• Get This NOW!

  
  As reviewed by Mike on 2/3/2011

  Although I have fooled around on the guitar since I was a kid and have had several guitars over the years, I never got serious about playing until the last 2 years. In those 2 years, I made it a point to investigate good, deep, interesting tone. I have also had some spare cash so I have bought a few axes- a Gibson SG Standard, Fender American-made Strat HSS, a PRS SE semi-hollow (which is fantastic by the way- get into that too if you can...) and this Ibanez DN500. The Ibanez feels great in hand, appears to be as well built as the SG and sounds every bit as good as the American made Strat AND the SG. The pick-ups are very responsive and "crisp." And, the tone is very, very sweet. Whether clean or with a lot of gain/overdrive, the DN500 sounds excellent. I have the white model and it looks killer- very classy and sick at the same time. The binding is very cool, the hardware is solid and the coil tapping is the icing on the cake. Not to mention it has a body shape that makes you look twice. For $600, it gives you far beyond your money's worth. Make it happen.

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• Very Pleased

  
  As reviewed by David Lipnicky on 1/30/2012

  I just received my DN500 this week and have spent long hours putting it through the paces and it has performed with stellar results so my review is based on features, playability and versatility. Pick any genera and this guitar has it covered, I play Metal from 70's to current and it fits every challenge. This is one solid, weighty instrument. If you stand on stage like I do for long hours be prepared but it's so worth it from a tonal standpoint. The sapele neck and body provide exceptionally rich tone and sustain. The guitar while standing or sitting is well balanced and comfortable. The PP1 pickups with their open pole design offer a wide range of tonal options from biting pinch harmonics and punishing riffs to very clean and with the coil tap option?sky?s the limit. Out of the box the action and intonation needed a small amount of adjustment to accommodate the heavy gauge strings I use but it holds in tune just fine even after hours of right hand attacking. The top of the bridge is smooth and comfortable and engineered to be solid as a rock; my other guitars fall way short in this area and it makes a huge difference. The neck profile and radius were just what I was looking for with a neck joint/heel that gives full access to all the frets with no strain on the left hand. The rosewood fingerboard is smooth and blemish free. As for looks the 5 ply MOP binding on the body, neck and headstock are super classy and the inlays are equally so. The finish is not super high gloss but for a black guitar that?s a plus in my opinion. I put this guitar through the paces cranked at high gain and the more you throw at it them more it bares it teeth and grins. I have and owned some of the best guitars on the market but for the price point the DN shines bright against other manufactures asking 3x as much for their guitars with way less performance. Would I change a few things, indeed?I would have preferred extra jumbo SS frets and a compensated nut or perhaps an ebony FB and a choice of finish options but overall this was a great purchase and you owe it to yourself to check out the DN500K. Sleep less practice often.

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• One Year after review

  
  As reviewed by Justin Coon on 1/27/2012

  I've had this guitar (black) for a little over a year now. I play hardcore/metalcore music and I've found this guitar to be my perfect fit. It is a heavier guitar, and I would suggest replacing the strap screws with longer ones, and also to use a good quality strap (with locks if you like moving around) because the weight of this guitar has broke through 2 of my straps... That being said, this guitar can also take a beating, it is very durable, with the neck and body being one piece. The volume/tone control knobs are in a good location and do not get in the way when strumming and the bridge is great for palm muting. The action is medium-low, and I would suggest heavier strings, especially for those that down-tune their guitars. I have pushed strings off the bridge, because they were in Drop C, and were not pulled tight enough. Heavy gauge strings has fixed this for me. The DN500 is easy to tune and holds its tuning very well. The pickups are great for any type of music, they offer very bright and clean tones and can be very dark sounding with effects and the coil-tap feature offers great tone control in a simple to use way.

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