Ibanez GRX40

I don't know when it was made but it was made in China. It has 22 frets with 5 way selector S S H config. Black. Chep ass tuners and crappy bridge. For the price it's perfect for someone that is a complete begginer that learns fast and can afford to get rid of it after a year or so of playing.

I play metal and I am doing a lot of arpeggios. This guitar got me to a start since it did have quite a good sound. Suprisingly you could ultra mellow the sound or super brighten it. Very good sound.

At first I didn't know squat about electric guitars (I was 13 or so) but recently since I'm constantly playing know I know quite a bit so I learned that the original action is crap. But amazingly I had managed to set the thrust rod quite tightened and managed to lower the strings a lot to the way i prefer without it buzzing (exept in the 3rd and 2nd string which buzzes a bit).

No live playing with this guitar. But I havent thrown it away and the hardware is still good. This would be like a 6th backup.

N/A

I've been playing for 3 and a half years now and I belive that after using this guitar for a while as a begginer its time to get a new, pro better guitar.

Strat-style guitar made in Indonesia, unsure of the date or the year. It has 21 frets i think, and it has a 5 selector switch, one volume, one tone control, and a s/s/h pickup configuration. Cheap chrome-plated tuners, maple neck with a skunk stripe; capped rosewood fretboard.

At least that's all I analyzed for features when I was playing it.


Disclaimer:

Let me get across that I don't own this; nor do I plan on buying one. I played with this guitar alone for about a half an hour, making sure I checked everything out to do a review.

I played this at a friends house through a Peavey Rage 158 combo. I used both distorted and clean channels.

The S/S/H combination is a real versatile combination; but if the pickups are like these and aren't built well, you might as well throw that "versatility" option out the window.

The single coil pickups are pretty dull, both with distortion and clean. They don't seem to have much life, they're low output coils and they're kind of plain-jane.

The humbucker has a solid jangly crunch when you flip on the distortion, and it loves to squeal and produce natural harmonics. All you have to do is lightly touch the string with your other finger (the one that's not fretting) and pick the strings and solo away. This is one option that I do like on this guitar; I've always wanted to aquire natural harmonics, but my Strat doesn't like to do that.

On the clean channel, the humbucker has that icepick-in-your-ear sound, and it literally HURTS when you play on that pickup setting. It's really bright and piercing. On distortion, that nuance is defined a bit, because of the harmonic overtones in the distortion.

This is a GREAT thrash guitar...something you could throw at your amp when you're finished for the day, or perhaps something that you could just swing around the room and not even care. However, the overall sound is kind of plain, and doesn't have much colorful character.

I imagine this would sound superb to a 12 year old who has only been playing for 2 months, but I really can't imagine anybody else applauding this instrument for its character in the sound department.

The neck and the fretboard feels terrible. The high frets (around 15-20) are extremely hard to fret a note on, and the overall feel is just plain and yucky. Not smooth at all. However, I will give it credit -- it feels a lot better than those poor-excuse-for-a-guitar (models 2003 and up) Gibson SG Juniors. Ugh!

The tuners were pretty stiff but not in a good way, it made a creaking noise every now and again when I turned them to tune the guitar. The whole guitar was dusty and one string was broke. Needless to say I took care of that broken string for him and took it off the guitar. Threw it in the wastebasket. Whew, now I can play...sort of.

A few years back when I first started playing, I played this exact same guitar of his. When I went to put it back, I was sitting on the bed and I was holding it about two feet above the floor. The neck slipped through my hand (i was still holding on to the guitar, btw)and it landed itself on the bottom of the guitar. No damage was done to the finish, but the input jack was ruined. It wouldn't work. I guess he went and took it in or fixed the problem himself since then.

I would be horrified to take this guitar to a gig.

Like I said above, the action, fit, finish, and reliability isn't real trustworthy. I don't think I could trust it any farther than I could throw it. It's a good beater guitar for at home playing though.

I've been playing for just about two years now and I have been BLESSED with:

Three guitars (Fender Stratocaster, Taylor Big Baby, Yamaha FG412-S)
One Amp (Behringer GM110)
Effects Pedals galore (Boss SD-1, Boss CE-5, EHX Small Stone, MXR Phase 90 [w/script mod], DOD Classic Fuzz, Arion MDS-1, Arion HU-30, Ibanez DE-7)
and a bunch of other stuff.

When I picked up this axe and a few others at the house, I stopped and I thought about all that I had been Blessed with. I mean, wow...my guitars kicked all of these way out of the park. These axes are pretty sweet, but man I just feel at home with my instruments.

As I said earlier, this guitar is mainly a knock-around guitar, something you don't ever take out, but you use it around the house with that dusty old amp that always crackles when you turn it on and adjust the pots. Who cares if you're rawking out on the roof and you fall off, damaging the guitar right on the pavement? As long as you're okay, right?

I wouldn't recommend this as a main guitar to most people, but those who can tolerate this instrument as their main guy, hey, more power to you. I'm just saying that I wouldn't really trust gigging out with this to any place serious.

As a budget axe at a budget price, this really isn't TOO bad of a guitar. Your basic cheap, indonesian craftwork at hand.

One tip though -- if you're looking to buy a strat, buy a STRAT. Don't buy a knock-off, thinking that you'll achieve the same sound on your favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn records. It doesn't work that way.

Save your pennies if you're looking for a real instrument, but if a knock-around, beginner guitar/thrash master is your bag, then by all means, this is your dream ride.

God Bless

It has all the stuff a beginner or really crappy player needs. h-s-s pickup config for any type of music. come with a very cheap and unuseable tremolo. all the trem is good for is loosing the correct tuning.

For the first 6 months it didn't sound all that bad. Then again i wasn't that good of a player. But, after 4 years this thing sounds and plays like ass.
Never ever holds tune.

I later installed a Seymour Duncan Full Shred SH-10 humbucker in the bridge. Sounded much better than the $5 humbucker put couldn't save the guitar from its dingy sound.

Anyone whose ever replaced a pickup in one of these bastards can tell how poorly they are made. Action was horrible. I mean it costs like 99 bucks so what can you expect. Pretty good neck, compared to fenders and squires. The neck is the only thing i liked on this guitar.


This guitar would be great to sacrifice to the gods on stage with a can of lighter fluid.

I'll have to say, after all the hell this things been through it is absolutely amazing its still in one piece. After beeing used as an ashtray the finish still looks OK. The tuners are HORRIBLE; this is why the P.O.S. won't hold tune.


In a 99 dollar guitar, don't expect the hardware to last over 6 months. (hum... ...maybe that's the reason for a 30 day limited warranty...)

Word of advice, if something breaks it is undoubtably going to be cheaper to buy another 99 dollar guitar than fix it!

I've been playing for 9 years. I got this thing for Christmas my 8 grade
year in school. It was probobly the BEST beginner guitar i could have gotten. It was much better and much easier to play than comparable Fenders and Squires.

My advice, this in an exellent guitar for a beginner or someone who really doen't know what a good guitar sounds like. But, like all $99 guitars, its easy to outgrow.

For a seasond veteran of guitars this thing is a 2.
For a beginner its a 9 or 10.

I think mine is a 2003 model.
22 frets.
Solid-Top.
1 volume control. 1 tone control. 5-way pickup selector.
Bridge humbucker. Single coil in middle. Single coil at neck. (H-S-S)
Ibanez Powersound pickups.
Passive electronics.
Alder body. GRX neck.
Finish is metallic blue.
Strat body style.
Thru-body bridge.
Non-Locking tuners.
Thin neck. (very comfortable)
Came with gig bag, strap, cable, and tools.

My music style tends to be rock, death metal, and even a little jazz. When I bought the guitar, also bought a 30-watt Marshall amp which was definitely a good decision for a guitar with mediocre tone. The pickup isolation sucks; whenever anyone even turns on a light, the pickups would generate a terrible buzzing sound every time I would take my hands off of the strings. It has a lot of hum on the single-coil pickups. However, I was able to remedy the hum from the single-coil pickups by modifying the settings on my amp. The clean sound is a little pearcing on the humbucker setting but it is great on any of the single-coil settings. The distortion sucks on the single-coil pickups but it is pretty nice on the humbucker setting. However, the distortion on the humbucker setting does lack crunch. Overall, the sound is pretty good (especially on the clean channels) but I wish the pickups were better isolated so I wouldn't have to deal with the electrical buzz.

The original setup sucked. The saddle holding the humbucker was damaged thus causing the right side of the humbucker to sink into the guitar. This required some repairs. One of the worst problems was that the grounding wire inside the guitar kept coming disconnected and had to be weilded into place so it wouldn't keep coming off. The action is a little high but it isn't that bad. The frets are a little 2 flat; in some instances I just about have to grind my fingers into the fingerboard to get notes and chords to ring true thus making it difficult to play quickly. U can forget about using the whammy bar; the guitar doesn't have a locking-tremolo so everytime I used it, my guitar would go horribly out of tune. You can't downtune this guitar with the bridge it has either without paying another $50 to have the bridge modified. The bottom line is that the bridge sucked and I had to have a lot of modifications done on the guitar to make work right.

This guitar is built 2 last. The strap buttons are great and the finish doesn't come off hardly at all. This is defifitely a guitar that can last 4 a very long time.

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From what you may have just read, you would think I am saying 2 stay away from this guitar. However, I am not. This guitar is pretty good for someone who is just starting 2 learn 2 play. My only three real complaints about this instrument are that the pickups are not iscolated thus creating an awful buzz even on the humbucker setting when anything electrical in the house is turned on. It doesn't have the right kind of bridge. And that the original setup sucked. I tend to have a perfectionistic attitude however. I do ask, though, that U educate your decision before you get this guitar (or any guitar) and make sure it is an instrument that can fit all of your needs for at least a year without you having 2 do a bunch of modifications the guitar.

This little guy was mass produced in good ol' China.It has 22 frets and is solid-top. It has a single volume and tone knob as well as a five-way pickup switch. The Pickup configuration is S/S/H, and the pickups are Ibanez made. The electronics are passive. The bolt-on neck made of maple, while the body is made out of Alder. My model has a nice dark blue (sparkling) finish. The body is a strat-like shape. It has a standard PSND2 (H) Bridge. The tuners are alright but could be a little more sensitive. It has a Rosewood fingerboard and a very thin neck for guitars in this price range. It ususally comes with a gig bag.

My musical style is pretty varied, but i would have to say i mostly play metal and thrash. I get better metal tones with this baby then my friend does with his high-end RG. I currently use it mostly with my Marshall MG15DFX amp, a Boss Metal Master MT-2, a Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-5 Soundtank, and a Boss DD-3 Digital delay. Surprisingly the cheap pickups on this guitar never make any noise. Even the single coils are almost noiseless. Its weird. For such a cheap guitar, they shouldnt be this good. With the right effects this guitar sounds great when distorted. The neck pickup works well when clean, however, the it's bridge counterpart sounds very thin. The sustain could be a little better, but hey, you can always get a compressor/sustainer pedal. This guitar is mostly good for metal and hard rock, as well as rock n roll blues and a white striped sort of sound. The only thing i dislike is that the neck isn't as thin as an Rg's. (RG is another Ibanez model) I'm going to install a EMG 81 pickup at the bridge pretty soon...and this thing is gonna sound like the shit (means very good). the tone will be so unique, cuz nobody uses EMG's with low-end guitars.

Okay, when i baught this i did not know anything about action, neck warping...blah blah blah..guitar setup. The setup that it came in was totally crap. I had to tweak around with this thing a lot until i got the setup right... and i mean a lot. However it was worth it. It now has the lowest action of any guitar i have ever played, regardless of price (all but a $3000 prs i once played). And it still does not buzz at all unless put in a really low tuning like drop C. I had to change the height of the pickups many times too until i found a sweet spot that gave me a warm crunchy tone. When i got it the guitar contained no visible flaws on the coat. But, I made some...i dont really care tho...just adds to its history and personality. This thing also never goes out of tune unless u use the trem, which i never use...so i dont really care. I'm not gonna give this a one because u can get it right after a while...it's not like its unchangable.

I have played with it live and i had no problems with it. U must be thinking...Why the %^$& would this guy play with this low end guitar live. Simple cuz i love the sound it makes.....maybe its a fetish. I have droped it many times. MANY. It still works perfect. This finish is not of the best quality, so you might wana polish it regularly to keep it intact. I have never really had problems with the strap buttons, however the imput jack is another story. The damn screw kept coming loose. My solution was to screw it in so hard that i would never be able to unscrew it again..it worked, and now i have no problems any more. I can depend on this guitar...those Chinese really did a good job making this thing.

Never had to call em up.

I have been playing for two years, but with how much I practice I can prob rank at 5 or 6. I also own a Fender Mexican Strat, and a B.C. Rich Mockingbrd. This little Ibanez is my favorite. I dont know why. I know the other ones should be, but thats just my oppinion. I just love the great tone you get out of this thing. It rivals my B.C. Rich. Seriously. I Just feel like a uncovered a treasure because i feel guilty in buying such a cheap guitar that sounds do good. Like i said, one i get the EMG's on this thing, and an RG neck...i will be in heaven. mmmmmmmmm. Overal this is a must for anyone who wants a cheap guitar that sounds unique. Good for people of all skill levels.

2002 model made in China
22/frets,Medium S/S/H
Ibanez Stock Pickups
Passive Electronics
Maple Neck, Rosewood Finger board
Black finish looks great when you use GHS Guitar Gloss
Strat Body, Alder material
Floating FAT-10 bridge with intonation bridge sliders and complete bridge movement for setting action, not each string at a time.
Tuners ar non-locking stock Ibanez it stays in tune fine using my old but good peterson 420 strobe tuner, (note if the string is sharp tune it up not down, this is best for keeping the tuners in tune, so if it's flat tune it sharp and work it back up, this with keep the correct tension on the strings.

All music styles are fine with this guitar because of the pickup configuration.
I use a roland cube 30 with built in effects
Likes, I love the black finish, and the slighty finished maple GRX neck.

Dislikes, I use a right angle plug because the output jack is on the bottem of the gear would rather have it like a stat on the top of the guitar but the right angle plug is a simple fix.

Perfet action, just right, I don't know if the shop I bought it from or the factory set it up but the action and intonation and trust rod adjustments are great, frets out like a high dollar guitar.

We are talking about a guitar thats under $200 for that you get alot for your money. I would not use the 10 watt amp and cheap (thin) cable that comes with the JUMPSTART KIT because of how much single you loose. I paid more for my amp than the guitar but it is worth it the amp has all the effects built in and is great, the guitar sounds great at all settings but I prefer the middle setting on the 5-way switch

Yes it would
Harware is tight and looks great.
With proper care (polishing) the finish should last longer than the strings 100 times over. But like any thing else if you take care of it it will take care of you. Don't compare this to a $1000 or more dollar guitar except for the action! I have played with a MEX strat and I prefer the Ibanez to the strat, or maybe the strat was not setup really well.

I have never dealt with Ibanez in the past but do know there website is great and easy to use www.ibanez.com
My father has played Ibanez in the past and said he loves the fret action of this GRX40BK compared to the many other guitars he has played, As good or better than some of the top names.

I have been playing for 1 month
A better cord than the cheap one that comes with it (JUMPSTART KIT)
I wish it had active electonics.

Made In china 2002 model 22 frets Volume, Tone and 5-way selector.
Ibanez stock Pickups do well for the price paid.
Passive electronics
ALDER Body on this model from www.ibanez.com

The sound and action of this guitar is great from the factory
Of coarse you get hum with the single coil but not wih the humbucker thats why it's called a HUMBUCKER it stops humming
Bright great sound when used with .009-.042 strings
I like everything about this gear and even my father one who has played with a many of thousands of dollars gutiars says it frets very well.

Perfet from the factory or shop I bought it from ($176)

I have had it only about a month and I take care of it very well no problems

I love this great model for a beginner or advanced player there's no Comparison with other models in this price range, keep in mind if you look in other forums you will find good and bad remarks about this guitar and any other, it's like ford and chevy.

I use a Roland cube 30 with built in effects and the things produces many many different sounds.

Go play one at your local guitar shop and try it out for yourself.

This thing is pretty packed with features I think. Two single coils, one humbucker in bridge, so you can get a WIDE range of sounds. Crappy tuners. Vintage tremolo. 22 frets in all, but the neck bolts on right after the 16th. Nice smooth very fast neck, which is nice. 1 volume, 1 tone, 5 way switch. Like I said this thing has just about everything that you could slap on it.

The sound is OK. It's not gonna win any awards or anything. It's good only for a beginner. I like just about everything from metal to smooth picking. I've even played a few blues licks. It suits all this pretty good, if you are a BEGINNER. Good crunch, even on death metal type crap. OK clean tone, not great. Clear, yet it doesn't sparkle like some other Strats. Humbucker is really bright, coils are pretty bland and tasteless.

I bought it used, so I don't know how the factory had it. The humbucker is slapped in there really sloppy, looks like @#$%! The action is ok. You can play pretty easily. I would just take it and have it set up if I really cared, but I'm gonna get a new guitar real soon, so why bother? the guitar gets dings really easy and I take real good care of her. The plug thing always comes loose, but that's happens no matter what guitar you get. Just put some thread-lock crap on it.

Yes strap buttons are solid and that's a BIG deal. I've never had them come loose and I've played it A LOT over the course of 1.5 years. Like I said, finish doesn't last. I would gig with this beginners guitar, lol. What kinda question is that!? They would laugh me off the stage, lol. Mainly cuz it sounds like crap compared to what, say, a Samick strat copy sounds like.

Dunno

PEOPLE, BUY A SAMICK MB 1 (THEIR STRAT COPY). It is sooo much better in sound and everything! It sounds awesome! I just played in today. LOOK INTO IT!!!!! This is a good beginners guitar at best. Intermediate and above players, sheild your eyes from this, it's a sin to look at. Dont even think bout it. Unless you get it for like $20 like that one kid on here. lol. So that's my word.

basic cheap beginners guitar. 2 single coil pickups and a humbucker. 5 way switch. made in china. 2002 i think.rosewood. i bought it in a js40 jumpstart package. came with basic things. amp, tuner, gig bag, strap, etc. mettalic red. 22 frets.

i play mostly rock. or anything else makes no difference. im using the crappy little amp that came with it. its a 10 watt ibanez. ooo yes all powerful and mighty 10 watt amp! yeah right. for its size it does have a pretty good tone though. the guitar makes a decent sound also. it has a variety of sounds.

everything seems to be adjusted perfectly. the finish is really nice. the only thing that i saw wrong with it was a slight scratch on one of the tuners. nothing really noticable.

i wouldnt be very trustworthy in this guitar at a gig. it would probably last but well...it is a very cheap beginners guitar. the hardware seems pretty sturdy. eferythings on their tight and the finish is great. there is no wear on it. strap buttons are great. they are extremely solid and wont come off.

i have not had any problems with the guitar and have had no need to contact the company

overall nice guitar. perfect for a beginner. holds up well. i recently purchase a fender splattercaster. if i lost it then i wouldnt buy another one like it because i dont play it very often anymore.

Ibanez GRX40, made in China or Korea. Bought off E-Bay for 90 bucks, only slightly used. 2 Single Coils and a Humbucker (all passive stock ibanez) linked into a 5 way switch. Standard strat style bridge. White pick guard. Stock ibanez tuners, I got my guitar with a free case. Nothing Really special or unique about it, pretty much a standard, cheap, beginner electric guitar.

I play Metal and hard rock. I run the guitar through a Marshall something and other, 30 watts. Anyway, the guitar sounds very good for what it is. I was very surprised. The pickups are a little to muddy and you cant hear any attack on the single coils. The Neck single coil buzzes like hell. Its okay.

Because I bought the guitar used I wont be able to really rate it in this section. When I got it everything was fucked up, the action was way to high, the truss bar too tight, pickups to low... ect. After a little work and tinkering I was able to set it up to my preferences. One thing I did notice was that the little allen screws on the bridge (the ones used to adjust the action) come lose, I have already lost the top allen screw on the low E string. I also lost the pick up switch cap.

This guitar would survive live play but I would care an extra (you should always have an extra guitar when playing live... just in case.) I can already hear the pickup switch going out, it now buzzes on the humbucker which is something new. The strap buttons will work, nothing special. All in all I think it is a very dependable guitar for what you pay for.

Bought the guitar used, not under warranty, and even it it was I dont think I would bother calling customer support if there ever was a problem.

Good guitar for beginners.