IbanezRG MiKro GRGM21 Meter- Jewel Blue

I received this guitar when my kid was showing more interest in playing guitar. I wanted something that was lighter than my guitars and had a fretboard with all frets reasonably accessible without having to overstretch but would also serve for them as they grew. I do recommend this for kids possibly as young as 6 if they are kind of tall or long limbed. Otherwise, I think this is a great guitar for around 8-11.To begin with, the material quality is excellent for the money:- Knobs and switches work smoothly- Tuning keys work well and hold- Body and neck materials and finish are excellent- Frets are reasonably well finished, not protrusive or sharp- Fretboard is not a wood I am familiar with, but the feel is good and the tone it helps produce is very mid-range and versatile- Pickup quality is excellent for the moneyThe guitar has a nice tone. With the amp settings set very neutrally on an amp that is normally a bit bright, this guitar was not too much either top or bottom and sits nicely in a mid-range with a minor lean toward top end (could have been the bias of the amp). This would allow for versatility of style for play from metal, blues, country, rock, and so on. It would respond well to the amp's tonal quality.The pickup arrangement is excellent. The pickup selector can select between humbucker (warmer, fuller tone) and single coil (brighter, twangier). It will let you select between neck (brighter, more for lead), bridge (mellow, rhythm). The combinations you can pick are neck humbucker, neck single coil, neck & bridge humbucker, neck & bridge single coil, and bridge humbucker. Really, really tonally versatile.Some other reviews may observe (complain) that higher up the fretboard (closer to the body), it is hard to play. That shouldn't surprise anyone. As a short scale guitar, frets must be smaller and the frets higher up are always smaller (simply how it works as the distance from the fret to the neck reduces). One should not expect to easily play high frets on a short scale guitar. However, for kids with smaller fingers, it is perfectly fine.Compared to some other guitars of similar price range, I found this to be really worth the money and better constructed. I played several mini-strats and found them all unserviceable due to very poor fretting. I did not think those would be an enjoyable experience and therefore would disincentivize the player from continuing to play and learn.This was a pleasure to play, highly versatile, and well-built.Great 3/4 size guitar. Great guitar for young players.

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.