Ibanez GAX70

With 136 other reviews, you get the idea. It's a clone of the Gibson SG for us cheap guys who want a beater or a learner. 2 humbuckers, 3-way, independent volume/tone. Mine is opaque polished black (Mmm, fingerprints), with a hint of gloss sparklies, nothing too overt. No clue what the body wood is, but the neck is maple with rosewood fretboard. As passive instruments go, this is the quintessential tone monster.

I'm probably not the best judge of guitar tone, being primarily a bass player, but the clean tone leaves a bit to be desired. I almost never have the 3-way on bridge-only, usually either rhythm or full. I play through a bass amp and I actually get a rather good clean sound with either of those two settings. I back the bridge tone off a notch or two and play everything else wide open. Very full, can sound a little nasal when clean and the bridge P/U is in. Obviously you can distort the hell out of the tone and most of the problems with the clean tone go away. This axe was designed for beginning rockers, metalheads and punks, most definitely.

Everything fits well, no complaints on loose parts. I find the tuners to be pretty smooth, but the nut is basically a slab of black nylon to match the rest of the body. Consider a graphite or Tusq nut for your first upgrade; tuning gets much easier, but a white nut will stand out like a snowball on a new highway. The parts are all chrome-plated, and that chrome is pretty soft, so watch out when changing strings.

I think this guitar was built for the stage. It's a pretty solid piece of wood, and if it breaks you're not out much. I'd replace the pickups with something a bit higher-quality (DiMarzios maybe, Duncans might be overkill) before I performed with this axe. I replaced the strap buttons with Dunlop locks. I would not jump around a lot with the stock buttons; they are very questionable. I don't think I'd bother with a backup on this one unless I played in a set-destroying hardcore band.

Never dealt with Ibanez support; this is the first instrument I've ever owned.

Overall, a very good beginner's electric guitar. I play mostly bass, but I am called upon sometimes to play guitar at various gigs, and this thing is up to it. I give it a 10 for value because it's one of the best instruments in its price range I've ever encountered, but be warned, it's far from perfect.

Transparent red, SG type, 2 h/buckers,2vol,2tone knobs

Sustain is surprisingly good. clean/er sounds are seriously lacking no doubt due to the pickups. guitar itself is resonant, not as much middle growl as gibson les paul standard, but sweeter in upper registers and similar tonal quality to les paul. Also, bottom end 'grind'/woody sustain less than les paul, which I feel is down to the wood, and not the pickups, though they are lacking.

bought very cheap second hand on a whim. neck very good, fret finish and set up. slightly worn in. few finish dings(who cares), loose jack plug- this was tightened, but almost instantly became loose again. neck to body alignment poor(off centre), but doesnt appear to affect playing.

With reference to previous reviews: the worst quality part of this guitar is the nut, its shitty soft plastic, strings stick in it, causing tuning problems. guitar is useles until this is rectified(carefully and very slightly widen them if neccessary and lubricate with graphite).

Also, tuners are very stiff - unscrew tuner buttons and remove plastic shim(white)but retain spring washer. tuners become much looser, easier to turn. easier to tune and keep in tune.

Guitar will be fine live after fiddly little issues sorted. replace jack plug. Replace nut (or at least fix) before buying p/ups. sort tuners. After that, I would be happy to use it live, and without a backup. To be honest though, I havent even used this guitar at true gig volumes, so cant comment on how microphonic the pickups are.

Finish is tough, hardware will last.guitar solidly built. and well built when it comes to the frets/ neck.can't say

can't say

Playing 17 years, main guitar Gibson Les Paul standard for 11 of those. high quality small class a valve amps, early 60s valve rectified vox.

Guitar bought used , on a whim, because the neck felt very similar to gibson and would be a guitar I could take anywhere and not worry about it getting broken/stolen etc-(eg, beach!park!very drunk!didnt I have a guitar with me, oops!). surprised at quality of neck for price of guitar new, and it's too good to be treated in the way I intended, so given to younger brother who loves it!

Comes with 3-way pick up, 2 humbuckers (not sure of brand) 2 tone knobs, 2 volume knobs, etc...
I use DR nickel wound extra light strings, which I like very much and sound pretty good with this guitar. Features are pretty good, I guess the only thing else I would want would be whammy bar, and a 5-way pickup.

I have mixed feelings about the overall sound and tone of this guitar. I use it with two different amps: Fender Champion 300, and a Marshall VS15. I use the Fender mostly for heavy distortion, and for its built it effects (which by the way are pretty damn good). I use the Marshall for clean tone, and for low/mid gain distortion. The GAX70 is pretty good for distortion, depending on what you want out of your distortion. I don't think the humbuckers are of very good quality, I seem to get a lot of a noise and fuzz, which is tolerable with heavy distortion (with a good pedal). Something about the clean tone I get out of this guitar doesn't impress me, and it doesn't really matter which pick-up I use, it just seems to be thin and bland. However, with some delay and chorus effects it sounds a little bit better. I don't really ever play on the treble pick up, it sounds way too high pitched, seems to be overly responsive for my taste. I will say that this guitar has pretty good sustain, and the better amp you use with it will improve the overall mediocre sound quality of the guitar itself. I think this guitar is more ideal for hard rock, metal, anything that incorporates mid to high gain distortion.

I haven't really had any problems with the cosmetics of the guitar. The neck is pretty comfortable overall, fairly thin. Not an overly heavy guitar. I get some noise switching between pick-ups. The imput connection is always coming loose which drives me crazy because I always have to tighten it, but thats about the worst of it.

I was smart enough to buy an extended warranity with this guitar fortunately. I've had two problems with it. The first had something to do with the output of the guitar. I would plug it in and get no output what so ever. I brought it to the place of purchase, and the guy said it needed a "saudering job." Not sure what that means, but it wasn't a big deal, didn't take long to fix. The second problem I'm unsure about at this point because my guitar has been sent back for repairs and I should get it back in about a week or so. The guy at the store seems to think the humbuckers are blown, or the tone knobs are dead. Whatever the case may be, I've owned this guitar for less than a year and have had 2 issues with it, that would have probably costed atleast $100 if not more to fix had I not purchased a service plan.

Never dealt directly with Ibanez, so I really have no opinion here. However the place of purchase could not have been more helpfull for what it's worth.

I've been playing for about 6-7 years, but only acoustic for the first 5years. This was the first electric that I've owned, and all things considered for the price I paid I'm not unhappy. The only thing I regret about purchasing this guitar is that I didn't know nearly as much about the basics on electric guitars as I do now, and didn't really try out many other guitars. It was kind of a spontaneous decision. If I had the opportunity to make the decision over I would probably just spend the extra $100-150 to get a Epiphone Les Paul which is far and away a better quality more versatile guitar.

simple layout, 2 hummers, tune-o-matic, grover style tuners, rosewood fret board, 3 way toggle, 2 vol, 2tone, just like a les paul.

this guitar sounds just fine! for the price, it's the best deal out there!

once again!!!!! it's the best guitar for under $200. Out performs any $300-$400 guitar ie: mex strats, epi pauls. action is low & neck is fairly slim, not ultra thin, but thinner than a standard neck. no buzzes, doesn't fret out, & a straight neck it also comes with a satin finish on the neck. plays fast & smooth!

had it for about 3-4 years minor problem. stap button did loosen up. and the input jack screws loosened also. I fixed it. wood working experience. that has happened to many of my guitars. big deal!

didn't need any

OK here's the deal. I've seen some pretty hard ratings on this thing. I'm giving it a "10". I went to the mega stores, sam ash, guitar center & played alot of guitars. I've also ordered online my fair share. Sent many back! Again, I say this is the best guitar for the money at twice the price. I have played 35 years, owned top quality stuff. most of these reviews must be from younger people who can't afford a really good guitar and just got to be ultra critical.
I bought this for my kid, OK! I can afford better for myself. thats why these reveiws are so poor! they haven,t owned much, and have nothing to compare to. You can buy an american strat for $1100. whammy it once and it goes out of tune! go ahead and re-tune it, try it again, well, what'll you know.... an $1100 guitar that won't stay in tune. their necks are crap shoot also, and fret out on bends. thats why you got to bend every note on the fret board when buying.
that happened to a friend of mine. He let me play his strat, and in about 3 min. I bent notes he never thought of bending (I play satch- eric johnson style) and the notes would buzz out and die. the neck wasn't straight!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GUITAR TO ANY ONE WHO IS ON A BUDGET!!

Hell, I even used this guitar on some of my digital recordings. I just didn't want to pull my les paul or strat, or parker nitefly out of the case. for the price, I tell my kid to just leave it out in the guitar stand, it's the quickest grab. Now if it were a Fender Squire.... lets just say those recordings would have been done with my expensive guitars. Thats how good this GAX-70 is. Also, when I was shopping for this thing, I found this model level to be the first acceptable quality in the Ibanez line. In other words, the lesser priced Ibanez guitars were sub par to my standard. Don't bother! Above this level are the finest guitars for the price!

Everyone already listed the specs, 2 powersounds H/H ..., yeah..., the're not perfect, but hey, if you can jam, you can jam. I like the double cutaway style..., almost SG, but not quite..., god knows where it was made, India or Indionesia..., one of those I countries. Overall a solid guitar except the strap buttons...,

I play alot of punk, but it handles those crazy blues licks and all the classic rock you can throw at it. I pratice with a little fender 15, and it sounds reeeaaalll nice, no noise (other than PU switching)..., the sound is very flexable, I can make it grind or sing..., with little changes to my amp or the tone knobs and pickups, overall, it's not a SG, but it's a versatile little ax with decent sustain.

Well..., I got it new from a dopehead who had just ordered it from Musician's Friend, and it was set up pretty nice, had to raise the action a little bit to eliminate a little buzz and get that mad sustain. Everything was well assembled and still feels solid after I beat on it, so it's a good guitar!

I play live just about every night with and for my friends, and I have to testify that I've lost a stap and watched it fall to the ground thinking "Well, crap..., there goes that guitar"..., and it still lives..., so it must have something goin for it. The strap buttons suck (see above)..., but..., well, yeah..., most do, get straplocks, nuff said. Overall it's pretty good, I rely on it, but that's because I'm dumb..., and poor..., and only have 3 guitars.

Never talked to Ibanez..., don't know if the have a "Traded from a dopehead Warrenty"

I've been playing for about 4 years, I own another Ibanez, a GRX20 and sevral shitty gift guitars, but the AX is my fave..., it's just a good cheap guitar overall..., if you really want it to howl, just replace the pickups, and you'll have a $600-$1000 sounding guitar for less than 300 bucks..., you really can't lose.

I've been playing Guitar For about 6 years, This was my first electric guitar. I've used it to play metal and anything else I felt like. There are a few things that make this guitar not worth my while, for one; the sustain is non existent, its not that easy to play as others, but the sustain is more of a vibrating rattle, and Tuning heads Die-Cast or not, cannot hold tuning under pressure for more than 10 minutes, especially in Drop D, which completely kills this model.

Not much variety, the treble screeches unpleasently, and the rythm gets too deep for most registers, the sound on any amp becomes distorted beyond recognition, too much string talk especially in treble.

The candy red finish mine came in is an upset....Its more comical than serious....Ill leave it at that,,,,

It will last, but the machinery will degrade in 2 years or less if not worshiped and guarded with your life

Other Guitars That I have played, that blow this away is sadly a fender squire strat..... Which I despise with all of my being, for now Ill stick to my Artcore, my 1964 Alvarez Regent classical, my Cort custom, and of course my austin eclipse custom bass. I would only recommend this to a begginner, after about a year, ditch it for a jackson........

Made in Indonesia..
22 frets, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, unknown type of body wood.
Transparent red finish, 2 humbuckers, 3 way switch.

...An average guitar for $200 bucks or so.

The GAX-70 stock pickups (Ibanez Power-SUCK) pickups TOTALLY SUCK!!!! Do yourself a huge favor and rip out the ridiculous, cheezy, powerless, pickups and upgrade the damn thing with some meaty pickups like Dimarzio's or Seymour Duncan's.

Setup was okay. The pickups were the worst, most horrible, pickups I have ever played, so I tore them out and had twin Dimarzio's installed with a coil splitter.

The finish is fine and the intonation was okay, but the tuners are not the greatest quality. The guitar will go out of tune and almost always has to be checked.

The guitar is okay to play live, but I wouldn't use it as a main guitar. It's just a little $200 guitar!!! You want something nice, you gotta pay for it, you know? Get a $2500 genuine Les Paul if you want the ultimate in quality and tone.

The guitar won't last too many years under hard playing conditions. Again, it's just a $200 guitar.

Never dealt with Ibanez...

I have been playing guitar for 30 years. I've owned Strat's, Les Paul's, Ibanez's, Washburn's, ...you name it. My style is pretty much a mix of everything.

Honest... not to slam on this guitar, but if it got stolen, I would go out and buy something else.

2004 Made in Indonesia. 22 frets. 2 volume and 2 tone controls.
2 powersound humbuckers. Agathis body, rosewood fretboard.
Black finish. Tune0matic bridge.

I play everything, from metal to gospel.
Using a Behringer Vampire modelling amp.
This guitar is not noisy at all. I usually use the bridge
pickup for most things. The neck pickup sounds good for blues.
Sounds best with distortion. The clean sounds can be a little thin.
The amp makes a lot of difference. This guitar sounded great with a
Marshall jcm800 and a Fender Bassman. This guitar is best suited to heavy rock and metal, not as much to country or blues.

Setup was ok from the store. Action was a bit high. Had light strings.
Pickups were fine. The input jack was loose.
The finish is great. Better than a lot of higher end guitars(ie Fender).

I have been playing weekly gigs with this guitar for almost a year now. Has not let me down. Only problem was the p/u selector switch.
The middle position quit working, but I never used that position anyway. Everything seems as solid as the day I bought it. Finish will last forever, not a dent or sratch on it.

Never dealt with Ibanez.
Have looked at their website though, and found some useful info.

Been playing some kind of instrument for 30 years.
Started guitar in 2004. Bought this ibanez because it played easy
and was cheap. Will probably buy a higher end guitar soon.
Compared to other guitars in it's price range, this is the best value.
The neck on this guitar is fantastic, easy to play and super fast.
I would recommend this guitar, especially to a beginner.

This is an update to the previous review. It now has Gibson Chrome Covered Angus Young Signature Humbuckers in it. I've even replaced the tone and volume pots with Gibson and put stock SG tone and volume knobs on it. I took an SG pickguard and modified it quite a bit and put it on there and it really has the SG look now. If I could only figure out a way to move the input from the bottom of the guitar to the top by the control knobs, I'd have me a decent SG Copy. I am gonna up this to a 9 after the modifications.

With these Angus Young pickups and new Gibson pots the difference is fucking incredible. Deep, meaty full blues rock based sound. Think pure AC/DC or Jackyl and you will know what I mean. Fucking good sounding guitar now. I gotta up this to a 10 now.

Made in 2003 probably in China. I bought it new and it doesn't say. 22 frets, laminated top, two volume, two tone controls, 3 way selector switch. It has two open coil humbuckers, which I suppose are stock Ibanez Powersounds. Passive electronics. Don't know what kind of fukcin wood the body is made of but the neck is maple, transparent red, bolt on neck, tune-o-matic bridge, stop tailpiece, die cast tuners, neck is thin and fast, with small frets and a rosewood fretboard. I bought this for my 14 year old son and he lost interest, so now it's part of my collection. Frets are real small, good for someone with small hands. I have kind of a hard time with it because my hands are big and my fingers are fat. I'll give it a 7.

Well, nowadays, I play just about anything. I was a teenager in the mid 60's, so basically everything from the mid 60's to mid 70's is what I like as far as rock is concerned. I like blues and I also like country. I'm not into metal, but I do like hard rock such as Deep Purple and AC/DC. Although I've lived in the Philippines since 1991, I am from the south, so Southern Rock and Outlaw Country have a big influence on my playing style. This guitar does is ok. Not bad, not great - just ok. I quit my band that I was playing in here about a year ago, so I have only kept two amps and that's a Marshall MG10CD which I keep in the bedroom and a Marshall MG30DFX that I keep in the living room. I've never considered any other amps other than Marshall. I've tried them, but for me, other amps just aren't my cup of tea. This guitar is not noisy at all. Has a bright tele like twang on the bridge humbucker and an ok jazz/blues sound on the neck humbucker. The in the middle position is alright for classic rock. I use the bridge for leads and for country, use the middle position for classic rock and use the neck for blues. My only complaint about the guitar is just that for me, personally with big hands, the small frets make it kind of hard for me to play. I feel like a Grizzly Bear on a Moped when I'm playing it. The powersound humbuckers leave a lot to be desired as far as output are concerned, but WTF your talking about a guitar that cost less than $200.00.

It was ok.

I doubt it would hold up to a lot of live gigs, who knows. Hardware is pretty cheap.

Ive been playing for close to 50 years. I've got way too much stuff to list here. I wouldn't get another one if it were lost and probably wouldn't even get pissed if it got stolen. Sometimes I take this guitar with me on trips with the small marshall amp.