IbanezRG Series RG421 - Pearl Black Fade Metallic

This is a great-sounding budget-friendly Ibanez model from the "Standard RG" series. The tones are warm, but can also be quite crisp, depending on which tonal blend you set the guitar on. I personally prefer humbucker pickups (as opposed to single coils) and I found the Quantum pickups on this model pretty good. The fretboard is comfortable and the tones come out clean. On some of my older guitars, there was a bit of sound "smudge" due to the strings bending a bit no matter how lightly the note was picked up. There is no such problem here - the sounds come out clean and full. This guitar came with a medium gauge D'Addario XL strings, which sound fine. In terms of action, it is low and comfortable, and there is some fret buzz only if I hit the low E string with some force (when playing metal riffs - but when the sound is distorted, the fret buzz is not perceptible at all even when present). When I play clean melodies, there is no fret buzz. The guitar is rather light (or leaning towards light), and, overall, for the money, it seems an excellent buy. Ibanez do not sacrifice quality where it matters, and even their lower-tier guitars sound excellent. This guitar is not as flashy as some of their high-tier models, but for less than 300 dollars, it is an absolute steal!

As you can see from my pics, I mainly play LTD’s. Live in Ohio but have a condo in Florida. Wanted a cheap guitar to leave down there for something to play. This was delivered in 3 days. Opened the box and was stunned at how beautiful it was. I honestly wasn’t expecting much. Set up was fairly good, I lowered the strings a bit. Even put on eights. Fantastic neck! I was expecting to swap out the pickups but they are really smooth. Figured I’d swap out the tuners for locking tuners……but they hold perfectly…as well as my LTD’s.I fell so in love with it I realized I couldn’t leave it in Florida……so, what the heck, 4 days later I ordered another one. Crossed my fingers that it would be as nice as the first one…..and it is. Their quality control at Ibanez must be something they take seriously.Based on my experience I think you can buy with confidence.

The only thing I didn't care for is the color. Beyond that I like it most of the 6 guitars I own. My other Ibanez RG cost twice what this hardtail did. I cannot believe these pickups. I have changed pickups in most of my guitars, but I ain't touchin' these.Word.

Summary: This is a great guitar. It is beautiful and well made.I always wanted an Ibanez electric. I started with a used Fender strat that had the frets really worn down. This is a huge improvement.I often play without an amp, because it is much quieter while practicing late at night, and I really love this guitar. The only thing I've had to tweak, and this is likely because I am such a novice, is the height of the "tailpiece" I believe is called for most of the strings. On the 1st couple of frets it would vibrate against the metal when holding the wire. The tool to do this came with it.

Really want to live this beautiful guitar but the one I got from the seller is covered by fingerprints all over the body and nob. The pickups looks like greasy, oil and dust on the pickup frame. I understand the guitar will be displaying in store or test play by people but not like THIS! There is even minor scratch on the fretboard. Spend a good full hour to clean it out and the beauty finally exposed! I played Jackson and fender in the same price range, the guitar from Ibanez always make me feel they are really well-made products and take care every detail of the design. Love the guitar but seller is NO GOOD! You can find way better experiences from sweet water or other websites.

i’m definitely not an expert when it comes to guitars but i’ve played some expensive guitars that my family members own. i decided to spend my own money and buy my own guitar and this is what i decided on and it does not disappoint. i can’t tell if it’s personal bias or not but i prefer it over the others that i have played. i would say it’s 100% worth.

Beautiful guitar! The tone and sound quality is great! The fret board feels a little rough compared to my ESP but nothing too hard to get used to.

After playing a few times I realized the nut on the fretboard was obviously cheap & cut too deep. This caused the A string to lay on the fretboard board making it unplayable. I requested an exchange. We'll see. Not worth the price or hassle