NGD - Color Shift Ibanez!

[slowhand84]

So yesterday was actually a double NGD (Charvel-ish partscaster posted yesterday), and my first time buying anything Ibanez in quite a number of years. This is the newest Gio model, the GRG121SP, and is supposedly their "lower" end line in that this sells for only $299 new. I found this one with the plastic still on it for $199 at GC so I jumped on it to try it out, and as it turned out it's freakin' staying!

Going to give a bit of a detailed review since these are new and there aren't many non-Youtube paid sponsor reviews. Without further ado:

BRAVO, Ibanez...big kudos for designing a model that not only gives people what they want but at a really low price tag most players can afford. The blue/purple color shift finish is something I've loved since I had a Petrucci Mystic Dream about a decade ago, and Ibanez killed it with their version. My crappy pics really don't do it any justice. Guitar also has a super dark roasted maple neck, 100% flawless fretwork with nice rounded edges, and solid hardware. The pickups are the only weak point, but I don't expect great pickups in a guitar with these specs at this price. Will throw in a nice high end set of something from the parts box, but the rest of it will stay stock.

Poplar body, nice and light but still feels very solid to hold and really well balanced. Neck feels great, quite thin but doesn't cramp my hand the way some of the thinnest Ibanez necks tend to. Sustain is great, kudos again to Ibanez for going with a string-thru-body bridge on this one. The ONLY spec I would want added is stainless steel frets, but that seems to be something only companies like Harley Benton can do at this price tag.

Overall, if you're looking for a great shred machine that won't break the bank (or a really sweet backup to a pricier axe), I can't recommend this one enough. I've been less than impressed with most of Ibanez's cheaper offerings over the last few years, but this one is a complete game changer.

Onto the pics, for some reason they always compress and are blurry when I post em using the attachments option but if you click on 'em they open full res:

[slowhand84]

Weird, some of these are showing up facing the wrong way for some reason...they're all perfectly straight when I uploaded em and also when you click to enlarge them.

[slowhand84]

Some more attempts to do the finish justice:

[LightWingStudios]

NOYCE!

[slowhand84]

NOYCE!

Thanks man! Really digging it. My friend recently gifted me a set of Bareknuckles he wasn’t using and I think they’ll be perfect for it. Going to get the pickups swapped next week and then it’s good to go.

[Rollin Hand]

Buys guitar for $199. Installs pickups that are $199 each.

Nice!

Check if the saddles are steel. If not, some cheap stainless ones whould give this thing some pep.

[slowhand84]

Buys guitar for $199. Installs pickups that are $199 each.

Nice!

Check if the saddles are steel. If not, some cheap stainless ones whould give this thing some pep.

I know haha, I always find that stuff funny too. These BKPs were free for me though . I would never spend $400 on pickups specifically for a cheap guitar (plus I always buy Bareknuckles used, so I'm able to score sets for as little as $150-$160 most of the time), but since I have this set lying around and I think they'll be perfect for this guitar I'm goin' for it.

Not sure if the saddles are steel or not, but the hardware is all very solid and I don't think I'll be making any mods outside of the electronics. It stays in tune great, and the guitar has tons of sustain (guessing the string-thru-body bridge helps a lot there).

[Flatline]

I love these color changing finishes and wish more guitars had them.

[slowhand84]

I love these color changing finishes and wish more guitars had them.

Same! The thing is it seems this finish has always been reserved for pricier guitars (EBMM Petrucci, etc)...I think the cheapest guitar I've seen new with a color shift finish was an LTD that was a bit over $1000.

Ibanez offering it on a guitar this inexpensive is really fantastic and a great move for the company...especially combined with the quartersawn dark roasted maple neck!

[Rollin Hand]

I love these color changing finishes and wish more guitars had them.

Same! The thing is it seems this finish has always been reserved for pricier guitars (EBMM Petrucci, etc)...I think the cheapest guitar I've seen new with a color shift finish was an LTD that was a bit over $1000.

Ibanez offering it on a guitar this inexpensive is really fantastic and a great move for the company...especially combined with the quartersawn dark roasted maple neck!

It's insane what you can get in a budget guitar these days. Lotta good mod platforms out there.

[slowhand84]

I love these color changing finishes and wish more guitars had them.

Same! The thing is it seems this finish has always been reserved for pricier guitars (EBMM Petrucci, etc)...I think the cheapest guitar I've seen new with a color shift finish was an LTD that was a bit over $1000.

Ibanez offering it on a guitar this inexpensive is really fantastic and a great move for the company...especially combined with the quartersawn dark roasted maple neck!

It's insane what you can get in a budget guitar these days. Lotta good mod platforms out there.

Big time, the wildest thing is that it really doesn't need anything other than the pickups changed. I'll probably slap on some locking tuners just to make string changes easy (have a set of Sperzels lying around) but the bridge is really nice quality, the neck pocket fit is absolutely perfect, the frets are level and well rounded...literally can't find anything to complain about. Even the pickups are serviceable, I just feel it deserves better .

[Rollin Hand]

Same! The thing is it seems this finish has always been reserved for pricier guitars (EBMM Petrucci, etc)...I think the cheapest guitar I've seen new with a color shift finish was an LTD that was a bit over $1000.

Ibanez offering it on a guitar this inexpensive is really fantastic and a great move for the company...especially combined with the quartersawn dark roasted maple neck!

It's insane what you can get in a budget guitar these days. Lotta good mod platforms out there.

Big time, the wildest thing is that it really doesn't need anything other than the pickups changed. I'll probably slap on some locking tuners just to make string changes easy (have a set of Sperzels lying around) but the bridge is really nice quality, the neck pocket fit is absolutely perfect, the frets are level and well rounded...literally can't find anything to complain about. Even the pickups are serviceable, I just feel it deserves better .

That was the mentality I used with my Predator build. It's already good (especially for $140), but how cheap can I make it better. The tuners were dreck, but I am not sure I really improved the bridge by replacing it.

Then I threw the Duncans on the $14 pickguard....

EDIT: I should add that you've got me looking at these online now, dammit...

[slowhand84]

It's insane what you can get in a budget guitar these days. Lotta good mod platforms out there.

Big time, the wildest thing is that it really doesn't need anything other than the pickups changed. I'll probably slap on some locking tuners just to make string changes easy (have a set of Sperzels lying around) but the bridge is really nice quality, the neck pocket fit is absolutely perfect, the frets are level and well rounded...literally can't find anything to complain about. Even the pickups are serviceable, I just feel it deserves better .

That was the mentality I used with my Predator build. It's already good (especially for $140), but how cheap can I make it better. The tuners were dreck, but I am not sure I really improved the bridge by replacing it.

Then I threw the Duncans on the $14 pickguard....

EDIT: I should add that you've got me looking at these online now, dammit...

I don't think you'd regret it