Fender Stratocaster vs. Ibanez RG: Which Is More Versatile?

Features
By published

If you needed a guitar versatile enough to cover most music genres, what would you choose?

In this video, Darrell Braun serves up two possible choices—a Fender American Standard Stratocaster and an Ibanez RG870 Premium—and puts them through their paces on five different styles of music.

Which guitar sounds better and which is more versatile? Give a listen and see what you think.

Darrell has created numerous videos where he compares guitars and tonewoods. We’ve run many of them here, including Squire vs. Fender: What’s the Difference?, Les Paul vs. Stratocaster vs. Telecaster: The Ultimate Electric Guitar Comparison, and Maple vs. Rosewood Fingerboards: Can You Tell the Difference?

You can find more of Darrell's videos on his YouTube channel.

Guitar Wold Staff
More about electric guitars
Joe Satriani Bananas Private Collection 2025

“When I saw it, I couldn’t believe how cool it was”: Joe Satriani is selling one of his rarest guitars – an ultra-ambitious Ibanez Y2K Crystal Planet prototype
Kirk Hammett of Metallica performs onstage as Metallica Presents: The Helping Hands Concert (Paramount+) at Microsoft Theater on December 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California

“They’re basically Les Paul copies, let’s be frank. It’s a Les Paul-style guitar and I already have amazing Les Pauls”: Kirk Hammett owns over 100 guitars but none of them are PRS. He explains why
Sterling by Music Man Joe Dart signature bass

“Affordable versions of the three best basses I've ever held in my hands”: Sterling by Music Man completes its trilogy of Joe Dart signature models with a trio of made-to-order basses that cost less than $500
See more latest
Most Popular
The Vapors’ Dave Fenton
“I get asked, ‘What’s it like being a one-hit wonder?’ I say, ‘It’s better than being a no-hit wonder!’” The Vapors’ hit Turning Japanese was born at 4AM, but came to life when two guitarists were stuck into the same booth
Stevie Ray Vaughan plays his #1 Stratocaster (left), Stevie Wonder sits at a keyboard
“Let's play... you start it off now, Stevie”: That time Stevie Wonder jammed with Stevie Ray Vaughan... and played SRV's number one Strat
Bootsy Collins performs during the 2012 Voodoo Experience at City Park on October 26, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“The bass is the instrument you need to play the longest to become truly funky”: 20 funk bass legends who took low-end groove to new heights
Jason Newsted, Robert Trujillo,and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform at Day Two of the bands' 30th Anniversary shows at The Fillmore on December 7, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
“There’s an art to simplicity, and Jason Newsted brought that art. Cliff Burton was more aggressive, and a busier player”: The bassists of Metallica
Patrick Patterson of Cymande feels the funk as he performs SXSW 2022, playing his sunburst Gibson ES-339 – a guitar that's served him well over the years.
“We set out to put our thoughts and musical ideas out there, hoping they’d be appreciated. That’s proved to be true”: Sampled by Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul and the Fugees, Cymande shaped the sound of hip-hop. Now they’re back to claim their legacy
[L-R] George Harrison, Aashish Khan and John Barham collaborate in the studio
“I got the impression that he needed to be quite forceful to get his songs onto Beatles records”: George Harrison orchestrator John Barham reflects on their shared love of Indian music and being conducted by Phil Spector
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 700 Bass
“Our goal is to stay at the forefront of amplification innovation”: How Seymour Duncan set out to create the ultimate bass amp solution by pushing its PowerStage lineup to greater heights
Albert Collins performs at the San Francisco Blues Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California on September 15, 1990
“Freddie King would ask me why I never tried using thumbpicks – I just couldn't play with one”: He took Jimi Hendrix's place in Little Richard's band, was idolized by Stevie Ray Vaughan, and is one of the most overlooked Telecaster slingers of all time
Scott Ian
“I could try and recreate his vibrato for the rest of my life. It’s never going to happen. If I got to play his guitar through his rig, it’s not gonna sound like him”: Tony Iommi changed his life – now Scott Ian is playing Sabbath’s last stand
Jazz bassist Anthony Jackson plays a six-string bass at North Sea Jazz festival, The Hague, Netherlands, 10th July 1998.
“The six-string bass guitar was a dream – if Leo Fender could come back today I think he would approve”: 10 6-string bassists you need to know