I own both an Strat and an Ibanez as well, and I find significant differences between the two. I don't like one better than the other, but I do realize that they have different features and qualities for different situations. The strat is the best sounding guitar I've heard for clean tones, and I use it for that. I dropped in a DiMarzio Evolution humbucker into the bridge a while back, and it sounds ok, but for whacked out fingers-flying fretwork with 56 gallons of distortion, I look to my '79 Ibanez Destroyer. I bought it used at a Guitar Center a couple of years ago (I also agree with Raskolnikov about looking through the used stuff) and it is the sweetest sounding thing I've ever heard; goes from 0 to thrash in 4.3 seconds and yet also sounds smooth and warm. It's been said before, but its all personal preference.