As Good As It Looks? (Ibanez GIO GRG220)

Today we're checking out a very nice looking Ibanez guitar. It's the GRG220 GIO. The GIO line is held in high esteem it would seem, and today we're going to see if this guitar can live up to that reputation. I've tried plenty of Ibanez guitars on the channel previously, and I have tended to like them, so this should be interesting.
Enjoy!
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[@MrPolevaulter]

Check out some GREAT cheap alternatives: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6SooWCvhbmFjdEsi=F1eU70Cy0PBS1tSc

[@SenseiKreese]

Ibanez don't even polish frets on a standard RG which is a step up from that, I've bought two in the last few years for backup guitars/trashy gig guitars and they needed polishing bad. That said, the frets were very level and well done, no spout came up, and it's so easy to polish frets even a beginner can do it, not a big deal.

[@tweakrr99]

Sounds really great with your playing! The Ibanez stuff is always an awesome value and play well

[@John_2Much_Coffee]

Great review. I've been considering this guitar for a year. Trying to find in store so I can try it. Cheers

[@mattsikes919]

Great review Elmo. I'm a big fan of ibanez and I think for the price versus how much guitar you get they consistently knock it out of the park. Looks beautiful.

[@RickMichaelis63]

Thanks for the honest review Elmo 🎉🙏✌️❤️🎶🎵🎼

[@MrPolevaulter]

No problem 👍

[@MarbsMusic]

The GRG neck is definitely different than a Wizard, thick on the sides I believe. Great review, very through!

[@luizromagnoli]

Loved the Malmsteen's Dreaming clean part 👏

[@christiantaylor4027]

This guitar sounds really good to me. Bright and full. Elmo sounds great too.Rock on!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks 😊

[@carlosalbertomunozgiron6089]

How much did it cost You?

[@robertholtom9345]

Great Review ,I was chuckling to myself again when you were giving this guitar it's Whammy Bar test, I sure was not expecting that guitar to stay in tune very good, since it does not have a floyd rose tremolo on it like your Ibanez JEM Junior! I know you always give these types of guitars their tests when they do have that wiggle stick for the bridge! I often do watch a lot of your videos that you put out since I am a subscriber to your channel. In Canada they sell for $419.00 plus taxes Canadian. Still not a bad price for a decent entry level Super Strat.

[@mickpad9814]

Altro bel video. Chitarra che sicuramente incuriosisce per l'impatto estetico. Ci voleva proprio una tua recensione. Continua così sulle chitarre di fascia mediobassa o economica: non tutti possono permettersi strumenti costosi e soprattutto bravi come te degno di strumenti straordinari. Complimenti ancora Elmo 👏👏👏💪💪 P. S. Hai rimosso il precedente contatto telegram ⁉️ Non so come contattarti😊

[@nicolasdacci8913]

Muy buen video y super objetivo como siempre! Saludos!!!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Gracias!

[@angusorvid8840]

Not a bad guitar. I almost bought one recently but opted for a Squier HSS. One thing I'd change on the Gio are the pickups. I like a thicker sound so I'd pop in a DiMarzio Tone Zone/Air Norton set. Otherwise, a solid guitar at a great price.

[@stevecassidyguitar]

Wow! Tuning stability after that Trem assault was impressive! 🤯👌 I believe these are made in the Manling factory in China - Same as The Eastcoast & SoloKing stuff 👍

[@bluwng]

A floating vibrato is a system and has to be setup for the players style you can’t just randomly lay into it. Even Floyd’s are imperfect and it isn’t the material it is inherent in the design.

[@timcat8382]

great review

[@women2188]

Heyy, Great review btw, I saw this guitar the other day in the same store where it had a guitar where I've been debating on which I should make a purchase on. Yes this guitar and the Ibanez GRG you reviewed are the only 2 best choices there were available as for me. Do you mind doing a review on a budget floyd rose guitar by Schecter in it's SGR series called the Banshee-6 FR? A review would really help a lot but some notes or a heads up comment would do just fine. I deeply appreciate your works.

[@Cujo-fu5bm]

That`s a very beautiful guitar and sounds great too. It`s very good for it`s price.

[@younes382]

Hi Elmo, Thank you for your efforts. Big fan from Morocco. I just want to know, in your opinion, which is better : this Ibanez or the GRG121SP (that you reviewed a while ago). Thanks 🎸

[@MAX96MENDES]

Thank you for the review Elmo ! You always tell it like it is. I will be honest, comparing a China made guitar to an Indonesian made guitar, I prefer the Indonesian. Much better quality build -also cheap price.

[@Barbarapape]

I have an Ibanez GRG120QASP-BGD which i bought last year and was lucky in that it played well out of the box with no fret issues other than a polish which i do on any new guitar when changing the original strings. I also have a Jem 7V and Jem Juniors which do have different necks to the Gio, does it justify the price difference that is down to personal choice. The Jet JS400 has a 240mm (9.5") radius neck, the Ibanez GRG120 has a 400mm neck, which is a big difference. They are great guitars for the price, each to their own but i prefer a wide radius slim profile neck that Ibanez have.

[@calebhoman1844]

A little bit of tender surrender by Steve vai in there is perfectly fitting

[@Cujo-fu5bm]

You still can polish it ,change humbuckers/pickups refine the neck, add locking nuts and locking tuners if you like etc. My Gio Ibanez was fine from the start, the only thing was it`s humbuckers weren`t as powerful as my Jackson`s stock Jackson pickups and loses it`s tuning slightly and mostly the top E string, Other than that it`s sounds very beautiful clean and with distortion ,it`s sound is unique and it really blows my mind. Before i was going to put in better pickups then i changed my mind because it`s sound is truly beautiful as I said before, so now i`m only adding locking tuners to it ;)

[@smacker360]

I bought a Gio and had to do extensive neck work. After leveling frets and getting rid of the fret sprouts it's fun to play. The other problem is the tuners I'll replace soon. In most cases you get what you pay for. I bought a Fire Fly FFST for 169.00 and it was absolutely perfect out of the box. Only complaint is the weight but I do most of my playing sitting down.

[@allance9760]

“you get what you pay for” is an ideal situation as nowadays many products doesn't't even match their price correctly.

[@stevenbarton7474]

I think Ibanez producegood value guitars. I have had a Ibanez Gio 10 for a number years now, which I brought second hand. I have recently upgraded it with IronGear pickups and push pull CTS pots, which takes it to another level.

[@daveeastcott9323]

Similar story...it's fun isn't it??? 😁

[@stevenbarton7474]

@@daveeastcott9323 👍👍

[@daniellarson3068]

This was kind of a surprise. Japanese guitars are known for high quality. However, it looks like the Japanese quality was not exported to China where the guitar was built, but only the name. Someday, maybe Elmo will do a discussion about mass produced guitars versus those produced by a luthier (craftsman). Thanks for the video.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@PXR5-PXR5]

Eeeeeeeeeeeellmmoooo! 😁 Hope youre well. I like ibanez, quite good guitars, often the neck stands out and can be love or hate. ... they should fire the dude that name them Grg, Rg, Gio and whatever, names that never stick. Does it hold the tuning? Thanx for the video dude 👍

[@raphael5088]

Great video....which is better, this guitar or Ibanez Grg170dx???

[@stevepelham9010]

For the price it aint bad at all it sounds good! On a 10 point scale in my mind cause of the frets it will hit 5 = ok. I got me one Gio GSA60 Walnut made in China it scored 6 straight out of the box that is good, I am realy impressed. Seems as Ibanez affordables non Japanese guitars are standing steady in an frame of 4-6.

[@MrPolevaulter]

👍

[@stevepelham9010]

@@MrPolevaulter By the way thanks Elmo for rewieving the Harley Benton HB-20R amp. I do not like HB products but as I trust your verdicts I bought one.I like it playing at home, cheap, easy to move around. 20w aint much but it sounds pretty good even as been maxed out.

[@stoneysdead689]

The Gem Jr. runs the Wizard III neck- which is different than the Gio neck. I only know that because I just recently bought an SP3 so, I've been going over the specs on their line up. I've never played the Wizard III neck but it seems to be a very polarizing piece off kit- you either love them, in which case guys seem to insist on playing nothing else- or you hate them. Apparently, from what I hear- they're exceptionally thin- but it's hard sometimes to understand exactly what ppl mean by that when you look at the geometry of a neck. Do they mean it's thin like from the center of the back to the surface of the fret board- or do they mean the shoulders are very small, or do they mean it's really narrow string spacing- Idk. I've seen necks that were actually pretty thick that just felt very thin because of how they're designed- Stranbergs are that way. They're actually very thick- but they feel super thin because they're asymmetric, multi-scale, and the shoulders are perfectly contoured to fit your hand. I haven't received the SP3 yet- it has yet another neck on it- something Kiko apparently helped them design- it's his signature model. Wish me luck.

[@Inzenzeofficial]

Between this one and the grg121sp for shredding and pop recordings which would you thinks is best, I'm looking for versatility on a budget

[@newworld9133]

I just bought one of these last week and yes, the neck is fatter than you regular Ibanez neck. I would say it is still a "C" shape but a round "C" not a Wizard thin C. With mine, the high E string pops out of the nut all the time. A little filing should fix this but it is annoying. All in all it is a great beginner guitar or a beater for gigging. Could be a great modding platform. Maybe a new nut, pickups and pots.

[@daveeastcott9323]

With these, it's REALLY worth the tiny investment to make a decent bone nut...it actually makes a big difference. The neck is a really comfortable profile coming from a slim neck acoustic guitar...it's definitely better for chording than a wizard neck and I really like the radius in general. It's not perfect but it's beautiful and all the bare bones of a great long term guitar are there...

[@BlackBrawl_]

great video pls Review jackson js22 dinky

[@sole__doubt]

Other than that trem it looks gorgeous.

[@ratatatuff]

Hi Elmo! Have you ever tried an Ibanez S521-MOL? I'm looking for a neat guitar without a trem and the S521 looks so gorgeous.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Sorry, no

[@russellbrooks3622]

Dude, the way you played that guitar makes me not give a shit if it has a little fret sprout and needs a little polishing. That's a great sounding guitar, definitely worth any polishing and setup it may need. Ibanez rocks, in any price range, even if it was made in China.

[@wasteddude9387]

I got a 70SBA and it burns.. the manufacturer does what they can, but how long was it with an outlet and how much do they care

[@Uncle_Gray]

I added just a bit n got S521 which is much better for me Frets weren't polished either but that's not a big deal for me

[@scotchgod8478]

I❤Ibanez!🤟

[@nitrozeus8782]

I have one of this as a principiant and its perfect

[@carlosalbertomunozgiron6089]

Put locking tunners and a change of pickups, and You have a beasts

[@nitrozeus8782]

@@carlosalbertomunozgiron6089 locking tunners sounds really god, any trademark un special? Gotoh is very hard to find for me

[@jasujokelainen5073]

Very impressed by the tuning stability. Please can you recommend some od/ds pedal that gets my peavey windsor (jcm800 clone) do heavy/Metal? Kiitos ❤.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Depends on the type of metal, but Revv G3 for instance.

[@jasujokelainen5073]

@@MrPolevaulter Thank you very much!

[@joynewd1483]

Review newen strats I have heard pretty good things about those

[@The_Macaroon]

Pretty little thing ❤

[@bluwng]

These are much more expensive than the Jet guitar JS400 but less than their shredder models.

[@andreacoscia2960]

Ciao che pedaliera usi❤

[@Scavenger_4444]

Hi, Can you say something about this guitar Ibanez GRG170DX-BKN I know is a bit similar to the Ibanez GRX70QA . Regards.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Don't know it, sorry.

[@Scavenger_4444]

@@MrPolevaulter thank you I really like your videos , you are an amazing guitar player.

[@Elias_Tekton]

I'm not a fan of the shark fin inlays lol but they are good guitars

[@cloudsss83]

playing for the love of god with the bridge pickup should be a crime hahaha kidding

[@patricknelson1471]

my gio was in fantastic shape i got lucky

[@brozio77]

because of you, i abandoned massively squiers and i bought used, yes i am very very poor, 2 grg's. best bang for the buck cheap guitars that i own. only 2 squier left are a 51 with an horrible telecaster affinity neck (sold the orginal neck long time ago) that i have to bring to my luthier, and a china jagmaster that is very very good. my other guitar that i own a good vester strat (same as korean squier strats of the nineties) cheap plywood body but very good neck.

[@drewwesley9506]

Very very poor but own 6 guitars and a luthier and tech to watch KZbin? Why don't you get one good versatile guitar or make one with one of your grg's?

[@earthquakemagoon2505]

Hey Elmo. When your done with it. Can I have it?

[@cylonhibrid]

I got a GIO a cheaper model, it is ok but fret board is a bit flat, I think the Yamaha 311, around same price looks a better bet.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Fair enough.

[@jarmohanninen2891]

There are excellent guitars available nowadays for that money. No excuses to start practicing today 😂

[@MrPolevaulter]

😀

[@SkanderGuitar]

I honestly never liked the GIO series. Maybe it's the headstock? (JK) But on a budget level there are better options. I love my SA260 by Ibanez which is in a similar price range. The GIO I owned and the ones I played where just not worth the money. They are OK. But that's all. If you consider getting a GIO either look at brands like Harley Benton or JET Guitars or just save up a few more bucks for Squier or big brands. I wish someone told me this before because my GIO took my motivation to play/practice lol

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

😀

[@MaximusAdonicus]

Butttt... according to specs this should have the same GRG neck that the 121 had that u previously praised!?

[@C-LOS420]

It’s not there best . If you are happy with it ,it’s not for everyone.

[@tomix1970pl1]

For me it sounds like covered under blanket.But it is chip so...This on is much better kzbin.info/www/bejne/faiXaJl8Z5WsntE

[@tymanngruter1808]

Nice, that mother of toiletseat shark inley.......

[@germanCrowbar]

330€ is too much for the gio series.

[@TheCyberianWonder]

I'll pay $1000 more for a guitar with polished frets. I cannot trust a guitar delivered for sale without polished frets. Pass!

[@fuzzymuppet1990]

3 mins and some 0000 steel wool , problem solved !

[@mwpv11]

I have gigged with this guitar many time doing all sorts of genres with zero issues. The neck is great slightly heavier than their S models but slightly wider. Very easy to finger pick. The guitar is super reliable even when compared to my 30 year old Ibanez RT. You definitely will not be disappointed with this axe. I speak from a good standpoint because I currently own over 300 guitars and can easily compare any of them.

[@daveeastcott9323]

@@mwpv11 I have the SA460 and I love it...but I also had to give the frets a bit of a polish and put on fresh strings. Normal basically when U get a budget/midrange guitar. The actual setup was fine with the fret levelling and intonation. I really enjoy playing this guitar and it's nice to be able to work on the guitar and Ive gradually customised it without being scared to mess around a bit and practice these skills.

[@Admiral_Bongo]

Not to mention that for $1000 more you'll get a guitar with frets made of decent metal that'll actually last more than 2 years. Hardware on Gio is literally pot metal.

[@daveeastcott9323]

@@Admiral_Bongo ...I've had nickel frets that have lasted ok with heavy playing...not sure about these...good excuse to do a stainless fret job... Will prob cost about $100 in materials? In Australia...prob less in USA $... I've had an Alvarez acoustic for 17yrs. Nickel frets. They're dead. And it still plays ok. They stood up for about 10yrs. Smashed after years of busking. But one day in the future it will become the guinea pig if it hangs around long enough. It's good to practice on stuff that doesn't matter but likewise U also don't wanna spend expensive parts on your 'beach' instruments so not really a priority for now. But I'd certainly be happier to practice on something under $300-$500US and despite only costing $200US I suppose she deserves it after nearly 2 decades of loyal service.

[@Admiral_Bongo]

Every Gio I've come across, including my very first guitar, was garbage. Notable issues are generally twisted necks (hello, fret buzz) and the cheap-ass hardware (it MAY stay in tune, but the metal it's made of is as solid as Play-Doh). Frets and bridges develop grooves in them real fast and that creates all sorts of problems. It goes without saying that licensed Floyd Rose Gio models are to be steered clear of. Those floyds just don't work. These aren't the worst guitars you can buy, but definitely not the best in the price range.

[@HammerFang]

it looks great, but it sounds sooo muffled :(

[@allance9760]

you chose a coverd pickup then it will be muffled sounding.