I had been contemplating it for a while, and in August 2024, I finally decided to purchase an electric guitar from a well-regarded music store in my city. Towards the end of August, my brand-new instrument arrived – a sleek, exciting addition to my home setup.
The feeling was akin to a child experiencing Christmas, birthday, and New Year’s all at once. The anticipation had been building, and now it was time to dive in.
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My new electric guitar, an Ibanez Gio GRG140, is packed with features perfect for a beginner and beyond:
- Volume Control: This knob allows for adjusting the overall loudness and creating dynamic volume effects like swells and tremolos, adding expressive nuances to your playing.
- Tone Control: The tone knob shapes the guitar’s sound, letting you move from sharp, bright tones to warm, mellow sounds, and even experiment with wah-like effects.
- T102 Tremolo System: Equipped with a tremolo bar (often called a vibrato bar), this system lets you manipulate the pitch of the strings, creating those iconic electric guitar bends and dives that add character and flair.
- Infinity Single-Coil Pickups (x2): These pickups are designed to capture bright, clear, and cutting tones, ideal for rhythm playing and higher frequencies.
- Infinity Humbucker Pickup (x1): Positioned for a fuller sound, the humbucker delivers powerful, warm, and thick tones, perfect for rock, blues, and heavier genres.
- 5-Way Pickup Switch: This switch lets you select different pickup combinations, shaping your sound in versatile ways. The configurations in this guitar are:
- Neck Single-Coil Pickup
- Neck and Middle Single-Coil Pickups Combined
- Middle Single-Coil Pickup
- Middle Single-Coil Pickup and Upper Coil of the Humbucker
- Humbucker Pickup (Both Coils)
For more detailed specifications on this particular model, you can visit this link: https://www.thomann.co.uk/ibanez_grg140_wh.htm
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If you’re curious about the history of Ibanez guitars, or why a Japanese company adopted a Spanish-sounding name for their renowned instruments, you can explore their Wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibanez
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Being my first electric guitar, I made sure to thoroughly read through the included instructions and guidelines on operation and maintenance. Having some experience with my Rode NT1 studio microphone through my audio interface and DAW, connecting the electric guitar was straightforward. The Hi-Z input on my audio interface is designed for guitars, providing the correct impedance.
I adjusted a few settings in my DAW and added my go-to guitar amp plugin, Vandal, to the track. After some tweaking, I was able to achieve both clean, smooth electric guitar tones and heavier, more driven sounds, all depending on the plugin settings.
Tuning was also a breeze using the integrated tuner in my DAW, Samplitude Pro X4 Suite. It was quick and precise, ensuring I was ready to play in tune.
Of course, mastering the electric guitar is a journey that will take years of dedicated practice. However, with some prior experience with electric guitar sounds from using VST instruments in my remix compositions, I was able to play my first simple melody within a few hours. I experimented with techniques like legato, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides, using alternating fingers on the fretboard and strumming with my right hand.
Achieving a smooth vibrato was still beyond my beginner skills at this stage, but it’s definitely on my list to learn and improve. Perhaps I’ll share some of my beginner progress in the future.
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The most unexpected challenge I encountered with my new electric guitar was—surprisingly—removing the protective plastic film from the pickguard. It was trickier than anticipated to get it off cleanly without leaving bits of film stuck under the knobs, which can cause annoying crackling noises when you turn them.
It felt a bit like an initiation test for electric guitar beginners! I watched a few online tutorials on how to remove the film effectively. Some helpful tips suggested loosening or even removing the knobs to get underneath the edges of the film. Luckily, on my model, the knobs could be carefully lifted off.
Alt text: Close-up of Ibanez Gio GRG140 electric guitar pickups and controls, highlighting the volume and tone knobs.
Fortunately, I had previously purchased a set of guitar accessories (visible in the small box in the image), including various picks of different shapes and thicknesses, guitar slides made of different materials for diverse sonic textures, and fingerpicks. These accessories open up a range of playing techniques and sound possibilities.
Using the fingerpicks carefully, I was able to gently lift the knobs, remove the remaining pieces of plastic film, and then reattach the knobs neatly.
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I had planned to build a guitar holder for the door of my home studio, but I’m actually glad I hadn’t done it yet. Now that I have the electric guitar, I can take accurate measurements on-site to ensure a perfect fit.
It will probably be a few more weeks before I get around to building it, but I want to do it right. I already have a suitable guitar holder with adjustable arms and safety stoppers (seen on the right in the picture) to prevent the guitar from accidentally slipping out. This holder, along with the electric guitar, was conveniently delivered right to my door by the local music store Musikhaus Korn in Dresden’s Neustadt district.
The delivery was excellent; in addition to the original manufacturer’s packaging, everything arrived in robust, thick cardboard boxes, ensuring safe transport.
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Now, the main task is to learn to play the electric guitar proficiently.
And I’m genuinely excited about it, especially with a short vacation coming up.
But first, work, then play – or perhaps a balanced mix of both!
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If I practice diligently, who knows, maybe there will be another rock star in the making in about five years! ))
Edited by Master Mi
