Description
Ibanez’s S521 is the lean athlete of the S family, a fixed-bridge rocker that strips away everything except speed, tone and long-haul comfort. The meranti body is sculpted into the S signature profile, barely an inch and a half thick at its slimmest point, so it hugs close to the torso and feels almost weightless on a long set. Deep forearm and belly contours disappear under the picking arm, while a carved arch across the front invites the wrist into a relaxed angle for fast alternate picking. Finished in satin Black Flat or the more eye-catching Ocean Fade Metallic, the grain remains visible beneath the finish, lending a stealth or boutique vibe without adding weight.
Plug in and the guitar answers with the articulate bark of Ibanez Quantum humbuckers. Ceramic magnets keep the bass tight under down-tuned riffs and push the high mids forward so pinch harmonics leap out, yet a five-way selector unlocks parallel and coil-split settings for glassy clean chords and spanky funk lines. One master volume and one master tone ride low to the top, leaving the right hand free of obstacles during wide down-strokes and sweeping arpeggios.
At the heart of the playability sits a Wizard III maple neck that measures just nineteen millimetres at the first fret and only two millimetres more at the twelfth. The profile feels flat and fast without turning into a toothpick, and a silky satin finish keeps palm drag to a minimum even when sweat starts to build. A rosewood fingerboard, radiused to a flat four-hundred millimetres, hosts twenty-four jumbo frets; bends glide without fretting-out and low action setups stay buzz-free. Ibanez’s All Access heel leaves the joint smooth, so seventeenth-fret leads feel as open as first-position chords.
Hardware takes the dependable road. The F106 hardtail anchors strings through the body for added sustain and laser-accurate intonation, yet its low profile sits comfortably under the heel of the picking hand for palm-muted rhythm work. Cosmo black sealed tuners match the bridge, knobs and pickup rings, holding pitch against aggressive bends while completing the monochrome look. Out of the box the S521 ships with D’Addario .010–.046 strings set to standard tuning, ready for everything from drop-D riffing to articulate fusion lines.
