Ibanez GIO

Unknown year, rosewood fretboard, medium jumbo frets, unknown tuners(gotoh-like), one piece maple neck is bolt-on.
Body is light, probably basswood, not plywood. Black plastic nut.
HSS pickups, one tone, one volume, five-way switch. Crummy floating tremelo, Ibanez emblazioned on the tremelo plate.
Black painted body, white single layer pickguard.
Small pots, but a quality five-way switch with shielding under the pickguard. Go figure. Clean, decent sized wiring. Clean soldering, wrapped wiring.
Kind of like a fat strat body.
Typical starter guitar.

Suprised me with the pickups a little. Clean, mostly, with the bridge not being too hot, but not too spanky. Singles are pretty clean, actually, I was somewhat surprised. No big changes in sound anywhere. On the bright side, no noise, solid switching and linear volume and tone changes. The big drawback is the single volume, so multiple pickup positions have no balancing. For a beginner, this unit would be OK for a couple years. If you are experienced, you will probably get tired of the pickup/switch/knob configuration quickly, and the lack of crunch/spank, whatever you are looking for. Heck, you wouldn't even buy it.
Nothing out of the ordinary here. It sounds middle-of-the-road.

Action was good, neck was straight, which is why I picked it off a pawn shop shelf for $69. I am using the electronics and the neck to create my own solid body. The body was basically junk, but the neck is pure Ibanez, and the electronics are a little above average save for the single volume.
Fit and finish on the original was a lot of shiny black paint, plastic cover on the back. The backside finish on the neck was a nice smooth matte lacquer that allow for quick hand movements. Fret work was good with no sharp edges. Rosewood is dark and grained. Nice. Neck pocket was somewhat poor, but bolt pattern was strong so it held OK. Came with no shims under the neck. Cutaway on the body is deep allowing access to the higher frets, no problem.
Neck is one piece maple, which makes it slightly higher grade than knockoffs using maple pieces to construct a neck. Rosewood fretboard extends past the neck, over the body about 8-10 MM longer than the neck.
Pickups have nice, standard, spring adjustments. Shielded on the backside, electronics nicely wired and tucked. Not sloppy. Wrap on the humbucker was sloppy white tape, but fixable.
Playing it before stripping it down, it had that nice, middle of the road, beginning player, fairly clean strat sound that a good Asian unit has.

It was a rock, save for the tremelo.
In this rebuild, the tremelo has been trashed and I am putting a hardtail with through strings on the new body.

Still, in it's original condition it was a tank.
You could see a lot of beginner garage bands using one of these.
Thick finish, strong strap buttons, just not much to go wrong.

Pawn shop - no warranty.

After a who knows what life, this unit was in a pawn shop where the temps change drastically. Neck stayed rod straight, which is why I picked it over others for my project.
After playing it for a while, I almost kept it, but decided I didn't need another strat knockoff. The electronics and neck will make great supplies for building a body from scratch, and I pay tons less by using pre-owned pickups, knobs, tuners, neck, etc.
But the Ibanez quality was there, just not in spades.

I picked this up for $100 used.
The year is a mystery (2003-2005?)
It was originally silver metallic, but somebody put an aftermarket strat shaped vinyl sticker that resembles diamond plate (like a step bumper or toolbox)
Two humbuckers w/3-way switch, non-vibrato, maple neck, body (?)
Volume/Tone

An average starter electric with everything essential needed to rock.

I was very surprised! Not the best sounding guitar, but the pickups don't squeal, which for the price is unheard of.
The bridge pickup is a little weak, but this would be nit-picking and only a seasoned pro (like me) would notice this difference. (I'm use to a SD-SH1 or 59er)
I bought this gutar to play a few songs with my band, tuned down to D. I used 10s and it sounded great! (Of course, nearly anything sounds great through my Randall RM 100)
I never had a breakdown. Always stayed in tune fairly well.

I set this guitar up (as no one had done it right yet) and after the intonation was right, it played just fine.
I even had other players eyes light up when I told them I paid $100.
It feels great...but as other players pointed out, I'm not likely to put my '82 Les Paul Custom in the case over this cheapie.
But if it were my only guitar/first axe, I'd be proud of it.
It blows away my first guitar (a super cheap Lotus LP special copy) and shows that in the entry level guitars, Ibanez is a leader.
This thing is better than my first 3 gutars (but that was back in the 70s)
You young players out there don't know how easy you have it!
Lucky little brats!

I think this guitar is gig worthy, but the tuners are not top-notch.
I'd probably change them, but otherwise, I'd gig with it.
(Never without a backup)
It seems durable and nothing extra or flashy to come loose or break off. No wammy bar, so it stays in tune fairly well.

Never dealt with them. I've not owned much Ibanez stuff, but I've never had any of it breakdown. I guess that says something right there.
I've heard they keep poor records of their past guitars & stuff.

No biggie.

I give this a 8, but only because of the cost.
For the money, I'd say this is the best (or one of the best) guitars on the market...for the money.
$100 well spent.
I did have to buy a case for it....$79

Kinda feel stupid buying a $79 case for a $100 guitar...but...

Oh well....

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.

Ibanez GIO. Not sure what year( I think 2003) I bought it on EBay for 86 bucks.All I know is that I took it into the local guitar store, where my daughter takes guitar lessons, and they said I got a good deal. I had some Fret work and knobs replaced for 30.00 bucks. I have not heard it yet, because it is a Christmas present, but I have looked up some info. online, and it seems to be a Ok guitar. What do you think?

Awesome blue mettalic color with gold pickguard. I bought a yellow and blue sun type of thing for the strap(looks good!)

It does have a chip on the lower left bottom of the guitar. Not bad.

I cannot wait to hear her play it in a band form during lessons. Everyone says it's a bargain.

I bought it on EBay.

I love the blue matallic color w/the gold pickguard. My daughter ownes a candy apple red Samick electric and an Acoustic. She does'nt know about this(christmas present) I've heard Ibanez is a great brand. Is it true?

I have a black Ibanez GIO. I'm assuming it was made in Japan, in part because on the side of the package it said, "made in Japan". Just a hunch. It has 2 humbuckers, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way switch, 22 rosewood fretboard, ect.

The quality of sound that comes from this guitar is amazing. I was truely impressed. I prefer this guitar over my Fender. I run this guitar through a Presonus Tube Pre (NOS), Optical Compressor, Behringer Virtulizer Pro~ All in the effects loop. I run a Tech 21 Double Drive straight to the input of my Marshall 250 DFX, which has been slightly modified. The humbuckers are incredible on this guitar, with little ground noise coming from this instrument....I have tried numerous guitars and originally was going to purchase a Gibson. Then I came across this gem and was instantly impressed. It has a very modern tone, but can still carry a vintage sound fairly well... I play Alternative Rock, Punk, Blues, Folk.....I like my distortion with cream

This guitar has a very low action. Our lead singer owns a Custom Made Brazillian Rosewood Taylor, which is the only guitar that I can name that has a lower action. I would consider his Taylor to be one of the finest acoustics you can purchase, if not the finest. Finish is good. The only flaw I found is that this guitar can loose intonation rather quickly, which can be a huge pain in the ass if you have no clue what your doing. I had to teach myself. It wasn't fun.

I'm not sure. I have one dent, which occured after my strap fell off. I was surprised it didn't break, in part because it is one of the lightest electrics on the market. If you take care of it you shouldn't have any serious issues.

Not sure!

The best quality of this guitar is not the sound, but it's weight, at least in my opinion. I can't stand overweighted guitars, reguardless of how great they may sound. The sound quality is amazing, especially considering the price. Add in an unbelievable action, and you may find yourself with a winner!

I got this guitar in a beginners package and it came with an amp. It was my first guitar, 22 frets, two single and one dual humbuger. Its a relatively plain guitar, nothing special. It has one tone knob and it does almost nothing. The volume control works though. I got it with a floating bridge but I know you can get a fixed one.

As I said it is a plain simple guitar and it isn't anything special.

Im going for the classic rock/metal sounds and with a digitech grunge distortion pedal it sounds pretty good. It has full sound and rarely makes any unwanted humming. It is really really sensitive and just picking it up off of the stand causes it to scream (I guess its like me, a lazy couch potato.)

It was excelent. I've never had any problems with it and it was always in good shape. and in almost a year and a half Ive never broken a string even though I play pretty hard.

You can definitly depend on this guitar but it is not very unique. The finish wears off pretty easily and it just looks like a standard fender squire. It is pretty sturdy though.

Ive been playing for a while now and its a pretty solid, guitar but it doesn't have any outstanding features.

its a GSA60 Ibanez in a brown sunburst finish.Its got a floating trem system .. non locking ..
2 single & 1 humbucker pickups. Its got a fairly lo radius kneck & has the usual type machineheads for a lo price guitar. A double cutaway arched body that i find nice to look at.Its a slightly smaller
than the normal thick body .. which makes it feel a little lighter.
The frets were a real let down. I bought the guitar after having looked at two GSA60,s .. the straws were drawn as to wot color finish to choose. Id decided to replace the strings with 10,s lights as i prefer those to 9,s .. so having got the strings off i found the frets to be quite scored .. (im sure a little fine polishing will sort it out ) but not so impressed. since it had been a 3 day haul visiting several shops to find this guitar that i liked the look & feel of .. i think the frets are not a too big a deal .. the guitar still plays fine except for one or two frets are a bit scratchy. They may wear in after a little while .. my other guitar is about 6 years old now & has had time to bed in. Even on examination of my other guitar .. thats not free of a marked fret here n there either.
It didnt come as a package deal .. but the guy in the shop was very nice & beat someone eleses price & threw in some strings & a strap ..
& i still had some bus fare home !! so how can i complain ? after all .. it is a new guitar.

Wot is my music style?? well i like most jazz or rock mainly .. im not a pro player but enjoy messing with my sequencer & jamming along ( as best i can ) so the guitar will be used mostly in a home set up. ( u can see also my other review about my Washburn BT2)
Ive got my guitar fed into a zoom 505 then into a zoom 1201 for extra reverb if needed .. which sounds brill when jamming to a sequence to minidisk .. the results ive been told are really pretty good for a home set up .. but it does take a lot of experimenting to get the sounds right. Anyhow .. so tonight i finished fitting the heavier strings & put it thru my set up & can only say the guitar has got a long way to catch up with my W-BT2 !!
The sound generally is extreamly sharp & brittle .. but having said that it is a clean sound .. not as warm & full as the BT2. This has not dissapointed me because .. "WOTS THE POINT OF A 2ND GUITAR THAT SOUNDS JUST THE SAME!!!" .. no its very different .. twangy.
But wot i did find out .. was that the single pick ups were picking up noise from the TV & PC !!! thats a bugger ! .. ill get round that somehow.
As far as comparing the 3 pickups go .. the bridge is very sharp & clear .. & the other 2 & combinations are as u would expect slightly
more bottom end .. the volume & tone seems to be the same as most passive circuits.Its ok .. i cant compare it to a Fender like some do as i aint got one !!

The action of the 1st guitar in the shop was a bit high .. but could be adjusted .. the 2nd guitars action ( the one i bought ) was more like my other guitar .. I have to say i didnt buy it for this reason .. i could have lowered the bridge a fraction on the 1st guitar
.. but i got the vote on the sunburst finish ..
The finish is really tasty .. reminds me of my mums furniture .. hi !
.. its got that kind of finish .. highly polished with some of the grain showing thru .. & acually about the same color. The edges of the frets are silky smooth but i soon found out when i took the strings off .. the tuners needed the locking nuts on the head tightening up a bit as the washers were not being held down.The floating bridge seems to be of a good quality for a manufacturer,s
own type .. but i had to fiddle about to get it to square up after i fitted those heavier strings. Generally not bad.

To this category i cant really coment. I fitted a strap & the pegs seem ok .. so far.I dont normally use a strap indoors .. but i thought id try it & buy the guitar a strap.Err .. well the pickups are hardwear .. arnt they ?? .. it maybee the reason it sounds a bit toppy .. maybee some alternative pickups may modify the sound .. but as far as i can see they look like the run of the mill .. no pole adjusters .. some guitars at this price do have.

No problems yet

How long ?? i started back around the early 70,s .. trying to mimic Hendrix & Ritchie blackmore .. etc .. Listened to a lot of jazz too .. & i think i got on fairly well at the time .. but got into a rut .. lack of enthusiasm / practice .. then got sidetracked .. im sure someones been there. Then later my son suddenly realised there were things called guitars & got me interested again after about 20yrs of not really doing anything !!! I still enjoy messing about.
If it got stolen .. errr .. well id be Psssss$ off a bit .. having to search round again to find that one .. all over again .. mmm
Yeah i compared it to my good old Washburn BT2 & Falcon ... see my reviews
Anything i wish it had .. yeah i know .. i wish it had been free !
thats about it ..
One last thing .. i did notice that on all the reviews i needed to look at .. the ratings seemed to be biased .. about 50/50 .. if the guitar was good .. it was a cheap guitar & better than one costing ten times .. & on the other side of the coin .. if it was rubbish .. wished they,d have paid ten times more & got the one they really wanted !!!!
Thats life ...

This was my first guitar that i got about 5 years ago. it's a 22 fretter and it's a solid top. volume, tone, and 5-way selector. it's got a humbucker bridge and 2 single coils. I got the Startup kit from ibanez so it came with different goodies, haha

Well, i play rock and little bluesy stuff... umm, this guitar is pretty amazing for rock. and if you like a fat sounding blues tone, this guitar's got it covered. I I really can't get over the sound. and i say this because the damn thing was 200 bucks... if i bought a 1000 dollar guitar and had this sound i'd prolly be upset, lol. but amazing for it's price so i give it an 8

when i tell you that this damn guitar came in the most perfect condition, i don't think you understand what perfect is, lol. action, intonation, no buzz, perfect everything. the only thing that's wrong is the strings are starting to wear into the frets about 4 months ago making a few notes unplayable... but for 5 years of rough everyday play and the amount that this guitar was, it really doesn't bother me much. besides that though, everything is totally intact and working like a gem.

all i have to say is that i have dropped this damn guitar sooo many times over my 5 years of axe playing and it hasn't changed anything on this guitar. without a doubt the most durable guitar i know of. i have chips, dents, scratches and i knock the damn thing around all the time... this axe is one fine built machine... and i really can't get over the quality price combination... amazing price

never dealt with em

I don't own anything else, but i'm getting a schecter c-1 classic... you want value? haha, that's a great guitar. if it were stolen i wouldn't replace it only becuas eit's a beginners guitar.
AMAZING BEGINNER GUITAR!!!

This guitar is a excellent one for recording, performances, all of the above. It was made in japan. I paid a reasonabley good price for this guitar. it's got 22 frets, solid top. It has a single volume and a single tone and has a 3-way selector 4 humbucker pickups in groups of 2. The electronics of this guitar are excellent. It's got a black finish and has a kinda strat body. the neck is normal size and came with alot of accessories: gig bag, strap, 2-cables, a stand, and a amp.

This guitar has great sound no buzzing, jus pure holesom sound. The sound is jus all around good.

When i got this guitar it had alot of dents, dings, scrates and still does but that doesnt effect the sound

This guitar will most deffenitly withstand live playing. The hardware is realy good. This is a very, very, very depindeble guitar

This guitar is a ver good one couse it is jus the best u could get for a knda low price. OH! did i mention it is a 7- string ibanez gio,I bought it just this month (sep.) havent playedtoo much but as much as i have played it i loved it!!!!!!!!!! Oh and if you want to email me dont ask me to sell it

2 humbuckers , a tone , Volume for each and a 3 way switch,, mine is a GAX70 made in Indonesia, so @~!#!$# what, ITS AWSOMME. Solid machine heads, ??? what wood but not Ply, 22 fret , its a Burgandy Colour,, did i say Its Awsommme...

well apparenty the Media Reackons we are GARAGE PUNK, we just Orig Rock, But a Bit Fast and Loud,, This Guitar People say is for METAL. Whats the Go there, I Have to Pry it Off my Lead Guitarist, whom Owns a Jackson Performer PS-3 Rhodes, he wants it..I reackon Its more Tonal, Jazzy, NOW STAB ME IN THE EYE, but Either i got a weird 1, or People just whack them thru lots of Distortion,, Either way, it still rocks,, I Have No complaints whatsoever

Ok i bought this 1 like 5 yrs ago set it up to How i Like it, as im a Low action Boy.. the Colour is Burgandy no Marks , everything in Great Nik,

This is the Bestestest Guitar i Have Played, Now thats a Big statement, But i gave my Fender to my Lead so he could Have a Detuned 1 Handy(I DON'T NEED A FENDER) or any other Guitar, I Put stap Locks on, as i Have a Habit Of Jumping around and them Falling off, plus the Position of the strap holder too,, I have thrown it Live a few times when excited, only cracked the switch cover,, So they are Tough,, I dont Need a Back up EVER, why i lent fender . LOL

dunno, never had any Probs.. just Broken strings, and the cracked switch thing, But that still works so,,

rather than be more Boring,,
im in JaNaC , www.janac.coolfreepage.com
this is my Fave Guitar, Its Insured now for $1500(no shit).If it was Taken, would be tragic.
I have like 12 Bass's , yet 1 Guitar

I'd prefer to Play this, than Have a Dud Root, beat That.

This is simply the best guitar i have ever played! i have had it for just over a year and i have not broken any strings on it, and there still isn't a chip or scratch on the awesome hard-wearing finish! BUT THIS GUITAR!

my G10 has 2 humbuckers and 1 single coil pickups. It is well equipped with a single tone and single volume switch, SO EASY TO USE! it also has a 5 way selector switch.

this guitar has the nicest sound of all the guitars i have played, (and i have played over 25 different types!) It sounds amazing on distorsionm with the humbuckers, and is an amazing metal guitar! It also sounds equally amazing without distorsion, using the single coil pickup.

LOVE THE METALLIC SOUND, SOUNDS GREAT!

this guitar, when i bought it new was flawless, and it still is!

AMAZING FINISH IN BLACK!

N/A

My Gio is a step up from my last guitar. It has two single coils and a humbucker. I replaced the humbucker because it was making a fatter tone than a bridge humbucker should make. It has one volume and one tone knob. Overall, it is a good guitar.

It has a good metal sound and it sounds good clean. I usually just plug it into the amp that came with it. It is sensitive to electrical interferance but it isn't as bad as other guitars. The bridge humbucker has too fat of a tone so I replaced it. The neck pickup has a little fatter tone than I like but it is great for playing metal. It has a fatter tone than you would expect.

The pickups came really high up so I had to lower them. The intonation and truss rod were adjusted perfectly when I bought it. It has an overall flawless setup.

The strap comes off rather easily if you are not careful. It seems reliable and durable. It is a very dependable guitar. This guitar most likely won't let you down, it hasn't ever let me down.

It came in a package from Ibanez, I haven't had any problems with the guitar so I haven't had to contact Ibanez.

It is a great guitar. It is great for such a low price. I might tune it up by putting in some new pickups and some inlocking straps. If you can't afford a Gibson or a Fender but want the same quality, get this guitar.

The guitar has a humbucker and two single coils so you get a good distorted sound as well as clean sound. You can adjust tone and volume both is pretty helpful.

Well the sound you get of this guitar is ok but pretty noisy when you try to get a good distorted sound.

One of the pickups got loose when I was just playing a slow clean sound. This shouldn't happen ! Anyway the rest of it was fine.

Since that pickup fell off and its too noisy I would not use this on stage.

If you remember that this guitar ist quite cheap in the USA and Europe I think its a very good guitar when you are just starting out and want to find out if you like playing an e-guitar. If you are going to play in a band or on stage or something than better wait until you can afford an RG oder K7 or something like this.

nice all around hardcore guitar. 7 strings, 2 humbucker pickups, 1 volume & 1 tone control, 3 way selector, 22 frets, mine is just plain black with a black pickguard with a white outline on it. the neck is quite big, but hey its a 7-string.

i play lots of hardcore stuff and stuff that requires wierd low tunings. and with this guitar i get versatility, i can play staind's baritone tuning with this guitar or korns dropped A style with only dropping the strings a few steps. not a noisy guitar. i play it through a crate GX-1200H head & a crage 4x12 cab. sounds very badass through it, and when i throw in a cool effect from the korg ax1g effex processor it sounds ever better. it gives off a very nice full, rich sound. it can give off great tone when on a clean channel or can crunch harder than hard on some hard distortion.

the guitar was fine when i bought it, it was new so there shouldn't be any problems. everything was set up how it was spose to be. when i did buy it it did have a small scratch where the neck meets the guitar in back. but i think it was just a scratch of someone's ring who played it in the guitar store, not a big problem.

this guitar withstands live playing and doesn't break strings easily, i break lots of strings and of my 4 guitars, this one breaks strings the least. the strap buttons have always stayed on and never needed tightening. i've had this guitar about 2 years and its never needed much repair. the finish is still great with almost no chips

never dealt with ibanez, just the store i bought it from.

i've been playing guitar for about 5 yrs. and when i plug into my crate halfstack it sounds just as metal as you can get. it has everying i need and always meets my expectations. if it were stolen i'd probably buy another one or one like it.

its great cause i play in a goth band
great heavy sound

great for live playing ive used it on 21 gigs
it will last a long time

playing for 5 years
if it was stolen deffinety would buy a new one
its definetly better than my fender strat alot heavier
alot of guitar for little money

For some guyz it may seem strange that a guitar so "entry level" can compete with the top blasters. Just the other day I played it and a friend was playing a Fender Stratocaster... and he said: "How much was that again... cause it sounds great!" Well... what can I say... i love my Ibanez Gio GRX70. But still i'll buy the new EDR47EX cause i've just played it and felt in love... But my Gio is still going to preform on stage as long as it lasts, and I hope, for a very long time.

two humbuckers and a vol and tone switch. The body was extremelt shaped like a paul reed smith very rounded and looks cool, but is light and didn't feel like wood. it felt the same as my dano which is hollow and made of fibre board, so i question what it's made of. the tuners felt good and tuned excellent and the bridge seemed allright, and the tremelo was very smooth. The neck was typical Ibanez which i don't like, it's very flat, gets bulky towards the headstock, and has a very dodgy looking nut, which is on all there guitars.

As it has humbuckers and is surposed to be a metal guitar you would expect a nice dark tone with lots of punch from the neckup ? and a slightly brighter sound from the bridge pickup? well this had neither.

the neck up was neither dark nor punchy and had a muddy somewhat bassy sound that had no deffintion nor a whole lot of bass.

the brigde pickup sounded allmost the same and was more tiney rather than bright.

keep in mind i'm comparing it to a cheap 80's jap LP copy w/humbuckers
which managers to give out an awesome dark yet chruncy sound with lots of bite, and this guiatr cost a 5th the price GiO.

I live in Australia and this Guiatr cost $530 and i think it's a joke, much better guitars can be had for the same price and less

The guitar was set up execellent, had a great finish and every thing felt good. I suspect the pickups are very poor and could do with replacing and this might improve the sound, but why spend anoth $400 on the guitar when you can get a way better one for that much.

the guitar is very light and feels quite breakable, the switchs look dodgey, and i'm sure wouldn't stamd up to much abust, input looked good.

to be honest i don't like this guitar, i don't like ibanez much anyway so i may be a bit biased. But it has a poor sound and seems flimsy, and cost a lot. it did look very cool and wiil impress all your mates who like linkin park

Made in China.mahogant neck,7 strings,2 humbucker pickups,laminated body,22 frets, tone and volume knobs and a pickup switch. I found it to be rather limited seeing as how i could have bought an rg for the same price.

I play metal mostly and it has a rather flat sound coming from a fender frontman amp, im pretty sure thats the amps fault(it is garbage after all). There is also a strange static noise that dissapears if yu touch something metal on it, which ive also seen on a bc rich warlock guitar. i never play clean now that i have a boss meatal zone guitar distortion, deffinatly a beginners guitar.

it is impossible to get rid of the fretbuzz on this thing nomate how long u try. I havent had a problem with the necks thickness

i guess its durabil ive only hd it for 3 months and the only damage ive see are a few paint scratches

definatly a beginers guitar, i should have waited to get an rg in 7 strings but i thought this one wouldnt be as bad as it is

Dual Volume and Tone Knobs, 3-way switch.

Kicks out a heavy crunch with the dual humbuckers, and a clean acoustic when necessary. Pinch Harmonics sound great, 22 frets just isn't enough sometimes..

From factory, everything was good except for a few flaws. One of the volume knobs was loose, had to tighten that. One of the screws for the strap was stripped, and came out while jamming, NOT a good thing.
Action is nice...

I've been playing for a little over a year on a Crate amp with a Digitech RP-200. I love this guitar, it plays forever, stays in tune, and the mahogany finish is beautiful. Dimebag Darrell kicks ass.

I do no own an Ibanez Gio, but I have played my friends countless times and have found myself quickly addicted to it. His happens to have new DiMarzzio double hums put in, although the original pickups were amazing. He purchased his at Paradise Guitars, I'm not sure what it came with besides a gig bag. It is an absolutely superb guitar. The only flaw I found was the neck. It didn't have the wizard necks that Ibanez is recently famous for (besides with their 7-string maricles) I found it very slightly difficult for chording, but then again, I play a stratocaster. lol

The tone on the Ibanez Gio is astounding. It's very rythmic and sounds great for both solo and chorus style musicians. When I play this model, I play it on a Crate 30XA with mid distortion and a reverb effect. I found that it's only noisy when some jackass plugs his microphone into the second input jack. lol sorry todd. Other than that, it's beautiful. This guitar truely has a rich, gorgeous sound for a player of any style. I prefer to play jazz and metal riffs on this model, but it is extremely good for solo work as well. It has very aggressive high notes, you'll cream yourself. Personally I LOVE the tone. Find me one person that doesn't love this guitar. You can't.

It was set up nicely. The body i believe is mahagony. Correct me if I'm wrong. The original pickups were great, and were adjusted well, me and my friends just prefer a custom sound. The neck of the guitar is nice for the most part, but I have just a little trouble chording, it just takes time. The bridge is just amazing, period. Either way I find it more comfortable than my guitar, strange...The guitar contained very little flaws. The only problem beside the neck was the fact that the knobs fall off easily. I think it's the fact that the owner is an aggressive player. But hey, it can be prevented.

This guitar takes live playing to a whole new level. In my opinion it blows my strat among others (such as the gibson les paul, a true classic) out of the water. The hardware will definately last, it's very durable and even after taking several beatings it looks and sounds brand new. The finish is semi thin, but extemely durable. It's obviously thin more for looks, but it stays on, confusing yes, complaining? I hear none. The strap buttons on held well in place, which I'm grateful for. This guitar blew me away when i first played it. I can definately depend on this guitar. It has all my trust and love. I would use it on a gig without a backup and without hesitation. It's truely a classic.

My friend has never taken it in to get repaired, however, we called Ibanez to compliment them on their work. The warranty is lifetime, you wont need it anyway.

I have been playing for a year and a half. I wont a Stratocaster with a fender 15what, cybertwin, and soon to half a mesaboogie/marshal stack. (still working on the 4x12) If I were to ask one thing, it would probably be "Does it really feel like you're stringing up heaven?". I would buy it again if it were stolen. You can never replace a classic. I love practically everything about it. The only thing that I liked but didn't like me was the neck, but I got used to it. My favorite feature would have to be the dual humbuckers, they supply great tone even for factory pickups. Sorry I had to ditch ya fellas. I compared it to the RG models as well as the entire S series and the new Korn K-7, as well as other brand names as fender and gibson. I do have favorites other than this one, but this one is high up on that list. I chose this one because I don't fall in love with a guitar this quickly. It just doesn't happen. But this one truely caught my eye. DUDE THAT GUITAR IS HOT! I wish it had breasts, it would be perfect than. Guitar players of all sorts, if you haven't tried any Ibanez Gio models, you absoultely must. They are truely masterpieces. If this guitar isn't your favorite, it will still definately have a place in your heart for the rest of your life. You will love it.

the model i have reviewed is the Ibanez GRX-720. It is totaly kick ass!!! It has everything a guitar needs, 2 hummbucker pickups, a floyd rose tremelo system, rosewood neck, and comes with a video about Ibanez 7-sting models...pretty neat!

this model would be best suited for rock and heavey metal guitarist. The sound that comes off of these guitars are amazing!Just amazing!

te model i reviewed was in "metallic black" with a "metallic black" scratch plate, It looks totaly kewl! And is not to heavey.

This guitar lasts for years! and is great for playing live!

I haven't bougt one......yet.But i know i won't need repaired even if you drop it from the Empire State Building ( not litteraly. ) I've bought a guitar from the same company though. they helped me out with nearly everything!

3 words, TOTALY KICK ASS

It is quite an old model, made in U.S.A

There are 24 frets in this model

Solid Top

Volume, Tone, And five way selector

5 pickups

Wilklinson Basic Tremelo Neck

tension is good

Fret board - Rosewood

Included - Ibanez Strap, Ibanez Case, Ibanez Gig Bag, Planet Waves Cable, Truss Rod Adjuster Screw, Tremolo Spring Adjustor Screw, Extra Tremolo Spring, Peavey Guitar Polish, Ibanez Pick

Seiko Electric/Bass tuner

This is perfect for my type of music.
I am n ametuer, so this is a good one.
It has good gain on its pickups, and gives out great tones.

Two pickups has very bright sounds. It sounds really good with the delay effect.

The other 3 are for lead, Rythm, and Lead+Rythm

made in:
china
how many strings:
4
finish:
blue with black pickguard
any included accessories:
case,strap,cable,tools,amp,picks,bag

I like the sound its got a fat bass sound

pick-ups were adjusted fine, it had no flaws when i bought it

i dont know if it will withstand live playing.
I think it will last for a while
i dont think the finish will wear at all
ive never had to adjust the neck yet and ive had it for about 2 years

if it was stolen id buy a better one

Volume and tone controls, wide neck, whammy bar, sparkly blue finish, 22 frets, 2 humbuccer pickups, strat style.
Quite a few features, but this isnt what I liked the guitar for.

This guitar is extremely rock. The humbuccers give you the option of playing soft rock to some amazing sounding metal, a good variety of sound, but if you want to play metal, this is the guitar for you.

I found absolutely no flaws with the guitar, everything was absolutely fine. Great colour.

This guitar hasn't been played as such in a gig, but it has been moved and banged around quite a bit. The paint hasn't got a scratch, and doesn't look as if it will ever scratch off. The strap buttone look a bit loose at times, but no real problem, I wouldn't probably use this guitar live without backup, but then again I wouldn't use any guitar without backup.

No problems at all, 1 year warranty, never had to call in.

This is a quality begginer buy, I have been playin for a year now, and this was my first guitar. I bought a 10 watt marshall amp, the guitar, a capo, and a strap for under #200, this is the same price as a squier strat pack, and believe me, the pacage is a hell of a lot better. Many of my friends have squiers, and they wished they had bought my guitar. The metal sound is great, and sounds great with effects pedals.

Its your basic set up with vol, pick up selector and whatnot

sounds deep and rocked out i play it on an old marshall 2x12 cab and a nemisis bass cab for pedals im using a boss chorus, metal zone, and digital reverb/delay. This baby has kick ass hamonics

alot of bang for a little buck

22 rosewood medium frets with two humbuckers in the bridge and neck. Strat looking body with non locking tuners and a 3 way pickup selector. 2 volume and tone knobs for the bridge and neck pickup great for medal and hard rock. When I bought the guitar I bought an amp aswell so the dearl was real generious and threw in a gig bag for the guitar. I perfer the hard body cases but this will do.

I am mostly a rock and blues guiterst and this guitar pretty much fills the rock portion of that. I'm using a roland blues cube but the guitar sounds great for hard rock and metal. Not much blues you can play with it. I've found that the louder the volume on the amp the noiser the pickups will become. I think it would be a good idea to replace them with some humless ones but the stock pickups are still good. With the amp I have I can get everything from Clapton, Hendrix, Metilica and Black sabbath. Basically anything rock will come out of this guitar. The tone controls are great. I can play clearer rock by turning the volume on the guitar down and play metal by turing the volume up and the tone knob up as well. The 3 way pickup selecter switch is lose and when used alot it will only stay on the middle selection, both pickups. The bridge pickup is the one I use the most and thats where all the rock and metal comes from.

There are two flaws on my guitar from when I bought it. The volume knob for the bridge pick up is a little loose and will produce crackling in the amp when it is turned down to 3 or lower. I don't turn it down that low enless I'm playing stuff like Nirvana. They usually play a softer Alternative sound and then turn to harder but the volume switch will do that but you just have to be carful on those last few levels. The 3 way selector switch will be come lose afte a while and only stay on the middle selection. Both strap pins didn't stay too well so I had to appley a little bit of carpenters glue to the screws and that held them in place.

This guitar is pretty reliable. I don't play live shows but if I did I would still have a back up just incase. The hardware is good and will last if taken care of. The strap pins came unscrewed a few times but I fixed that with some glue. I'm about to buy a strat and will use that for rock and blues as well. Mostly blues becasue so far the ibanez suites me fine for rock. I've been carful with it and never droped it so I don't know will it would withstand that but the body seems to be pretty strong. The tuneing machines are real senceitive and will be knocked out of tune with a direct hit to them. When transporting it is real easy to knock out of tune but that can me corrected with no problem.

the Guitar was under a one year warranty which I never needed.

I've been playing for close to 4 years and this was my first electric guitar. I learned on acoustic and moved to electric. This is an excelent guitar for a beginner as well as a pro. It is excelent for rock and metal. I have a roland blues cube amp but the guitar won't allow much blues. I turn the mids off and bass off and the volume up and you have a really good rock/metal sound.

Nice neck, volume and tunning contols. Nothing to out of the ordinary

This is good for metal. My amp sux, but i've used other ones and it's sounded great on those. It has a pretty bright sound.

Looks great. NO flaws.

I think this guitar could probably stand live play. Finish and hardware are good.

Came with a 1 year warrenty. Never had to talk to the company.Never had to be repaired.

I'm a newbie and this is my only guitar. If it were stolen i'd probably get another 1.

Excellent for its price

I'm a newbie and I really haven't gotten to compare it to any other guitars but I have had no problems what so ever. It is great for Metal.

The Ibanez GIO is a strat-like guitar that is sold only with their "Guitar Starter Pack" It has two single-coils and a bridge humbucker (Like a Fat Strat) which are passive. The neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard and 22 frets. I think they are only sold in black with a white pickguard. It has a synchronized tremolo bridge and non-locking tuners. (Which, by the way, are mounted on one of the coolest-looking headstocks I've seen.) The pack comes with a 10 watt Ibanez amp, a cheap crappy cable, some picks, and a thin, cheap gig bag. Okay. Just okay.

One of my friends bought this guitar and I played it a bit. It sounds about the same as my Duo-Sonic on the singles but the humbucker sounds noticeably better. I played it on the included 10 watt amp and then on my Peavey Rage 158. The rage has a much deeper sound. The sound is okay, but with no soul and not very thick. This guitar is remarkably like all the other 1,000,000 strat copys out there.

This guitar looks pretty nice. Medium action about the same as other Ibanez's i've played. The black finish looked nice and the neck was of high quality. The Tremolo bridge was surprisingly good, and the 5-way pickup selector rocks. It's nice looking.

This is where the problems erupt. Although no actual incidents occured, this guitar felt cheap. The body was thin and light and the cheap strap felt like it might fall off. It seemed like it would suddenly stop working. I can't really state an honest opinion though, because I only played it for a day.

Never owned any of their products.

I also own a Fender Duo-Sonic. The Ibanez is okay. If this guitar was stolen I wouldn't buy another because a lot of the price is in all the accessories. If this axe was sold by itself I might buy one. The Humbucker Pickup is the best pickup I've heard in a "starter Pack" and it is is a welcome addition to the price range. The main competition is Squier's "Strat Pak" which is not quite as good. But the Squier comes with a better amp, so the desicion is a toss-up. I give it an "8" in comparison to other starter paks and the Ibanez is the best. It blows the doors off the Hamer "Slammer" and the Crate Electra. This is a great starter guitar.