Ibanez S521-MOL

Guitar arrived perfectly packed. The unboxing was with great anticipation! Amazingly lightweight, just 2370 grams! Ok it is neck heavy but not like the EssssGeeeees, you easily play both sitting and standing.
The guitar has a sustained sound played unlugged, you will be surprised to stick your ear to the back and play a barre chord, sustains like a keyboard! So much for the heavy-body-long-sustain myth we 'buy' for so long!!! Neck is good, thin, and the frets well taken care of. The pots were stiff, I used some contact spray. Wiring was ok but I did some extra grounding of the 5way switch. The natural color looks elegant and I think nothing beats a natural guitar! The sound of the pups is balanced and 'correct' although I would like hotter pickups. The 5way switch gives nice combinations (apart from the classic 3 options, you get neck pup parallel and both pups split). Tuners work correctly. The bridge saddle screws bothered me and I used lower ones from Start set, I think.
Once again Mr Robin Nunn ,head in guitar dept was extremely helpful and pro, I give him a 20 in the scale from 1 to 10 !!!! Same goes to the Greek person in charge of Greek orders, Mr Stamatis Koutouzis! Always helpful and professional!
The guitar is a great choice for all. The big 'C' that makes them ( c-o-r... factory) makes good instruments for less money and this is good! Please note I owned USA Gibsons, USA Fender Strat, 2 Mexicans etc., I also made 3 handmade superstrats to a good luthier here in Greece, I also own USA Washburn Les Paul type, among others. I think I have a wide sample and my judgement of this S521 is not so biased, the guitar is really a pleasant surprise!
Totally pleased with this S521 !

I bought this guitar approximately 1 year ago, before writing a review I wanted firstly to get know the instrument. So this is what I can say about this S521:

firs of all, the guitar is really light waited, bit neck heavy, but that does not make a big difference to me, haha. the neck is thin which makes it easier to play (in my opinion), in comparison to other guitars I tried before buying this one. The total feel of the guitar in the arms are really pleasant, it is like holding a baby, Haha!
The actual sound of the guitar unplugged is pretty decent, and when plugged even better, then I expected. The tuning holds really well, even in low tuning (I mostly play in D-standard or Drop-C).
The only issues I manage to find are that the backside of the guitar body is quite soft and because of that it received some use marks from clothing and that the neck picks up (or how it is called, the one near the neck) get loose overtime when played and gives buzzing sound, but also it is quite easy to tighten it up so that's ain't a problem (i do it even with a pic).

I mainly play heavier music on this instrument, such as Black metal, Metal in general, Stoner rock, etc., and do not have any complaints about usability.

Furthermore, when other guitarists checked this guitar (the ones who play guitars for quite a long time), they were pleasantly surprised, as they expressed themselves. also, some of them hated thin neck or lightweight but is it personal preference.

Overall, this guitar is a real bargain in accordance with the price and quality ratio! Realy good as a first guitar, easy playability out of the box, strived me to learn how to play the guitar quite quickly (at least basics, writing riffs, low-level solos, recording). So, personally, I really recommend to spare some more money and buy this guitar.

And for those still doubting about learning guitar or another instrument: If I did it, You can do it Too!

TL;DR Version:
Pros:
1. Affordable
2. Slim body, beautiful mahogany finish
3. Lightweight
4. Decent stock pickups
5. 5-way selector switch for tone variety

Con:
1. Plastic pick-up selector switch cover

Non-TL;DR version:
To be honest, I was not expecting much from a ~300 EUR guitar. However, the S521-MOL is an exception. Granted, I have no experience with high-tier/expensive guitars, and therefore this might come off as biased, as I have only had the Samick AV1 Avion series for a long time.

I was doubtful at the beginning because the physical features from the pictures made it look like an expensive guitar, especially with the beautiful mahogany finish. Upon unboxing it last weekend, it was the real deal, true to the pictures. It was incredibly lightweight; lighter than expected. The body was smooth, and I had no issues with the neck at all. Love the dotted inlays. Thin neck, no sharp edges from the frets encountered during my plays, and my fingers just glide effortlessly and comfortably.

Maybe it's also because of the audio interface and DAW/amp sim, the warm, punchy tones are one thing, but the sustain is I think underrated; it goes on for a long time. I don't have any gripe with the stock pickups. They sound nice for the price. However, people may find them underwhelming or lacking in character.

My main gripe would probably be the plastic pickup selector cover, as it feels kind of misplaced against the otherwise expensive-looking guitar. In my opinion, it would probably have been better without it.

Overall, I absolutely love the guitar. You get a lot of incredible features for the price, which makes it all the more desirable especially for budget players like me. Thankful to Thomann's quick ability to deliver this beautiful instrument to me without any compromise in condition.

I own several guitars including Fenders, Gibsons etc and I bought this mainly as a guitar to have laying around the house so that I could just pick it up without the aggravation of going upstairs to get something else, also, because it was realtivley cheap it didn't matter if it got abused a bit in the process.

However, It's probably, value for money wise one of the best guitars I've ever bought. Superb set up with a really low action. Lovely plain wood finish which is what really attracted me to it in the first place.

The less than smooth finish on the body took me by suprise, it feels like real wood but that for me is a part of the attraction. Also very light but a lovely sound when played through an amp.

The finish is not perfect with some very slightly protruding frets as you make your way along the neck but by no means uncomfortable.

If you're looking for a good guitar with a nice tone and which is slightly different to the usual Strats and Les Pauls then I can recommend this to you. I never regret buying it.