Ibanez RG5120ML-FCN LH

I've owned a couple of different guitars before, but this one is just amazing. I love how its color changes depending on the lighting. Whenever I see it, I want to pick it up and play. The weight is perfect for me, and the build quality is also good. I can't say anything bad about the sound, but I've only played through headphones so far. The ability to choose between two voices makes me a bit indecisive because I can't choose which one I like more or when to use each one. Anyway, the guitar exceeded my expectations, and I feel like I've finally found the one that will be my companion for the next couple of years.

This guitar is pretty awesome. First of all, the finish is really pretty. It’s called frozen ocean and depending on how the light falls on it, it does look like a frozen ocean indeed. The guitar has a nice weight to it but nowhere near too heavy and it’s not uncomfortable to play. The Super Wizard HP neck is a little bit thicker then the Wizard necks on my other Ibanez guitars. It’s noticeable for sure but not annoying in the slightest.

I am quite well known with the Fishman Fluence Modern pickups. These are still the old version so with only two voicings and not the newer ones with three voicings. It’s fine though, I have no reason to switch out the pickups (unless they give me issues like in my RG5121 thanks to idiotic wiring by Ibanez). Sonically they are just fine for me. I get very decent cleans from them (good enough for me at least) and in high gain mode they absolutely rip.

The birds eye maple fretboard is stunning and while not as nice as the birds eye maple found o custom shop guitars it is still beautiful. I also like that this trem arm stays nice and firm in the Lo Pro Edge. The arm on my RG550 always gets a bit wobble after two divebombs. So it’s very nice this one doesn’t have that issue.

On my guitar the binding goes in an upward direction by about 1 to 1,5 millimeters where the neck connects to the body. However, the neck looks like it’s screwed in tightly and correct on the body and the guitar plays absolutely fine, so I think this is just a cosmetic thing. It just looks kind of weird.

All in all I am very happy with this guitar and this is definitely a keeper. I might switch the strings to a 10-46 set as that is what I’m used to but I’ll see. I think I got the last one of the batch that they had in stock but if it ever comes back in stock (because Ibanez often does us lefties dirty) and you are on the fence about getting one of these I can fully recommend it.

So this a dream guitar that I have always wanted. HOWEVER, I have mixed feelings after 2-3 weeks from purchasing it - the pros and cons as following:

Pros:
- Amazing design and look. Simply cannot stop looking at and playing it.
- Incredible sound and sustain. Clean sound is out of this planet and distortion has so much clarity when strumming chords. Just amazing.
- Tremolo is very responsive and the guitar stays in tune (most of the time).

Cons:
- Neck pickup has some glue marks on it and is not evenly aligned because of it (thinking if I should return it due to this defect).
- Frets are very rough when bending strings as well as at the top and bottom when moving around the neck - my premium Ibanez (made in Indonesia) feels more like premium.
- Neck feels like I'm moving across wet rubber (for lack of a better word)...makes squidgy noise when I move up and down the neck.
- There is no retainer bar like in the right hand model. Wondering if this is the cause of some string buzzing. WHY Ibanez, WHY!?!

Overall, I love this guitar, but I'm so disappointed with the quality one would expect at this price range and a product from the craftsmen in Japan.