IbanezRG MiKro GRGM21 Meter- Jewel Blue

Nice little guitar. Kids love it too.

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.

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.

The vender, Adorama Camera, did a great job sending this guitar to me in a timely fashion. This review is about the Ibanez GRGM21MJB MiKro short scale guitar - NOT the vendor!OK, it only costs around $150 bucks, and even with the issues listed below, for $150 it is a decent value (i.e. 3/5 for an INEXPENSIVE guitar). If you are buying this for a beginner, then I suggest you have the following done before giving it to them: Replace strings (use regulars), adjust neck truss rod, adjust bridge height and (very important!) the string intonation. Optional: replace neck nut to increase string sustain.PICKUPS are pretty good, although the fabric wrap merely hinted at providing any protect to those teeny tiny 44AWG pickup wires: improved by removing wrap and sealing with liquid electrical tape. The pickups are mounted using only 2 screws - so they are wobbly: fixed by 3D printing a new 3-piece pick guard with 1 (top) + 2 (bottom) holes and a 1-to-2 hole 4-40 screw adapters (see pic). NECK is decent, but the fret ends are very rough: fixed by smoothing them down using a mildly abrasive rotary tool end. NECK NUT sucks, it is some kind of vibration dampening plastic! Fix: Replaced with a TUSQ blank - sounds a LOT better now. INTONATION: except for the low E string I was able to adjust the bridge saddles for correct intonation, while not perfect, the low E is close enough to work with. ELECTRONICS: decent pots and switch, I did add an EMG After-Burner (had to route out a pocket for the 9V battery and PCB/SW circuit). PAINT: Really cheap, really really cheap and easily chipped or scratched. TUNERS: Not the worst, but could use an upgrade as they have a lot of play in them. WEIRDNESS: When I took the neck off the body there was a 0.5" x 1" piece of sandpaper wedged between the neck and the body: huh? Anyway, NOW it is a 4/5 inexpensive guitar that now plays and sounds really nice!