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Ibanez YY20
Ibanez YY10
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Playability
72
Sound
75
Build
69
Value
72
Score
72
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Playability
70
Sound
76
Build
70
Value
72
Score
72
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Ibanez YY20 vs YY10

Reasons to Get
Ibanez YY20 over YY10

Release Year
2022 vs 2021
From a more recent year
Pickups
SS vs SSS
Beautiful cleans
Bridge
Fixed vs Tremolo
Good sustain and needs no set-up

Reasons to Get
Ibanez YY10 over YY20

Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options
Pickups
SSS vs SS
Beautiful cleans and good tone versatility
Bridge
Tremolo vs Fixed
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance

Other Key Differences
Ibanez YY20 vs YY10

Bridge Pickup
Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS1 vs Seymour Duncan Five Two
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS1 vs Seymour Duncan Five Two
Different Neck Pickup
Fretboard Wood
Rosewood vs Maple
Different Fretboard Wood

Shared Features
Ibanez YY20 vs YY10

Body Wood
Alder
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Bone
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.83'' (21.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.87'' (22.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Nut Width
1.614'' (41mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Medium
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Nut
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Top Pickup Brand

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Strap Lock
  • 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 both instruments scored 72 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.

The Ibanez YY10 wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Ibanez YY20 has the upper hand when it comes to playability.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 5 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 YY20
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Ibanez YY10
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale

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 YY20 Overview

  • From Ibanez's 2022 YY series
  • Yvette Young Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Alder body
  • Maple neck
  • Rosewood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS1 (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS1 (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Gotoh GTC202 bridge
  • YY Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Gotoh MG-T locking machine heads tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Ibanez YY10 Overview

  • From Ibanez's 2021 YY series
  • Yvette Young Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Alder body
  • Maple neck
  • Maple fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Five Two (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Middle pickup: Seymour Duncan Five Two (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Five Two (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • Wilkinson WV6-SB tremolo bridge
  • YY Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Gotoh MG-T locking machine heads 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
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

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.

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 YY20

Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood

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: Ibanez YY20.

Pickup Configuration

The Ibanez YY20 has an SS configuration while the Ibanez YY10 has SSS pickups.

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.

On the other hand, SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.

Pickups Quality

Both come with some of the top pickups on the market. You can't go wrong with either of them. You'll probably never need a pickup upgrade.

You can purchase similar pickups to the Ibanez YY20's and use them on any guitar:

We found the same or similar pickups to the Ibanez YY10'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 YY10 gives you 5 switch options while the Ibanez YY20 gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez YY10 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.

Ibanez YY20 pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Ibanez YY20's switch options
Ibanez YY10 pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Ibanez YY10'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 YY10.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Ibanez YY20
Pickups 100
Sustain 65
Versatility 54
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 75
Ibanez YY10
Pickups 100
Sustain 60
Versatility 70
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 76

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 YY20 compares to the Ibanez YY10.

Country of Origin

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

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: 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 Bone nuts. 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.

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 YY20'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 Ibanez YY10'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

They both have 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.

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 YY20
  • Locking Tuners
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Luminescent Inlay
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez YY10
  • Locking Tuners
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Luminescent Inlay
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Ibanez YY20
Quality of materials 66
Features 65
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 69
Ibanez YY10
Quality of materials 66
Features 70
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 70

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 YY20 Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 41mm (1.614'').

This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Scale Length

Ibanez YY20 and Ibanez YY10'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 YY20 Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same 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 YY20 and the Ibanez YY10 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 YY20 Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same 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.

Both the Ibanez YY20 and the Ibanez YY10 have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

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.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Ibanez YY20:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Ibanez YY10:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Ibanez YY20 and Ibanez YY10 Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium fret size

Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.

Final Playability Scores

Ibanez YY20
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 72
Ibanez YY10
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 70

Specs Side-by-Side

Ibanez YY20 vs YY10
General Ibanez YY20 YY10
Brand: Ibanez Ibanez
Year: 2022 2021
Configuration: SS SSS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Indonesia Indonesia
Series: YY YY
Colors: Orange Green
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Alder Alder
Bridge: Gotoh GTC202 Wilkinson WV6-SB tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Gotoh MG-T locking machine heads Gotoh MG-T locking machine heads
Fretboard: Rosewood Maple
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: White Dot Black Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: YY YY
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.83'' (21.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) 1st Fret: 0.83'' (21.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm)
Frets: 22 Medium Nickel Silver 22 Medium Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Bone Bone
Nut Width: 41mm (1.614'') 41mm (1.614'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS1 (Single Coil / Passive) Seymour Duncan Five Two (Single Coil / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Seymour Duncan Five Two (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APS1 (Single Coil / Passive) Seymour Duncan Five Two (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 5 Way
Knobs: Bell Bell
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1