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Pros:
- Comfortable to play
- Good for beginners and intermediate players alike
- Simple Controls
Cons:
- Heavy
- Odd control knob placement
Ibanez is a company with a long history of producing exceptional guitars. Whether they are of unique design or not, they have all proven themselves to have qualities that musicians adore. Whatever quality you are looking for is usually available if not in all, than is some of the guitar choices provide by Ibanez. Let us take a closer look at the ibanez RG421 and see whether this guitar provides the qualities you might be looking for.
Body Quality
The body of the guitar is designed after the ever famous and ever overused stratocaster design. While I do say overused, I don’t mean it is not an enjoyable shape. Just that I’d like a little more variety and innovation. Though this guitar does a great job of imitating the stratocaster and remaining individualistic at the same time. With a thicker tail and a slighter curve, it looks rather appealing. The coloring patterns are all rather interesting, though the light brown coloring that shows the hardwood’s grain is possibly my favorite of them all.
The body of the guitar is made of mahogany. This allows the guitar a lot of things that other cheap guitars with cheaper hardwoods cannot afford to do. Mahogany is known to be an actually hard hardwood, allowing the guitar to withstand most abuse without ever having a dent or a scratch. The tonewood also provides the guitar with a greater bass tone, often unavailable to basswood and similar tonewoods. The heavy nature of mahogany, while uncomfortable for some, allows the guitar to feel real in your hands.
The neck of the guitar is made of maple. As always, a great choice for any guitar. Hard and handsome, the hardwood allows the guitar to have a long life without breaking or falling apart. The Wizard III design of the neck allows the players easy access to the frets and looks rather elegant in your hands. The neck is bolt on, and thanks to the sturdiness of both tonewoods used, will have a long time before it encounters any issues. The fretboard of the guitar is made out of rosewood.
Hardware
The guitar has a fixed bridge, which does not allow for any tremolo bars or otherwise. It still does a great job of “bridging” (LoL). The rise of the bridge allows for decent action and the string stability is very good to boot.
The nut of the guitar is made out plastic, as is often the case with cheap guitars. As I have stated many times, I do not like plastic, but I do not hate it if it is on a humbucker guitar.
The tuning machine of the guitar is really well made, both in terms of design and otherwise. The tuning stability is excellent, with the guitar only going out of tune every once in a long while.
Electronics
The guitar comes with two nice and heavy humbuckers. These quantum wonders have a lot of wonderful qualities that will make you love them when you first get this guitar. The string buzz and hum is none existent thanks to them. The output is powerful and definitely enjoyable and the humbuckers have great potential for detailed sound. Although the one thing I often hear is that the quantum pickups have a short lifespan. I have not had this problem, but keep in mind you might want to upgrade some time.
The controls on the guitar are extra simple. There is one knob for controlling the volume of the guitar, one knob for controlling the tone and a lever for picking pickup configuration. The only problem I do have with the controls is the odd placement of the two knobs, but I guess that is easy to get used to.
Ibanez RG421 Sound
The sound on the guitar is something many people will have an easy time enjoying. Whether it is a powerful chord you want to play, or something mellow and quiet, this guitar has got your back. It has a flexible tonality, with a detailed sound picked up and produced. Definitely, a sound both beginners and intermediate players can enjoy.
Conclusion
Overall, while not being surprising in any way, the guitar delivers on what it promises. Comfortable to play, great sound and good design. What else could you want out of your guitar?
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