Here's your timestamps: 00:00 Hello! 00:20 Introduction to the Ibanez RG421S-SEM 01:31 Specs and info 04:39 Today’s rig and plan Clean Sounds 05:44 Clean tone reference chords on all pickup settings 06:08 Indie pop riff 06:20 Ringing open indie pop chords 06:33 60s rock rhythms 06:44 Country ballad arpeggios 06:56 Country lead sound 07:03 Funk rhythms 07:16 Blues progression 07:27 Neo soul pop riff 07:42 Ascending droning indie chords 07:55 Cowboy chords/tone control test Overdriven Sounds 08:55 Fat indie rock rhythm chords 09:25 Garage rock riff 09:42 Choppy barre chords 09:51 Kings Of Leon inspired riff 10:06 Upbeat indie barre chords 10:30 Volume control roll off test 10:51 Southern rock picked arpeggios 11:20 Indie octave chords 11:46 Van Halen inspired rock riff 12:04 Driving rock riff 12:18 Hendrix inspired riff 12:41 Airbourne inspired rock riff 12:53 AC/DC inspired riff 13:11 Quacky rock riff 13:20 Groovy classic rock riff Higher gain drive sounds 13:36 80s rock riff 13:56 Classic hard rock riff 14:12 Hard rock riff 14:29 ZZ Top inspired riff 14:39 Melodic hard rock lead 15:00 NWOBHM riff 15:21 Glam rock riff 15:36 Lead w/added delay + reverb 15:50 Alternative rock riff 16:14 Pop punk riff 16:27 Pop punk melodic lead riff 16:43 Green Day inspired punk rock riff 16:56 Punk rock power chords 17:23 Less Than Jake inspired punk riff 17:34 Slayer inspired thrash riff 17:44 Progressive rock riff (Drop D tuning) 17:59 Modern rock palm-muted chords (Drop D) 18:23 Rage Against The Machine inspired groovy riff (Drop D) Heavy Distortion sounds (all in Drop D) 18:39 Metal chugging riff 18:56 Mastodon inspired metal riff with country twang 19:07 Hardcore punk riff 19:20 Heavy metal lead sound 19:36 Rammstein inspired industrial metal riff 19:49 Pop metal riff 19:59 Hardcore punk breakdown 20:15 Metalcore riff 20:26 Classic heavy metal/sludge riff 21:07 My thoughts 22:11 First impressions and looks 22:34 Weight and balance 23:08 Build quality and hardware 24:03 Playability and neck 24:59 Sounds and pickups discussion 27:10 What other similar guitars are out there? 29:26 My conclusions on the Ibanez RG421S and why you should buy it
Awesome, enjoy! I find myself picking this guitar up over more expensive ones every day... it's so comfy to play and so versatile too. A really great choice I think, and for that price it's a steal!
Thank you sir, glad you enjoyed this one! There is definitely something super fun about these small, flat necks and the high output pickups... I might have to add one to my collection :) The problem is going through the many hundreds of options in the Ibanez catalogue to find the ideal one ;) Rock on with your GIO!
Thanks a lot, and happy new guitar day! Really glad you're enjoying your RG421... it's a great choice and will stay good as you progress too. All the best for your guitar journey!
For not much more you can move up to the just released RG470 with traditional woods and a quality Ibanez Floyd style whammy. All with attention to detail ready to play right out of the box. I feel this is all thanx to the Harley Benton and many smaller companies using their format. They literally changed the rules. More money buys nothing significantly more than ornamentation and prestige. Dumbing down entry level guitars as a marketing strategy is GONE!
I will have to take your word for it as usual Paul! I did Google the RG470, and that looks like a step up for sure. I would want a hardtail, though, me being me ;) I totally agree that HB has changed the rules when it comes to cheap guitars... all the other brands need to step up and deliver! They can no longer rely on brand nostalgia alone to make sales. (And to be fair, I think Ibanez is one of the brands who are stepping up: their recent AZES guitars and the GRG121SP were great too!) Exciting times for us players, of course! Rock on!
I guess it depends on your definition of "really good", but to me this one manages it. (Maybe you have to make it related to price and say for the price it sounds really good.) I also think my AS73FM semi-hollow sounds really good, and that's under €500 too. But maybe my "really good" is not your "really good" and you have higher - or just different - tonal expectations than me ;)
@@RichWordsMusic It's funny how people think price is all important with these guitars, especially with the advances in technology used to engineer these instruments. It's not 1990 any longer and we can now get quality sounding guitars for much more reasonable prices. This guitar sounds great. Dude doesn't know what he's talking about. 😂
This guitar is a rock machine! Really nice sounds and not expensive. It's not my color. I love Ibanez guitars because of their wonderful necks and a very good playability. If I'm in a guitar store I'm always trying out different models. I still have my first better electric guitar, it's a Roadstar II from 1985 (HSS version and tremolo system) and I still love it.
One of my friend give to me a Ibanez RG421 MOL natural wood finish. It's a Awesome guitar, sound great, no isue with the stability and easy playability ! Great guitar for any genre of music!
Just purchsed this exact model and it is Awesome. To me nothing feels as good as an Ibanez neck. It feels like it was made for my hands. Being a teenager in the 80's I am a musician and shredder heavily influenced by that time. But loves playing all styles. so yes I fall into that category that this is the type of guitar for me. But to me Ibanez is the best hands down. No matter what level point you get an awesome quality guitar. Of course as you stated that is to the preference of the player. I like to work on guitars so I always get the Ibanez RG and S Series standard models and mod them. Upgrading the bridge and tuners to locking tuners. I use Hipshot. Although Ibanez stock tuners and the F106 bridge is awesome. I also upgrade the pickups to Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan's. And change the nut to a graphtech tusq XL. But interesting thing with the last RG Ipurchasedd before this one. A Ibanez RG421 TCM. Which is awesome. When changing the nut and inspecting the old one and doing the famous drop test. It already was the graphtech nut. Now I know some will say I am crazy, no way. But it looked, felt and had that same exact nice bounce and glass sound when doing the drop test. I did the drop of the new one and old one side by side and exactly the same. So I changed it for nothing. But awesome video. Great demonstration and explanation of specs. Good job man. Keep jamming.
Great video! I had an RG that I sold a few years ago before a move and I regret it. Your video made me feel confident that the new RGs are as good as my old one (I was concerned the Quantum pickups wouldn't sound as good). I will definitely be getting a new one (I like the new Prussian blue color).
I have only one guitar from Ibanez and that is the Ibanez GRX70QA-TBB Transparent Blue Burst model, cheap and very good for my home playing. It holds the tuning of the strings, is light and sonically in perfect order. I will definitely buy another guitar from this brand in the future (very good manufacturer), but the choice is always tedious. And I already have over 30 guitars, even my tolerant wife is starting to shake her head😀. And that's not a good sign. Now I'm currently hesitating on a swamp ash SX Stratocaster, I already have one....basically the same (blue color), but this one is natural. Nice video and excellent Ibanez test. Sorry for my detour to another brand of guitars. My best regards, Pavel CZ.👍👍👍🎸
Great guitar, reasonable prize. @2:50 it looks as if the neck wasn‘t perfectly aligned to the body or the bridge might be off center. Seems to be bearable on your model but I have noticed that same issue on other Ibanez models including my Ibanez Q where the high strings are really close to the edge (yes:) of the fretboard. On your RG it is rather on the bass side hence less annoying. Maybe something Ibanez should really address in their QC. Otherwise this RG is a cool guitar. The Quantum pickups sound great as looks the binding. Thanks for the review!
Ibanez should definately be considered as imho should be Sire and Squier CV series. In the end it is a personal choice as a bit of luck with on how the guitar leaves the factory and arrives at your store... So it seems to me that stores are often times the ones whom do the QC (read: rejects), QC is not setting up (a thing some manufacturers "overlook" 😉). That Iba looks the business for rock and metal 😎 throw in a 850 overdrive (a fuzz) and you're good (at least I'd be 😅).
This is a more shredder-oriented guitar than the GRG121SP, and built for more high gain too (in my opinion!). I love the GRG (I have a video with it elsewhere on my channel) and it has the Classic Elite pickups, which are fatter and warmer than the Quantums in the RG421. I also love the roasted maple neck on the GRG (and the neck is fatter than the Wizard neck on the RG421). In fact, for about $80, the GRG is even better value for money, if you don't want the more modern stuff (like the jumbo frets and Wizard neck) that the RG421 has...
It does seem like there are not so many lefties in the 2024 Ibanez catalogue yet - although I am sure there will be a few more as the year continues. Ibanez, if you are reading this... more left-handed options please!
Here's your timestamps:
00:00 Hello!
00:20 Introduction to the Ibanez RG421S-SEM
01:31 Specs and info
04:39 Today’s rig and plan
Clean Sounds
05:44 Clean tone reference chords on all pickup settings
06:08 Indie pop riff
06:20 Ringing open indie pop chords
06:33 60s rock rhythms
06:44 Country ballad arpeggios
06:56 Country lead sound
07:03 Funk rhythms
07:16 Blues progression
07:27 Neo soul pop riff
07:42 Ascending droning indie chords
07:55 Cowboy chords/tone control test
Overdriven Sounds
08:55 Fat indie rock rhythm chords
09:25 Garage rock riff
09:42 Choppy barre chords
09:51 Kings Of Leon inspired riff
10:06 Upbeat indie barre chords
10:30 Volume control roll off test
10:51 Southern rock picked arpeggios
11:20 Indie octave chords
11:46 Van Halen inspired rock riff
12:04 Driving rock riff
12:18 Hendrix inspired riff
12:41 Airbourne inspired rock riff
12:53 AC/DC inspired riff
13:11 Quacky rock riff
13:20 Groovy classic rock riff
Higher gain drive sounds
13:36 80s rock riff
13:56 Classic hard rock riff
14:12 Hard rock riff
14:29 ZZ Top inspired riff
14:39 Melodic hard rock lead
15:00 NWOBHM riff
15:21 Glam rock riff
15:36 Lead w/added delay + reverb
15:50 Alternative rock riff
16:14 Pop punk riff
16:27 Pop punk melodic lead riff
16:43 Green Day inspired punk rock riff
16:56 Punk rock power chords
17:23 Less Than Jake inspired punk riff
17:34 Slayer inspired thrash riff
17:44 Progressive rock riff (Drop D tuning)
17:59 Modern rock palm-muted chords (Drop D)
18:23 Rage Against The Machine inspired groovy riff (Drop D)
Heavy Distortion sounds (all in Drop D)
18:39 Metal chugging riff
18:56 Mastodon inspired metal riff with country twang
19:07 Hardcore punk riff
19:20 Heavy metal lead sound
19:36 Rammstein inspired industrial metal riff
19:49 Pop metal riff
19:59 Hardcore punk breakdown
20:15 Metalcore riff
20:26 Classic heavy metal/sludge riff
21:07 My thoughts
22:11 First impressions and looks
22:34 Weight and balance
23:08 Build quality and hardware
24:03 Playability and neck
24:59 Sounds and pickups discussion
27:10 What other similar guitars are out there?
29:26 My conclusions on the Ibanez RG421S and why you should buy it
Just ordered this, can't wait for it arrive. For £350 the reviews and videos I've seen of it look great.
Awesome, enjoy! I find myself picking this guitar up over more expensive ones every day... it's so comfy to play and so versatile too. A really great choice I think, and for that price it's a steal!
Great review again, Rich, nice axe! You inspired me to dust off my GIO and give it a go again. So much fun!
Thank you sir, glad you enjoyed this one! There is definitely something super fun about these small, flat necks and the high output pickups... I might have to add one to my collection :) The problem is going through the many hundreds of options in the Ibanez catalogue to find the ideal one ;) Rock on with your GIO!
Decided to buy Ibanez RG421EX as my first guitar after your review. Great instrument. I love it.
Thanks a lot, and happy new guitar day! Really glad you're enjoying your RG421... it's a great choice and will stay good as you progress too. All the best for your guitar journey!
@@RichWordsMusic Thank you! It's awesome.
Wow talk about a thorough review.. amazing work
Great job on this review! Love the switching edits, really lets us hear the differences on the fly.
Excellent review and selection of riff samples 10/10
Thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed it all!
Thanks. New standard in terms of how guitar reviews should be!
Thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed the video! This guitar made it easy.
Wonderful review! I love the extreme depth of styles used 😁
Cheers, really glad you enjoyed the video and the riffs! This guitar can do pretty much anything, which helps.
For not much more you can move up to the just released RG470 with traditional woods and a quality Ibanez Floyd style whammy. All with attention to detail ready to play right out of the box. I feel this is all thanx to the Harley Benton and many smaller companies using their format. They literally changed the rules. More money buys nothing significantly more than ornamentation and prestige. Dumbing down entry level guitars as a marketing strategy is GONE!
I will have to take your word for it as usual Paul! I did Google the RG470, and that looks like a step up for sure. I would want a hardtail, though, me being me ;) I totally agree that HB has changed the rules when it comes to cheap guitars... all the other brands need to step up and deliver! They can no longer rely on brand nostalgia alone to make sales. (And to be fair, I think Ibanez is one of the brands who are stepping up: their recent AZES guitars and the GRG121SP were great too!) Exciting times for us players, of course! Rock on!
@@RichWordsMusic I just double checked and found an RG470 for $465.00 USD
That's cool,but I don't enjoy floyds.
any recommended ibanez with fixed bridge?
@@k0walskiiii i played one of the Ibanez RG421PB-SBF today that guitar is awesome - it all depends on how much money you want to spend
Like for the consistency between reviews ! 👍
I don't know a single Ibanez under 500€ that sounds really good.
I guess it depends on your definition of "really good", but to me this one manages it. (Maybe you have to make it related to price and say for the price it sounds really good.) I also think my AS73FM semi-hollow sounds really good, and that's under €500 too. But maybe my "really good" is not your "really good" and you have higher - or just different - tonal expectations than me ;)
@@RichWordsMusic It's funny how people think price is all important with these guitars, especially with the advances in technology used to engineer these instruments. It's not 1990 any longer and we can now get quality sounding guitars for much more reasonable prices. This guitar sounds great. Dude doesn't know what he's talking about. 😂
Great review as ever
Thanks a lot Ferdinand, happy you enjoyed this one! 🤘
I have the rg421qm basically the same and it’s rips nicely great guitar for the money…
i just order this guitar i love the direct mount and overall look. never tried ibanez and i think this guitar gonna be alright
Awesome, hope you're enjoying it! I think it's a fantastic guitar.
This guitar is a rock machine! Really nice sounds and not expensive.
It's not my color. I love Ibanez guitars because of their wonderful necks and a very good playability.
If I'm in a guitar store I'm always trying out different models. I still have my first better electric guitar, it's a Roadstar II from 1985 (HSS version and tremolo system) and I still love it.
Great demo, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching!
One of my friend give to me a Ibanez RG421 MOL natural wood finish. It's a Awesome guitar, sound great, no isue with the stability and easy playability ! Great guitar for any genre of music!
Just purchsed this exact model and it is Awesome. To me nothing feels as good as an Ibanez neck. It feels like it was made for my hands. Being a teenager in the 80's I am a musician and shredder heavily influenced by that time. But loves playing all styles. so yes I fall into that category that this is the type of guitar for me. But to me Ibanez is the best hands down. No matter what level point you get an awesome quality guitar. Of course as you stated that is to the preference of the player. I like to work on guitars so I always get the Ibanez RG and S Series standard models and mod them. Upgrading the bridge and tuners to locking tuners. I use Hipshot. Although Ibanez stock tuners and the F106 bridge is awesome. I also upgrade the pickups to Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan's. And change the nut to a graphtech tusq XL. But interesting thing with the last RG Ipurchasedd before this one. A Ibanez RG421 TCM. Which is awesome. When changing the nut and inspecting the old one and doing the famous drop test. It already was the graphtech nut. Now I know some will say I am crazy, no way. But it looked, felt and had that same exact nice bounce and glass sound when doing the drop test. I did the drop of the new one and old one side by side and exactly the same. So I changed it for nothing. But awesome video. Great demonstration and explanation of specs. Good job man. Keep jamming.
Wow I love this model so much. Just wish it came in a maple fretboard version, because I don't like the sparkly pain job on the other one.
Hopefully Ibanez add a few more options in future... a maple board with this finish would look great for sure!
Great video! I had an RG that I sold a few years ago before a move and I regret it. Your video made me feel confident that the new RGs are as good as my old one (I was concerned the Quantum pickups wouldn't sound as good). I will definitely be getting a new one (I like the new Prussian blue color).
You put together a nice video
Thanks Jeff, glad you enjoyed it!
I have only one guitar from Ibanez and that is the Ibanez GRX70QA-TBB Transparent Blue Burst model, cheap and very good for my home playing. It holds the tuning of the strings, is light and sonically in perfect order. I will definitely buy another guitar from this brand in the future (very good manufacturer), but the choice is always tedious. And I already have over 30 guitars, even my tolerant wife is starting to shake her head😀. And that's not a good sign. Now I'm currently hesitating on a swamp ash SX Stratocaster, I already have one....basically the same (blue color), but this one is natural. Nice video and excellent Ibanez test. Sorry for my detour to another brand of guitars. My best regards, Pavel CZ.👍👍👍🎸
Great guitar, reasonable prize. @2:50 it looks as if the neck wasn‘t perfectly aligned to the body or the bridge might be off center. Seems to be bearable on your model but I have noticed that same issue on other Ibanez models including my Ibanez Q where the high strings are really close to the edge (yes:) of the fretboard. On your RG it is rather on the bass side hence less annoying. Maybe something Ibanez should really address in their QC. Otherwise this RG is a cool guitar. The Quantum pickups sound great as looks the binding. Thanks for the review!
Excellent vídeo! Awesome guitar. I love it and I love the Ibáñez S521 too. What do you think about S521? I think that are similar guitars
Ibanez should definately be considered as imho should be Sire and Squier CV series. In the end it is a personal choice as a bit of luck with on how the guitar leaves the factory and arrives at your store...
So it seems to me that stores are often times the ones whom do the QC (read: rejects), QC is not setting up (a thing some manufacturers "overlook" 😉).
That Iba looks the business for rock and metal 😎 throw in a 850 overdrive (a fuzz) and you're good (at least I'd be 😅).
Put some EMG pickups in it and you got a shredding machine.
Damn, if only it had that nice wood color on the front too and not just the back ...
That is an available finish option
Would be a super cool option for sure - it looks really nice.
It needs a matching head stock
That would be amazing, I agree, but I guess they really needed to keep it to a certain price point!
which you prefer gio grg121sp or this one sir?
👍🏻👍🏻
Many thanks as ever!
What do you think about this compared to the GRG121SP?
This is a more shredder-oriented guitar than the GRG121SP, and built for more high gain too (in my opinion!). I love the GRG (I have a video with it elsewhere on my channel) and it has the Classic Elite pickups, which are fatter and warmer than the Quantums in the RG421. I also love the roasted maple neck on the GRG (and the neck is fatter than the Wizard neck on the RG421). In fact, for about $80, the GRG is even better value for money, if you don't want the more modern stuff (like the jumbo frets and Wizard neck) that the RG421 has...
@@RichWordsMusic Thanks!! I'd love to see a side-by-side sound comparison video!!
So few left handed available
It does seem like there are not so many lefties in the 2024 Ibanez catalogue yet - although I am sure there will be a few more as the year continues. Ibanez, if you are reading this... more left-handed options please!
Just bought mine
Awesome, happy new guitar day! Hope you are enjoying it :)