Ibanez GAX70

This isnt so much a review as it is a comment or two. I read about this thing in Guitar Player magazine's "50 great gear deals under $250" as one of 3 guitars that i was considering, the ESP M-50 and Jackson JS20 being the other two. So i went down to a music store and didnt even bother to play it after i strapped it on. Why? It's heavy on the headstock. I read a previous review on this guitar saying "thats something you get use too". Well, sorry Skippy, but i like guitars that i dont have to "get used too", a guitar i purchase should be able to conform to my own standards, not the other way around. I'm sure that this isnt a bad guitar, it looked rather solid and very attractive, but this just serves as a warning to anyone like myself who doesnt want to "get used to it", THIS GUITAR IS STOCK HEAVY AND IF YOU DONT LIKE THAT, GET SOMETHING ELSE.

1999 or 2000 made in indonesia. It has a 24.7 scale neck or something along those lines im not sure and dont really care as slong as it dosnt sound like mush. It has a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard that looks a lot like ebony. It has 22 frets and they're...i think medium or small...if they have small...but i like them. It has really decent tuners 3 to a side. It has two powersound pickups two volume and two tone just like a lp and a tunematic rbide & toggle switch. The finish on mine is just plain black and not visible anymore because its underneath green spray paint and lots and lots of stickers and acrylic paint. it's a starter guitar basically it was my second..it came with some cables.

It suits me well. I play mainly sabbath, tool and rage against the machine. When I play my own music it keeps up with me. I play a really hard and loud style of experimental jazz/hardcore lol if that makes any sense. My plan was to switch out the pickups but i never did and im not going to. The Neck gets lots of feedback after i added a cover and i just love it...i also took out the pickup and replaced it backwards. I use woman tone sometimes for solos. I get lots of really strange sounds out of it which is a good thing for me. I like the way this guitar sounds...i've played lots of esps gibsons and fenders and they sound like shit to this...kinda ironic aint it?

I adjusted the action when i got the home its bit higher now. Its a really nice guitar...well mine was. NO problems with it.

Oh god...I've rubbed my penis all over the dam thing. I've thrown it around hit friends with it...broken windows. It's very sturdy...but the strap buttons fell out both of them during a performance. I fixed that by just glueing a piece of wood in the holes and screwing them back in. Its the only guitar that i own right now that works. I have a shitty crate strat that i broke the neck on and a kramer eddie van halen style guitar that i turned into an art project and its painful to play now. The finish again..is still there...underneath all that jizz i've placed on it. I'm thinking about getting another one since they're inexpensive and high quality in my opinion.

never had to but i'm assuming i wouldnt have any problems.

i've been playing it since...christmas of...1999 i think...maybe 2000 i dont know. I've played guitar for about 2 years...im guessing. I love everything about it. It really is a well made guitar. Its really simple to use. and great for rage songs. I dont have anything else to say except...that maybe some people give it bad reviews cus they have really shitty amps like fender amps...i've played so many of those...and they make me feel like crying. I absolutely like the way the GAX70 sounds through a soldano head. I use a Rp200 and a crate ten watt practice amp. cus i dont want to have sex with the lady at the counter at the guitar store to get that soldano head...even though its probably worth it. But its ot for everyone i guess.

This has a 22 fret neck, humbuker pickups, seperate volume for each. lools kind of like a double cut gibson or sg. with an agathis body and a rosewood fret bourd with medium frets.

This guitar is perfect for some one that dosn't have that much money and play's hard rock like Tool and stuff like that. it is relativly noiseless.i use a marshall vs100 stack anditsounds huge. espeshely on the bridge pick-up.
Ihave to play lots of different styles from pop to jazz to rock because i play in a few school based bands and i can find a decent tone for all of them exept the bridge pickup isnt that great with a clean sound but dirty its great.

it Played like a charm right out of the box it has a great action. the finish good the colour is a very rich butterscoch. But the neck pick-up is a bit quiet.

This a relly good guitar for playing live, it is lite and very confortable it fits right to my body and if you like to go crazy on stage its won't let you down. I've used it alot live and even under the lights and all the crazy stuff on stage it stays in tune really well.

The socket did go wierd once but i took it back to the store a bought it at and they fixed it under warranty

Ive been playing for 4 years and i didn't have that much money so this is great. Its sounds ausome dirty and great clean. Its Great for Hard rock to funk to pop!If it was stolen i'd defently by anouther.the only problem i can find is the neck pickup and a little lacking in volume

2001 model, made in indonesia. 22 frets. H/H with vol/tone for each. Powersound(average cheapo buckers) passive electronics. Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, agathis(very similar to mahogany). Transparent red finish on body, satin finish on bolt on neck. It kinda looks like a cross between a SG and a LP, sorta like a LP shaped SG with 2 cutaways heh, kinda a SG with a big butt.It was the look and finish that drew me to it at first, as well as the tune-o-matic style bridge. This is a simply designed axe, no complications. I love this more then any axe I have owned hands down(american strat,gibson sg, some others).

8 year player and this guitar doesnt sound bad for anything I like to play, from bluesy/jazzy stuff to punk to thrash. Using it straight to a small Marshall. It plays clean very nicely but also can break up and crunch very nicely when needed. Has a pretty full sound, good lows and the highs arent nonexistent like some other 2 hummer axes. Overall I like the sound of this guitar. Its much nicer sounding then the Gibson SG I used to have. Leading me firmly to believe that its the name Gibson that sells those axes, rather then a supposedly superior quality axe.

Action/Setup was *perfect* from the moment I dragged it home from the shop. No burrs or other defects on the saddles(though they are a bit deep). Pickups height was fine. Everything was pretty much perfect on this axe. No corrosion, very nice looking wood and finish, the neck is a dream to me to play on. The nut seems more plastic then graphite like they claim but still the sustain is quite nice. Electronics are silent, pickup selector switches silently. Everything was very well put together. No fret buzz at any fret on any string. Intonation was perfect off the rack(may have been more a testament to Sam Ash then to Ibanez(shrug).

This guitar will definately withstand live playing, although I would probably replace the stock strap buttons with some locking ones. It *is* a bit topheavy neckwise, but not uncomfortably so once you have played it for a little while and gotten used to it.

The finish is very.. VERY durable, this thing is like a tank heh. Very solid axe, and while I dont "depend on it"(I play as a longtime hobby rather then as pro) I would not hesitate to. I would not use it without backup, but my backup would be another gax70.

Dunno, some say they suck, some say they are good *shrug*

Only a few things I would change about this axe. First off being the pickups. They arent horrible, but definately dont warrant the name "powersound". Will probably put a "humbucker from hell" on the neck, havnt decided what to replace the bridge one with. Will probably replace the saddles with graphite ones, and eventually the nut. The truss rod cover is cheapo but no biggie.

Overall for the money this is a very nice axe. MUCH better and more solid an instrument then anything else even coming close to the price range. The body is solid, the neck is sexy. Great for the beginner, and solid enough to keep and upgrade as you wish. Much easier to play then my old gibson sg and sounds better too right out of the store. I have played the supposed "good" axes.. american strats, les pauls, sgs teles etc. I like this little Ibanez in general more then any of these for its simplicity and easy playing.

Made in Indonesia and probably in 2000. 22 fret, 3-way switch, two volumes, two tones, two humbuckers. Standard Ibanez PowerSound passive pickups. Agathis body, sort of mutant SG style. Transparent red finish which has stood up well. Tune-O-Matic Bridge, non locking tuners.

The PowerSound pickups sucked. I put a DiMarzio PAF Pro in the neck and a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge. Plus, I just added two push/pull switches for coil-splitting and phasing. The PAF actualy sounds pretty good as a single. The new pickups made it sound so much better. The original pickups were muddy on lows and the highs could kill your ear drums. It is very quiet. I run it through a Zoom GFX707 multi effects pedal and a Ibanez ToneBlaster 15 amp and somestimes I put that through a Peavey keyboard amp I have lying around because it is huge and has killer bass to it. The guitar definitely has a full sound to it and pretty good sustain. With my current setup I can get a lot of different sounds out of it. I give it a 7 for the original pickups.

Action wasn't bad when I got it but I had to play around with it just to find whatever felt best to me. The original pickups were pretty well adjusted height wise, pretty even volume. The finish is good and solid. It has hit the coffee table a couple of times and hasn't shown it at all. Two of the tuners were a little loose but that is to be expected, nothing a screwdriver didn't fix in ten seconds.

I have no doubts about it surviving on stage, but you should always have a backup no matter how reliable a guitar may be. The hardware seems good and strong. I haven't had any problems with the strap buttons, the seem in there good.

Haven't dealt with them.

I have been playing about seven months now but I have always been mostly a piano/keyboard player. I also own a Johnson Strat Copy and a Danelectro DC-3. If stolen or lost I would cry and then probably go buy a Ibanez AX220QM. I like its shape, I find it very comfortable. For my level of playing it doesn't seem to put obstacles in my way like my piece of crap johnson strat(the springs vibrate and the g-string drops out of tune if you breathe on it). When I compared it to a lot of other guitars in this price range this one stood out. To my inexperienced ear it just sounded better and felt better.

got it about a week or two ago

Dunno what year, made in Indonesia. 22 frets, 2 humbuckers, 2 tone, 2 volume. Agathis body. the body is shaped like.. well, a SG with a fat arse. heh, its really sweet. mine's red. tuners are pretty sensetive, and stay in tune very well. even when im pissed off, they stay in tune. i dunno about the frets. they seem alright to me, a little too close togeather, i have long fingers so its kinda hard sometmes. im giving it a 6, because its a beginner guitar, but its a very sweet one.

the strings that were on it were nice (slinkys perhaps? feels like them) and pretty fresh so i didn't need to change them the action is fantastic, altho i should raise it a smidge, the E string rattles against the frets sometimes.

Suits my style of music very well. I play mostly Pearl Jam, early (altho any era is good) Smashing Pumpkins, some Creed, Nirvana, etc.

im no tone expert, but the tone isn't bad. i know that. it can get a very nice Pearl Jam sound, at least in my experiance anyway. i give it a 8 because this is exactly the sound guitar i like. I played it without an amp for a week or so, then today I got a Flextone 2. ill write a review for that after a week or two when i get over the inital "honeymoon phase".

like I said above, Action was awesome, a little low, but that can be changed. pickups are fine, the only flaw i see on the guitar is the fretboard is a little worn and you can see brown under the black. but i dont mind petty things like that. it doesn't seem to affect the sound. i like the Red model, there's a black and butterscotch. I wish they had Olive Green. On this guitar (as most Ibanez models, and some other brand guitars) I love the fact that the Jack is on the BOTTOM of the body, not poking out the front.

Seems pretty sturdy. Hardware looks good. I heard that the GAX is prone to electrical problems. so maybe the electronics might fizzle a bit someday. strap buttons look secure, i dont play standing much, so not too worried about that. Id gig without a backup, sure. if I did the backup would be annother GAX.

I haven't delt with Ibanez. but the people at the Guitar Center where I got it are really friendly. i know they're mostly that way to increase sales and whatnot. sometimes they're a little too friendly, but they're aright.

I been playing about a year off and on and have been looking for a good SG copy around $200. I just bought this a week or two ago, seems great. Got a Line6 Flextone 2 today. I compared this to a Epiphone SG special. I really liked this one's feel alot better. pluss i hate strap bolts on the neck. dunno why. I also compared it to the Ibanez GRX model. i think it was a GRX40? an acquaintance of mine has one and its nice, but i dont want a strat body. alto a Trem bridge would be nice once in a while, for Pink Floyd type stuff, ya know? the GRX models are good guitars also, but not what im looking for.

if it were lost or stolen, id buy another one. hells yeah! I doubt ill find a better guitar arond $200. I wish it had some EMG pickups, but enh, can't have everything. My advice? Go with this model, or the GRX models. they're both excellent guitars, prolly the best you'll find within the $200 price range. you can get it for around $189 but i was lazy and got it for $200. :)

1999 Indonesian made, 22 fret bolt-on neck. Multi-piece agathis body. Basic Les Paul pickup/controls/bridge. Butterscotch finish.

I play '70's rock, some metal, blues, etc. through a Tech 21 SansAmp for recording and either my Fender Frontman 25R or Mesa/Boogie Rocket 44 live. Acoustically the sound is very snappy, like you would expect from a longer scale such as a Strat. The bridge pickup is very bright, almost painfully so but this is a plus in some situations. Rolling back the tone knob to 4 or 5 brings it back into a more mellow zone. The neck pickup is fairly dark sounding. If your're willing to tweak on the controls the variety of sounds is pretty good. On the downside, there is some variance in volume string to string which can't be adjusted (fixed pole pieces).

The guitar was set-up fine from the store. I actually raised the strings a bit and adjusted the neck for a bit of relief. Finish was great, this is what got me to pick up the guitar in the first place. It is a little thick but for the price it's good. Everything except for the neck screws needed tightening. This wasn't a surprise since probably the last hands that touched the guitar were in a factory far, far away.

About the neck. It is fairly shallow, shallower than my Les Paul DC or Warmoth. The neck contour is a "C" shape rather than a "V" and this may make the neck feel different than what you are used to.

The pots for the controls look like they came out of an early '60's AM radio and what shielding paint there is looks like it was applied by a 4 year old. No joke. Everything works fine and it's not noisey so I'll just let this ride.

The fret work was better than that on my Les Paul (this is saying more about the QC at Gibson these days than anything about Ibanez).

The wood seems robust enough. Tuners are decent. Finish will probably outlive me. Electronics are questionable, though. Would I gig without a backup. Well, no, but this is my backup axe so draw your own conclusions

N/A

Playing 20+ years. Bought this as a practice beater and as a backup for my more expensive guitars. Its a basic, good guitar. It's a very good value. For 200 bucks, that's all you can ask for. Looked at some Epiphones and Squire Strats and the workmanship was better. If it was stolen, I'd get another one.

O.K. first of all, what the hell is wrong with everybody? This guitar is not as good as the ratings state. My guitar is a '99 or '00 model, I've had it about a year, and I think it was made in Indonesia. It's got 22 medium jumbo frets on a rosewood fretboard. The headstock is a 3x3 configuration which looks really cool. Although the tuners are not locking they work quite well and offer decent tuning stability. The guitar has a transparent red finish and looks really nice. The body is made of agathis and has the shape of a modified SG(Gibson). As for hardware and electronics on the body, it's got your basic Les Paul set up, 2 powersound pick-ups(more on that later) 2 volume, 2 tone,3-way pick up selector and a tune-o-matic style bridge. One of my problems with this guitar is the neck. WARNING-just because it's an Ibanez DOESN'T mean it has to have a fast thin neck. If your one of those people that likes a thin neck DO NOT GET THIS GUITAR! If you like a neck that's a cross between a Stat and a Les Paul and your poor, then go ahead. But keep in mind that while Ibanez's more expensive and mid priced guitars are very good and very well built their lower priced guitars are the sorriest excuses for pieces of shit imaginable.Oh yeah they did a piss-poor job on the fretwork as well. Also keep in mind that if you tune down, waaay down, the AX models are pretty small which means that they have some of the shortest scale neck length in the Ibanez line(24.75"). If you do tune down try looking at the RGXL models which have a scale length of 27"

I play everything from classical(yes classical) to thrash
Right now I'm playing a Peavey Raptor(don't laugh, it could castrate your guitar),Ibanez S470 through a Fender Princeton 112(think STP type distortion)
The pickups aren't that noisy unless you really crank the motha' The Powersound pickups really suck though. They're pretty muddy on the low strings and too piercing on the high strings. They also have no character at all. Despite all this you can manage to get a crunchy sound though, just down expect that Humph when you palm mute. The clean sounds on the other hand are pretty good, nice, crisp and tight with plenty of room. My advice to you is to save up a hundred more dollers and get the Ibanez AX22OQM if you want want the same body shape, this model is soooo much better than the GAX. Here's a rule of thumb when buying any guitar from Ibanez: NEVER,NEVER,NEVER EVER BUY A GUITAR FROM IBANEZ IF IT HAS A "G" IN FRONT OF IT. FOR EXAMPLE (GAX70, GSA60, GRX20Z ETC.) YA GET THE IDEA YET. IBANEZ SELLS THESE MODELS FOR LESS FOR A REASON... THEY'RE PIECES OF SHIT!!!!

Out of the box it was a piece-o-shit although I didn't know it 'cause it was only my second guitar and I was still young, stupid, and very much an amateur, I also didn't know this website existed. Action was about a mile high, intonation was awful, and the screws are a total bitch to get to(I'm talkin 'bout psycho ex-girlfriend kind of bitch!). The pickups were adjusted all right. The neck however...(see above)

I've never played with this guitar on stage before, but I think it'll be able to take it. The guitar overall seems like it could take a beating, but the neck joint on the guitar doesn't seem really strong so be careful. The strap buttons are also a pain in the ass, cause the front one keeps on coming off, the screws are also to big to put strap locks on and are too big for a locking guitar strap to hold to safely if your going to jump around alot. I would not use this guitar without a backup, but you should never go up on stage without some kind of a backup for your guitar and amp. The finish seems kind of thin but it shouldn't wear off if you take care of it.

Never dealt with 'em, heard they're assholes though.

My overall opinion is that this guitar is O.K. but please for the love of God DO NOT GET IT!(see above for reasons) If it were lost or stolen I'd be pretty pissed, just because it was my guitar and I payed for it. I would not get the same model though, I'd still want to get an AX model but definatley not this one.

Korean made, 22fret, fairly flat fretboard, 3-piece agathis body (roughly SG shaped), on 3-way switch, 2 each volume tone control, H-H pickups, tune-o-matic style tailpiece, passive electronics, clear butterscotch finish, maple neck, scarf-joint angled headstock, rosewood fretboard, plastic dot inlays, medium frets, plastic nut, enclosed tuners, no accesories.

I play in an original/cover band, so my style is rather middle of the road. The lows are thick enough, but the treble side is pretty sharp and not very useful. For gigs, I run through a Digitech RP200 amp modeller/effects box direct into the PA. The guitar seldom makes any unwanted noise. The tone knobs really don't do too much to change the sound of this guitar.. theres some change near either end of the dial, but in the middle its all mush.

This guitar contained no flaws when I recieved it. It was perfectly intonated.I changed the strings as soon as I bought it (old habit) and lowered the action a bit ( I like my action lower than most) but everything was set up nicely. The plastic nut had sharp edges on the fretboard side that stabbed at my fingers if I slid up into them, but a file made short work of those.

This guitar has taken a good beating. The hardware, while not top quality is sufficient. The finish is also quite thick, it hasn't scratched at all, and it took dropping it against the corner of my desk to dent it (playing along with online tabs... oops!) The top strap button was teh source of endless frustration.. the screw continuously worked its way out after several tightenings, wood-gluings, etc. I took it out and replaced the screw with a much longer one. Its been fine ever since. Also, the 1/4" jack tends to work istelf loose.. a problem I've noticed on alot of lower-end/imported guitars. I've had no dependability problems with this guitar... in a gig the lead guitarist's parker fly cut out on him mid set.. he has a spare strat. I've never had to go to a spare guitar. So yes, I do use this guitar at gigs without backup, but I'm thinking of buying an LP-style guitar and using this for backup and/or alternate tunings.

haven't needed repairs, and if I did I'd probably do them myself.

This guitar replaced my Squier Stratocaster, which was my first guitar. I've been playing for two years and own 6 guitars right now. I've built my own electric guitar since I've bought this one, but don't gig out with it. right now this is my main electric guitar since my custom stays at home. I'm looking to upgrade to something with a mahogany body and fuller, stronger humbuckers. If this were stolen or lost, I'd probably save my $$$ and buy something better, but as a starter guitar the quality is excellent. Also, the agathis body is very light. It makes the maple neck a little top-heavy, but its great overall for on-stage antics (which I do, to the extent my cable allows me). I like the tuning stability of the tune-style bridge, although it would be interesting to see it with a Bigsby style trem. Of course that wouldn't be particularly cost efficient. As a first electric, a back-up guitar, of a bar-brawler for when you don't want to get your Gibson wet, this is a real working-man's guitar. I've seen other gigging-guitarists switch back and forth between PRS's and JAX70s, so I'm not the only one out here gigging with one. stronger pickups would make for a much better guitar, but tats true of almost every budget guitar. Overall I've been quite happy for how much I paid for this guitar.

2000 model made in Indonesia. 22 junmbo frets, 2 volume 2 tone 3way pickup selector. Black finish, tune-o-matic bridge. It looks great and has good features.

I play mostly punk and metal and it sounds great for those, it has a thick sound. I tried some of the rg ibanez guitars, but this blew them away. The only one that sounded as good as it was a $480 ibanez. I play GAX70>DigitechRP100>Marshall MG50. It sounds great. It handles my perfered tuning perfectly (drop D down a half step). To sum it up it sounds like a much more expensive guitar.

The guitar was set up fine in the factory. The wood isn't great and I've had to have the neck straightend once. The action is a little high, but all you have to do is lower the bridge.

This is a guitar that can withstand a lot I've had it almost 2 years now and it still looks brand new. I play about 2 hours a day. I dropped it once and it still worked fine. I would gig without a backup anytime.

Never had to deal with them.

This is a great guitar at a great price, so if you're looking to aquire a first, second, or even third guitar I would highly recomend this.

Made in indonesia in 2000, it has 22 frets on a fast and thin neck. The body is comprised of 4 bits of wood stuck together, 2 for most of the body and just the top and bottoms of the horns for the other 2. Two humbuckers via a 3 way switch, both pickups having a volume and tone control. The butterscotch finish is quite good and shows off the grain of the wood quite well. The tunematic is very adjustable although the bridge on mine was put on backwards.

I try to play a little of everything, but i usually end up playing rock ballads or fingerpicking style music. I am currently using it thro a zoom 505 with an ibanez TB15R amp. The humbuckers give a neat sound that is free of all hum, unlike my squier's 50Hz squeal. The sound is bright even when unplugged and the tone is very versitile

The action on mine was a little high when i bought it and the intonation needed setting, but this was easily done. The pickups also needed a little tweaking, but nearly every budget guitar needs this treatment.

As i am only a living room rocker I haven't gigged it, altho it does seem like it would survive pretty much anything I could throw at it.

N/A

I love this guitar its so easy to play!!!

I think this is made in 99 or so. I got it like, 2 years ago. Um, it's made in Indonesia. 2 volume, 2 tone. 3 way toggle switch. I got it in the Transparent Red finish. It's a nice guitar.

I play hard rock. Like, finger Eleven/faith no More type stuff. I use this guitar, which I modified by adding staplocks and a Seymour Duncan Invader Humbucker to the bridge with a Hughes and Kettner head through a Marshall 4x12 cabinet. I find it to be quite excellent for my style. I play out regularly and this guitar gets the job done. It's not noisy at all. It sustains very well and the neck is quite sweet. Thick Lows and Mids with just the right amount of highs for me. I was either going to get this or an IceMan and I got this cause it plays a little better and had a few more features.

I like really low, telecaster like action. That's how this one was set up. The pickups were fine. And everything seemed to be fine. I love this guitar. It came just like I like guitars. I been playing guitar for 10 years, and this is one of the first guitars that I didn't immediately have to take for a setup.
I only give it an 8 cause it does have a lot of string breaks and I had to replace the pickups. But I'm picky

I've beaten the holy hell out of this guitar. I play out 4-12 times a month and it takes it. Never goes out of tune, pops a string occasionally, but that's not really a big deal...I always have another gax70 there to back it up. I depend on this guitar and it doesn't let me down.

It rocks. I love the thing. It's my favorite guitar.

Features: 2 Ibanez Powersound humbuckers, three way selector, 22 frets, 2 volume pots, 2 tone pots. Butterscotch finish... same as everyone else's.

It seems to work just fine for rock/jazz/blues/some metal... it depends on what amps and effects you're using, as with everything else, though. I'm just running it through my little Crate GX15R right now, so I doubt I can say a whole lot on this one.

I don't know about factory set-up... I bought it used, so... Other than that, everything seems well adjusted. I'm getting some small fret buzz on the sixth string, but that's fixable. Everything seems just about perfect though, and I'm impressed with it overall.

Couldn't say yet, but it's in great shape and I bought it used... that speaks highly. The finish seems like tank armor... doubt I'm going to have any real problems there. The woodgrain under the butterscotch is just beautiful, but I'd have bought the black if they'd had it...

I haven't dealt with them, and it sounds like I'll be glad not to!

I've been playing for just a few months... this is my first electric purchase, and it seems great for a learning guitar, and maybe some mid level use. I'll buy Ibanez again, I'm sure... if not, then Gibson, but that's me. If it were stolen or lost (yeah right...), I'd probably move up to a slightly better guitar, and the price is low enough that I wouldn't miss it terribly other than sentimentally. I wish it had some better humbuckers, but that can be done... Some folks had complaints about it coming out of tune on here, and I'd like to say that mine's no problem. The strings were new and needed breaking in, but other than that, it's great. I'm thinking about some strap locks for it, but it's an excellent guitar for the price range. Go out and buy one for a beginner near you!

Made in China, don't know which year exactly.
Solid agathis body, 22 frets, 2 Powersound Humbuckers, 2 volume and 2 tone controls, transparent butterscotch finish.

Sound is okay for me - one could complain that it's too muddy and not really crunchy. The Powersound humbuckers are fairly average but at least good enough for a beginner, I think. If you're a more experienced player, you probably want to replace them with pickups of higher quality (Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio etc.).
I disliked the bit of 'natural' reverb when playing clean sounds. That's pretty annoying.

The setup out of the box was pretty good - something you can't say about the finish. Well the butterscotch finish looks great, but it had some flaws, which were caused by really poor assembly. The worst thing about the guitar was the neck - the nut was poorly cut, the neck plate looked like they treated it with a chainsaw and the neck was slightly twisted. Unfortunatly I didn't notice that major bug in the shop, but later that evening at home.
Other complaints: the pickups were not aligned (the neck pickup was mounted some millimeters higher than the bridge pickup), some screws were loose and the pickup selector did not seem to be very reliable.
I was positivly surprised by the tuners and the volume and tone controls (although the knobs looked very cheap).
Overall I felt like this was made on monday.

Nothing to say about it.

I got a six month warranty, but didn't deal with Ibanez directly.

I did a lot of research regarding this guitar and whether I should buy it or not. Due to the major problems described above, I returned to the shop in order to get my money back. They offered me to replace the neck because they didn't have a replacement model but I refused.
Finally I got my money back and I am not going to spend it another GAX70 model. This was a really disappointing experience.

22 frets, 3 was selection knob for the 2 powersound pickups. a tone and volume knob for each pickup, tune-o-matic bridge, double cutaway body.

It had a pretty damn good clean and distortion sound. I run the guitar to my dod death metal to an old crate amp. it sounded really nice, but when i'm playing grindcore type stuff, the fast powerchords were breaking up a little so i put in some emgs and this guitar now sounds incredible! it's got such a nice thick and very precise sound now.

This guitar is probably the best low end guitar you can get. its price is low and it has an extremely playable and fast neck and body. it's also a pretty light guitar. action is low and perfect out of the box. the pickup selector is completely noiseless too.

it seems very reliable and solid. i did put straplocks on it though to prevent from falling when i do gigs. i havent broken a string on it yet, but would still bring a backup. I heard reviews on here saying it's got a bad bridge and comes out of tune alot, but seriosly, it doesnt. you can grind away for 45-hour and it's still in tune.

never had to deal with them yet.

i've been playing for a year (playing a borrowed guitar) so i decided to buy my own. if your low on cash, this is the perfect guitar for you. you get a lot out of it, and basically my only complaint was the pickups but they were pretty good stock pickups. i suggest if your going to have the guitar for a long time and have the money, put some nice pickups in it and you will have it sounding the best you can and have it sounding like a $700 plus guitar.

Made in year 2000 in Indonesia, 22 frets, solid agathis, 2 volumes and 2 tones, 2 humbuckers, "Powersound pickups", maple neck, availible in transparent red, butterscotch, and solid black (I have TB), double cutaway, thin flat fast neck.

Awsome sound. Thick, but twangy if you want it. I play a variety of rock styles and it does well in most of them. I use it with a Ibanez Tone Blaster 25R, an Ibanez Tone Lock Distortion and Chorus/flanger, and a Crybaby. Nice and quiet for the price and doesn't complain. Can deliver anything from a thick Creed distortion to a mellow bluesy sound to a country twang. My only complaint is that my G string sounds the slightest bit off, and strings break easily. For the price it is unstopable!

When I bought this guitar it had exellent action and perfect fit and finish. The Transparent Butterscotch finish was and still is beutiful.

I have been playing this guitar for a year and have had no problems with it at all. The hardware is as shiny as new and everything is still tight. The finish is perfect, but I polish it constantly so it should be. I wish the strap buttons worked better. I have gone to a locking strap because I got tired of my guitar slipping off. I have used this guitar without a backup because it's my only guitar.

N/A

Been playing for a year and a half and love this guitar. Great finish, great sound, very playable. A guy at my church likes it and he has an American made Strat. I didn't compare it with any other guitars. I knew I wouldn't find a better one for the $.

this is a damn good guitar. its my first electric, ive been playing it for 2 years with no desire to move up the chain, maybe a les paul in a few years. anyway, the feel on this guitar is excellent. the stock pickups r very good, and crunchy. they sound amazing on power chord riffs, the access to the high frets is good for leads. i played this guitar in my old band which was mostly punk, and my new band which is prog/metal, and this guitar pulled through on both. the only problem i have on it is the tuning. the g string doesnt stay in tune very well. thats my only complaint.

im playing through a crybaby original, and then a dod grunge distortion into my peavey bandit 112 amp. the guitar sounds amazing through both the grunge and the amp distortion. it delivers great leads and rhythm sounds. both pickups are good. the clean sound is really good, and this thing is meant to rock with distortion, so that sounds amazing. there is no downside to this guitar for the budget. i prefer it to my bros strat. the sound is where this guitar excels.

the pickups are great as ive said. the colour is a beautiful butterscotch. the finish is gorgeous, but the strings were a bit high off the fretboard when i bought it, and ive adjusted that since, which is easy. it fits very well to ur body for easy playabilty, the only problem is that for some reason i am constantly snapping strings.

this thing is a tank. i have banged it, dropped it, tipped it over, even stepped on it, and it still is good. i gig with it, and i trust it to never break. i once leaned it up against my amp and it fell over. it still sounded beautiful when i got up there to play my set.

never dealt with them

ive been playing guitar for 5 years, this is my first electric. its perfect for the price. it plays like a les paul, but its lighter. the sound is great. the only serious flaw is that it doesnt stay in tune very long, which can be fixed by buying a tuner lock. great for any kind of rock. i even play some of 'the doors' with it. incredibly versatile.

Made in 1999/2000 in Indonesia
The double cutaway design is mostly functional, however it still takes some unnatural streching to reach the highest frets. The two humbuckers are by Powersound and deal out some intense crunch...no complaints. The neck is long compared to many - definitely not Les Paul length, but it is fast and smooth. Mine's black, very glossy - not a cheap finish at all.

I'm more of a Voodoo single-coil man, but this guitar is definitely not weak when it comes to rock. The tone has what I could only describe as girth. It's fat, dense and warm. And it crunches like any $600 guitar. The highs and lows are the same....no twangs on the high and groans on the low. And the tone knob actually works...unlike a lot of cheap guitars. I'm running it through a Peavey amp and it5 sounds great....even better through a Marshal. For the money it kills.

Fast action and great looks. The black finish is not grainy, and there were no imperfections I could see when I bought it. Everything fits right, and there has not been any sign of oxidation thus far.

The hard agathis body will get tiring to support after a few hours, but the guitar itself can handle anything you throw at it short of breaking it apart onstage. It may even handle that, if you don't hit it hard enough. Everything's bolted together well enough to take on a concert. It has never not worked for me.

Have not dealt with the company.

I haven't been playing very long, but when I was in the store I had a Squier strat in my hands. Some guy I didn't even know started helping me look for guitars, and he played a few to demonstrate the differences. He picked up a Jackson Fat-Strat style guitar, and it didn't sound terrible. Then he picked up the Strat I had and started playing it. The thing whined more than it played. Then he picked up the GAX70. It wailed like a banshee and pretty much killed the competition. I went home with the GAX.

*agathis body, maple neck, 22 frets, 3-aside tuners
*2 X Vol, 2 X Tone
*1 X neck humbucker, 1 X bridge humbucker
*tune-o-matic + stop tail bridge

*stock Powersound humbuckers produce good tones when overdriven, but clean tones are bland. I plug this guitar into my Marshall DSL 401?s clean channel, along with a good source of drive, chorus & EQ. this made the tone a little more enjoyable.
*very good sustain (surprise!!)
*warm overall tone, a little trebly

The guitar?s action is typical Ibanez low profile right out of the box, this made me happy. The maple neck's rear is smooth, no dents. The frets are also well cut and leveled, so no sharp fret burrs and high notes choke here. Tuners are smooth and functional, same goes for all volume & tone pots, no complaints. High marks for the body, well finished, no lacquer blotches anywhere, no dents.

However, demerits come from the fretboard; lacquer stains are clearly visible at the neck joint area. There are scratch marks suggesting an attempt to scrape off these lacquer stains- sick!! More lacquer buildup at the headstock slot! Although the nut slots were well cut, unsightly burrs were not removed, I had to sand them off myself. The truss rod cover was badly cut, the edges were grossly jagged as if a blunt pair of scissors were used. It?s rather obvious that the body & the neck were handled by different individuals back in the factory, the neck?s overall construction really let the guitar?s reputation down. Maybe Beavis & Butthead are employees handling fretboard jobs?

Have not broken down so far, impressive.

None, problems to be referred to dealer.

Many of us will have a dismissive attitude towards a cheap guitar, especially so when it?s made in an obscure factory in Indonesia. I was initially guilty of such an attitude but after actually trying this guitar, my perspective changed. A good guitar is simply good, regardless of its origin. My initial intended purchase was a decent AX model, not one from the GIO family ever, but things took a turn I guess.

A little research revealed the agathis body to be that of the mahagony lineage, the reason for those warm tones and good sustain. These characteristics are further enhanced by the fixed, tune-o-matic style bridge.

I can?t help but compare this guitar with my Les Paul, although it?s of an inferior make and craftsmanship, it?s my preferred guitar, tone & playability wise. Its unfinished neck is a wonderful experience, avoiding that sticky feeling so inherent from the Les Paul. The upper frets are also more accessible, as opposed to the Les Paul and the frets are not too thin, unlike my other cheapo Ibanez, the RX-40, so no induced lethargy here when playing.

I have since replaced the stock Powersound humbuckers to a pair of Seymour Duncans (?59 neck, Custom Custom bridge) it had scored higher marks for tone ever since.

I?d recommend this guitar to beginners or those in need of a good backup. Do replace the humbuckers, the stock Powersounds are decent but they aren?t fantastic. A very good entry-level, value for money guitar.

Agathis body, which is cheap mahagony or something, 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way selector, "powersound" humbucker pickups, slim maple neck, rosewood fretboard, kind of a fat SG shape with double cutaways, stop tailpiece and absafuckinlutely gorgeous transparent red finish. It was made in like 1999 in indonesia by a bunch of little squinty-eyed kids makin' 12 cents an hour. Nice thin neck that is a joy to play.

For the money, it sounds very good. It's about as noisy as good humbucker-equipped guitars, and when I took out the pickups, I found they actually dipped 'em in beeswax, so don't underestimate the pickups. They have a kinda low output, not very punchy or meaty and with a weak attack, but they sufficed for awhile. When I was trying to sell my piece of shit supreme warlock, I learned to love this guitar, because I had to.
It's real nice for blues in the neck position with the tone rolled back a little. Clean or slightly overdriven. When I played metal with it, it sounded incredible. It didn't overpower my Smashbox, but let it do all the work.

The setup now is perfect. When I got it, it used to always come out of tune, and buzz, and all that bullshit. With age, this guitar gets better and better. The paint is smooth and glossy still after a few years(except for the scratches on the back from my goddamn cat). The best thing this guitar has going for it is its impeccable playability. Whether you're sitting down or wearing it, it's my easiest guitar to play, and you don't get tired of it at all.

I bet with a few more years of aging, this axe will do great live. (haha) The hardware is okay, it's still as shiny as ever, which I can't say about my friend's Fender acoustic. It's gold hardware is so fuckin' tarnished it looks disgusting, and it's only about a year old. I don't gig but you gotta be gay to play without a backup or at least another guitar lying around. I mean, why the fuck not?

(tim allen grunt)ahhhuuuuuuhhhh???

I've been playing for...awhile...I don't know, 3 years? But only really seriously for maybe a year and I also have a Hamer Standard import with EMGs(ohhh, baby I love you...), Squire Standard Stratocaster(gay pickups, GAY!), and an Alvarez acoustic. I got a Ibanez smashbox and a digitech RP-200 played through a Peavey express 112. Again, the playbility of this guitar is unmatched by others in its price range. It sounds really cool now, because after taking out the Powersounds, I put in the duncan designed chrome humbuckers from my hamer(stock). It took a long time 'cause all that soldering... But as of today that chrome hardware, red transparent finish, shinyshiny pickups, BEAUTY looks damn fine. And I'm not just saying that. If you can't afford an SG or just want a knockaround nice guitar, please take a look at the GAX-70, it just might surprise you. And you can always replace the pickups.

Carpe Diem, baby.

Red translucent finish, agatis or mohogany body?, two cheap humbuckers, Stop tailpeice, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. tuner are a bit loose when tuning low. Pickups sound like shit. Swapped bridge pickup imediately for a Dimarzzio Mege Drive(discontinued) which sound dark and heavy.

Play alot of metal and death metal. paired with the dimarzio the sound is clean and crisp. Dark highs and heavy bottom end. suits my needs well and seems to sound better tuned down to D. I play this guitar twice as much as my les paul custom with ceramic pickup. THe sound is less trebly yet has good harmonics.

Body has awesome wood grain and finish. Neck had glue and scratches on the headstock out of the box. Action is perfect for me. not to low. hasn't even been setup since I bought it at Xmas and doesn't seem to need one. Neck is nice and fast compared to my les paul.

I don't play live but it seems like it will take my abuse at home. Neck seems solid but some of the hardware look like it will need to be replaced in the futere.

Don' tKnow

Compared to my Les Paul which sound good with any type of music, clean or lots of distortion, the ibanez sounds good with metal only. I was dissapointed with it at first since I wanted a Warlock but with an extra $100 or so for new pickups i tmakes up the difference. for $350 canadian I expected nothing from the guitar but has all i need. Mahogany body created good low end but has no maple top so the high are dark. Awesome guitar for price. Good construction with cheap hardware.

Double-cutaway electric guitar, comes in black and transparent red finish (I have the Red, it's nice) 2 Humbuckers, a Tone+Volume for each. And a 3 position toggle switch/pickup selector. 22 Frets. Tuneomatic stye bridge. I've had this one for 2 1/2 years.

Rosewood fingerboard, the neck is cut nice...BUT THIS GUITAR IS VERY HEAVY ON THE HEADSTOCK AS OPPOSED TO THE REST OF THE GUITAR, when I play standing up and let go of the neck, the headstock leans down A LOT. I didn't notice this in the music store, and I hated it at first...but you get used to it after a while, I did have to adjust my playing to the guitar though.

It has 2 humbuckers, the neck one is pretty much useless by itself...it's too muddy for anyhing. The bridge one is nice and clear, but a little twangy sometimes through some amps i've played it through. I like the selector in the middle (both pickups), just enough clarity and volume without too much twang.

It has a pretty wide range of tones, but not so many useable ones. I play indie rock/melodic emo and punk stuff, the pickups are nice and hot, quite enough to get plenty of gain...but they still sound pretty good on clean.

For under $200 new you pretty much have Squier strats, Epipiphones, and no name guitars...Ibanez really kills anything else in the @$200 price range with this thing in my opinion. It doesn't sound, play, feel, or look like a $200 guitar...I get a decent amount of compliments on it and people are always really surprised with how much I paid.

For $200 i'd give it a 10...but I hate how everything on here has a 10 so i'll give it a 5 so people read why.

As I said before the headstock on this thing is HEAVY and makes the guitar tip that way when you let go. It takes some getting used to because you have to use some effort to keep it up straight when you play standing up...it just takes a little getting used to.

In terms of quality, the finish is great, the wood for the body is a little soft, it dents a little easy and i've had to tighten knobs a few times, the neck feels really nice to play on, nice and smooth. Cut just the right angle and size, not too think, not too thin.

The action is great, just right for what I do...with the tuneomatic adjustments are a little tough, but it hasn't really needed anything major.

Again for $200 i'll give it a 10 but...

Haven't had any major problems yet...some loose knobs, strap nuts came loose. What do you expect, I beat on this thing pretty hard, the finish is holing up fine, there's a little corrosion on the metal part of the pichups but that's about it.

Never dealt with them

For the money this thing is amazing...better then anything else in it's price range...The heavy headstock takes some getting used to. But I like how it plays, and how it sounds. I would buy another...

I would probably pick it over a lot of more expensive guitars based on how it sounds and how it plays. GREAT starter guitar, and a great guitar for someone who wants something decent but can't afford anything expensive. I've been playing for like 9 years but i'm really poor (college student) so this was perfect for me.

1999 Made in Indonesia, 22 frets, solid mahogahany body, nice transparent red finish, 2 volume 2 tone, 3 way selector, 2 Powersound Humbuckers, looks like an double cut LP, stop tailpiece, non-locking tuners, pretty thin neck compared to my old guitar, and it came with a hardshell case

I play hardcore and punk rock, it works pretty well for that, sounds good through my little Randall 15 watt with a Soundtank tubescreamer, but it sounds freaking rad through my friend's Fender RocPro head with a metalzone in front of it, pretty full sound, and decent tonal variety, not that I need it much because I spend most of my playing time palm-muting heavy stuff

The guitar is fine, I needed a little repair work because of a shorted wire, but since then I've had no problems with it

Well, I used this guitar for a grind show and it held up through the whole tortorous time with the only problems being a couple broken strings, strap buttons aren't too great, so I plan on getting straplocks, and yes, I would use it without a backup since my other guitar (peavey predator) is dead

I've been playing for about 3 years, and I own a cheap acoustic, a peavey predator, a Randall RG-15 10" combo, and an Ibanez tubescreamer, if somebody stole my guitar I would hurt them because I love this thing...and I would probably upgrade to the AX120 if I had the cash to do that...

Body -The Ibanez Gax 70 has a nice crystal cut body that feels great in the hands.
Pickups - Ibanez Powersound Humbuckers
Neck - 22 fret rosewood

3 way tone switch with 2 volumes and 2 tones.

The sound on this guitar is pretty good. I use it through a Kustom 80 watt amp with a Dod Grunge, Boss Ch-1 Chorus, and a Dod gs-30. The tone is nice compared to some other guitars that I have used like my yamaha pacifica. I mean its not a PRS or Gibson, but for the money you can't go wrong. I can get great clean tones and awesome distortion. Simply put, This guitar is a great buy for the money.

I love the feel of this guitar. Very fast and has a great feel to it. The action is just right for me. Havent had to adjust anything.

I've played 2 live gigs with this guitar and it was great. The only thing that happened was the input jack got unscrewed and fell back into the guitar. No biggie just took off the panel, pulled it back out and screwed it back in.

Haven't had to use them yet.

Overall and great guitar and a best buy for the money.

Most normal features of a guitar with humbuckers.

Sound is pretty good. Kinda thick. I wish the sound was cleaner.

Everything came good, but it's very hard to get adjusted to, because if you let go of the neck it tips a bit. You kinda have to hold it.

Very durable hasn't broke down yet.

I haven't dealt with them.

I really like the look of this guitar! It's is a pretty desent guitar and worth the money.