Ibanez GAX70

2003 model: The features have been posted a lot here. I give it a 5 just because it's, well.... average.

This one is odd. It's got some really bright and clear clean tones. It's not a blues guitar. On the opposite end, the distortion IS somewhat muddy as others have suggested. However, some people like that.
The bottom line, it's got a nice sound for $190.

I adjusted my bride height and got some improvement on action. Actually, some very good improvement. With EB 9's on there, it's pretty nice. I also raised the neck pickup quite a bit just recently. That made the sound seem more, um, powerful I guess. No cosmetic flaws. Looks pretty darned good for a cheap unit. My only deduction is for adjustments I had to make.

I've had it for 1 1/2 years. I have 3 or 4 loose tuners. Keeping it in tune is a bit of a challenge, even with newer strings on it. The switch, knobs and and pickups are all in good shape still.

Would I buy it again? If I could only spend $200, yes. I must say that this IS a $200 guitar. For those of you expecting top of the line quality, you'll be unhappy. For those hoping for a good value and sound out of a $200 guitar, you'll be thrilled. I have no problem suggesting it to a friend. One other note, the fretboard is easy to play. It's wider than standard buy just a bit, but it helps. Newbies, take notice. This will help.

My overall rating takes into account the value and price paid.

Stock standard, from the shop.

I like overdrive / distorsion. I have a small 30W Fender amp and a boss metal zone (which can produce overdrive as well if you know how to tune it) as well as a Korg AX150G multi effects unit. I play from Old heavy metal to U2, GNR etc. The reason why I decided to add my review is due to all the bad reviews on the guitar's sound. I also see a big difference in oppinion, from 3s to 9s. A mate of mine has a jamming studio with some awesome gear. He has quite a few 600+ pound guitars (of the ibanez range) and the other guys I jam with also have guitars priced x3 of what mine does. I gotta tell ya, I'm not a professional but when I plug this baby into the Marshall 100W full stack it kicks ass. Not just me saying it, but I get to play the Marshall cos my guitar sounds better through it than any of the other blokes by far.

So my question is, is it a difference in taste (rate 3 or 9) or are these guitars just inconsistent? Everyone I know love my guitars sound, through a 30W fender or a 100 Watt Marshall. Not just "for the price".

I think the best is try it for yourself.

The action is above average. I'm sure you will find better, but you will find allot worse as well.

YES, THE JACK IS A PAIN IN THE ARSE. Make sure you get a spanner to tighten this thing once and for all.(try some Lock tight).

I also find my volume knob's scratchy, but it wasn't like that when I bought it. Probably dust.

Live playing? Mine's done fine, no probs.
Hardware will last. like I said, sort out the jack on purchase\
No probs with finnish.
Dunno about the strap buttons. Seems fine, but nothing uber spectacular.
All you need is a set of backup strings and u'r sorted.

dunno, no need for it as of yet

I think this is a sexy little guitar. Good quality components. I read on the Ibanez website something in the lines of "everything you need, and nothing you don't". So true.

If you find the pickups weak, try moving them a little closer to the strings. You WILL be amazed the difference it makes.

You will find better guitars out there. But for at least 3 times the price. Its all about prefference and I prefer this axe above anything else I have played before.

I bought this guitar essentially as a inexpensive Gibson SG 'roadie' guitar. I have an original Gibson SG that I never take on the road for fear of damage or theft, so I got the GAX70 as an inexpensive alternative. Now I'm chuckling at all the comments/comparisons of the GAX70 to the SG becasue it seems other folks have the same opinon! It feels very similar to my Gibson SG. Not sure of when this guitar was made, but I bought it in the fall of 2003. Built in Indonesia. It has 22 frets, solid top body (maple) with red reflective finish. Two volume, two tone controls. Pickups are H/H and both are open coil. Both look like Ibanez standard humbuckers. Body is mahogany, neck is maple with a nice tight & low feel that allows fast action. Body is double cutaway similar to the SG too.

I play both old rock & roll (Beatles, Pink Floyd, Mountain) and metal type songs (Black Sabbath, others). I found the sound crisp, clean and bright when played straight through a clean amp (small baby Marshall - no gain, lower volume) but I can also obtain grungy metal sounds through an FX box (Digitech RP1000). I can even get my favorite Gilmour-phasing/flangy-type sound with the right amount of FX tweaking and make it sound credible. It doesn't have the long sustaining resonant sound that my SG has, but I'm still very happy with it. I basically play for hours and hours with blissful enjoyment.

Factory setup was fairly basic & non-descript with crappy strings installed (apparently installing crappy strings is standard practice for most guitar manufacturers). I replaced the strings with 9 gauge D'Addario XL for maximum pitch bending; mercifully & happily the guitar doesn't go out of tune that often with this very light gauge. Pick-up setting seemed fine and no other apparent flaws were noted.

Overall, this is a very reliable & sturdy guitar, but the input jack has caused me a few pesky problems. I've had to tighten up the jack screw on more than one occassion. Not a real big deal, but annoying nevertheless, which makes me wonder about it's durablity on the road if you gig heavilty & regularly (I don't). The rest of it seems solid and fairly dependable.

Never had to deal with customer support - testiment to it's sturdy design and construction.

I have about 4 other electric guitars (Gibson SG, Ephiphone SG double-neck, Peavey T-60. Peavey T-40 (bass)) and 2 Ovation acoustics (6-string & 12-string). Although most of my other guitars are more feature-rich and sound-rich, I always come back to my GAX70 as just a plain ol' fun guitar to play. It has a great feel, terrific neck action and very nice sound. Pound for pound, this guitar offers EXCELLENT value for the price. If it were lost or stolen, I would probably replace it with another one (until I can afford a personal bodyguard for my real SG).

This is a long term update to my review dated 08/15/01 @ 9:09 by Anon. Guitar is stock except I replaced the tuners with Gibson diecast Grovers. I originally bought these tuners for another guitar
but I would have had to drill more mounting holes so I decided to use them on this one. Tuning stability has improved. I also flipped the saddle for the G string to improve the intonation.

Sound for any kind of clean playing is so-so. Bridge pickup is still
bright and well suited for punk and nu-metal. Neck pickup is still muddy. The reason I haven't changed pickups is that they fill a niche that my other guitars don't. Moving the pickups closer to the strings has improved the sound, though.

After 4 years of playing almost every day, the neck has not needed adjustment. I have not babied this guitar. I have a gig bag for it and it has spent much time in hot cars (Miami climate!). There is a little fret wear which will need to be addressed in a year or two. Note that I use nickel strings which are easier on the frets.

Others have noted that the guitar is neck heavy. I won't disagree. Something I have been thinking about is installing a bigsby vibrato which would correct the weight balance and make the guitar much cooler in the process.

After an initial period of tightening things, this guitar has surprised me by being as solid as it has been. Like I said I haven't babied it and it has been knocked around a bit. The finish looks like new and the neck is in good shape with some discoloration at the headstock and heel.

N/A

I bought this guitar on a whim and I definately have become attached
to it. It is comfortable to play, looks good and sounds OK. I wish this guitar was available when I was starting out. I am surprised how well this axe has worked out.

If it were lost or stolen I would get another or a more expensive one in the same model line.

Made in indonesia in 2000. 2 Ibanez "Powersound" humbuckers, 3 way switch, 2 volume 2 tone controls. Maple Neck with rosewood fretboard. unsure of body wood, feels like basswood. When i got this guitar, i had to remove about three layers of stickers only to find that the body itself had been written on in permanent marker. That aside, the graphite finish was pretty decent to look at. Tune-o-matic style bridge and tailpiece. The tuners weren't great, but better than i expected for the price range. The neck is thin and surprisingly comfortable to play.

i play all styles of music, but i mostly play blues, instrumental surf rock, and 60's traditional Jamaican ska. this guitar isn't very well suited to any of those styles, but it still has its place. i play through a ProCo Rat II, and a boutique Fuzz Face clone into a 60's Gibson Minuteman amp. The stock pickups are unimpressive, but improved after adjusting string height. This guitar performs best when playing trashy garage rock or punk styles.

Since i got this guitar used, i don't know about the factory action. I had to give it a set-up because of excessive fret buzz, and the intonation was way off. the finish looks good, but chips very easily. there were several dings and chunks missing from the previous owner. I slipped once when using a scraper to take off the stickers, and instead of a tiny scratch, a chunk of paint the size of a pea flaked off. Oh well.

I haven't used it for live playing, probably won't because it just doesn't fit my style. I can imagine having to tune constantly on stage with it, but i bend strings a lot. The previous owner installed Dunlop Straplocks (and did a really bad job), so i can't comment on the factory strap buttons. I put Schaller straplocks on all my guitars anyway, i wouldn't play live without them.

I have been playing over 10 years. My main guitars are a Washburn HB-30 (es-335 copy)w/ pickups from a '62 Les Paul, a customized Fender Telecaster (Duncan Custom p-90 in the neck position), and a restored '64 Harmony Stratotone with lipstick pickups and a bigsby. If it were stolen, i wouldn't be too upset. i don't think it will be leaving the house much.

All in all, it's not a bad guitar. With better pickups and tuners, it would be pretty good. For a guitar under $200, it's better than a lot of guitars in a similar price range. I'll probably hang on to it in case i ever have kids who want to learn.

If i was 16 again and looking for an affordable guitar for rock and punk, this would be a great choice.

Just an update to my other review. I threw a set of Seymour Duncan pups in it. A 59' in the neck and a C-5 in the bridge. This guitar was made for those pickups. I'd suggest you try them if your going to upgrade the pups.

features have pretty much been mentioned.........i have'nt modified anything its a basic gtar and has taken many a fall.........much to my dismay........ i got a navy blue colour its looks really cool i've had it for 3 years now and only one wood chip(more later)...... my only complaints are on the many loose connections there were

I used to play it through a dodgy 10 watt practice amp and even then it sounded passable. i currently play through a 70 watt beast of a yamaha dg60-fx112 its sounds really nice. i mainly play rock, worship stuff and nu-metal so it really is a nice axe and i love my neck humbucker its just so smooth....

as said earlier my only complaints were with the circutry in the begining but that was easily remedied. however within two years i had belt scratches on the back of the guitar and in 2004 it hit my guitar case and had a major chip thank god for superglue

most of the features for this guitar have already been stated. For the price, they're not bad.

Out of the box, the GAX70 sounds dull and lifeless. There is virtually no power behing the Powersound pickups. I replace the bridge position pup with a duncan custom custom and it COMPLETELY changed the sound of the guitar for the better. I feel like the new Pup put all the value back into the guitar.

Action is pretty good. You may need to adjust the bridge a little, but for biginners, it's a decent set up.

Finish is surprisingly good looking. I have the butterscotch finish and it hasn't lost its lustre over the 5 years i've owned the guitar. Really great finish.

One issue one may have with this guitar (It doesn't really bother me) is that the body is really light, so it tends to tip over on the neck side when you've got it on a strap. Definitely get good strap locks for this guitar.

Wow. This is where I'm amazed with the GAX70. Where other beginner guitars would have fallen apart, this guitar has kept going. I have put this guitar through hell in the past few years, and the only issues i've had are some slight action problems that should be easily remedied with a set-up at the guitar shop. (it hasn't been set up since i got it 5 years ago and still plays fairly well) It's starting to show its age in the intonation area, but overall, this is the toyota of guitars.

haven't had to deal with them yet

Pretty good axe. Get it set up and replace those lame pickups. Other than basic issues that every low-end guitar has, this is one solid buy. Great idea for a gift for beginner guitar players. Forget squiers or really low end epiphones, this guitar is the best beginning guitar i've ever played. I've been playing for almost 7 years, and i just haven't had the heart to part with this reliable and downright pretty guitar.


suggested upgrades: duncan custom custom at the bridge
semi regular set up!
strap locks

This is a solid-body, double humbucker gutiar, bolt on neck, kinda looks like a bloated SG. it has seperate volume/tone selectors for the pickups, 3-way switch, tuneomatic bridge. Mine has a very nice graphite finish. As stated before, the finish on this guitar is amazing. Also has the nice speedy Ibanez neck. Overall it's a nice, unique little axe with features on par with the les paul.

The sound was fine, but I felt the powersound pickups weren't suiting the powerpop / pop-punk style I was working with (they were muddy, w/very little tone difference through the selector), so I replaced them with some cheapy Kent Armstrongs. Totally worth the 50 bucks, now the guitar can be a monster or nice and tame, and I can control it with the volume pots on the guitar now. It's also far less squeally than my other guitarist's SG, even out of my Marshall half-stack. Super-cutting leads are harder to get with this thing, but I rarely use it for that anyway. I'd say it was a 6 with the stock p'ups, and now it's at least a 9. So let's say 8!

I bought this guitar used, and it had already gone through a professional setup. I've played a new one at a music store though, and I couldn't believe how receptive this guitar is to a proper setup. The action was rediculously high on the floor model I played, and it sounded cheap and tinny, even through a full tube combo. The action is nice and low on mine, and the intonation is perfect. I did bring the neck pickup a bit closer to the strings. The construction of this guitar is pretty amazing considering the sub-200 price tag. It feels solid without being overly heavy. The balance problem hasn't bothered me as much as I thought it would, though I could see how it would drive some people crazy. But properly set up, this gutiar is one of the highest quality and easiest playing you'll find in this price range.

This is my main guitar for my band, which typically gigs a couple times a month I also own an Epiphone Dot, but it does not suit the style of music I play right now. I bought this guitar to use as an on-stage beater with good sound, and it functions admirably, I use the poop out of it. Strap buttons are amazingly solid, but I'm still going to look for lockers. I have had a minor problem with the strings breaking, but I believe this is a setup issue with the bridge, so I won't fault the guitar just yet on that, but for that reason, I wouldn't go onstage without a backup.

Never dealt with, I like causing and fixing problems by myself.

This is probably my 5th guitar. I went out searching for a les paul or sg copy, and this is what I came up with, I couldn't be happier. I was honestly skeptical of Ibanez and this particular guitar at first, but I liked the look and it felt like it had potential. I've been playing for 10 years or so. If this thing was stolen, I'd be angry. I'd probably buy another one, they're cheap and abundant. With decent pickups and a proper setup, this guitar really beats out all the other cheapy new axes, and it's probably the most solidly built. A great value, if you're thinking about getting one as a backup or even a primary gutiar, go for it.

black finish. 2 vol 2 tone controls. 3 way switch. rosewood fretboard. basswood body. made in indonesia in 2000. fixed bridge. passive electronics.

I guess it was okay after several tries. At first when i practised at home, I thought the sound sux. but when i brought the amp and guitar to my school, I found it sounded better. Maybe because of the increased vol. btw, I use a Marshall G15RCD. The crunch was great. But I feel the bridge pickup sounded a bit too trebly. I play mostly Metallica and Gnr. Generally rock. And yeah, the sound is okay. Plan to install a Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro pickup in the neck.

Action was low. Really low. great for shredding. However, there was a buzz at the 12 fret of the 3rd string. I raised the pickups a bit. Flaws. Yeah, because the guitar is used. so just pick scratches. thats all. besides, i go for sound. and yeah, the balance was horrible. if it was better balanced, man this axe would be great.

I've used this guitar live. And nothing happened. For me its fit for a gig without backup. Finish good enough to last? I feel that if the finish is worn away, it would look better. haha. It kinda gives the guitar some 'flavour'. Solid strap buttons and input jack. If i have the dough I plan to change the chrome harware to gold.

Honestly I feel this guitar is great. Just the stupid imbalance. Yeah. If lost, I'll buy again. but maybe try a diff colour. now mine is black. I feel that it is much better than squiers. I tried my friend squiers and I am proud to own this Ibanez. haha.