Ibanez Gio Modding?!

[Bucketheadtwo]

I've had one of these for about 5 years. Old alder body model.

It was my first electric and It's been through a lot. For a cheap $200 starter guitar, this thing is pretty darn great. The neck is a little beefy like a Fender, but it fits my hand well. It's currently my Drop C guitar, but I've been thinking about switching out that with my Xiphos to make this Gio my standard guitar. I'm definately going to replace the bridge and neck pickup with a Dimarzio D Activator Bridge and I'm thinking about an Air Norton S since I've seen some other Ibanez guitars with that combo. Blocking off the middle pickup would be cool.
What I'm trying to figure out is what I'm going to do with this guitar. I've been wanting to refinish it and, since I dropped it on my kitchen floor (and a big chunk of the bottom paint popped off), I'm definitely going to do that. I also want to do something with the headstock.

Here's my ideas and questions:
How should I re-shape the body? The upper horn has a really high up cutaway like an Ernie Ball JP, so I could cut it similar to that, although it would have an arched top along with the bevels. I could also do an RGA or ESP Horizon-like shape since it's an arched top.

What should I do with the headstock? It's a flat (non-angled) headstock like on a Fender. I'm thinking of doing an Agile, Tele, or Chapman Signature-esque cut
http://guitariverse.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ML-3_MC1.jpg

Finish? Stain? I've always loved ABR's RGA's https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/555140_10151444167904291_1493742268_n.jpg

Let me know what you guys think! Any suggestions or ideas would be amazing.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Regardless of your other plans, get a GraphTech nut for that baby. Its $12 and will be a great upgrade to the plastic stock one. Some roller or GraphTech string trees (only a few dollars each) will also make a noticeable, positive impact on tuning stability.

 

[Bucketheadtwo]

Regardless of your other plans, get a GraphTech nut for that baby. Its $12 and will be a great upgrade to the plastic stock one. Some roller or GraphTech string trees (only a few dollars each) will also make a noticeable, positive impact on tuning stability.

That's definitely another must/have. I just didn't mention it because it was floating in the back of my head

 

[Fktpguitfiddle]

i almost turned one of these into a project as well, not much advice other than those two point trems on those gio's are terrible, that'd be my first mod.

 

[groverj3]

i almost turned one of these into a project as well, not much advice other than those two point trems on those gio's are terrible, that'd be my first mod.

I wonder if you could use a wilkinson and keep the original studs. Wilkinson trem plus an upgraded nut would be a good combo.

 

[Bucketheadtwo]

I'm not a big fan of trems in general, but this one wasn't bad. I don't even use the bar. I didn't really think about it at all. I guess I could block and fill it all up, but I'm not sure what I would replace it with or whether that would be a lot of work.

 

[groverj3]

I'm not a big fan of trems in general, but this one wasn't bad. I don't even use the bar. I didn't really think about it at all. I guess I could block and fill it all up, but I'm not sure what I would replace it with or whether that would be a lot of work.

Depending on the post spacing (and there's some flexibility there) the aforementioned wilkinson may drop right in. I put one on my frankenstrat with an LSR roller nut and it is very stable. You may not use it much, but it's an option. Especially if it requires no modification to the guitar.

Gotoh Wilkinson Tremolo VS100, Chrome

I prefer the schaller/ofr tremolo arm and you can (with a little bit of elbow grease and a pair of pliars) remove the wilkinson's trem arm housing and replace it with an OFR one. I did this and the result made the trem feel more like a floyd. You may not care though.

 

[Anonymous]

I traded a paint ball gun for one of the RG looking gios. Great mod guitar. I didnt do anything to the hardware, but I painted and clear coated the pickguard white, put in some chrome LP pups and sanded the body down to the wood. It's not much to play but it looks nice lol.

 

[Bucketheadtwo]

Ok. New idea. I saw the PRS 12 to 7 mods and decided that I could fill in the top two tuner hole and drill two new ones for a 4x2 EBMM style headstock (making sure strings leaving the tuners are lined up with the nut). Then, I could fill the middle pup cavity and extend the neck one for an HH setup. Then I could try out the LiquiFire/Crunch Lab setup and add that Wilkinson trem for a cool JP style guitar. GraphTech nut and (possibly, if needed) trees as well. This could be one sexy guitar from a cheap-ass skeleton

 

[Bucketheadtwo]

Depending on the post spacing (and there's some flexibility there) the aforementioned wilkinson may drop right in. I put one on my frankenstrat with an LSR roller nut and it is very stable. You may not use it much, but it's an option. Especially if it requires no modification to the guitar.

Gotoh Wilkinson Tremolo VS100, Chrome

I prefer the schaller/ofr tremolo arm and you can (with a little bit of elbow grease and a pair of pliars) remove the wilkinson's trem arm housing and replace it with an OFR one. I did this and the result made the trem feel more like a floyd. You may not care though.

The post spacing for the Wilkinson and other non-Floyd style bridges is usually under the saddles, whereas the SAT-10 is to the sides like a Floyd. Since it's cheaper and I don't really like Floyds, I've decided it would be way cooler to block everything up with Mahogany and drill for a Hipshot, Gilbralter or another cool fixed bridge.