It depends on the type of music you want to play.
Strat = Single Coil traditional sound
ART100 = Fat&Heavy Humbucker Sound

Go to a store and play both.

note: Fender Strats (not Squier Strats) are a bit more expensive than Ibanez ART100. Why don't you get an Epi LP, or Epi SG or an IBZ RG or Ibz Iceman?

Hey Josh, I gotta agree with Rui. Guitars have a character that 'fits' differently for different people. The sound you want is the important thing; more than brand, style, size ... and ESPECIALLY the color!! ;-)

It may surprise, but there are people who play jazz with Fenders. Although people think of the Les Paul as a rock-staple .... they're named after Les Paul who jazzes-it-up quite a bit!! So keep an open mind.

One 'other' word of advice, though. If you are going to use your 6th string (Deep E) for single-line stuff or for running fingerstyle bass-lines -- avoid the Strat. They have a funky atonal sound from about fret 8 to 12. It's just a Strat thing. New Strat's off the shelf have the same thing happenin' as my '64. Other than that --- I have a total love-affair going with it.

Good luck .. and congratulations on your first electric. Keep playing your acoustic, though !!

Try the Single-Coil and Humbucker guitars.
When you know what you like, get a mixed guitar (with SC's and HB's)
Good luck, pal.

Exciting times getting your first electric guitar. I never knew/realized that about the Strats neck Desmond (good info). I had a Strat (Mexican I think) back in the late 80s and put a Duncan Hot rail pickup in it because I wanted that Humbucker sound. From what I remember, it sounded really good for hard rock and even blues. I was helping my Nephew look at guitars on a big "on line" guitar store and I'm amazed at what you can get for a couple hundred bucks, we were comparing a few different Strats and Teles and like what what was said earlier, I want to take him to a guitar store to see what feels/sounds good to him. Good luck.

If you don't know, first decide what type of music you think you want to play. Given these two choices, IMHO:

get the Ibanez if you want to play:
metal, jazz, fusion

get the strat if you want to play:
blues, funk, r&b, country

either one:
rock, emo, pop

I really have to get an IBZ... I love Jazz & Metal.

I vote for the epi lp. I love the humbucker sound, and epi has some really affordable models. And an epi lp is very versatile. If you get one, go to the store and try it out first, because they can be inconsistant from one guitar to the next, especially the Specials. Good luck...hope you find what you're looking for.

Most of the ART100's or ART Ibanez guitars in general have a three way toggle, and you can set the coil tap for single on the neck pick up or the bridge. If you do like the Ibanez ART100 you might want to try the SZ320-GSZ320. I don't know what price range you are going for, but I own the SZ320, with a sunburst finish and it is as close as you can get to haviong the best of both worlds that you can get without spending $1200 on the prestige S models. The neck plays a whole lot into it to. Have you played them both?

I dont have much experience with Ibanez but its great to play them.

I mean the Fender and the ART100. I am personally not a Fender fan, because my problem with them is they always look the same to me, and sound almost the same. There are so many guitars out there, to me, that are more unusual, and unique. I guess that's why I favor Ibanez so much. Now I am not saying that I dislike the Fender sound. It's just not my choice to play. You should really try them out in different set ups. Make sure you feel the music with the instrument. It should leave your soul wanting for more, whenever you set it down after a night of playing. That's what mine do.

I used to have a fender, I also have a Yamaha FZ and now also a PRS SE. Single Coil vs Humbuckers do give different sounds; that said you can change the sound with FX pedals so there is no reason why you can't go Fender and still get that Humbucker sound if you want or vice-versa.

You might want to look at the PRS SE; it's a single cut, much like the ART but has single coil soap bar pickups; if you push it through a good distortion pedal and use the bridge pick-up you get that solid sound that you get from the humbuckers.

The best advice is to go to a store and try a few out; it doesn't matter if you can't play, just get the store to hook you up to an amp and just hit a few chords or even just twang the open strings. You will be able to hear the different sounds. The important thing is to get something that feels comfortable; don't get hung up on brand and looks, you can trade up later.

Personally I like Ibanez, and use it to play Jazz and Metal. It just all depends on the music you listen to and want to make.

Two things that have been said above, first play as many guitars in your price range as you can. You may find out that the Ibanez and the Fender give way to somthing unexpected. Second verse same as the first, play as many guitars in your price range as you can consider how they play the kind of music you play and most importantly what color it is (just kidding about that last part). As for me give me a Fender anytime.

I've never owned an Ibanez, but I see a bunch of guys who play metal use them. I hear nothing but good things about them. If I were told by a higher power, (like my wife), that I could only have one electric guitar my whole life and no others, it would be the Stratocaster. It's just a great all around guitar at a very reasonable cost. It's a workhorse. But that's how I see it. Your needs may be very different from mine. I love Gibsons for a more bluesy sound. I had an Explorer some years back and it was like having a Buick strapped around my neck, but it sounded great with a lot of gain on it. I'm with Hippieway, give the strat anytime.

I went to the shops and played as many guitars as I could and I realized that I liked the look of the Ibanez but I wanted the sound of the strat, so I found a strat that I really liked and bought it. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.