Upgrading an Ibanez GIO

[ShredaholicZ]

Hey guys, I am playing an Ibanez GIO. I bought it 2 years ago when I was inexperienced in selecting guitar models and pay a whooping $300 for it. So far, the sound is still ok but I want to upgrade it for it to go further.

Do you recommend spending money on changing pickups for my guitar? If so, what kind of pickup would you recommend for a metal and rock lover?

Can I buy a whammy bar and poke it through the hole of my guitar without any soldering or troublesome stuffs? Or do I have to get it installed the troublesome way?

And lastly, are there different whammy bars for different guitar? If so, how much is a whammy bar for an Ibanez GIO?

Guitar newbie here. Thank you

 

[subversion]

if you hvae issues with tone, getting a new amp would be it. not a guitar 'upgrade'.

 

[ShredaholicZ]

Different amp have different effect on the sound produced from my guitar? Should I change the pick up also?

 

[ciki]

changing of pickups can be done at a later part, amps is more impt..

 

[senn_liu]

if your guitar has a floating bridge - and i think it does since you mentioned the "hole of your guitar" - then it should've come with a whammy bar. if you don't have one, you can get a replacement, but not every bar will fit. best to check with any shop that sells ibanez guitars.

btw whammy bars are all meant to be detachable. no soldering involved. either screw/push the bar in to use, and do the reverse to remove.

 

[subversion]

TS: which GIO model do you own?

 

[ShredaholicZ]

So different amp gives me different sound huh? That's something new I learn today. Thank you

How do I know whether it's a floating bridge or what? There's a hole beside the place where i insert the strings.

How do I check the GIO model? Isn't GIO a budget series? Where can I check it?

 

[subversion]

There's a model reference at the back of the headstock, or link us a pic of yr guitar.

 

[ShredaholicZ]

The back of my guitar says G09052086 "Made In China"

 

[subversion]

is this your guitar by any chance?

 

[ShredaholicZ]

http://img814.imageshack.us/g/52941214801674605712274.jpg/

The one in white is mine.

 

[ShredaholicZ]

Help please

 

[EugeneSmasher]

To be honest, one thing I like about Ibanez GIOs over loads of other budget guitars, is the pickups. I've never seen the need to change the pickups on my GSA60, in fact I like them more than the pickups on my Yamaha which costs twice as much.

If I were to upgrade my GIO, I think first and foremost I would improve the tuning stability. It's good the way it is, but I find the tuning machines a bit inconsistent, so upgrades wise I would change those first. Maybe upgrade to some Grovers.

The only thing I don't like about my GIO, is that it looks very barebones and it's quite obvious from looking at it, that it's a budget guitar. But yours is a different model (which looks more dressed up) so that shouldn't be a problem for you. Mine is the same model as the picture Subversion pasted by the way.

I think before you decide on any upgrades, determine first what is it you don't like about your guitar, then at least you'll know what part you should upgrade first. For me, even though I've been playing for years, I've never seen the need to upgrade anything on my GIO.

 

[ShredaholicZ]

I don't have anything I disliked in particular. I just want to make it even better. The only thing I dislike is that when I'm playing with distortion and i strum all 6 open strings, it gives me some kind of unpleasant sound. It sounded like my amplifier is exploding. The other thing is whenever I play the 6th string open, it gives me a buzzing sound.

 

[J.custom]

I changed the tuners on my old GSA60 to Sperzal locking tuners and changed the nut to a bone nut as the strings were cutting through the original plastic nut. The sustain and feel was way better after that and it solved the tuning stability problem.

 

[and23_julius]

I don't have anything I disliked in particular. I just want to make it even better. The only thing I dislike is that when I'm playing with distortion and i strum all 6 open strings, it gives me some kind of unpleasant sound. It sounded like my amplifier is exploding. The other thing is whenever I play the 6th string open, it gives me a buzzing sound.

Sounds like a setup / amp problem to me....why don't you try to send to TYMusic for them to analyze what could be the problem?

 

[EugeneSmasher]

TS, what amp are you using? If it's a small-wattage solid-state amp, then fact is you can't expect a good distortion tone out of it. That's why we spend more on pedals, or multi-effects, etc. If that's the issue, then I'd recommend save the money you're gonna use to upgrade the guitar, and buy a nice distortion pedal instead.

As for the buzzing, you might want to get it checked out at a guitar store. Perhaps it could be that your guitar needs a bit of a setup.

 

[ShredaholicZ]

I'm using a beta alvin amplifier. I'm not sure how much watt it is. The only thing i can upgrade is the guitar right? Because wouldn't it be pointless to get a $1k amplifier and play it on a soft volume. The amp also come with build in distortion, clean, overdrive, fuzz and metal zone. So do I still need to get effects?

 

[EugeneSmasher]

Depends. If you don't like any of the tones the amp is giving, then pedals is your best route, or a multi-effects processor. Frankly the guitar doesn't make much of a tonal difference, much less the pickups, compared with amps, pedals and multi-effects... To me the guitar's mainly about feel, playability, quality, reliability, etc. All of my tones are from my amp and multi-effects.

 

[ShredaholicZ]

Oh. But if I were to get distortion pedal, what brand would you recommend for an Ibanez GIO? Btw, what model is my guitar? And can I install a whammy bar?