Ibanez Gio pickup change upgrades and set up

In this video I'm upgrading Sam's 'entry-level' Ibanez Gio and giving it a set up. On test-playing the guitar some things were immediately obvious: firstly, the guitar had a lot of ground buzz and secondly, the tone control didn't work as a tone but as another volume. Very weird. Luckily the plan was to change out the original pickups for some BareKnuckle Pickups so, given the grounding issue, it made sense to fit new pots and upgrade the wiring at the same time. I also fitted new tuners, new Tusq string trees and a set of Tusq 'String Saver' saddles. After I fitted the new pickups and components I set up the guitar ready for precision fret levelling. In the process of levelling I was also able to clear up a fair bit of wear on the frets. I also fit a spare tremolo arm and set the tremolo to down only. I changed the nut for a precisely-cut and fitted Tusq XL nut to give the best possible tuning stability.
What's great about this guitar is first and foremost the neck - something which I generally true of all Ibanez guitars. The body is also very good, in this case a gloss black finish. But a good neck, a good set up and good pickups is what makes the guitar.

[@gravyblue]

That's a really intriguing fret leveling technique

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Thanks Doug. It's not 'my' method but I have promoted it over the years. It's elegant, effective and inexpensive.

[@vayabroder729]

Sam has definitely refined and perfected that over the years.

[@halfbackmutt]

Haven't watched your vides for a wee while, really liked your comments about Ukaraine humanitarian crisis and how it is being turned into a form of entertainment.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Thanks. It's just awful what's going on (not just in Ukraine but many other situations where powerful cadres are lining up to conquer essentially sovereign countries.

[@rindred]

I'm going to bet that Stew-Mac scratch remover you tossed out was meant for guitars that are pretty ragged with lots of obvious scratches; something on the order of buckle rash and whatnot. Using it will put a uniform level of scratchiness on the finish, so you can build things up evenly and not have to work as hard to get it level. For super-light scratches, it's better to just use the finishing polish to make them less visible.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

The more I think about it the more I'm inclined to believe this was 'dud' stuff. I hear what your saying... but I can't see a 'scratch remover' being so coarse as to create a seriously dull, swirled patch on already shiny gloss. After binning it I reverted to using a dab of G3, G7 and G10 compounds - which fixed that dull patch and brought the paintwork back to a pretty good gloss (dings notwithstanding). I tried T-Cut once and to my mind it did the same... scuffed up a fairly glossy finish and dulled it. I have a feeling that the stuff in the 'StewMac' pot was T-Cut; same colour and consistency. I guess that leans towards your theory... that T-Cut is not for finishing touches for high gloss (i.e. removing water marks / stains / spots etc) but maybe as a 'scourer' to take a surface layer of grime off a paint job as it does with cars....

[@dcd416]

3 cheers for the spring " attitude adjustment " !!!! I fall into the trap of " it's not going to beat me and spend hours wasting time. lol If I could do soldering like you I could have had time to actually learn to play the guitar..

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Thanks. This humble guitar set up like a dream. As for soldering, I'm only at the 'I can draw up a wiring schema from my head and make it work first time but if it doesn't I don't panic and can find the issue and put it right' stage. Which is on one hand a very good place to be after years of fear... and on the other, miles from being a tidy professional solderer!

[@voornaam3191]

Besides, it should be very easy fixing a tone pot problem. Maybe it is just a faulty capacitator: when it behaves like a resistor (which it shouldn't!) you get this volume effect. Obviously. Did you find the cause?

[@davidhession4753]

Hi Sam what kind of trussrod are you using? I would like to have a try at your leveling technique, all the one's I've seen seem to be slimmer, love your shows great content

[@martin-1965]

You can use any pretty standard double action truss rod with a flat bottom bar for the sandpaper. You'll need to get some self-adhesive sandpaper - I think it's 400 grit I'm using myself. I'd like to get hold of one like Sam's but have used the "banana" as he calls it and explains how to make and use in his book (which is well worth buying hint hint). I've used my banana to fret level 30+ guitars now and it works great 😎

[@jamesdoherty2614]

I have an Ibanez mikro which is behaving the same way. Tone control acting as a volume? Apparently it's a pot problem with Ibanez. Thanks for the video fella, it's hard enough to do the job, never mind filming it.

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Thanks for that bit of info James. Good to know I wasn't going mad :-)

[@martin-1965]

I do love how just one of those pickups cost more than probably 2 of those cheap but cheerful Ibanez Gios - but what about the tonewood (skreeeeeeeeee triggered) 😂😂😂😂 But, having sent you a cheap old guitar myself for major love and restoration, I know the value and importance of your connection to a guitar - cheap or not - and they all deserve a bit of reloving :)

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

I know, I know :-) Sometimes the amount spent on upgrades far exceeds not only the value of the guitar but the price of buying a new 'quality' guitar... In this case Sam likes the basic guitar enough to invest time and money in it to make it better for him. I can understand it because these Ibanez necks are about as good a start point as you can get. To me, that's better than buying guitar after guitar looking for one that just happens to do what you want.

[@martin-1965]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars Exactly - a guitar is more than a brand name or price label. It's about how you feel about it when you play it. Although with pickups of that quality I'm glad you upgraded the pots :)

[@rantv1324]

What exact model of your guitar?

[@voornaam3191]

What is drop-C tuning? Do you mean extra heavy gauge strings, like D'Addario EXL148? Those have C tuning. Put a capo on fret 4, if you want E tuning, that's all.

[@webemuffbaggin]

As someone that plays more "hard-core" styles, I would assume this guitar was setup for exactly that. The bridge looked like it was screwed down to "lock it" in place and make the tuning more stable. Especially when tuning down like it was in drop C. The lack of string tension on the tremolo makes it more likely to come out of tune quickly when playing. This statement may very well be only true on the cheaper tremolos. I'm poor so idk how if this is true on a true Floyd rose or another pricey tremolo. When you do a lot of palm muting, having a sturdy bridge becomes pivotal. One thing djent style requires is articulation, which is lost with a floppy bridge. Plus these guitars are very popular with younger players getting into djent and other hard-core styles. That's why I assume all this. With that being said, I would not be happy if you unlocked my locked trem 😂

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

Got you. Too long ago (already) to remember... but I'm unlikely to have done anything to the tremolo that a customer didn't ask for, regardless of what style they play. So when I know this guitar is coming I will ask the customer whether they want the tremolo 'fully floating / down only or locked" and will do whatever they say. If they said "locked down because I play djent" I certainly wouldn't be floating it or setting it 'down only'. In other words I don't just think of what I'd like and do it. From a business perspective, that way lies madness! :-D

[@DarrenPrice333]

Is all this work really worth it on a budget guitar?

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

It’s a good question but it’s not really about money: you could try ‘saving’ your money and buying a slightly more expensive guitar… which will also need a set up to have a low action and stay in tune. Think of it as something ‘missing’ from all mass produced guitars, something you still need to buy once you’ve bought the guitar.

[@BIGFESH]

This is spot on. Last week i bought a new GIO GRGR120ex for $220. Ive already spent almost 2x that in new parts so i can make it "mine" id rather do this anyday versus buying a crazy expensive guitar. ​@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars

[@bert_b13]

We all need psilocybin therapy to change our foregone perspectives on what life is supposed to be about (re: the lifestyle/business conversation).

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

I think you could be right. Hearing a lot of talk about it these days. If there's one drug I can see myself wanting to 'go back' to it would be the mind-opening hallucigens. But not the puking Ayowasca (?) kind of thing! Can do without having to throw up, thanks! :-)

[@PooNinja]

And now for something completely different…

[@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars]

What have the Luthiers ever done for us?!?

[@PooNinja]

@@SamDeeksRelovedGuitars my local Luither looks like Santa, and when I get stuff back from him it definitely feels like it’s had magic applied to it. He denies being Santa but I’ve seen no evidence of the contrary. 🎅🏽