When you get to a certain stage in your guitar-playing journey, sooner or later you’ll realize that crappy guitars are stopping you from progressing rapidly. A decent guitar with excellent playability can help you bring out the best of that untapped potential you’ve got.
An affordable Ibanez is just the right guitar for that and has some nice features. It’s also quite versatile as far as electric guitars go.
The Ibanez S521 is a popular instrument that many players absolutely adore in the mid-price range.
In this review, we will take a look at the features of the Ibanez S521 to see how they fare compared to similar guitars in the price range. Let’s get to it!
Table of Contents
Overview Of Ibanez S521
Ibanez S521 Electric Guitar
What We Like
- Wizard III maple neck
- 24 jumbo frets
- Dual humbucker pickups
- Excellent value for the price
Our Verdict
The Ibanez S521 is something that you’ll absolutely love having by your couch. It looks fantastic, sounds awesome, and has an interesting switching system for the pickups that lends itself well to many styles of guitar playing.
It’s also pretty inexpensive and will last you a long time, so you don’t have to worry about upgrading any time soon.
Ibanez – The Brand
If you’ve done a bit of digging and looked at many guitars, you’ll know that Ibanez is a common name. The Ibanez series guitars offer excellent playing experiences and there is absolutely nothing to complain about the gear.
The Ibanez S521 is a fantastic instrument worthy of the Ibanez name.
Aesthetics
The Ibanez S521 looks absolutely beautiful.
It’s got the standard Ibanez S series headstock which looks and feels nice.
If there’s one thing I don’t like about this, it’s that it has a plastic nut. It’s understandable for the price though, and you can always upgrade to a bone nut if you want.
The Ibanez S521 has got a bolt on neck with a mahogany body and the nice frets make it a comfortable guitar.
The body has a beautiful gloss finish, and it’s actually surprising to know that the Ibanez S521 has rosewood frets which give an elegant touch to the guitar.
As for the finish, you can get it in a blackberry sunburst or an ocean fade metallic finish which looks pretty cool and refined.
Tuning
There are standard Ibanez die cast tuners on this guitar. The tuners are smooth and feel expensive. They hold tune nicely, so it’s nice.
The quality of the bridge also matters when it comes to tuning stability, so it’s important that you know exactly what bridge you are getting. The Ibanez S521 has an F106 bridge with individual saddles.
Neck
The Ibanez S521 has a 3-pc maple neck which is a full-scale one with a scale length of 25.5”. It looks and feels nice to play which is great.
Ibanez prefers to use Wizard III bolt-on necks on modern guitars, and this one has the same as well. The bolt-on Wizard III neck is good for the price. I prefer glued necks as they tend to be sturdier but they tend to get expensive.
The Ibanez S521 guitar has beautiful rosewood frets with Pearloid dot inlays to help the players know where on the fretboard they are. The medium jumbo fret is well-crafted and has no rough edges either.
The neck plays great and you’ll find that you can smoothly transition between chords thanks to the slim design.
If you look at the Jatoba fingerboard radius, you’ll notice that it’s pretty flat. In fact, the 15.75” fingerboard radius is designed so that it’s easier for players to fret barres. You may have noticed that classical guitars have very flat necks and that makes fretting barres very easy.
Body
There is a Meranti body on the guitar which looks absolutely beautiful with the gloss finish. Meranti, also known as Philippine mahogany – is a cheaper substitute for mahogany wood and has fair stable strength.
The body on the Ibanez s521 is a string-through type meaning that the strings are strung on the back of the guitar body. There is an F106 bridge with individual saddles which gives the Ibanez guitar a classic feel.
The fixed bridge is quite stable and won’t let your guitar get out of tune soon.
Pickups and Controls
The pickup configuration is something that’s pretty cool on this guitar. There are dual hum Quantum pickups on this which have a fantastic sound.
You can choose between five configurations with the 5-way blade pickup selector switch. The first position gives you access to the neck pickup and is good for warm sounds.
The second position lets you hear the pickups in parallel which is a nice sound. The third position lets you access both pickups simultaneously and the fourth position lets you inside the coil of each pickup.
I find myself using the fourth position more often. Last, the fifth position gives you access to the bridge pickup alone.
As for the controls, there is a master volume, master tone, and a 5-way pickup selector switch that I mentioned earlier. It’s a straightforward setup and beginners will find it intuitive to get used to.
Who it’s For
The Ibanez electric guitar is really for intermediates and advanced players but its price has made it easier for beginners to savor the premium features it has to offer.
It makes an excellent first guitar and you won’t need to upgrade any time soon if you get this.
It’s also a good practice instrument for pro players as well. The strings are set up nicely straight out of the box and the sound quality is good for gigs as well.
So, the Ibanez S521 is good for both guitar novices and gigging professionals. As a quality musical instrument, it also makes a great gift item. For convenient practice or small performances, pairing it with one of the best mini guitar amplifiers can enhance its versatility.
How It Sounds
The S521 sounds fantastic. The stock strings sound decent but if you’ve got a preference, feel free to swap them out for your favorite set of strings.
The dual hum quantum pickups do not pick up unnecessary noises and lend themselves well to rock and blues as well as other genres.
The Ibanez guitar offers a clean and crisp sound so you can use it for tremolo as well. Its adaptable nature allows for considerable sound experimentation, making it a versatile choice for diverse musical expressions.
Paired with a bit of Overdrive, it sounds great for aggressive riffs. It’s also good for finger style if that’s what you find interesting. Every guitar player knows that reverb can make anything sound better, so you’ll want to use an inexpensive reverb pedal to add spice to your fingerstyle arrangements.
Score
Bottom Line
The Ibanez S521 is a great budget guitar at just 400$ and offers excellent value for the price. It’s even got rosewood frets and a beautiful body which look and feel great. If you’re looking for a mid-range Ibanez to upgrade, the S521 is certainly a great choice. For those exploring different options, the Ibanez RG421 electric guitar also stands out as an affordable model with superb quality.
FAQ
Where are the Ibanez S521 guitars made?
The S521 guitars are made in Indonesia. In the past, the FujiGen guitar factory in Japan used to do most of the Ibanez manufacturing but today, the brand has factories in Korea and China as well.
Is Ibanez a good brand?
Ibanez is a wonderful brand that has made a name for itself by consistently producing affordable guitars with excellent build and playability. For another perspective on quality electric guitars, consider reading our Schecter PT Special review.
Is Ibanez S521 good for metal?
Absolutely! The low action on the neck and dual hum pickups make it ideal for playing metal.
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