« Ibanez GAX30 »

I've been playing for a few years now. I've mostly focused on my acoustic, but just started playing more on my Ibanez. I listen to just about everything. As far as my electric, I have been playing more metal, like Sepultura and System of a Down.

I bought my guitar from a local music store in Utah called Best in Music (at least I think it's local...)

I wanted a starter guitar just to start practicing. I was trying to decide between a Silvertone and this Ibanez. Both were around the same price, but I chose this because the Silvertone was an off shoot and this is actually made by Ibanez, so you know you're getting the same quality.

I can't remember how much I paid for it. I believe it was around $150. I bought a starter pack with it the store provides which included a basic amp (which I've replaced with a Roland Cube 15 since), strings, gig bag, etc...

I haven't played many electrics so I don't have much to compare it to.

I love the finish. I own the transparent red and it looks great. Ibanez definitely had quality in mind here. The neck is smooth and it's really eazy to play. The sound is better than I would have expected. The clean sound through my Roland Cube 15 is great, and it gets pretty crunchy when you flip the distortion up, especially on the "Metal Stack" setting on the Roland.

I wish you could control the mid levels because some of the overdrives and lighter distortions get pretty unbalanced. I don't know if it's me, but the neck seems a bit heavy too heavy for the body. Sometimes it feels like you're holding it up more than actually playing it.

Sometimes the tuners can be a bit tricky. They aren't as tight as my acoustic by any means.

As I said before, I bought the Ibanez because I knew it was manufactured by Ibanez instead of being some knock of brand. The quality is definitely there in both the sound, look and feel of the guitar.

The tone and volume knobs sometimes give off a little static when you move them, but nothing too bad.

I think I've pretty much covered it. If you're interested in buying a good starter guitar at a great price without sacrificing quality, this would be it.

If something were to happen to it, I would probably replace it with a GAX70, or something a little higher, but that's only because I've played it enough to know what I'd like to have in a new guitar.

As far as new and beginning players, I would recommend it over any other comparably priced brand or model out there.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com