Ibanez RGM21M Blt Gio Mikro Electric Guitar - Blue Burst

I own short scale guitars by half a dozen companies, and the Ibanez Mikro is the best of them all. I have bought two of these, the overall quality is best, but most importantly, it has high ratio tuning pegs you NEED for accurate tuning on a short scale. Any guitar scale shorter than 23 inches MUST have 18:1 ratio gears, or you will waste hours trying to tune an untunable instrument. I love my other shorties; but they were all basically unplayable, until I got better machine heads. Other guitars are priced the same or a bit less, but then you have to pay $60 or more for decent pegs. First time buyers especially, get this first, and save the money and time it will take to change out the pegs.

I bought this based on the great reviews. It is a decent little guitar for under $150. However, my thumb and forefinger are bleeding from the fret burrs. I didn't just buy this and give it to my kid. I played it. Approx. 18-24 hrs in 2 weeks. Needs re-tuning a bit as you go - nothing major for a small scale.But those fret burrs have me bleeding. Not kidding. I will have to sand them down and if you are able to do this - go for this cute little guitar. If not, it is rough on the frets (especially playing Barr chords). Fun but Ouch. I feel bad for your kids! :P

Well, I bought this for my granddaughter. The only fault I could find was pokey frets. I did dress the edges of the frets, and did a level and crown. It’s perfect now.Pickups were better sounding than I was expecting. The tuners worked well. The finish was flawless. As part of the set up, I tightened all the screws. The action was set low. I used 9.5 to 42 Ernie Ball strings.I am giving it to her for XMAS.

5 way switch with split coils!!! Really! Great value and tone - not perfect but it is cheap!

Overall:My guitar arrived with the output jack all floppy and bad intonation on two strings, otherwise it is a pretty sweet little guitar in that minty metallic green. I had to fix the guitar myself as customer service kinda sucks at zZounds. The guy offered to take it back and all, but with their processing time it would have been a week or more for a replacement. I would have expected a few bucks shaved off for the hassle. Next time I buy local. It took 5 minutes to remove the jackplate and fix the jack connection. Luckily I'm handy, some other buyers might not be so lucky. Then what? Right?! Shame on you zZounds. After changing strings and setting the intonation up, 4 strings were close and the other 2 really needed a turn or two. The action looks good out of ... MoreOverall:My guitar arrived with the output jack all floppy and bad intonation on two strings, otherwise it is a pretty sweet little guitar in that minty metallic green. I had to fix the guitar myself as customer service kinda sucks at zZounds. The guy offered to take it back and all, but with their processing time it would have been a week or more for a replacement. I would have expected a few bucks shaved off for the hassle. Next time I buy local. It took 5 minutes to remove the jackplate and fix the jack connection. Luckily I'm handy, some other buyers might not be so lucky. Then what? Right?! Shame on you zZounds. After changing strings and setting the intonation up, 4 strings were close and the other 2 really needed a turn or two. The action looks good out of the box and pups don't sound too bad. It took a minute to dial it in, but I can real good clean and crunchy tones with my VHT Special 6 Ultra amp. Add a smithering of compression, delay and reverb and it sounds superb. Here is the best part I have NOT seen advertised anywhere. It comes with a 5 way switch and coil split!!! 1st position is neck humbucker, next position is neck pup split, north me thinks. Center position is both buckers and position 4 is both coils split, with position 5 being the bridge humbucker. I may swap the split in the future, as I'd prefer to have the single coil split at the bridge, but I'm happy for now. This feature adds a lot of tonal variety and makes this guitar a real winner in my book. Great little noodling guitar with a great big tone. I'm quite pleased with the purchase overall and it's a nice, portable addition to my collection.

Ahead of the competition

Nice short scale guitar I bought for my 5 year old grand daughter to learn on. Was looking for something small and easy to learn on which meant good action and light strings and consistent tuning. Bought the Dean playmate Avalanche to start and it would not tune bridge issues. Sent it back for a Laguna LE50 and it buzzed big time with fret issues didnt even plug it in returned it. Coughed up a little more for the Ibanez GRG M21 Micro in purple and think I found something I can live with best of the bunch. I heard the mini strat is nice but heavy for a child. The Micro is smaller and light. Shorter scale for small hands but has a thick neck go figure very chunky for me and the wood just seems unfinished and frets chunky as well. Action was really high started ... MoreNice short scale guitar I bought for my 5 year old grand daughter to learn on. Was looking for something small and easy to learn on which meant good action and light strings and consistent tuning. Bought the Dean playmate Avalanche to start and it would not tune bridge issues. Sent it back for a Laguna LE50 and it buzzed big time with fret issues didnt even plug it in returned it. Coughed up a little more for the Ibanez GRG M21 Micro in purple and think I found something I can live with best of the bunch. I heard the mini strat is nice but heavy for a child. The Micro is smaller and light. Shorter scale for small hands but has a thick neck go figure very chunky for me and the wood just seems unfinished and frets chunky as well. Action was really high started lowering a turn on the bridge and buzzing started on the high E so backed off. Strings really bad installed new 9 gauge and much better. Tunes up good tuners better then the others but still lacking. Gonna purchase Carvin tuners they match up perfect for finer tuning. Looks super and sounds great nice pickups and 3 position switch is solid. One tone and one volume knob works great less confusing for beginner. Very nice tone with neck pick up and both together might add. Found something I can work with. If its a keeper will find another neck when she gets bigger. Best of the short scale bunch for a new Chinese instrument but I think this is my last one from China rather go used. I just wanted something new for my kid on Xmas thats not a toy and teach her some serious tunes without the thing wacking out constantly.

Great foundation for upgrades

Overall:My rating reflects a balance between what it is out of the box and what it can be with some simple upgrades. As-is, this is a 2 star instrument. The main culprit being the tuners. Add a set of mini locking Grovers and it's a 4 star guitar.Mine had a fantastic neck with surprisingly decent fretwork. The edges of the fretboard are a little rough, but there were so sharp frets. I was able to get the action quite low without problem buzzing (aside from hiw loose the strings will be on a scale this short). It is unfinished maple, so I plan to seal it soon before it gets nasty.The pickups are fair. I had to tweak my amp a bit to get good crunch out of them.It will encourage a light touch as string tension is so low that heavy fretting will easily throw notes a ... MoreOverall:My rating reflects a balance between what it is out of the box and what it can be with some simple upgrades. As-is, this is a 2 star instrument. The main culprit being the tuners. Add a set of mini locking Grovers and it's a 4 star guitar.Mine had a fantastic neck with surprisingly decent fretwork. The edges of the fretboard are a little rough, but there were so sharp frets. I was able to get the action quite low without problem buzzing (aside from hiw loose the strings will be on a scale this short). It is unfinished maple, so I plan to seal it soon before it gets nasty.The pickups are fair. I had to tweak my amp a bit to get good crunch out of them.It will encourage a light touch as string tension is so low that heavy fretting will easily throw notes a half step sharp. Bends and vibrato are sheer joy on this though. Without tuner upgrades, it's terrible. With good tuners, I can't put this thing down. It's just so much fun to play. The reason I bought this is because I have extremely small hands and they feel strained after playing for more than an hour. I'm able to play this for 3 hours without even a hint of fatigue. It is VERY small, but has convinced me to move away from my 25" guitars to 24" scale.

Ibanez mikro

Good entry level guitar for 6 years+.I would suggest changing the strings for a heavier gauge (10 or 11) as the stock 9’s go out of tune due regularly to the nature of it being a short scale guitar.Well finished, although I did lower the action on the saddles and had to correct the intonation a little bit. Neck is straight and frets have no sharp edges.Pickups are ok, a little bit lacking in clarity and noisy, but to be expected on a guitar in the price range.Overall a good entry level guitar for a younger player or someone with smaller hands.

Ibanez quality I have come to count on

I first bought a GIO miKro last year, on a whim. I bought two other 22.8 inch scale instruments at the same time, more from curiosity than anything, and because they were so cheap. Then my hands started to bother me, as happens to us old folks who over-do things. The shortscales were much easier to play, so for the sake of my own comfort, I started to use the shorties for practicing and jamming. After a year, my hands feel better, and I have bought another GIO miKro, because that is the one of the original three I like best. In fact, I have many guitars of various scale lengths, several other Ibanez models included, and this is the one I love the best. I have, and revere, a Mini-Strat, Shorty Les Paul, Rouge Rocketeer 23.5 inch, Squire Mustang 24 in. and a couple ... MoreI first bought a GIO miKro last year, on a whim. I bought two other 22.8 inch scale instruments at the same time, more from curiosity than anything, and because they were so cheap. Then my hands started to bother me, as happens to us old folks who over-do things. The shortscales were much easier to play, so for the sake of my own comfort, I started to use the shorties for practicing and jamming. After a year, my hands feel better, and I have bought another GIO miKro, because that is the one of the original three I like best. In fact, I have many guitars of various scale lengths, several other Ibanez models included, and this is the one I love the best. I have, and revere, a Mini-Strat, Shorty Les Paul, Rouge Rocketeer 23.5 inch, Squire Mustang 24 in. and a couple short scale acoustics; in addition to several nice Gibson- and Fender- scales, but my GIO miKros are my favorite guitars. Full stop. With all the craftsmanship and attention to quality I see in their larger and much more expense machines, I can play these for hours, get the sound I want, and live happily ever after. Most Highly recommended.

My example kinda sucks but I would buy another one.

This guitar ended my good luck streak in buying open box items. When I first took out this little guitar, the high side of the neck could easily be used as a saw. It's pretty scratched up, and the craftsmanship is nothing compared to my Ibanez MiKro bass. My bass is immaculate; this thing was evidently built on a Tuesday after a four day bender. Although the back is painted black, the split between halves is pretty apparent, with a slight height difference where the two pieces were not planed to the same measurement.Sounds like it should go back, right? Well, I paid one twenty and the Walnut Sunburst is pretty. I decided to give it a chance to acclimate and sure enough, much of the fret overhang went away. I've never seen anything like that much change! The guitar ... MoreThis guitar ended my good luck streak in buying open box items. When I first took out this little guitar, the high side of the neck could easily be used as a saw. It's pretty scratched up, and the craftsmanship is nothing compared to my Ibanez MiKro bass. My bass is immaculate; this thing was evidently built on a Tuesday after a four day bender. Although the back is painted black, the split between halves is pretty apparent, with a slight height difference where the two pieces were not planed to the same measurement.Sounds like it should go back, right? Well, I paid one twenty and the Walnut Sunburst is pretty. I decided to give it a chance to acclimate and sure enough, much of the fret overhang went away. I've never seen anything like that much change! The guitar is going to require a complete setup- fret end filing, fret dressing, intonation and string height setup, and I'm going to file the nut to install 10s. But even with the 8s, it stays in tune, and other than the still-protruding fret ends, the neck feels great. With what I paid, and needing no more than consumables and elbow grease, it's still a decent deal. The pickups aren't up to gigging, but the tone is fine for home play, and the little guitar makes it easy to play anywhere. I do have better quality short scale guitars - I have two T-15 and one T-30 Peaveys which are Byrdland scale, a bit longer than this 22.8" monster but still considerably shorter than standard Gibson scale. And the little Ibanez can be properly intonated, unlike the Peaveys.

Very good first guitar for young players

This is a very good guitar for young children to start learning. It stays in tune, pickups sound clear and nice.There are lot of youtube videos and advice suggesting moving to string gauge 11 or thicker ones, I would strongly suggest keeping it at 9 or 8 for young players. It is so easy to learn and play, even barre chords with thinner strings for kids under the age of ten. Intonation is perfect all the way to 24th fret with thinner strings. Just out of the box with some simple height adjustment to the wound E string, it played like butter.If you are a seasoned player looking for a travel guitar, then go ahead put thicker strings and mod it to suit your needs. But for very young kids, use thinner strings and keep the action low. You will be surprised how fast ... MoreThis is a very good guitar for young children to start learning. It stays in tune, pickups sound clear and nice.There are lot of youtube videos and advice suggesting moving to string gauge 11 or thicker ones, I would strongly suggest keeping it at 9 or 8 for young players. It is so easy to learn and play, even barre chords with thinner strings for kids under the age of ten. Intonation is perfect all the way to 24th fret with thinner strings. Just out of the box with some simple height adjustment to the wound E string, it played like butter.If you are a seasoned player looking for a travel guitar, then go ahead put thicker strings and mod it to suit your needs. But for very young kids, use thinner strings and keep the action low. You will be surprised how fast they can learn when they dont have to fight the instrument.Compared to the struggle with acoustic guitar, my kids progressed 10x faster with micro as it was so much more easier to play and handle.