"Official" Mikro Bass Club Part 2

[jags]

Originally Posted by ahdowns

I know this isn't a drum forum, but the Pearl Rythm Traveller drum kit has a 20"x8" bass drum. This compact kit isn't a toy.

Same as the PDP Chameleon Kit. I have one of those back in L.A. Sounds great!!

[Adam Harzuf]

This prototype Mikro was cut inside to make a hollow body and I used temporary mdf covers to test if I'm going in the right direction.
It's upgraded with Graphtech Ghost ABM piezo pickups with cheapo monorail bridge from eBay (which I had to use a dremel to fit the piezo's.. crap bridge, don't buy it)
The magnetics are the originals.
Preamp is Artec Se3P. Very silent, does what it's supposed to do.
Equipped with angeled Roland GK-3B into GR-55 which helps tracking low notes.
It works on one 9V batteries but there's a second inside and I use a switch in case one dies.
I put a led with 350ohm resistor but it's still a bit bright for my friends whom I play with better add some resistance.
The strings are spaced 15mm STRING EDGE TO EDGE (not center to center). It made it even more playable, I will never look back.
The bass still balances perfectly, since all of the stuff inside compensates for the hollow body

I tried a friends long scale bass the other day, one of the thicker, neck diving ones (Blade bass) and a G&L 5 string, gosh I don't understand why would anyone want to play on these! I had an Ibanez BTB675 5 string before the Mikro and I started develop aches in my joint. I rather lose a string then lose my health and have much more fun with such a fantastic bass as the Mikro. and as Jeff Berlin says, more strings are more stuff to learn!

THE SOUND is freaking awesome and of the highest quality. I can go from classical guitar sound (mostly piezo, midrange cut) to deep yet lively P to funky J with crisp (not brittle) I never got from magnetics alone.
You really need good full range loudspeakers or studio monitors to appreciate this. I'm working with the excellent Samson Rubicon 8" (now out of production, go figure why) + a sub.
The GR-55 D/A converters are the best I encountered, and turns out I won a better soundcard then my Presonus FP10 or RME. Probably it's in the Apogee league.

I'm a live sound engineer and tested this trial bass on PA and also on a Mark head+ Hartke 4x10 + 1x15, and while the latter setup could not yet deliver the harmonic structure and complexity of the tone the piezos deliver, it still was very clear and cut through the mix like butter with every note clear.

Sice I don't use a buffer, the piezos are very bright, and the circuitry takes the highs away from the magnetics.
However, the addition of a 3 band preamp, makes the sound shaping very interesting and just different then more linear sounding magnetic side or piezo side.
In a way, one could argue that it's a better scenario - you don't phase the highs between mags/piezos.

I was planning on the flat response Bartolini MPB-2 but after experimenting with the tone shaping and realizing I want an "insert" point on my buffer for some sort of passive filtering, I guess I'm going Graphtech as well. I got EXCELLENT service from them and couldn't recommend them enough (Thanks Gray!)

I intended to have a very nice pepperwood burl veneer on the MDF and use nice screws.. but unfortunatly, the wood of the Mikro is soft and weak, and much more so after making it a hollow body. Last evening my Mikro fell from a short height when it's in a padded case and the side of the body broke.
Well, I was looking for an excuse to make a new body myself!

Soon to come, (even less of a) Mikro hollow body prototype #2!
With my self made body, Graphtech Ghost piezo buffer, mandoline frets, improved bridge and some other nice addidtions

[Adam Harzuf]

I have tried these for 10 minutes on the prototype Mikro you can see in the last post, then removed them.
The piezo pickups didn't really like them. The magnetics were more tolerant, though as mentioned earlier, my wiring robs their highs, so it's hard to measure like a normal Mikro.
But to me the strings sounded muted, lacked sustain, and had narrow range - the E string lowest foundamentals were not as strong as with roundwounds, and lacking highs left me with a honky sound in this setup.
Again, it might be my setup, and the sound I'm after (I play funk, fusion, prog rock)..I'm willing to trade these for original Mikro pups, or other strings you might have not liked on your Mikro (with almost zero use of coarse)

But darn, the feel of the half rounds is a dream! I wish for half rounds with a tone I'd like..

[TheEmptyCell]

Sounds like you might like Daddario tape wounds.

[dasbusking]

I bought one of these for My daughter who is already plying a four string Mikro. It will be a Christmas gift for her but another TB'er wanted a dimension off of it in another thread, that gave me a reason to get it out, tune it up, and fool around with it a little. Here are my first impressions:

Packaging:
The bass was well protected in the box the packaging was well engineered to prevent damage and the instrument arrived in excellent shape.

Fit and finish:
The fit and finish on this Bass was overall better than it was on the four string Mikro Santa bought last year, granted this came new in the box and the four string was bought new off of the wall in a local music store, who knows how much it was played in the store before I got it. The only exception to good fit and finish was the bridge pup had the screws falling out, more on that later. The neck is a little more silky than the four string, Otherwise the body is about the same as the four banger.

Setup:
Out of the box the Intonation at fret 12 was not spot on but within 5-10 cent. The string height was medium to high and surprisingly quite comfortable ( I typically keep my action pretty low). pickup height seemed out of whack and the screws were falling out of the bridge pup. I had to set the pup before I could try it out.

Hardware:
Same chintzy looking knobs but the pots under them seem a little more responsive to adjustment. Nice little 5 string high mass bridge with string spacing of 73 mm (2 7/8")from the outside of b to the outside of g. Tuners feel a little better than the stock Mikro four string tuners, you will probably still want to upgrade them but that can be an eventual upgrade not an urgent one. It has the same awesome strap buttons that the four string has but it will still get a set of schallers before my daughter gets to play it, if you are not jumping around the stock buttons will work very well. The pickups are J pickups in the bridge and the neck positions with a Vol-Vol-Tone knob arraingment same as the four.

Sound:
Ok I had to save the best for last... this little bass Rawks! I was simply blown away by the tone from this Mikro The two j pups can be silky or simply thump or anywhere in between. I was worried about the b string being too loose and muddy sounding but its simply sweet. As I said in the hardware section the controls are very responsive, I was able to dial in all kinds of different tones that I can't get on my Fender MB-5. I have to say I am very pleased with the sound. (I played it through a Kustom DE300-HD head with a 1-15 cabinet with the Tube pre-amp at about 40% and a flat eq)

Summary:
If you have a four string Mikro and like it at all, go buy it a 5 string friend, Mikros get lonely... I think this instrument is a small step up in quality and hardware from the 4 string Mikro and is a real steal at $199.

I cant wait until Christmas when I can play with this thing some more

BTW... Have I earned a Mikro club number for this review

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=08BE2...BCF8ED98%21296
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=08BE2...BCF8ED98%21297

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by dasbusking

I bought one of these for My daughter who is already plying a four string Mikro. It will be a Christmas gift for her but another TB'er wanted a dimension off of it in another thread, that gave me a reason to get it out, tune it up, and fool around with it a little. Here are my first impressions: ...
...
I cant wait until Christmas when I can play with this thing some more

BTW... Have I earned a Mikro club number for this review

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=08BE2...BCF8ED98%21296
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=08BE2...BCF8ED98%21297

I saw your other post in the other thread. You are a very cool Dad. Maybe after Christmas you could share some pics or a video of her opening it up.
[I'm a parent, and none of my kids have been bitten by the bug. It must be really fun for you to watch her get into playing.]

[WildWes]

Originally Posted by dasbusking

BTW... Have I earned a Mikro club number for this review

You'd certainly think so after an indepth review like that, but no. We've got to have a photo of her Mikro or just anyone could say they have the financial muscle to purchase an under $200 bass to join this elite club of the low order.

C'mon dad, you know you want to post a pic of her 4 string Mikro. Then on or after Christmas Day, you could post a pic of her beaming with her 5 string Mikro, or both.

[dasbusking]

Dana after her first live performance with her Mikro Her sister Allison on the drums

[Temcat]

Thank you for the review! Any chance for a sound clip demoing the B string among other things?

Originally Posted by dasbusking

I bought one of these for My daughter who is already plying a four string Mikro. It will be a Christmas gift for her but another TB'er wanted a dimension off of it in another thread, that gave me a reason to get it out, tune it up, and fool around with it a little. Here are my first impressions:

Packaging:
The bass was well protected in the box the packaging was well engineered to prevent damage and the instrument arrived in excellent shape.

Fit and finish:
The fit and finish on this Bass was overall better than it was on the four string Mikro Santa bought last year, granted this came new in the box and the four string was bought new off of the wall in a local music store, who knows how much it was played in the store before I got it. The only exception to good fit and finish was the bridge pup had the screws falling out, more on that later. The neck is a little more silky than the four string, Otherwise the body is about the same as the four banger.

Setup:
Out of the box the Intonation at fret 12 was not spot on but within 5-10 cent. The string height was medium to high and surprisingly quite comfortable ( I typically keep my action pretty low). pickup height seemed out of whack and the screws were falling out of the bridge pup. I had to set the pup before I could try it out.

Hardware:
Same chintzy looking knobs but the pots under them seem a little more responsive to adjustment. Nice little 5 string high mass bridge with string spacing of 73 mm (2 7/8")from the outside of b to the outside of g. Tuners feel a little better than the stock Mikro four string tuners, you will probably still want to upgrade them but that can be an eventual upgrade not an urgent one. It has the same awesome strap buttons that the four string has but it will still get a set of schallers before my daughter gets to play it, if you are not jumping around the stock buttons will work very well. The pickups are J pickups in the bridge and the neck positions with a Vol-Vol-Tone knob arraingment same as the four.

Sound:
Ok I had to save the best for last... this little bass Rawks! I was simply blown away by the tone from this Mikro The two j pups can be silky or simply thump or anywhere in between. I was worried about the b string being too loose and muddy sounding but its simply sweet. As I said in the hardware section the controls are very responsive, I was able to dial in all kinds of different tones that I can't get on my Fender MB-5. I have to say I am very pleased with the sound. (I played it through a Kustom DE300-HD head with a 1-15 cabinet with the Tube pre-amp at about 40% and a flat eq)

Summary:
If you have a four string Mikro and like it at all, go buy it a 5 string friend, Mikros get lonely... I think this instrument is a small step up in quality and hardware from the 4 string Mikro and is a real steal at $199.

I cant wait until Christmas when I can play with this thing some more

BTW... Have I earned a Mikro club number for this review

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=08BE2...BCF8ED98%21296
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=08BE2...BCF8ED98%21297

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by dasbusking

Dana after her first live performance with her Mikro Her sister Allison on the drums

Awesome. Save those pics, and take more.

When they are older, they are going to be really thankful.

[dasbusking]

Thank you for the review! Any chance for a sound clip demoing the B string among other things?

Unfortunately I have no means of getting a sound clip.

Awesome. Save those pics, and take more.

When they are older, they are going to be really thankful.

We try to take a bunch of pics and video, you can never have too many!

I saw your other post in the other thread. You are a very cool Dad. Maybe after Christmas you could share some pics or a video of her opening it up.
[I'm a parent, and none of my kids have been bitten by the bug. It must be really fun for you to watch her get into playing.]

Thank you I am just trying to give the kids the love of music that my wife and I have. I will have to video her reaction to the 5 string when she opens it up Christmas morning, it will be cool.
Its hard to get kids started, they wont do it on their own you have to push a little, and then suddenly out of nowhere they cross an invisible line and will not put their instrument down. Both of my girls were this way, like a roller coaster you have to push the cars to the top before the fun begins.

Dana has been watching me play her songs on my 5 string and realized i was simply going down to the B string while she has to make some giant move down the neck, and has been begging for a five string ever since. When Ibenez announced the Mikro 5 string I knew I would be buying one as soon as I could.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by dasbusking

Dana has been watching me play her songs on my 5 string and realized i was simply going down to the B string while she has to make some giant move down the neck, and has been begging for a five string ever since. When Ibanez announced the Mikro 5 string I knew I would be buying one as soon as I could.

[WildWes]

Originally Posted by dasbusking

Dana after her first live performance with her Mikro Her sister Allison on the drums

There you go dad. Look at the little rockers and she has great taste in bass colors. I'm walking out the door for home now and will make #45 official tonight. WW

[GregDunn]

The local music store has my name down and they're supposed to call me when the first shipment of Mikro 5s comes in...

[SBassman]

Sweetwater has the 5's in stock now.

[WildWes]

Originally Posted by dasbusking

Dana after her first live performance with her Mikro Her sister Allison on the drums

When a father buys his little girl a Mikro bass, he needs to be recognized with something bigger then a Noble Prize or a Hollywood star or a Daddy of the Year trophy. Therefore, it pleases me to present to dasbusking the prestigious Order of MikroWorld, level 45. Make it so.

01 pixiechick
02 unbridled
03 gassieball
04 mongo2
05 sxlover
06 baptistcreature
07 roadkill
08 walpow
09 jags
10 1120beismon
11 gregdunn
12 mekanamom
13 lycanbreed
14 smellkellhell
15 willqx4
16 yodedude2
17 castle1227
18 mr.gone
19 fuzzy beard
20 jimijames
21 skipsinclair
22 quadrogong
23 paulnyc
24 skyboltone
25 hammerhed
26 toddj1s
27 marcocolo
28 crome23
29 noiseninja
30 wildwes
31 lownote floyd
32 usmc_lb
33 tadog
34 pcake
35 n4vgm
36 mercury4
37 micahwc
38 macheted01
39 carpediem930
40 grifo21
41 aj brown
42 rane
43 jcorneli
44 melikecookies
45 dasbusking (Danas daddy)
99 elevensixty

[gip111]

My first week with it and I am impressed with the little bass, it makes the transition from guitar to bass easier. My problem is string buzzing which deadens the tone unless I approach the strings softly. Switched to a heavier gage 45-105 and still buzzes, not as bad as with the original strings though, I have raised the bridge saddle with no avail. The neck is as straight as an arrow. I understand there could be many factors causing this but I wonder if others here have dealt with the same issue.
Any ideas, thoughts appreciated.

Gil

[Roadkill]

Originally Posted by gip111

The neck is as straight as an arrow.

Ah - it' not supposed to be .

[gip111]

Originally Posted by Roadkill

Ah - it' not supposed to be .

Well, there is a slight relief
Perhaps what I feel as too high action is really not?
Pardon my newbie question... what would be the average string height on certain key frets for this short scale bass?
I'm used to having the strings ridiculously low on my full size bass guitars.

[Adam Harzuf]

Originally Posted by gip111

My problem is string buzzing which deadens the tone unless I approach the strings softly. Switched to a heavier gage 45-105 and still buzzes, not as bad as with the original strings though, I have raised the bridge saddle with no avail. The neck is as straight as an arrow. I understand there could be many factors causing this but I wonder if others here have dealt with the same issue.
Any ideas, thoughts appreciated.

Gil

A slight relief is a must- the string vibrates creating a slight bow. I play with a very low action and the at least my Mikro need a fret job, soon to be done.
You can level the frets with this Stewmac 12" radius, 8" long sanding block.
I'm about to replace my frets to mandolin fretwire then use the block, will make my bass the easiest bass to play ever!