Ibanez GIO

This is a black superstrat style, HSS pickup configuration, black, rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, trem, 5-position switch, one tone and one volume knob.
This was in a package:
It came with a 15 Watt amp, gig bag, tuner, strap, cable, and some picks. And a fairly thorough user manual.

Sound is bright, clean, ringing. No muddiness anywhere. The bridge humbucker doesn't sound as hot as I might like. I end up playing with the middle single-coil alot.
Variety of sound is middling; I would have liked more. But it's OK for most rock-type things. Sustain is pretty good, and there's no buzzing or anything like that.
The amp it came with is a gem, I love it, lots of possibilities with just a few simple controls.
Trem works fine and doesn't de-tune the guitar, which is rare in this price range, so that's a positive point.

Setup was poor, or rather, the action was too high. I tried to redo it myself but that didn't get me very far; I need to have it properly done by a luthier. Still, it's playable enough for me to keep putting that off.
Middle PU was too far down at first, I adjusted it and now it's OK.

Everything seems OK, it's well enough put together, keeps its tuning, all that functional stuff is good. Finish seems fine.
If this was the only guitar I had I would certainly gig with it, and I wouldn't be embarrassed, but it would not be my first choice.
I would definitely want a backup. Or rather, I could see using this one as a backup to something better, and do actually plan to use it that way when the occasion arises. As a backup I think it would be fine.

This is my "middle" guitar. Below it is a Behringer V-Tone which is strictly for practice, above it a Vantage Avenger which is my gigging machine.
If it were stolen or lost or abducted by aliens, I would spend a little more to get something a little better, quite possibly another Ibanez but with a lower action and hotter humbucker.
Together with the amp it was a good buy and I feel like the value for money is there. I've seen plenty of guitars that cost this much for the guitar alone and aren't a whit better - yet this one came with an amp.

I really don't know what model I have. As an idiot, I only just realized there is more than one type of Gio. It is shaped like a strat, has 2 humbuckers, volume/tone, strat style whammy. I've had it 5 years or so (maybe longer. I honestly can't remember when I bought it I've had it so long). This is a barebones guitar.

Surprisingly the sound is pretty good for the type of rock I play. (hard melodic rock). I am a notorious pickup changer/experimenter having spent $1000s on pickups over the years, yet, I didnt bother to change these. I found that they had a unique character that I might be able to use. I especially like the lead tone I get with these thru my old line 6 POD. Not my favorite sounding guitar I own but usable for my recording projects when I need a little different flavor for my solos.

I bought this guitar new years ago and frankly..... I never really touched it beyond the first year I owned it because I went out and bought an ibanez jem. It just sat in my basement closet collecting dust while my other more expensive guitars got all the playing action. I rediscovered this guitar last week while looking around for my cat and said "oh thats right. I remember this" and took it back out, dusted it off, gave it a complete setup and played it for a while. Now I remember why I bought it to begin with. It is a fantastic playing machine for the money. The action is just as great as any guitar I have in my eyes (some exceptions). On the negative side, it isnt the most resonant or loud guitar I've ever played. This block of wood has the resonance of a rock but this is no big deal really. I'm not that big a snob. Thru your cranked amp, you wont notice.

Paint job? Pleaseee!!! Of all the guitars I own, this one (black) is the most chipped and banged looking, yet, I dont remember ever manhandling this axe. Just laying it around up against walls and on floors banged the paint job silly. I've had an old ibanez roadstar II for ages and ages and it still has yet to get a chip in the paintwork (of course that was midpriced guitar in its day). So be prepared to use magic markers to ink in chips.
Everything else about this guitar is great. As for "tuning", I know how to rectify tuning problems so that is never a problem with me. Some people need to spend a few bucks on guitar maintenance books.
The strat style vibrato bar? forget it. I have never used it. I cram it full of springs and use it as a hardtail.

For the money, this is a great guitar with awesome playability but the cruddy paint quality is going to cost it in the points! yah I know. "corner cutting on certain aspects like 'paint' is how they can price it so low". Yah yah yah. 6, buddy.

Its made of wood. It will outlive anybody who reads this (with or without its paint).

no personal experience with them.

While its not the only GOOD cheapo guitar in existence, it is certainly one of them. I can recommend GIO's to anyone on a budget. Will I get rid of my Ibanez JEM or Gibson LP to play this one exclusively? hahaha. Not sanely, but it is a very good guitar as long as you set it up right.
Some entry level guitars out there are an embarrassment to the industry.
Ibanez does entry level right with the GIOs.

Its a great beginner guitar for the money. It has a 5 way pickup selector, 2 single coils and humbucker on the bridge, whammy bar, one volume and one tone knob. Basic guitar but enough features to help you decide what you want in your next guitar

The guitar sounds awsome for the price. The bridge pickup is a bit noisy but the middle is pretty quiet and the humbucker is dead silent. Pretty rich sound, its hard to get it really bright. The volume knob is a bit noisy unless it is cranked above 7 or 8.

I bought the guitar used, though it looked flawless when I got it. Bought it set up already so the action was perfect as well as the pickup adjustments. This is not a fast neck, and you won't be ripping any solos on it. So it you want to play fast get a squire.

I would gig with this guitar in a heartbeat, its bulletproof. Isn't my first choice for a gig guitar but I wouldn't have a probem using it in a show. The strap buttons should be replaced with locking ones if you plan on standing with it alot as the strap will kinda slide off them. The finish is rediculously hard, if you need to get it off you'll be using a chisel. I've dropped it several times on wood and the scratches it has would easily buff off.

The guitar has been great, and if it broke I would fix it myself.

I've only been playing 4 or 5 months, I've been a drummer 6 years. I have a Fender acoustic, the Ibanez, 2 ukuleles, a mandolin, a drumset, an S-101 bass, and a Yamaha keyboard. If it was lost I would probably build a tele because I'm ready for a better guitar(I'm a fast learner, I'm better than my friend whose been playing 5 years). I paid more than it's worth because it was set-up before I bought it, you can get them for $130 new and they are worth every penny. They are better than squires and epiphones for beginner guitars less than $200.

under the skin this guitar has a lot on it. it may look plain but mine has a floating bridge h/s/h pickup arrangment, volume plus tone, whammy bar, 22 frets and is all adorned in puke yellow body finish i paid ??150 pounds for it "bargain" oh i forgot it has got some snazzy shark tooth inlays as fret markers "did i say plain"

to be honest this is not the greatist sounding axe but wot do you expect for the money. i like to play mainly rock or metal and that is wot this guitar is good for. i would like to play blues but my gio is not really suited for it. but on the other hand the guitar dont sound to bad and i have been playing it for a year so it cant so its not all that bad

the finish is of quite a high standered for a cheap guitar no complaints there but the guitar was set up like a dogs dinner when i first got it i think it may have sitting in the shop for a long time on account of its funny colour. it took a long time to set up properly but now it is very playerble the whammy bar is very durable and the guitar doz not go out of tune easierly. But the pick up selector switch is very noisy and the neak pickup makes a horrible popping noise when you try to dampern the strings. the pickups are basic stock but they do their job reasonbly well (apart from the neak pickup on mine)

the gio fills like a tank. i doubt if i droped it of a cliff it woude not brake i have droped mine about 3 times and it is still ok

i have never delt with ibanez

i like this guitar and its flaws some how make it more endearing to me but i wish i had saved my money and had bought a gibson (i was trying to penny pinch) i am now going to alot more and buy a gibson but i will keep hold of my gio mostly becoz of its crap colour and that it makes my mates laugh when i turn up with it

ps
it makes a good first guitar dont do wot i did and buy a flying v style axe, looked good but was horrible to play.

10 10 10
I love this guitar! I been playing for 1 year and is my 1st bought electric! I love it can play anything i want it rocks!

The features have been said, no point repeating.

I think for the price the sound is pretty good. this was my first ever guitar and I thought it was altight. I play a variety of music, from grunge to blues. I quite like playing this clean on the neck pickup, you can get a good sort of grunge/metal tone with the bridge with loads of overdrive. I dont really like playing 'indie' with it, low gain, it doesnt really suit it, thats why im getting a fender tele.

noisy pickup selector. action is great, really easy guitar to play. looks great. input jack extremely dodgy from day 1, but they are on every cheap guitar. tuners are a bit crap.

OK, heres my problem, nobody else seems to have had it. The frets have worn away, from like a year onwards. The strings have worn into the frets, so whenever you try to bend them them get stuck in what basically is a 'trench'. very dissapointed, i know its cheap but you wouldnt expect this to happen so soon. everything else seems fine and durable.

I think this is a great guitar to learn on, it took me a while to settle on a mid range priced guitar that i liked simply because this sounded better than many others. If i were to learn again id buy this, despite the fret damage. If it wernt for the frets id be raving about this guitar saying every beginner should get one.

Has a great whammy bar, doesn't screw up the tuning of the strings, great sound for a basic beginners guitar.

Has great sound, you wouldn't believe its a beginners guitar. Though the pickups can be improved upon, but its still great for a beginner!

Looks great, looks incredibly sharp, design is great.

I've had it for a year and its great! Nothing wrong with it, very tough and durable guitar.

Never had to contact them for anything.

Great beginner guitar, well worth its price. Great value and tone. Looks great too.

My first guitar and spent two years on it. I really do not know where it was made or what model. It just said GIO on the headstock. It was made in early 2003 and I bought it new in a pack. This had 22 frets. This guitar had a glop top, meaning the translucent finish was glopped on so thick you could'nt see in. Just basic vol, tone, 3-way with 2 HB. I think they were stock Ibanez which were quite durable, yet the neck pickup was always really low and being the total novice I was I couldn't raise it. The controls were passive. The neck wood was most likely maple w/ a rosewood imitation fingerboard. The body was maybe pine or plywood. Great grain on the back, though. The finish was an ultradeep red.The best way I can describe the body is like an SG's retarded cousin. The bridge was stop, Though the intonation screws came loose after about 10/11 months of sporadic use and I replaced it with round wood saddles. The tuners moved like butter but did not lock and did not keep their tuning with the 9s I had on there. It had a super slim neck and good scale, maybe 25". It came with a tuner, strap, fuzz, gigbag, and amp. As I said it was a pack.

It was really versatile, and I needed that. It suited my every move, since I play almost everything. From Green Day to jazz comping it sounds great. The only quirk was the wimpiness of the tone when I dropped D or Eflat-C#, or tuned to Eflat tuning. I used primarily a Crate GA-15R with an occasional fuzz and/or reverb. It was never that noisy, the only real hum was from the crappy amps and cords I was using. The sound was rich and full in standard tuning. The neck pickup could go rather dark and muddy, to a good degree, and the bridge pickup has snarl and bite aplenty. It can be mellow or rip your head off.

The guitar was set up well at the factory, but constant use and fucking around in general set it up bad. The action was always good, but the bridge sucked: I lost a saddle on the way to a lesson and never found it agai8n. I cut7 new saddles out of chopstick. The intonation suffered dearly because of it. Otherwise it was all right

Yes, I used it for about 3 months of live situations(I'm not even in high school yet:))meaning playing to family and friends. I've only had about 10 major gigs as of now. The hardware wore with general use, not live playing. The glop top will stand up to everything except a 4ft or higher drop. The strap buttons are super solid and I never have had a problem w/ it. I had to depend on it as it was all I had for 2 yrs.

I can't really say as I have only done real novice repairs and lost the papers

I would get it again, since I gave it to a 7yrold down the street for lessons. Though I would replace the bridge and Tuners. It's more versatile than a Squier( of which I have)strat, as it can get real dark

2001 model ...details mentioned in previous posts ...its all the same

Very plain and standard, good for beginners

It has a very limited sound power and quality when compared to some of the mid range/ high end guitars. HOWEVER, the price/performance ratio is suberb - meaning you get what you paid for.

Very verstaile. You can play virtually any type of music with this guitar and it will sound decent.

My rating is based on the money spent. If compared to the more expensive guitars. This would be a much lower rating.

Everything was setup perfectly! Flawless! Great finish, everything was sturdy and seemed to fit just fine. Very solid feel.

Only complaint: The pickup selector was noisy.

I've had this guitar for 4 years. No problems. However, I have taken care of it well.

Never had to deal with them - after 4 years of loyal service.

This is probably the best guitar you could get if you are a beginner and looking for a moderately cheap guitar to start off. Excellent overall for the money in all categories!

Standard black finish GIO. 2 passive humbuckers, one volume and two tone pots. 3-way selector. Hardtail. Great neck, decent tuners. Rosewood fretboard.

I was truly impressed when I plugged this in. I play anything ranging from jazz to metal, and this guitar has the versatility for most everything. It can give that twangy Strat sound, fat Gibson sound, meaty metal ESP/PRS sound, and is just very warm and creamy. I have around 7 guitars (working on an 8th) and stick to this, my RX170, and my Gibson SG.

Action was/is great. Have never had a problem with Ibanez in that respect. The finish seems fine, although I plan on giving it a new paintjob soon.

I'd play a gig without a backup with this. Seems durable so far.

Great guitar. I hope that it'll survive for a long, long time.