Originally Posted by: bbzswa777
I've been playing my Strat a lot lately, so that's what I'm most used to. And I've been practicing sweep picking for a little while now, improving slowly but surely.

But the other day I pulled out my Ibanez (Iceman, 2013 I believe) and started practicing some of the same sweeps, and I was doing much better! I even went back to the Strat just to see if I hadn't just improved, and I couldn't play them as well on the Strat.

So it seems that for some reason my Ibanez is better for sweeping, for me anyway. The only thing I can think of is that the Ibanez's fretboard is a bit flatter. Other than that I have no idea why I sweep so much better on it. It does have a humbucker in the neck where the Strat doesn't of course. But it's not just the tone. My technique literally feels smoother.

Any of you have an idea why this is?

I think you've isolated the difference. There are significant differences between those guitars regarding string spacing and neck/fretboard contours.

All Strats used to have very small fretboard radii, like 7" or 9"! And the contour of the neck was very round like a baseball bat. The string spacing was often narrow at the nut & wider at the bridge.

Newer Strats incorporate the compound radius, but often still share characteristics of their ancestors than newer guitars.

Whereas most all Ibanez have wide, flat necks & wide string spacing. It's called their Wizard line of necks & it was specifically designed for shredding!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T8DT90z7Bs

Also, have a look at this online discussion with lots of details.

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f16/ibanez-neck-shapes-ie-wizard-i-ii-iii-131220.html

I have an Ibanez RG with a Wizard II neck & ironically I find it harder to play certain fast things (like sweeping) than on one of my 70s Strats. :p So, this is a very individual preference sort of thing. You have to find what guitar works best for you.