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Sterling Axis Flame Maple
Sterling Jared Dines
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Playability
73
Sound
67
Build
57
Value
76
Score
66
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Playability
73
Sound
69
Build
65
Value
69
Score
69
FIND IT ON:
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Sterling Axis Flame Maple vs Jared Dines

Reasons to Get
Sterling Axis Flame Maple over Jared Dines

Decorative Top
Flame Maple vs None
Finished with beautiful natural wood patterns
Release Year
2021 vs 2020
From a more recent year
Number of Frets
22 vs 24
Warmer neck pickup
Frets Height
Taller vs Shorter
Easier to press down strings and bend them
Type of Frets
Narrow Tall vs Medium
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings
Neck Profile
Axis vs Jared Dines
Adapts to the natural shape of your hand
Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options
Value Score
76 vs 69
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Sterling Jared Dines over Axis Flame Maple

Type of Frets
Medium vs Narrow Tall
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings
Neck Profile
Jared Dines vs Axis
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Pickup Mods
Killswitch vs None
Cuts out the pickups instantly
Number of Frets
24 vs 22
Allows to reach higher notes
Locking Tuners
Yes vs None
Easier to change strings

Other Key Differences
Sterling Axis Flame Maple vs Jared Dines

Body Wood
Jabon vs Mahogany
Different Body Wood

Shared Features
Sterling Axis Flame Maple vs Jared Dines

Bridge Pickup
Sterling Humbucker
Same Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Sterling Humbucker
Same Neck Pickup
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Maple
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
4-2
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Compensated
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
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Nut Width
1.65'' (41.9mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Tremolo
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance
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 Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • 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 Sterling Jared Dines is probably the better product overall with its final score of 69 compared to the Sterling Axis Flame Maple's 66 score, although not by a lot.

The Sterling Jared Dines wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Sterling Axis Flame Maple has the upper hand when it comes to value for the money.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Sterling Jared Dines.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Sterling Jared Dines is the better choice.

The Sterling Jared Dines meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Sterling Axis Flame Maple 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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Comfortable neck
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Sterling Jared Dines
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • 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.

Sterling Axis Flame Maple Overview

  • From Sterling's 2021 Axis series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Flame Maple top
  • Jabon body
  • Hard Maple neck
  • Hard Maple fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • Fulcrum Tremolo bridge
  • Axis Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Narrow Tall frets
  • Die Cast tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sterling Jared Dines Overview

  • From Sterling's 2020 Artist series
  • Jared Dines Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Mahogany body
  • Hard Maple neck
  • Hard Maple fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Vintage Tremolo bridge
  • Jared Dines Bolt-On neck
  • 24 Medium frets
  • Locking 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

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 Sterling Axis Flame Maple

Jabon wood pattern used for guitar building
Jabon

Jabon is similar to Basswood and is often compared to Mahogany. It has a well-rounded sound.

Woods Used in the Sterling Jared Dines

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany

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.

Winner: Sterling Jared Dines.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HH. 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 Sterling Axis Flame Maple has pickups from a more specialized brand than the Sterling Jared Dines. 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: Sterling Axis Flame Maple.

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 Sterling Axis Flame Maple gives you 5 switch options while the Sterling Jared Dines gives you 3. This means that the Sterling Axis Flame Maple gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Only the Sterling Jared Dines comes with some kind of pickup modification: Killswitch.

A Killswitch lets you disengage the pickups instantly. It can be useful when playing live, and it allows you to create some cool sound effects by using the switch rapidly.

Sterling Axis Flame Maple pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Sterling Axis Flame Maple's switch options
Sterling Jared Dines pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Sterling Jared Dines'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: Sterling Jared Dines.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Sterling Axis Flame Maple
Pickups 60
Sustain 75
Versatility 67
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 67
Sterling Jared Dines
Pickups 55
Sustain 65
Versatility 79
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 69

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 Sterling Axis Flame Maple compares to the Sterling Jared Dines.

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 Compensated nuts. Each hole where the string sits at the nut is cut at a different distance from the bridge, which compensates for the different amount of tension that each string is subject to. This fixes most intonation issues across the fretboard, so it gives great tuning stability.

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.

Both come with a similar bridge: 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 Sterling Jared Dines 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: Sterling Jared Dines.

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
Sterling Axis Flame Maple
  • Compensated Nut
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • 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
Sterling Jared Dines
  • Locking Tuners
  • Expensive Wood
  • Compensated Nut
  • Killswitch Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Sterling Axis Flame Maple
Quality of materials 50
Features 55
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 57
Sterling Jared Dines
Quality of materials 51
Features 70
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 65

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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple 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 41.9mm (1.65'').

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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple and Sterling Jared Dines'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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple Neck Profile
Sterling Axis Flame Maple's neck profile
Sterling Jared Dines Neck Profile
Sterling Jared Dines'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 Sterling Axis Flame Maple has a Asymmetrical type of neck. Even though this neck shape looks like a poorly-made job, it's, in fact, the neck that most naturally adapts to the arc of your hand when grabbing a guitar neck. You'll notice that the lower part of your palm makes a more pronounced, deeper curve while the upper part makes a more subtle arch. This is the shape that adapts the best to that natural arch your hand makes while playing.

The Sterling Jared Dines, 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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple 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 Sterling Axis Flame Maple and the Sterling Jared Dines 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.

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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Sterling Jared Dines:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Sterling Axis Flame Maple Frets Size
Sterling Axis Flame Maple's Frets Size
Sterling Jared Dines Frets Size
Sterling Jared Dines's Frets Size

The Sterling Axis Flame Maple has Narrow Tall frets, which should be taller than the Sterling Jared Dines'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

Sterling Axis Flame Maple
Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 73
Sterling Jared Dines
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73

Specs Side-by-Side

Sterling Axis Flame Maple vs Jared Dines
General Sterling Axis Flame Maple Jared Dines
Brand: Sterling Sterling
Year: 2021 2020
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Indonesia Indonesia
Series: Axis Artist
Colors: Gold, Blue Black
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Jabon Mahogany
Bridge: Fulcrum Tremolo Vintage Tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Die Cast Locking
Fretboard: Hard Maple Hard Maple
Neck Material: Hard Maple Hard Maple
Decoration: Dot Markers Dot Markers
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Axis Jared Dines
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.849'' (21.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.939'' (23.9mm) 1st Fret: - 12th Fret:
Frets: 22 Narrow Tall Nickel Silver 24 Medium Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Compensated Compensated
Nut Width: 41.9mm (1.65'') 41.9mm (1.65'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) Sterling Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Bell Dome
Pickup Mods: None Killswitch
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1