Ibanez M522 Mandolin - Dark Violin Sunburst Gloss Reviews

Was very satisfied with the tone and playability of this mandolin. Even though many people consider this a beginner/starter mandolin, it is very well suited for the experienced player. In fact, this is now my number one gigging mandolin. I was very pleased with Sweetwater's 55-point inspection process. James Riddings was very knowledgeable, and I look forward to working with him again.

The mandolin arrived in perfect condition and had a good setup. It feels like a quality instrument - now if I can just learn how to play the thing! Sweetwater is the place to go for these things - they follow up on orders and are so helpful.

I got this for my wife and she loves it, taking lessons and pushing me to play guitar with her, cant ask for a better gift

I never saw a lot of mandolins in music stores, so I thought I would try online. The problem for me was not being able to play it first before buying.

I read about the inspection process for instruments over $300 and this mandolin was the least expensive one over $300. It's a lot of money for me and I wanted an instrument that I could play and not have to fool with. I've read some reviews on other instruments where people had to do this and that on what they bought and then it was fine, but for me it would be a disaster.

This is the first time I've ever done a product review and I hope it helps someone. I like my mandolin and am not disappointed at all with either the instrument or the company.

I am new to playing Mandolin. I had purchased a low cost, low quality mandolin from another site. It only sounded good after new strings were installed but the bright tone of new strings faded quickly. I figured I got what I paid for and knew I needed an upgrade. I purchased the M522 Dark Violin Sunburst for the looks and Ibanez brand name. One of the best decisions I ever made. It not only is beautiful with the Spruce top and Maple, the tone is very nice to my ear. It was obvious Sweetwater takes great care in setting up and shipping it products. All it needed was a quick tune and slight intonation adjustment when it arrived. It has been hard to put this down since. I love this Mando.

'Just received this a day or two ago and she is absolutely stunning. This Ibanez projects well and has awesome tone. I know now that I picked the right dark violin finish...beautiful and set-up perfectly before it was shipped.

Very special thanks to Robert Williams and the tech team at Sweetwater for their attention to detail...just a flawless purchase.

Dan

I purchased two mandolins. One was an Epiphone M50 and this Ibanez for my girlfriend. The Epiphone is electrified and the Ibanez is not. Played as acoustic, the Ibanez has a fuller sound. I might like the neck shape of the Ibanez better also. It makes me wonder if I had gotten the Ibanez, and added electronics, would I have been just as happy or maybe happier.

I have the sunburst version of this mandolin, and I am very happy with it, and have considered buying the dark violin model. With a solid spruce top, this mandolin has great projection and beautiful tone. I use it to record music for worship on Sundays, and people love the tone. The lock inlays and the finish are perfect and the tonal qualities are equal to high end Gibson models. Highly recommended!

Just purchaced a mandolin from cam allen great sales person.

I've had this mandolin for about 3 years now. Its served its purpose. It has great sound and plays nice. I set it up initially soon as I got it. Bridge placement, strings, the basics. Considering adding electronics. This was my first mandolin. I was happy with it and would recommend it for beginners.

So I've never played a Mandolin before this purchase.
I feel my sales representative Scott A. led me down the correct path.
With that being said. I've been a classic rock player on guitar for over 50 years. I don't have ape hands, thank goodness. Could they make the neck any skinnier? For me, a really hard neck, closeness of strings to learn.
I only plan on using this once in a while for home recordings.
The mandolin itself seems to have been manufactured well. No complaints there.
I will say though that it doesn't stay in tune from day to day. I get it in tune and it's fine while I'm messing with it but next day, it's gone way flat. Good thing I don't play live with this.
All in all a good looking instrument that looks good on the wall with other geetars. (Yes spelled it wrong purposely)

This mandolin is very nice to look at, and I've been wanting an F-style mandolin for a long time. The price made me buy it, since I already have a nice, inexpensive Ibanez hollow body bass guitar that is good quality.

I had to change the strings and sand the bridge down to fit the top of the body better for sound transfer. I wondered why the white material under the bridge was there, and removed it. The tuning machines are not great and I might replace them. I had to lower the strings to make it playable. With new strings and the bridge fitting the top better, it sounds pretty good. It took just a little bit of trial and error to get the intonation right. "Copperhead Road" sounds good on it.

I wasn't real impressed by the quality of the finish on this instrument. There are places on the instrument that weren't completely finished, like in the swirl and under the end of the fretboard. The body of the mandolin rather thin as well and can be seen at the f-holes which leads me to believe it wouldn't take much to damage the instrument. Aesthetically it's a beautiful instrument and plays well once it is set up properly but not worth the money. I won't purchase anything from Ibanez in the future.

Fit and finish is very good, but instrument was un-tunable, unplayable, even after truss rod adjustment. I am assuming I got a lemon. I have returned; as usual, Sweetwater customer service is top notch.