Watch It First
Want your first proper metal guitar but you’re working with beer money, not a bank loan? The Ibanez GRG131DX is the one every forum keeps pointing you toward.
It’s from Ibanez’s budget GIO line – the entry point to the RG family – and it’s built to do one thing brilliantly: play fast, heavy and mean without costing much.
Poplar body, thin fast neck, 24 jumbo frets, two hot humbuckers. Let me tell you why it punches so far above its tiny price.
A cheap metal machine that actually delivers
The GIO series is where a lot of players get their start, and the GRG131DX is one of the best of the bunch. It’s got the sharp, aggressive RG-style body shape that just looks the part for metal.
At this price you’re not getting exotic tonewoods, and that’s fine – it’s a poplar body, a maple neck and a hardtail bridge. Simple, sturdy, and set up for speed rather than showing off.
As a first electric for a beginner, it’s a brilliant shout. It’s also a favourite mod platform for tinkerers who want a cheap base to upgrade later.
The Infinity humbuckers
It runs two Infinity humbuckers – Ibanez’s own budget pickups – and for metal and hard rock they do the job nicely. High output, plenty of grunt, and enough clarity for chugging riffs.
They’re not boutique, obviously, but through a bit of gain they sound genuinely aggressive. Owners keep saying the same thing: surprisingly good metal tone for the money.
Want to put them to work? Grab a few grungy, heavy riffs and the GRG131DX will feel right at home. It loves being played loud and dirty.
Specs
- Series: GIO
- Body: Poplar
- Neck: Maple
- Fretboard: New Zealand pine, 24 jumbo frets
- Scale / nut: 648 mm / 43 mm
- Pickups: 2x Infinity humbuckers
- Bridge: Fixed hardtail
- Hardware: Black
- Finish: Black Flat
Note the fixed hardtail bridge – no tremolo here. For a beginner that’s actually a plus: it stays in tune better, it’s easier to restring, and there’s no Floyd Rose faff to learn on day one.
That fast Ibanez neck
This is the GRG131DX’s real party trick. Ibanez necks are famous for being thin, flat and fast, and even on the cheap GIO models that DNA carries through.
With 24 jumbo frets and a slim profile, it’s an easy neck to shred on. Beginners find it comfortable, and faster players love how little it fights back. It’s a big reason these sell by the truckload.
Owners do note it usually needs a quick setup out of the box – lower the action, sort the intonation – but that’s true of almost everything at this price. Ten minutes and it plays lovely.
So how does it sound
Plug it into a gainy amp and it’s exactly what you want from a cheap metal guitar: tight, punchy and aggressive. It handles chugging rhythm and screaming leads without turning to mush.
It’s happiest in heavier, darker territory, but roll the gain back and it does hard rock and classic rock fine too. It’s a metal guitar first, but not a total one-trick pony.
With 4.6 out of 5 across 88 reviews, owners consistently rate it as a genuine bargain. The word that comes up again and again is value – and they’re right.
The bridge pickup is the star for high-gain work, but don’t sleep on the neck humbucker – it’s warmer and rounder, and it does a decent job of smoothing out lead lines and cleaner passages. For a cheap guitar, having two genuinely usable sounds is more than you’ve any right to expect.
Who’s it for (and who should skip it)
Grab it if you’re a beginner or intermediate player who wants a cheap, reliable metal/rock workhorse – or a mod platform to upgrade over time. It’s one of the best ways into the Ibanez world.
Ready to spend more for a serious step up? Something like the ESP LTD EC-1000 or ESP LTD H3-1000FR is a big jump in quality. And if classic rock is more your thing than metal, the Epiphone SG Standard is worth a look.
The niggles
It’s a budget guitar, so keep expectations sensible. It’ll almost certainly need a setup out of the box, and the stock Infinity pickups, while decent, are the first thing keen players swap down the line.
The New Zealand pine fretboard is a cost-saving choice rather than a premium one, and the hardware is basic. None of it stops the guitar being brilliant fun for the money, though.
A brilliant guitar to grow with
One thing that gets overlooked with a guitar like this: it’s a fantastic learning tool precisely because it’s cheap and tough. You can gig it, drop it, mod it and not lose sleep – which is exactly what a first electric should let you do.
Because it’s such a popular platform, there’s endless information out there on upgrades too. Swap the pickups down the line, drop in better tuners, and you’ve got a guitar that genuinely keeps up with you as you improve – all built on a neck that was fast from day one.
And that’s the magic of the GRG131DX. It removes every excuse. It’s affordable, it plays fast, it looks mean, and it sounds heavy enough to keep any new metal or rock player grinning. Few guitars make it this easy to just pick up and go.
Looks and finish
The Black Flat finish looks way meaner than the price suggests – a stealthy matte black with the sharp RG horns and those pointy sharktooth-style inlays that just scream metal.
It’s a guitar that looks the part on stage or in your bedroom mirror, and for a lot of players that attitude is half the appeal. Cheap it may be, but it doesn’t look cheap.
