Get
Ibanez GSA60 over GRG121DX

Type of Frets
Medium vs Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings
Neck Profile
GSA vs GRG
Thin neck for playing fast
Pickups
HSS vs HH
High output with beautiful cleans and tone versatility
Nut Width
1.654'' (42mm) vs 1.693'' (43mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Bridge
Tremolo vs Fixed
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm) vs 16'' (406.4mm)
More curved fretboard helpful to play chords without muting strings

Reasons to Get
Ibanez GRG121DX over GSA60

Frets Height
Taller vs Shorter
Easier to press down strings and bend them
Type of Frets
Jumbo vs Medium
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings
Neck Profile
GRG vs GSA
Thin neck for playing fast
Pickups
HH vs HSS
High output without hum
Number of Frets
24 vs 22
Allows to reach higher notes
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm) vs 1.654'' (42mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Bridge
Fixed vs Tremolo
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Fretboard Radius
16'' (406.4mm) vs 12'' (304.8mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend
Value Score
73 vs 71
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Ibanez GSA60 vs GRG121DX

Bridge Pickup
Infinity R vs IBZ-6
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Infinity RS vs IBZ-6
Different Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Okoume vs Poplar
Different Body Wood

Shared Features
Ibanez GSA60 vs GRG121DX

Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Purpleheart
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Plastic
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
5
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.77'' (19.6mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.85'' (21.6mm)
Same neck comfortability
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck

Common Weaknesses

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

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Ibanez GRG121DX is probably the better product overall with its final score of 63 compared to the Ibanez GSA60's 61 score, although not by a lot.

The Ibanez GRG121DX wins when it comes to sound, playability, value for the money. On the other hand, the Ibanez GSA60 has the upper hand when it comes to build quality.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Ibanez GSA60 is easier to play.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Ibanez GSA60 is the better choice.

The Ibanez GSA60 meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Ibanez GRG121DX 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 GSA60
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Ibanez GRG121DX
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Ibanez GSA60 Overview

  • From Ibanez's 2020 SA series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Okoume body
  • Maple neck
  • Purpleheart fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Infinity R (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Middle pickup: Infinity RS (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Infinity RS (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • T102 tremolo bridge
  • GSA Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Ibanez tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Ibanez GRG121DX Overview

  • From Ibanez's 2020 RG series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 16" Fretboard Radius
  • Poplar body
  • Maple neck
  • Purpleheart fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: IBZ-6 (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: IBZ-6 (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • F106 bridge
  • GRG Bolt-On neck
  • 24 Jumbo frets
  • Ibanez tuners
  • Compare Specs >

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
Purpleheart wood pattern used for guitar building
Purpleheart

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.

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.

Woods Used in the Ibanez GSA60

Okoume wood pattern used for guitar building
Okoume

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.

Woods Used in the Ibanez GRG121DX

Poplar wood pattern used for guitar building
Poplar

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

The Ibanez GSA60 has an HSS configuration while the Ibanez GRG121DX has HH 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, 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

The Ibanez GSA60 has pickups from a more specialized brand than the Ibanez GRG121DX. Its pickups should simply give you a better, fuller 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.

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: Ibanez GSA60.

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.

Ibanez GSA60 pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Ibanez GSA60's switch options
Ibanez GRG121DX pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Ibanez GRG121DX's switch options

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 GSA60.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Ibanez GSA60
Pickups 60
Sustain 65
Versatility 70
Tuning Stability 60
Sound 64
Ibanez GRG121DX
Pickups 55
Sustain 80
Versatility 62
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 66

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 GSA60 compares to the Ibanez GRG121DX.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in China.

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: 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.

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.

The Ibanez GSA60'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 Ibanez GRG121DX'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

Both come with regular tuners. Both come with Ibanez.

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.

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:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez GSA60
  • Tremolo
  • 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 Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez GRG121DX
  • 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

Final Build Quality Scores

Ibanez GSA60
Quality of materials 41
Features 55
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 50
Ibanez GRG121DX
Quality of materials 41
Features 50
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 49

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 GSA60 Nut Width
Ibanez GSA60 Nut Width
Ibanez GRG121DX Nut Width
Ibanez GRG121DX Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Ibanez GRG121DX 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 GRG121DX, 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 GSA60 and Ibanez GRG121DX's Scale Length
Both have the same 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

Ibanez GSA60 Neck Profile
Ibanez GSA60's neck profile
Ibanez GRG121DX Neck Profile
Ibanez GRG121DX'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.

In this case, both have different neck shapes:

The Ibanez GSA60 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 Ibanez GRG121DX, on the other hand, has a GRGR neck. This neck is used in Ibanez's mass production guitars, and it's very similar to the Wizard profile in terms of shape and thickness.

Fretboard Radius

Ibanez GSA60 Fingerboard Radius
Ibanez GSA60's Fingerboard radius
Ibanez GRG121DX Fingerboard Radius
Ibanez GRG121DX'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 Ibanez GSA60's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez GRG121DX'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 GRG121DX.

Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Ibanez GRG121DX favors large hands more than the Ibanez GSA60. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.

Ibanez GSA60:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Ibanez GRG121DX:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Ibanez GSA60 Frets Size
Ibanez GSA60's Frets Size
Ibanez GRG121DX Frets Size
Ibanez GRG121DX's Frets Size

The Ibanez GRG121DX has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Ibanez GSA60'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 GSA60
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 70
Ibanez GRG121DX
Bending & Vibrato Ease 85
Chord Playability 50
Solo Playability 90
Playability 75

Specs Side-by-Side

Ibanez GSA60 vs GRG121DX
General Ibanez GSA60 GRG121DX
Brand: Ibanez Ibanez
Year: 2020 2020
Configuration: HSS HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: China China
Series: SA RG
Colors: Sunburst, Black, Brown Black, Brown
Left-Handed Version: No Yes
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Okoume Poplar
Bridge: T102 tremolo F106
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Ibanez Ibanez
Fretboard: Purpleheart Purpleheart
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: White Dot White Sharktooth
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: GSA GRG
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.77'' (19.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm) 1st Fret: 0.77'' (19.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.85'' (21.6mm)
Frets: 22 Medium Nickel Silver 24 Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 16"
Nut: Plastic Plastic
Nut Width: 42mm (1.654'') 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Infinity R (Humbucker / Passive) IBZ-6 (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Infinity RS (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Infinity RS (Single Coil / Passive) IBZ-6 (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 5 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1