Ibanez GRG121DX-BKF

In photos you see the old version. When it will come, you will receive the newest version of that guitar. It will have written "Ibanez" on pickups. And what is very important: humbuckers work and as singles!!! That is an extremely big plus, because it can be perfect for both metal and jazz/blues. Also this version comes with new potentiometers caps

pros:
-Super impressive design. Among guitarists it is called "The Batman Guitar"
-Super nice matte finish. I have that guitar for more than one year, and the matte finish is like totally new!!
-Very decent quality
-Best option in that price category. To be honest, before buying it, i was thinking of having 3-4 guitars. But after I bought it, I do not want another guitars. For me, the design is the best I ever seen. Maybe after 4-5 years I will buy a Ibanez guitar in exchange of this "Ibanez Gio"

cons:
-The only problem I faced with is the fact that I had to colour the bolts from pickups, because they came a little bit discolored. But that is not a very big problem.

When I ordered it I was looking for a beginner guitar, I wanted a black one, and I did not expect much in this price range. I was very surprised when it arrived. It is sturdy and very well made. I love that black matt finish. The neck is not black, but I can understand that this is a budget product so they had to save money here and there. Also the neck surface is not as slippy as I would like it to be, but it's not bad either. It sounds nice, I play it in clean mode, distorted and also much rock and heavy metal stuff. It's OK. I own it 6 months now, and the only bad things I noticed so far is that jack keeps getting slightly loose and I have to screw it in with my fingers again and again. I need to get a wrench to fix that permamently. Also the tone knob might need to be replaced soon. Besides the only thing I did is I lowered the strings action, because they were very high when guitar arrived. You can do it yourself it's very easy. I compared it to a ¤900 Ibanez, it sounds different, but I'm not sure if worse. Would I recommend it for a first guitar - YES, would I buy it again - YES.

This my very first electric guitar. At the time of writing I have owned it for about 2 years. I play it 2-3 times per week on average. The guitar is very reasonably built. You really get plenty of guitar for the money. The only improvement which you should do after a several months is to swap the strings depending on the music you like to play. It will improve your learning curve. I have the satin black version. It does not keep a lot of finger prints. However several times I scuffed the coating as I was unwinding the guitar cable and the marks are really visible. I wish I bought the wooden version that would just deform without showing discoloration. The pick-ups are midrange and OK. They will get you a long way before you know what want and are ready to purchase a higher end model, or replace them yourself. Tuning wise the guitar neck and tuners are sturdy and I do not need to check them more than once a month. Last but not least the guitar looks sexy. It's the one and only reason why sometimes I cannot walk past by it in my living room. It just screams at your face - Come and play me! And this is pretty much how good tunes are born. Just do it and you will also enjoy the dopamine rush.

For the low price this guitar is priced at, it sounds and plays fantastic. This rivials my old S570 DXQM for playability. set up out of the box was fantastic. Neck needed no adjustment. smooth frets and well crowned. only adjustment i made was the action height. Ended up taking a bit of sandpaper to the saddle screws as once set at my preffered height, the screws do stand rather proud making palm muting slightly uncomfy.

The included wiring/electronics are outstanding for a sub £150 guitar. 5 way selector switch is nice and smooth, and has a printed PCB with labelled pin outs, making upgrades nice and easy. The included pickups sound really nice, but a little muddy for me. I have a set of EMG 81/85's coming to replace these.

10/10, a must buy for any skill level of player.