Ibanez S521-MOL

Nice guitar, weak pickups

Had this guitar for a month.

Very lightweight, very comfy to play. The frets were rough, so had to polish them.

The biggest issue is the pickups. Maybe a personal preference, but to my ears clean sound is a bit dull and distorted sound is not well defined.

After the fretwork, guitar itself was a very good quality, so could be a good option for modifications.

Put it on. BOOM, a Rockstar!

As a smaller person, this guitar just fits perfectly. I haven't touched a guitar in 10+ years, and even then I didn't play much, but the moment I tried it, it just felt good holding it and playing it.

Very well made guitar

This guitar came set up correctly, intonated for E standard tuning and has a very flexible tone system. It is EXTREMELY light, one of my favourite features, and also well balanced. I will be changing the pickups, but only because I have a similar RG and want this guitar to use P90s.

Fine guitar

Very fine guitar for the money, nice feel & light weight, the pups are nice when overdriven, maybe a little sterile when clean, but the lack of harmonics means they're quite good for high-gain lead. My only real negative remark is that the chrome parts oxidize pretty quickly.

Perfect First Guitar

I bought this guitar approximately 1 year ago, before writing a review I wanted firstly to get know the instrument. So this is what I can say about this S521:

firs of all, the guitar is really light waited, bit neck heavy, but that does not make a big difference to me, haha. the neck is thin which makes it easier to play (in my opinion), in comparison to other guitars I tried before buying this one. The total feel of the guitar in the arms are really pleasant, it is like holding a baby, Haha!

The actual sound of the guitar unplugged is pretty decent, and when plugged even better, then I expected. The tuning holds really well, even in low tuning (I mostly play in D-standard or Drop-C).

The only issues I manage to find are that the backside of the guitar body is quite soft and because of that it received some use marks from clothing and that the neck picks up (or how it is called, the one near the neck) get loose overtime when played and gives buzzing sound, but also it is quite easy to tighten it up so that's ain't a problem (i do it even with a pic).

I mainly play heavier music on this instrument, such as Black metal, Metal in general, Stoner rock, etc., and do not have any complaints about usability.

Furthermore, when other guitarists checked this guitar (the ones who play guitars for quite a long time), they were pleasantly surprised, as they expressed themselves. also, some of them hated thin neck or lightweight but is it personal preference.

Overall, this guitar is a real bargain in accordance with the price and quality ratio! Realy good as a first guitar, easy playability out of the box, strived me to learn how to play the guitar quite quickly (at least basics, writing riffs, low-level solos, recording). So, personally, I really recommend to spare some more money and buy this guitar.

And for those still doubting about learning guitar or another instrument: If I did it, You can do it Too!

Nice guitar

It is a nice guitar, due to the lightness it has some neck dive, but can easily be corrected with a grippy strap.

Only thing I would change is the pickups, don't get me wrong they are not bad, but I don't like them, it's just personal preference.

The fretwork is nice.

Recommended.

I love it, but sent it back

This is my absolute favourite guitar. As soon as I picked it up, I knew it would become my trustworthy companion. The finish (MOL) is beautiful. I looks clean and natural, like carved straight out of a tree. The sound is very versatile, with an impressive width and depth. The guitar is also extremely light-weight and nicely balanced, which only adds to the wow-factor. I fell in love instantly, and my heart wept a bit when I had to send it back. The manufacturers had misaligned one of the bridge-holes which compromised the sound on the lower E-string. I am anxiously waiting for the identical replacement guitar!

Great lightweight guitar

- insanely light

- wood pattern looks very elegant

- great handling

A pleasant surprise!

Guitar arrived perfectly packed. The unboxing was with great anticipation! Amazingly lightweight, just 2370 grams! Ok it is neck heavy but not like the EssssGeeeees, you easily play both sitting and standing.

The guitar has a sustained sound played unlugged, you will be surprised to stick your ear to the back and play a barre chord, sustains like a keyboard! So much for the heavy-body-long-sustain myth we 'buy' for so long!!! Neck is good, thin, and the frets well taken care of. The pots were stiff, I used some contact spray. Wiring was ok but I did some extra grounding of the 5way switch. The natural color looks elegant and I think nothing beats a natural guitar! The sound of the pups is balanced and 'correct' although I would like hotter pickups. The 5way switch gives nice combinations (apart from the classic 3 options, you get neck pup parallel and both pups split). Tuners work correctly. The bridge saddle screws bothered me and I used lower ones from Start set, I think.

Once again Mr Robin Nunn ,head in guitar dept was extremely helpful and pro, I give him a 20 in the scale from 1 to 10 !!!! Same goes to the Greek person in charge of Greek orders, Mr Stamatis Koutouzis! Always helpful and professional!

The guitar is a great choice for all. The big 'C' that makes them ( c-o-r... factory) makes good instruments for less money and this is good! Please note I owned USA Gibsons, USA Fender Strat, 2 Mexicans etc., I also made 3 handmade superstrats to a good luthier here in Greece, I also own USA Washburn Les Paul type, among others. I think I have a wide sample and my judgement of this S521 is not so biased, the guitar is really a pleasant surprise!

Totally pleased with this S521 !

Great Guitar for this Price range

This is a great guitar with very versatile sound palette, it has a great Neck. It is super light. The only thing that annoyed me about it was the location of the input jack because when you are removing the jack from the socket you might scratch the entrance to the socket.

Overall it is a great guitar though