Ibanez S520EX Electric Guitar  

I have had this S520ex for 3 weeks now. This was the first time I have ever ordered anything like this from MF. Out of the box it needed some work. I had to adjust the intonation. That was fun. First the good. This thing is light and feels nice to play. It looks pretty good. and the tremelo is the best I have played. DBL stop bends will work on this trem where they dont on other floating bridges. The ZR trem was my reason for buying this guitar and I don't regret it. Now for the bad. The pick ups that come stock are not good for live. They sound ok for practice but for live shows I get a crazy his and feedback thru the bridge pick up. But I knew when I bought it that is was gonna be that way. D'Marzio's or a DimeBucker will going in the bridge spot. If you are kind of new you will love this out of the box. If you are seasoned, with a little work this thing can realy scream! It feel nice.

The guitar came to me with a stock setup that already sounded mean and was really easy to play. Love the Wizard II neck, don't know if I'll like playing on other guitars after this one. Hope it last as long as it looks durable! The Pickups and tremolo system are unique and satisfy my needs as a modern metal musician. It also has a great clean sound for classical and jazz. I put some heavy strings on it and got the bridge and neck setup for a dropped C tuning. Sounds so good!!!

One thing I have to say about the guitar is its weight. This thing literally feels like it can just float. I have 5 reasons I love this guitar. First would have to be the feel of this guitar. The S series by Ibanez is one of a kind. At its thickest point (1 3/4") tick, this thing is super thin in size. And it's sturdy, NOT FOR THROWING ON THE GROUND, i mean why the heck would you do that? Second is the tremolo, this thing uses ball barring friction to make it bend soo smoothly. The ZR tremolo also gives the benefit of having a ZERO point which allows you to pull up and go back to normal pitch. Third is the wood. Mahogany is a very great wood for guitars. Its tone is great and very solid for soloing AND rhythm. Lastly the neck is made out of maple and rosewood which feels awesome! Forth is the quality. This thing went through 6 COUNT EM 6 inspections before it got the okay to be shipped to the US. Also the Wiring inside is very neat and not sloppy so you don't get any feedback or cables touching. Fifth would be the way the ONLY inlay at the 12th fret looks. It seriously looks like a bear scratch. and just the originality of the mark is very cool. Also the 22 jumbos make it awesome for soloing too!

Awesome guitar, great for all Genres. Pros: Awesome, comfortable neck Solid feel Cool finish Very Versatile with new pickups Huge sound Cons: Pickups are Meh Trem is a little extra work I own this guitar along with an S2170FB prestige and I prefer this guitar. Needless to say, the prestige is for sale

Overall this is a great guitar especially if you play heavy music with a lot of gain/distortion.  The neck is slim and large frets and neck radius make it easy to play.  The trem system is AWESOME with the only complaint being that bar connection could be improved but it isn't a major issue.  The guitar is slim and light.  Stock PUPS are o.k. but I replaced the PUPS with S/D Hotrodded H-buckers and push/pull coil split in the volume pot.  My biggest problem with the guitar is that when played clean there isn't enough presence on the High E string but doesn't seem to be an issue when the gain is up.  12th fret inlay is kinda weak and everyone I play with wish it had fret markers.  I play through a Roland GT-10 into either Crated V50, Fender Deluxe Reverb ReIssue, or a Modded Fender Blues Junior.  Since I've purchased a Am. Deluxe Strat and a Les Paul Classic this is my knock around guitar. Overall a GREAT first/intermediate/knock around guitar.