Ibanez GRGR221PA-AQB GIO Series Electric Guitar - Aqua Burst

Summary: This guitar is an excellent choice for a first time guitar player who wants to get into the hobby on a budget.Let me begin by saying: Early models from Ibanez's GIO line have a horrible reputation for being not so great. It was their budget line of guitars and they felt and played like it. After looking into electric guitars - I've wanted to learn to play for a while, but just couldn't get past the hurdle of the price (and motivation, but that's another issue entirely) - I decided on this one after seeing the seemingly rave reviews from both Amazon buyers and YouTube personalities who decided this was a great budget guitar.Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Shipping being prompt aside, the care that Ibanez puts into the GIO line now seems to shine through this guitar. The neck is slim and therefore easy to fret, the entire thing has a nice heft to it and it rests easily in my lap - not to mention the beautiful design on the bridge, which looks great despite just being poplar art grain.The guitar sounds great, has a versatile palette of tones thanks to the 5-position pickup switch and is priced very reasonably. A great gift if a friend or family member wants to start playing an electric guitar but don't have a lot of money.Note: One of the pictures on this listing is inaccurate. The picture that shows the 1/4" input jack shows an old input connector. This input connector was prone to becoming just a little loose - something that was easily fixed with a screwdriver, but something that was annoying nonetheless. I ordered in March 2023 and the model I received has an entirely new input jack designed to solve this issue.According to some YouTube reviews, the pickups aren't great - they work just fine and get the job done, but in my opinion this is a good thing. If you're a beginner learning to play this instrument, you're going to have to learn to maintain it soon enough. Swapping out the pickups seems like a perfect first challenge of this kind to me and frames the guitar as a good modding platform for a custom setup later on.

I've just picked up guitar again after about 20 years of not having played, about 3 months in with a very old manky guitar that had sat in the cupboard for years. The setup is all over place and it's seen better days.I wanted something new but I didn't want to spend a fortune, came across this guitar here on Amazon and the reviews said an ideal guiter for beginners. They're spot on! It arrive very well packed, it had been a cold day and I left it standing to allow it time to warm up slowly to room temperature before tuning it up.I plugged it into Rocksmith and just wow! I can hear every bloody mistake I'm making! ha ha!! Seriously the tone is crystal clear to my untrained ear. The Rocksmith processor is picking up every note from low end chugging to high end noddling, it's all coming through perfectly. My scores on Rocksmith shot up on the first playthrough of my favourite tracks.My wife was wary of me spending money on something I mght get bored with but the second she saw it even she was blown away by how beautiful it looks, and it looks even more stunning than it does in the pics.I'm no expert and I'm sure a pro would pick it up and scoff at it but as a budget guitar for someone happily noodling away on their own for something to do in the evenings after work instead of watching the idiot box, it's a stuning instrument and I can't recommend it highly enough if you're a beginner like and looking for something that will get you playing more and improving your skills.

It's an Ibanez, so quality is a given. Holds tuning well, lightweight and a beautiful finish. It arrived well set up and was almost in tune, so ready to go out of the box. This is my son's first guitar and he loves it.Yes, you can buy cheaper guitars, but you'll spend all your time retuning and end up replacing it as soon as you get reasonably proficient. Pound for pound Ibanez are the best out there, especially with the Black Friday deal.

This guitar is exceptional for the price,it is a rock guitar which was perfect for my collection.Would have given it 5 stars but not really set up out of box.So if you do end up buying it,then you should consider getting it set up properly with new strings,this will cost about £40 to £50 but well worth it...Then you will have a fantastic looking guitar that plays as well as it looks...👍

Like wow! It arrived in tune and it’s stayed in tune since .It’s a dream to play, feels good in the hands. Neck is perfect , no rough feet edges to slice your hands.Really happy with this Ibanez guitar. It’s better than a Charvel I had a few years ago (and cost a lot more)Took it into the recording studio, half expecting the engineer to insist we use the studio guitars. He was impressed with the Ibanez and gave it a thumbs up. I think that speaks volumes

This was a present for my dad so I can’t comment on my experience but he seems very satisfied with it! Looks incredible too.

This is a Bonnie guitar. It's Well made, easy to play, and well priced for what you get. It is set up and ready to play from the box. When the guitar arrived it was even tuned. I'm very happy with my new purchase.

Arrived damaged, and has also clearly been opened and resealed at some point. Had to return it unfortunately.Guitar itself is nice though.