Show Full Spec Comparison
| Ibanez S670QM | Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Ibanez | Fender |
| Year: | 2023 | 2026 |
| Configuration: | HSH | SS |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | Indonesia | Mexico |
| Series: | S | Vintera III |
| Colors: | Blue, Orange | Sunburst, Brown, Yellow |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Meranti | Ash |
| Bridge: | Edge-Zero II | 3-Saddle Vintage Style Tele with Threaded Steel Saddles |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Ibanez | Fender Vintage-Style |
| Fretboard: | Rosewood | Round-Laminated Rosewood |
| Neck Material: | Maple | Maple |
| Decoration: | Off-set white dot inlay | Aged-White Pearloid Dots |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | Wizard III | Mid '60s "C" |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.75'' (19.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.83'' (21.1mm) | 1st Fret: - 12th Fret: |
| Frets: | 24 Jumbo Nickel Silver | 21 Vintage Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 15.748" | 7.25" |
| Nut: | Locking | Bone |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 41.9mm (1.65'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Quantum Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) | Vintage-Style Mid 60s Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Quantum (Humbucker / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Quantum Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) | Vintage-Style Mid 60s Single-Coil Tele (Single Coil / Passive) |
| Switch: | 5 Way | 3 Way |
| Knobs: | Dome | Dome |
| Pickup Mods: | None | None |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | 1 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Black | Nickel |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Ibanez S670QM over Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster
Reasons to Get
Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster over Ibanez S670QM
Other Key Differences
Ibanez S670QM vs Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster
Shared Features
Ibanez S670QM vs Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 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 S670QM:
Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster:
Beginner Friendliness
The Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster meets 75 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Ibanez S670QM meets only 67. 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 S670QM- Comfortable shape
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- 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.
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.
Woods Used in the Ibanez S670QM
Meranti is an affordable wood used mainly for affordable electric guitars. It's generally lighter and softer than Mahogany. Find out more about Meranti.
Woods Used in the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster
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: Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster.
Pickup Configuration
The Ibanez S670QM has an HSH configuration while the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster has SS pickups.
HSH is a versatile pickup configuration that will give you the high output, full tone, and quiet sound of humbucker pickups, but with the possibility of using a single coil for cleaner tones. The disadvantage is that the middle single-coil pickup will have a noticeable lower volume, so you might want to adjust the height of the pickups. Another problem is that if you set the middle pickup too high, it might interfere with your picking hand.
On the other hand, SS is the classic Telecaster configuration. It's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion, and it's very popular for the country genre because of their brightness. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.
Pickups Quality
The Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster pickups from a more specialized brand than the Ibanez S670QM. 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 Country 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: Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster.
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 S670QM gives you 5 switch options while the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez S670QM gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
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: Ibanez S670QM.
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 S670QM compares to the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Ibanez S670QM is built in Indonesia while the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster is made in Mexico.
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.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
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 S670QM has a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
On the other hand, the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster 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: 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.
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 S670QM's brige is a Edge Zero II. This is a cheaper version of Ibanez's Edge Zero bridges. It comes with the same locking stud bolts that lock down into the body and provide better stabilization, and with easier adjustment of the springs without having to remove the backplate thanks to a thumb-screw. However, the intonation in this cheaper version will require additional work.
Edge Zero IIs that come with the ZPS3 Zero Point system have two extra springs that help return the tremolo to the neutral position faster. These bridges offer tons of versatility, but they also require more work than simpler tremolos to set up.
On the other hand, the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster'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: Ibanez S670QM.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Ibanez S670QM's are Ibanez while the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster's are Fender Vintage-Style
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:
Ibanez S670QM
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- 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 Retainer Bar
- No Strap Lock
Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- 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
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 S670QM has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 41.9mm (1.65''). This is a 1.1mm (0.043'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Ibanez S670QM, 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.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Ibanez S670QM has a Wizard type of neck. This is thinner than most C-type necks. It won't get in your way if you want to play fast solos. It's not as slim as 'Super Wizard' necks, so it might fit you better if you don't like ultra-thin necks.
The Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster, 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 Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Ibanez S670QM'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 S670QM.
Fret Size
The Ibanez S670QM has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Vintera III Mid '60s Telecaster's Vintage 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.
