Ibanez GAX75

See below

Basically a Les Paul DC with Aganthis body, with downtuner

Actually I play a sort of Ska Core with my band, but i used to play also different styles like Hard Rock, Punk, Hard Core, rarely nu metal. I use the clean channel of a Peavey studio pro 112 with a Blues Driver (for my band), or gain channel for other stuff; and i use also a Crybaby and a Digitech RP 50 (only for delays, eq, flanger and tuner).
It is not noisy with the blues driver, a little bit with the amp, but i've got the same problem with my Gibson SG special (my main guitar) so i think it could be the amp or simply the jacks between the effects. The sound is quite big, but there isn't many definition, expecially on distortion... probably Powersound pick ups sucks because lots of people said that changing them the sound get lots better, but on clean channel they were not too bad. The guitar can make Les Paul sounds so nothing special, but if you are looking for that it's ok.
It is 6 because compared to high range guitars you can listen properly the difference, but for others information read the comparison in Overall Rating, so then I will say because i bought it

Made in Indonesia... but set up was quite perfect
I have to say 5 because downtuner not worked properly

For the second time I have to say 5, but it's only related to the problem with downtuner and for a little problems of intonation.
I never break a string and this guitar is a tank, for this i take it like back up

I've never dealt with ibanez

So I've been playing since 2003, I'm 20, my main guitar is a Gibson Sg Special with Grover Rotomatic tuners and Di Marzio Pups (Superdistortion Bridge, Evolution Neck). I bought this guitar in 2004, i owned a BC Rich strat copy that was absolutely crap (that was my first guitar, I got it used), not for the name but because it sounded good... I had 300 Euros, now maybe i would buy a used one or a Greg Bennet Torino (210 Euros with Grover and Duncan Designed Pups)
but when I was at the guitar shop I compared it with a Eko SG and an Epiphone SG (special)... I prefered the Ibanez. Now I have tried many guitars of my friends, from crap like Eko S 300 to monsters like SG 61' or Jimi Page Les Paul Signature (both Gibson) and I have to say that for its price range my guitar wins, absolutely, and I've compared also with Epiphone Les Paul Standard that costed twice that and the sound was near equal.

i tried this guitar the other day at soundcontrol and from the moment i saw it i was impressed. it looks good and plays even better the neck and action already are all fine for me how it was and i thought it had a nice warm sound when played through an amp. i think this is an extremely good deal for the price.

Indonesian made \m/
Agathis body
Matte metallic silver finish
Double cut-away body
22-fret wide flat neck
2 volume and 2 tone nobs
H/H
D-tuner switch (very clever)

This a a real down to earth, no frills, rock solid axe. The pickups were a little disappointing, but some fine tuning with the tone nobs'll fix it well enough.

Amp: Crate GLX30
Effects: once in a while I use a Digitech RP200a

I play everything from jazz to church music to metal and this guitar does pretty well for all of them. If you want Les Paul fat-ness with a a little chunk this guitar is good for it. It's much more versatile than I originally thought. Going from a bluesy archtop sound to a Dimebag-esque wail takes little more than a tap on a stomp-box and a flick of a volume nob.

The action was great from the factory. The intonation needed a little adjusting but nothing drastic.

This guitar fits me perfectly. It's very comfortable to play. The neck is wonderful. It's wide and fast, the perfect size for my hand (everyone's got their own preferences though). The double cut-away allows easy access to everywhere I need to play, but I have large fingers so and rarely play past the 17th fret.

My main gripe is that the out-jack comes loose often; not a big deal, but is just another thing to remember.

If an M1A1 and a rhino had a baby, this guitar would be it.

Living in the tropics has taken its toll on all my guitars but this one. Also, living overseas, i've had a couple near death experiences with electricity coming through my strings. The first time, I threw my guitar a good ten feet away with no blemish to the finish or hardware. It was even mostly in tune. The second time I fell on it and a volume knob cap came off, but other than that the guitar was undamaged. The tone switch broke off due to some mishandeling on my part while traveling.

Under ordinary circumstances, this guitar should last a very long time. I've had no trouble with the strap buttons, despite what other reviews say.

I have no backup worthy of playing a show, but i would play without a backup if i had one.

I've not had to deal with customer support.

This guitar is a tank. It's the most durable guitar i've encountered in my 7 years of playing. I love the d-tuner and its versatility. The neck is highly playable. A great value for its price!

I wanted a simpel guitar with a fixed bridge to play & practice at home. This Ibanez has got 22 frets, two passive humbuckers, two tone and two volume knobs. That's about it. The body is 'aghatis'. Doesn'r ring any bells... It's a DC Les Paul style body with a rock solid finish.

It's got a nice little gadget that let you change the bottom E to a D.

Besides that it's nothing special so I give it a 7 (but it was exactly what I was looking for).

It's a great guitar to just plug in and start playing riffs. I think it's suitable for Rock and drop-d metal, but I play anyting on it, from blues to metal. The original pickups are ok but nothing special. Unplugged it has a nice ring (so basically it's a good sounding guitar) but the bridge pu sounds rather cold and the neck is a bit woolly (?). I hardly play with any effects (besides the overdrive from the amp) by the way.

With the original pu's I's give it a 6, but because without an amp it sounded real good (nice 'ring' to the tone, good sustain, better then te Epiphones I tried out in the same store, including the more expensive ones) I really believe that two good pickups will bring this guitar to life and make it a real good guitar for (including new pickups) far less than $500,--. So I'll rate it somewhere in between the original sound and what I think it's capable of

Action was not to low and not to high. I think a good tuneup will make it better, but it's ok the way it is. For me it just feels good. No sharp frets, no loose screws... Only the output kept going loose but after using some tools instead of tightening it with my fingers, it stays in plase.

I don't thing the electronics are to great, but that doesn't really matter. Knobs and switches are easy to replace. It's the wood and the overall build quality that matters.

Ah, the tuners suck.

Besides the electronics I think this guitar can withstand a terrorist attack. It has fallen a few times (bad karma maybe?) and there isn't a scratch on it. I think this is a very dependable guitar. I wouldn't use any guitar without a backup when gigging, but when the tuners are replaced it would be acceptable to use this Ibanez without backup.

I really don't know.

I've been playing for almost 20 years now and while I bought this guitar as an extra toy nest to my Fender usa Heavy Metal strat, I like playing this guitar better. It's a great choise for someone who's just starting out and after some upgrades (pickups and tuners) it can be a good guitar for anyone who likes a simple, solid, good sounding guitar.

This is a great guitar!
* 2 tone controlls as well as 2 volume

* Great silver/grey finish, nicest looking and most durable finish I have seen in its price range

* an Amazing Drop D tuning switch, once you use this thing you will never want to go back to the original

* Has a great Double-cut-away that alows you to reach down the neck with no hasle what so ever

* The only reason I gave it a nine is because it does has a problem with the strap holders, I had to buy a clip for my strap so that it wouldn't fall off. But as you know that is not a big deal.

This guitar was built for rock and Alterative.
*has an amazing sound which you can alter with the tone knobs, You can make it very deep sounding if you like. just overall great sound to it.

*amazingly well set up guitar, Love the double cut away.

*looks somewhat like a rock version of a les paul, (in the shape that is)

* amazingly well weighted body, very balanced

* great finish as I mentioned before.

* Since I bought it off Ebay, It had been used, but the only thing that was different from a brand new guitar was a tiny little dent in the back side of the neck. Does not effect play what so ever.

* this is a beasty guitar!

* This guitar can withstand just about anything, I believe that the finish must go into the guitar quite far, that is what i have noticed anyway. No one will ever notice if you get a chip in the body.

I have not needed to deal with customer support

I have been playing for about three years, I started on a Kramer Focus which by the way is an amazing guitar for $70 new! anyway I didn't really take playing guitar that seriously till about eight months ago. I had gotten pretty good with the guitar and wanted to upgrade a little so I started looking. One day I went into a music shop and picked out a guitar I wanted to buy, the Ibanez GAX50, They were asking $150 new so I figured I could afford it. But before I bought it I wanted to see if I could get a better deal anywhere else.. I went all over the internet and found that they were all about the same price so then I went to ebay.com, This is where I saw the Ibanez GAX75. I knew that at the music shop they were asking $230 for it so I decided if I could get it for $150 on ebay I would be saving a lot of money! I bid a max bid of $120 and sure enough somhow I got the GAX75 for $98.

K now the question, I don't really know if I would buy the same guitar as I have now, If I could get it for the same price yes, but I don't think I would spend the full price on it just because I know that I could spend $150 on the GAX50 and be just as happy. But for somone with the money I would say yes buy the 75 you will be very pleased with it

I think it is a 2002 model and of course it has the same finish as all the Gax75s. 22 fret neck neck with dot inlays. pretty basic but with drop d tuning swithch. big unfinished neck which plays great.

this is one of m three guitars the others an ibanez rx20 and a G&L cammanche. This one has the darkest sound of them all and is great for cranky out some metal and such. can brighten up pretty well but would go with other guitar for that sound. does good to emulate a les or an sg when played heavy. Yet again the drop d piece makes it so great when playing and gives you a change without having to switch guitars.

the only prblem i've had is with the damn thing falling off the strap. with that said it is a tank and even after deing dropped on concrete floorss there is barely any visible damage to this guitar. none you can see from more than an inch away. If ever you have to smack an overzealous stagediver this is the guitar to do it with. Strap buttons suck, but are an easy replacement. this is something ou really can depend on.

never had to deal with them every thing works

If this was stolen, i wouldn't buy it again I would hunt down the s.o.b. who took it and skin him alive. I've been playing for several years and this is by far not the best thing I own or have played on but it is a great great workhorse and the price isn't too high. I would suggest this guitar to anyone who wants something dependable for a good price.

i got mine in '03. i love the D-tuning switch! and everything else....no question...rule

i play everything from blues to punk to speed metal to ska. all of them sounded great!

the action was awsome! the olny complaint i have is the strings...well...they were uh...way too light, but what are ya gonna expect (no points taken off for that)

i have'nt put it through much abuse yet, but it seems like it'll be a tank! i'd bring a back up to a gig, just to be on the safe side, but i'd do that with any guitar.

no need...yet

i've been playing for about two and a half years. the olny other guitar i own is a Cort Les Paul model type of thing...yuck. i've played it through a peavey bandit 112 and a fender cyber twin delux (this thing sounds good through about anything!)i liked it better than any other guitar i've played, so it's a good deal. i would buy it again in a heart beat if it got stolen...then i'd hunt the guy down...and politely ask for my guitar back :D. i'd recommend this guitar to anybody, for a back up or to be the 'apple of your eye' so to speak!

2002 model. Made in Indonesia out of Agathis

22 frets. Kinda large, and kinda flat neck. (It's an Ibanez. you get used to it)

H/H Powersound 1 and 2 pups: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way selector switch

Pseudo-less paul double cutaway style

D-tuner gadget for quick tuning change on the low E string

Generic Chrome Ibanez tuners: non-locking

Short Stop II Bridge: imitation of PRS tailpiece w/ strings wrapping around the bridge, except for the low E going to the D-tuner

Basic H/H solidbody, except that the D-tuner is pretty cool!

Honestly, the Powersound pups leave a bit to be desired, especially the neck. The neck Pickup was muddy! Powersound bridge pup sounded okay though. The "7" represents the stock pups.

The Powersounds just weren't doing it for me, so I was looking on ebay for a chrome covered PAF replacement. Ran across Kent Armstrong pickups. I highly recommend checkign them out! Got a SET for $35. Vintage PAF Chrome covered for the neck and Hot-Rodded PAF for the bridge (15k output)

for $35, I now how a guitar! The neck pup has actual clarity, though still has a lot of bass. Guess that's the body. The Bridge pup is definately high output. Has the bite and growl of a rock humbucker. Both sound great with distortion. So more liek a "9" with the pups. VERY Gibson tone (LP/ SG-ish)

Setup: Ave -> Boss GE-7 (EQ) -> Boss CE-5 (Chorus) -> Either Behringer V-amp 2 or VOX Pathfinder 15.

I play a bit of everything, and toy with home recording, so the V-amp 2 rocks for that.

I was shockedat the setup. Played a couple to get a feel, but wanted to order online to save $$. The guy at the factory must be my "twin" Only guitar I've gotten that I didn't set-up myself. So hats of to you Gunarso; you do a good setup job.

As for fit and finish... Pretty good.

The control cover plat doesn't fit tight, and looks kinda sloppy. But I'm the only one that sees that. It's just annoying on an otherwise good assembly.

The finish: It's a kinda plastic-like Grey finish. Very industrial looking, due to non-polished finish. Not rough, I guess kinda a satin look/feel. Looks really nice though. Interesting look with the covered pups... Classic looks with lots of chrome. Just looks "nice" Unlike the aggressive look with uncovered pups or say that of an SG.

Had to tighten up the jack, but that seems to happen with every guitar. I should just do it when I buy a new one. Insignificant unless it won't stay tight. (which this does)

No probs with the pots coming loose at all like some people stated.

I own a Volvo. I own a GAX 75. Not sure which one more deserves the "tank" nickname. I think the nod goes to the axe, as the grey plasticy finish seems to resist everything!: dust, fingerprints, dings, dents, scratches.

The D-tuner looks pretty flimsy, but it accually works! Takes some fiddling to figure out how to adjust it right. But it works, so once set up, it's good to go. I applaud Ibanez for a simple, effective idea that should be on more axes (are you listening Gibson/Epiphone? you have the goth series now....)

Haven't needed any. It's a good guitar.

"8" for stock, as the sound was more limited than I'd like. "9" for the Kent Armstrong pups. No coil taps, sp can't get the ultimate in souns. May go for a phasing and/or series switch sometime. With the difference in pups (15k bridge, 7-8 k neck) could sound interesting...

I love the D-tuner. Like I said earlier, it seemed flimsy, but after taking time to set it up, it's worked great ever since. (Thanks Ibanez fir the mini-instructions!) I can flip in and out of drop D in the middle of the song withough affecting tuning. (using .009s)

I've been playing for about 5 years now and consider myself to be in the "advanced beginner" stage of my playing. Really startign to hit the scales hard and taking time to ingrain the theory into the head. I know it's boring, but that's how we get better.

This guitar is a nice compliment to my Tele copy, and gives the Les Paul "sound" especiall after the new pickups.

*who cares where its made?
*22 frets
*solid top
*2 volume 2 tone controls (1 for brige 1 for neck)
*its got a H/H combo
*Powersound 1/2 pickups
*body is agathis, neck is maple with rosewood on the fretboard
*Its got a nice flat sliverish olive color
*double cutaway...nice
*SS 2 bridge with REAL habdy down tuner
*non-locking
* neck is tad fatter than the slim wizard neck. 2mm thicker than the wiz and tad wider than a wiz
*large frets
*free gig bag, two allen wrenches and a free 10ft cable

*i mostly play nu, heavy, and death metal. but will also play some rock like guns n roses.
considering to play all that down tuned metal, i switch tunings quite periodic, so that D-tuner is a great feature. The pickups are sort-of muddy though once past like 4 on the vol. knob. So i use my Rg570 for any clean playing/or solos.
* i use a peavey bandit(85 watt) through a DoD death metal, boss mt-2 and then through a digitech RP300.
* there is a nice contrast from the neck and bridge. The neck is great for rythym and is nice and heavy, while the bridge is nice and bright, allowing me to solo...
*I have never even used this at standard tuning but im sure it would allow to play clean cut solos.
*Tho the hums are great for this price range, i changed the brige pickup to a George Lynch seymore duncun pickup. Its a tad hotter, much cleaner, and brighter...great for lead.

I didnt have any problems with the fretboard, pickups, or body. The action is low...in my opinion. and i like it like that, enabling for fast reaction. There wasn't any knicks in the frets.

In one of the earlier reviews someone said it was heavy...this agathis body is light as hell.

This guitar could stand NO MORE than 5 songs in a live gig. I'm the only guitarist in my group so i have to alleviate between a rythym and lead part. I'll solo and it'll sound great with the new george lynch pickup but the tuning will go flat. If ur just a rythym player you should be find. the only problem i've had is that the 1 of the tone knobs came loose...just get an open wrench and fix it!
The strap knobs are a tad small for my strap so when i lower or raise my guitar the top strap will fall off.
The paint seems like it'll last. I'm happy its not glossy cuz my rg is a black gloss and you could see all the pick scratches...ughhh
I wouldn't gig without a back up unless we get a 2 min break periodically to tune up.

*been playing 3 years
*I also own a Ibanez Rg 570 (if you r reading this i'd advise you to look at those too)
*2 yrs. been all rythym, past year i've been playing lead and solos.
*I'd buy it again if it were lost cuz this is a great guitar for such a low price.
*that D-tuner is invaluable...BUT MAKE SURE U USE AT LEAST A .46 STRING or else when u switch up and down it'll go out of tune REAL fast.
*all it needs is larger strap knobs and yout good.
*These 9's and 8's i put in these review are for a guitar in THIS PRICE RANGE. i know it isnt the best guitar but this baby is a steal for this price.

Agathis body covered with some sort of badass plastic coating, 22 fret 24.75" maple neck, Les Paul-style controls (2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way pickup selector), Powersound humbuckers in the bridge and neck, ShortStop II tailpiece, and a built in D-Tuner. Only comes in matte grey finish.
Personally, for me, it had all the features I needed in a guitar. I was looking for a Les Paul-style guitar, so this one was a good choice. Plus, the D-Tuner lets me switch from standard tuning to drop tunings on the fly, which is way too cool.

I play new-school metal (for lack of better description), and this guitar is pretty good for that kind of stuff. I've been using a bunch of different amps and pedals, so I don't really have a definite setup for my rig, but this guitar tends to sound good regardless.
Now, time to bitch about the pickups...... The bridge pickup is a little too sensitive for me, and since I tend to do a lot of scratches and palm mutes, a lot of harmonics tend to slip out when they're not wanted. It's a little too high pitched for my taste. On the other hand, the bridge pickup has all the bass sound you'll ever need. It's AWESOME for playing on the clean channel, but it tends to lose definition and become muddy when distorted. Nonetheless, the bridge pickup is the one I use while playing, and I keep the neck pickup's volume off, which gives me a sort of makeshift kill-switch. Agathis (supposedly) has a sound close to mahogany, so this guitar can have a nice hard, heavy sound if that's what you're looking for.
I'm giving this category a 7 because of the pickups. The bridge doesn't have nearly enough bass, and the neck can't get enough treble through. However, if you spend the time to play with the settings on your amp and pedals like I did, it'll sound fine.

This guitar took me a while to get used to, actually. The neck is vastly different from the Ibanez Wizard necks, so if that's the kind of feel that you're looking for, look elsewhere. This thing's got a wide/fat neck style, which is fine, so long as you're not expecting a really slim neck profile. The body is a bit unbalenced (the headstock tends to drop when you're not holding it), and it's as heavy as a motherfucker, but other than that, it's finished really well.

I do have a few gripes about the assembly of this guitar, however. Firstly, all the electronics (with the exception of the pickups) were poorly installed. The output jack came lose almost instantly, and the volume and tone pots spun in place. These were fairly trivial repairs, which I did myself in less than 20 minutes using nothing but a wrench, but it was annoying nonetheless. I expected this guitar to hold up better than it did. But ever since I re-tightened everything, which was almost a year ago, I haven't had any problems.

Overall, it's nicely finished and put together, apart from a few minor issues with the electronics.

Okay, big gripe here.....

Like I said above, the output jack and knobs came lose after about a month. On top of that, the strap anchors started to come lose rather fast as well. I had them replaced with a Strap-Lock system, and that held for a little while. But the anchor on the top horn started coming lose AGAIN. I had to shove 2 toothpicks in the hole and re-screw the anchor back in. Since then, it hasn't moved. Ibanez really should've done a better job at assembling this guitar, regardless of the fact that it's one of the lower-end models. If I didn't make all those repairs and adjustments (even though they're all relatively minor), this guitar would've fallen apart.

HOWEVER, after all the repairs, this guitar has been through hell and back, and still survives to tell the tale. I've had almost every single one of my friends have tired playing it at one point, I've brought it to school and band practices on a regular basis, numerous people have used it as a backup during their gigs.......and yet it still doesn't have a scratch on it. This is the only guitar I own, and I treat it like it's my own flesh and blood. In return, the guitar hasn't failed me in times of need. The moral of the story: treat your guitar right, and it'll return the favor.

I give this category a 6 because the guitar put me through unnecessary bullshit before becoming a trustworthy instrument.

No idea.

I've been playing for a year and a half now. I know that's not a lot of experience, and I know it's immodest to sing my own praise, but I think I'm a pretty decent guitar player. I've played a number of different kinds of guitars, ranging from Samick to Fender. I find I prefer the tone of Les Paul-style guitars, but I also love the feel of Ibanez's necks. In this case, the AX is the perfect guitar series for me. Although I would've liked to buy an AX120 or AX125, I just didn't have the money at the time. For the budget I was on (roughly $500), the GAX75 was an awesome deal. It's the only model in the whole AX series that has this finish (apart from the 7 string), and it's got the invaluable D-Tuner as a standard feature. This guitar is perfect for someone who wants all the features of the AX series in a slightly less refined, relatively inexpensive package. Just be prepared to do some minor repairs, if necessary.