Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star vs Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster
Reasons to Get
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star over Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster
Reasons to Get
Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster over Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star
Other Key Differences
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star vs Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster
Shared Features
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star vs Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster
Common Strengths
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- 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 69 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.
The Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has the upper hand when it comes to playability.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel that the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star is easier to play.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star is the better choice.
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster meets only 3. 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
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- 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.
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star Overview
- From Jackson's 2020 Artist Signature series
- Gus G Signature
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Mahogany body
- Maple neck
- Pau Ferro fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Blackfire Pickups Proteus Humbucker (Active) (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: Blackfire Pickups Proteus Humbucker (Active) (Humbucker/Active)
- 1 volume and 0 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Jackson TOM-Style Adjustable with Anchored Tailpiece bridge
- Speed Neck-Through neck
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Jackson Sealed Die-Cast Locking tuners
- Compare Specs >
Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster Overview
- From Fender's 2009 Artist series
- Ritchie Blackmore Signature
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 7.25" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Graduated Scalloped Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Strat SSL-4 Flat Pole RWRP (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Strat SSL-4 Flat Pole (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 3-way Switch
- 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo bridge
- Ritchie Blackmore U Bolt-On neck
- 21 Vintage frets
- Fender Vintage F Stamped 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 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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star
Pau Ferro has a dark, chocolate-like color with straight dark grains that is being used as a replacement to Rosewood due to the regulations. It produces a warm tone that is somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood. Find out more about Pau Ferro.
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Woods Used in the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster
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.
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.
Winner: Tie.
Pickup Configuration
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has an HH configuration while the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster has SS pickups.
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.
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 Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster pickups from a more specialized brand than the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star. 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 Funk and similar genres.
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster's online:
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star's pickups are Active while the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster's are Passive.
Passive pickups are what most guitars use. These have a normal output that works well for most genres. However, Active pickups are the preferred choice of heavy metal players because they offer extra output thanks to their 9v battery, which results in a heavier, more distorted sound. Bear in mind that achieving a completely clean tone with them won't be easy. So if you want to also use clean tones, you might want to avoid Active pickups.
Winner: Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster.
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 Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star compares to the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star is built in Indonesia while the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster 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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has a Plastic nut. 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.
On the other hand, the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster 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: Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star'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 Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster'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
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star 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.
Winner: Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star.
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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has a Neck-Through neck joint. This neck is a lot more resistant and lets builders give the neck joint a more comfortable shape for soloing at the upper frets. The disadvantage is that they're more expensive and that if you damage your neck, you can't simply replace it like with bolt-on necks.
On the other hand, the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster 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: Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star
- Locking Tuners
- Expensive Wood
- Neck-Through Build
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in Indonesia
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- 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
Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster
- Expensive Wood
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- 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 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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.9mm (0.034'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star, 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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.
The Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster, on the other hand, has a U neck. This is also referred to as ''baseball neck'' because of its shape. It's usually thick, which is why some people with big hands like it. However, they can also be thin, similar to a C shape, but with more shoulders for a better grip.
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 Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star'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 Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star.
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 Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster favors large hands more than the Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star.
Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star:
Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster:
Fret Size
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Gus G. Star has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Ritchie Blackmore Stratocaster'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.
