RG MiKro GRGM21 Meter- Metallic Purple

Perfect out of the box. Great sound!

Guys, I loved this guitar. I got it for my 7 year old daughter. I've been playing guitar on and off for 20 years and wanted her to have a decent, kid sized guitar. This thing does not disapoint. I even played it side by side with my Epiphone Les Paul Studio, and surprisingly this little guy kept up with it in the 1 and 3 positions on the Ibanez pickup switch. (I should note that I use heavy effects so I'm not taking about the clean sound by itself. Adding in gain, delay, reverb). But what my LP couldn't do well, was tone down all the power and humbucker-ness that this Ibanez could do in the 2 and 4 positions. I liked it so much I want to put a 5 way switch on my LP lol. The LP still sounded better and the harmonics were better while playing chords, but this little Ibanez was a pleasent surprise and still sounded great. I also enjoyed the stablility of the string tuning. I could tell as soon as i began tuning that I wasnt going to have any issues there. The string action and relief were great right out of the box. Didn't measure it, but it certainly felt good to play. Overall, solid guitar for a beginner. Heck i'd feel comfortable playing it live if it wasn't smaller and purple... lol. Think i might be a new Ibanez fan.

Okay, I gave the Ibanez Mikro a 4-star rating because it's a pretty good value. But before pushing the 'Buy' button on this solid-bodied mini axe, you'll need to do some setup on it after it arrives. Otherwise, you may be very disappointed. Before I talk about setup, I'll give my opinion about several of the guitar features: * The body finish is okay. It hasn't chipped or come off in some surprise way. And the color looks pretty good. Mine is the Jewel Blue. At this price, I expect to be playing the guitar, not collecting it anyway. * The Infinity R humbuckers sound decent enough. I've played both rock and metal on them. The pickups will push out dirt and chug. Just tweak your pedals and amp until you get the tone you want. Just like any guitar. * The electronics work. I haven't opened the pickguard, yet, but I wouldn't expect to find anything great inside. But the electronics do the job. The same goes for the selector switch. And I'm not hearing any humming or grounding issues. * The small body is lightweight and easy to hold. And the neck is super easy to play. This guitar really is a good match for smaller players. Instead of wrestling with a larger 25.5" scale guitar, this one will allow you to focus on learning technique and playing. Build your confidence, not your frustration. * And even though the body is lightweight, the headstock doesn't drop. Another big plus. So if you're going to buy this guitar, you'll need to do some setup. If you're a complete beginner, this may be a challenge unless you take the guitar into a luthier shop. I've listed setup considerations below: Setup Musts: * Immediately replace the stock tuning heads. The stock heads are terrible and will lose tune after just a few minutes of picking or strumming. I bought some Kluson MK6LN replacement tuners and they work great. $22 bucks + shipping. Problem solved. * And here's one other note about replacement tuners. Many aftermarket tuners won't fit the Mikro headstock. It's not the 10mm peg hole that's the problem. It's the length of the tuning posts, many coming up short. So be selective. * Immediately replace the stock strings. This is a short scale guitar and the stock strings don't provide enough tension. Again, you won't hold tune well or the pitch will sound off or tone will be muddy or whatever until they are replaced. Yuck. I bought 11ga nickel wound. $11 bucks. Problem solved. * And one other note about replacement strings. You could use 12ga replacements but the nut slots will have to be filed. 11ga provided good tension and tone for me. They're a little snug in the nut slot, but not too bad. 12ga weren't worth the extra effort. Other Setup Considerations: * I replaced the stock string trees with a Graph Tech brand. This probably wasn't necessary but the Graph Techs do have good hold and I trust that they won't lose shape or break like the cheaper stock trees. * If you don't like the plastic stock nut, you could replace it. The stock nut is pretty narrow, so you'll be filing/sanding down a replacement to get it to fit. I've not had any issues with the stock nut. So it may not be worth the trouble to replace it unless you plan on using 12ga + replacement strings. * The stock hardtail bridge works fine. I thought about putting in a higher end replacement but its really not needed. I can adjust string height and intonation just fine with the stock tailpiece. * No need to replace the pickups unless that really is your thing. But if you keep the stock pickups, do consider lowering them. Mine had been set too high and I kept getting pitch changes until they were lowered. So I hope my review helps you make a better decision. While this guitar is labeled as an axe for a beginner, it isn't ready to play right out of the box. So if you are a beginner, expect to spend a few hundred dollars more at a luthier to get the Ibanez Gio Mikro playing right. But even so, you'll make up for the additional cost by saving a lot of time lost to frustration with a larger scale guitar.

First let me say a big thank you to the seller GearTree for super fast and free shipping. This seller is awesome. Be sure you purchase your guitar from them. I bought this guitar for my sister and she loves it. Her hands are small like mine. I’ve purchased 3 of these. My second had an issue with a twang in the B string. I put a new set of strings on and it’s all good. The following is from my first review. I saw some negative reviews but decided to try it. You can’t beat the price. I was pleasantly surprised at the workmanship for this price line. Fret ends were smooth and no snags. I looked it over for flaws in the finish and couldn’t find any. I was surprised to have humbuckers and not some cheap junk. I let the guitar acclimate and then tuned it. No problem with keeping in tune. The guitar is smaller than I expected but I’m glad because I have small hands. I would highly recommend this for a child just learning. It’s light weight and would be easy for them to handle.

I dont "get" alot of these reviews. I've been playing forty years and have had at least five dozen guitars running the gamut of pricing. You never know with a guitar, they all are different. Personally, i have always liked maple necks and fretboards. It has a soft, easy to play feel. If it doesn't feel right, NOTHING else matters. This guitar feels good and makes it easy and fun again, the same can't be said of plenty of guitars I've owned over the years. I've had cheaper guitars feel great and really expensive guitars feel like crap. As long as it feels good, i can get a good sound by using pedals. I was very pleasantly surprised. The tuning is a slight issue but stretch them good and/or put a new set on it. The finish I think is great, too. I like it so much i am going to get another. That'll be a fun comparison. Like i said, you never know. I think it's a crapshoot. I don't trust so-called luthiers, either. I've had plenty of guitars come back less-playable. These were well-respected people. It's either playable or not. I like this little thing.

Good design but dissatisfied with the chipping on the paint work.