Can I tune Ibanez Mikro one octave higher?

[Slevage]

An octave pedal will do the same thing without having to make a changes to strings or the nut.

In theory ---yes
In the real world--- no
Toneand feel are very different,
Tracking would be a challenge

 

[MonetBass]

Guitar strings only cost $5.

Good point. Maybe I'll try getting an extra-heavy guitar set next time and see how those sound.

 

[BassLover668]

Play a guitar and ready

 

[khutch]

If you want to try your current string gauges on the Mikro's scale then capo one of your current basses at whichever fret is closest to the Mikro's scale. NOW tune the strings you want to try to the pitch you think you will use them for on the Mikro. This should get you a reasonable approximation of how they will play, sound, feel on the Mikro.

An octave pedal is fine if you only want to do this once in a while. If you want to play extensively like this then you want to get a bass tuned and set up at the pitches you want to use. It's just like if you want to have a B string available at any time. You can tune BEAD or use a Hipshot tuner on a four or you can buy a fiver. You won't be happy for long with switching in a pitch shift pedal when you need a B thru Eb....

If you walk into a mom and pop with intention of buying a set of guitar strings for your new Mikro I would imagine most would take them out of the package for you and let you hold them against the bass to verify that they fit with enough room left over to wrap around the tuning post a few times. Mom and pops tend to be like that and the exceptions aren't worth patronizing anyway!

 

[39-Bassist]

get a set of cheap 6 string bass strings plus and extra b string (lights) and use the d,g,b and b....tuned up?...just another thought...slightly thicker than guitar strings and an option besides piccolo.
Might be a dumb suggestion...but hey...

 

[yodedude2]

chiming in. i used to own a fleet of mikros. i had one strung up as a piccolo. i used la bella black tapes for guitar. no issues (but i seem to recall needing bushings for the small balls at the string ends.)

edit: intonation and regular set up were required, but the nut slots were okay as they were. i used the 'medium' gauge set.

 

[Waltsdog]

Guitar strings should be fine, I have a set of regular D'Adario 9-42s on a baritone jazzmaster (30" scale) they fit just fine, the high E has only one wind round the tuning post though. The Mikro is shorter scale than that so I would assume most guitar strings would fit and they're $5.

 

[NoiseNinja]

There should be no issues in doing that, other then you'd most likely would have to reset the intonation.

A bass tuned one octave higher is by the way often referred to as a piccolo bass.

As go for strings just use regular guitar strings, they should fit on a Mikro (I would probably chose one of the sets with heavier gauge, or probably a better solution buy separate guitar strings, so you don't have to buy a whole set with useless B and high E string, as well as a wound G string), or buy strings especially made for piccolo bass.

And generally won't be long enough for the 27" scale....

Not true!

I even fitted some regular guitar strings as the higher strings of my 34" scale regular bass when converting it into a slide baritone guitar.

 

[BAG]

I tried some regular guitar strings i had laying around on my Jag short scale and the G string wasn't long enough. I was able to string it up but only got around one and a half winds on the post. This wasn't enough and it kept slipping whenever I tried to get it up to tune.

 

[lug]

EBO with regular ernie ball guitar strings
straight in:
Invalid Link Removed

with a fuzz pedal:
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed

a straight and a fuzzed together:
https://app.box.com/shared/static/y30tn8my7y.mp3
https://app.box.com/shared/static/im44lvxjuf.mp3

 

[bass_lord_mutha]

Piccolo strings, my dear Watson.

 

[bholder]

Not true!

I even fitted some regular guitar strings as the higher strings of my 34" scale regular bass when converting it into a slide baritone guitar.

You got lucky. I've tried it a few times and found them not long enough even for a 30" baritone / bass vi. Depends on the strings you get, I guess. Some do have lots extra, others not so much. YMMV.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

Guitar strings only cost $5.

But guitar strings may not be long enough to go on a bass.

 

[PauFerro]

This is exactly my thing. You are basically turning it into a piccolo bass. Use these strings here -- even the long scale ones will work although you might ahve to file your nut if you get a rattle after you install them. I have an ESP 4-string short scale and they worked without incident. I also used them on a Squire Musicmaster and it worked fine.

Amazon.com: Piccolo bass strings

 

[lz4005]

You got lucky. I've tried it a few times and found them not long enough even for a 30" baritone / bass vi. Depends on the strings you get, I guess. Some do have lots extra, others not so much. YMMV.

OP has a 28" scale bass with a 2+2 headstock. Completely different from a 30" scale bass with the tuners all on one side.

Someone else mentioned guitar ball ends. That's a good point. Cut the balls off an old set of bass strings and thread the guitar strings through the hole in the middle. That will prevent the smaller balls on the guitar strings from pulling through.

 

[bholder]

OP has a 28" scale bass with a 2+2 headstock. Completely different from a 30" scale bass with the tuners all on one side.

Someone else mentioned guitar ball ends. That's a good point. Cut the balls off an old set of bass strings and thread the guitar strings through the hole in the middle. That will prevent the smaller balls on the guitar strings from pulling through.

Sure, but not all guitar strings (meant for 24"-25" scales) have enough extra length for a 28" scale. Others have pointed this out as well. How much extra you get depends on the string manufacturer. And one of my baritones is 3+3 not 6 on a side. Guitar strings are cheaper and might fit but might not.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Not sure why everyone is forcing guitar strings...

Based on Kalium's tension calculator, you need string gauges 59 43 31 22 for a Mikro

@HaphAsSard was right on the nose

 

[Watchootognbout]

Piccolo bass strings.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Not sure why everyone is forcing guitar strings...

Based on Kalium's tension calculator, you need string gauges 59 43 31 22 for a Mikro

@HaphAsSard was right on the nose

Because they're cheaper (unless you start building custom sets as we both suggested, but then again doing the same with bass piccolo strings would in turn make it even more expensive), and in essence not different from light-gauge bass strings. Which isn't to say they all sound the same and one's as good as another, across or within the two "species": you arrive at "the one" (assuming it exists at all) through experimenting, just as we all do, and guitar strings are a less expensive starting point in the quest, that's all.

As for the length diatribe, again, we're only saying that a 28.6" instrument with a 2x2 headstock and toploading bridge stands a good chance of accepting guitar strings. Sure, there may be brands of strings that do not fit. Again, figuring out which ones don't by trial and error may be annoying but not that bank-breaking anyway.

 

[PauFerro]

Piccolo bass strings.View attachment 1046108

This is what I said above. Without a picture. I have installed these on two very short instruments and they work fine, with no rattles at the nut or anything. Plus they feel like bass strings, except for that naughty G string, which is unwound steel.

I even had a custom G string made that was wound (not straight steel), and it kept breaking. Eventually the manufacturer told me the tension was too high for a wound, G-string. So, to this day, I cringe whenever I have to play that high G string in a recording session. The tone is drastically different from the E, A, and D strings. I am working on using a separate pickup for that nasty G string with its own EQ. To make matters more complicated, I am using an ESP BB-5, which is short scale 5-string bass (yeah, that's right -- very uncommon). So, I also have a high C string that also sticks out like a sore thumb, sonically, to deal with.

Good luck. I think it's great you are trying to turn the bass into a melodic instrument. I front a band with a piccolo bass and the musicians seem to really like it. Check out music by Wyman Tisdale, Stanley Clarke, Julian Vaughn and the Braxton Brothers for upbeat music on the piccolo bass.

People have suggested guitar strings. The reason I don't like using guitar strings is I want a heavier string that allows me to pluck with my fingers, like a regular bass. I don't want a piccolo bass that just sounds like a guitar. It needs that kind of plunky sound to be piccolo, and I need to be able to really dig in when I play it without the rebellion you get from lighter strings.