This $300 Brand Name Guitar Could Change Things

When I started playing in the 1990s that guitar would cost you at least $500 to $600 in 1990's money - which would be around $1000 in today's money the converter says.
Today it's $300 in Biden de-valued dollars.
It's INSANE the value for money we get today.

Jatoba its a Brazilian wood its more like a pau ferro than a rosewood

I am more impressed with the amp.

Ibanez puts out some nice gio model guitars. Worth beefing up for sure. I wish they would write G Series on the headstock instead of gio as I think it gives ibanez a cheap reputation for those guitars because there is always a rack full of them in the store when you go. Or just have the ibanez logo with no gio on it. I think this would help their sales and its one less thing to do on guitar to help keep it affordable. Just my two cents. Thx for the post👍

From what I’ve seen on Ibanez guitars is they sound thin and have a very treble sounding. Is that just me or the sound the big bands have that use them?

Nice❤

A beautiful sounding guitar!! Warm yet jangly, love it!

have one in a different color. it definitely does the job for the money.

Kinda love but kinda hate what Ibanez is doing. It’s cool that their cheap Gio line is getting quality finishes and hardtail setups, but I would never buy a Gio for $300 when an Ibanez RG is equal or slightly more with way better stock pickups that don’t need to be swapped and better playability.

A great review !!!!!❤

This is the kind of review i want to look at when I’m trying to decide.

This GIO, and the AZ Essential…both for $300. They’re killing it!

Bravo Ibanez 🤘

I saw your video rating the eart tele and would appreciate you doing a review of the eart dmx- 10.

Am I wrong in thinking this is essentially like the Ibanez GIO GRGR221PA Aqua Burst minus the high end paint job and with a reversed head stock?

The output jack is brilliant, cause when it's often accidentally pulled out it wont break easily, or got twisted cause it's one whole unit, better reliability and durability. I'm suprised you don't see the benefit.
I would get the walnut flat finish cause it has this hand built vibe about it

I hope Ibanez makes a killing with this model. Then take the profit and re-release the MIJ Jems. I don't know what one has to do with the other, but you get the idea.

I have a RG 421 i bought as a blemish for $150... quality is very good.... i added a few things and it's great. Frets are very very good. only tapped a few down. ends are smooth. nut was replaced with a graphtech. wanted to experiment and added 2 dpdt pots with a 3 way switch. removed the cheap 5 way. i have 7 positions with this and the pots. did the PRS resistor trick too 1.1 and 2.2 new tonerider pickups generator model. i like buying a fixer upper... means more to me...

I tried one on vacation to my hometown. Simply could not walk away without buying it for under $400 canadian. My brothers gets to use it 51 weeks a year, lucky guy.

If Ibanez built only MIJ models and if they were a US or European owned/based company then there would be a big three triumvirate of guitar manufacturers along with Fender & Gibson.

Bruh that output jack lmaoooo no way

Excellent review as always - Thanks.

Too bad they're currently out of stock.

Our cheap C&C guitars made today around $300 - $200 models are pretty damn good compared to older guitars. You can replace their pickups, pots, capacitor, jack and make it sound a lot better.

I’m shooting this guitar on Monday! Many of my initial observations match yours

My buddy built me a custom guitar with one of those bodies. It now has a blue mirror pick guard. Maple neck. HS. Roller nut. Prestige bridge. It takes your breath away

On the output jack - I would think a one-piece unit would be less prone to breakage than a nut-fitted jack which slips around. Further, if it broke, why on earth would the first remedy be to ream out the body to fit a traditional jack? Wouldn’t one spend $5-$10 to just buy another Ibanez jack?

It sounds great! Wish it had a tremolo…

It’s amazing what you get for $300 these days. Back in the 80s and 90s, a $300 guitar was complete crap.

Hey Phil I bought this guitar cause it's awesome looking but was going to ask why you think mine hums uncontrollably? I play through a marshall mG15fx with a lot of gain(usually I play a Jackson Dinky) usually through a pretty big amount of pedals but I even went straight into the amp & the guitar just don't sound good. Would it be the pickups cause this Ibanez is the only guitar that's ever had these style ones & hum problem

Ibanez is amazing. I got a 2008 ish GAX series (double cut), black, bolt on neck, 24.75 scale length with a hardtail (I don't know why so many gibson length guitars automatically have to have a tune o matic). It's so good that I had that "why do I have other guitars?" feeling for a while. I only paid like $100 for it and it's basically pristine. The craftsmanship is awesome. mahogany body, bolt on maple neck, excellent fretwork.

"Could they"

great job on the review! I agree about the output jack, but, also, the color is not my cup of tea.....

I was thrilled until I saw the OUTPUT JACK and what Phil said about it. That KILLED the idea of buying this guitar for me. AM I OVERACTING? Let me know.
EDIT: if they last, then no problem. If they don't and you can just order a new one, so you don't need to drill-out the hole, then also acceptable.

It's all your fault Phillip! I promised myself I would stop buying more guitars. But then, I had to see this video, and I went out and purchased one. I only have owned one Ibanez - an LNG Jem built in 86, so I am looking forward to hearing the difference, and how far Ibanez has come.

I Love Ibanez! However... I bought an Ibanez prestige, cost me £2500. Top end model. And... it played like shit! Took it to the best luthier within 3 counties, and it wadich better, but still wasn't right. Especially when I had 3 other Ibanez guitars to compare it too. So yeah. Now I go into a shop with an open mind when buying a guitar, but every guitar is different. Like kids lol, or people... they're all different...

hey thats one of my guitars lol

I dont like the shape of it.

Rain across one for 75.blown away.

"something could happen"

This could be a killer platform to hot rod with better pickups, locking tuners, etc

After building my first guitar, it blows my mind that companies can charge so little for guitars. They must pay their employees pennies

The fretboard material i like best is engineered wood

Awesome video Phillip. Can you do the Ibanez AZS next time? and maybe compare it to a proper telecaster sound wise. I wanna know your opinion about it. Keep doing this guitar breakdowns. Thanks You!

That stupid input jack and the fact that you could possibly screw up your guitar trying to enlarge the hole is enough to keep me from buying one of these.

out of all brands out there today, I think that Fender group is the one that most people should avoid. Overpriced pieces of low end gear should be tagged on the headstocks. Brands like Harley benton and the other affordable high spec companies have taken the wool of peoples eyes for years now, in regards to whats is possible at every price point, exposing how brands overcharge for Premium. Particularly Jackson guitars have become more and more scummy by offering cheap woods (since the tone wood argument has been abolished) and cheap construction for way more money. Ive seen custom-shop guitars with cheap woods (nyatoh, basswood, etc), scarf joint necks from high-end brands. Even Ibanez is guilty of this on their medium and high-end models. We live in great times for music. But not so great for how companies choose to do business. and unfortunately even pedal companies start to raise their prices based on "inflation", when the reality is that they are adjusting the prices only on hype and speculated lack of stocks.