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Ibanez mikro 5 string bass

#21
for awhile I had my 4-string Mikro set up BEAD. worked fine, sounded solid enough on the B; it was as good / better than most low budget 5's I've encountered. not as tight as my Warwick, but it's a different ballgame.

Only reason I changed it back was to give it to my sister, who was wrestling too much with a 34".
 
#30
Just got my 5 string Mikro today.....nice and light...don't like black but don't have a choice on this one....sanded down the side of the neck as some of the frets were a little rough then proceeded to do the intonation as it was shipped to me in a non-opened box from the factory so no set up done at all.......3 of the saddle screws are too long so cannot intonate the B E and A strings properly so I'll have to find some screws....that bothers me.....Ibanez should know that their screws are too long so why build it that way and how come no set up is done before leaving the factory? The brokerage and duty fees were $88 so it turns out I overpaid for it but I guess I'll keep it for a while and see if I like 5 strings......I don't seem to have too much trouble getting used to it so far but the neck is wider than my hand can really handle (small hands) but it does make me use the proper technique......I'll have a better idea once I've properly intonated and set it up......so far the action is higher than I like it
 
#31
This is our first post here on TalkBass, so I will induce us. Me and Bonnie (my little sister) have four 4-string Mikro basses. Three black one one prurple one, plus a black Iceman Mikro guitar. This morning Daddy just bought us a used Mikro 5-string bass. Daddy says we have more Mikro basses than anyone else and that makes us experts so we should do a review.

THE BAD STUFF: The neck is too wide for our hands, so Daddy gets to play the bass until we get older.

THE GOOD STUFF: The bass sounds great. Even when you don't play the low B-string, it has a bit of a different tone than the 4-sting Mikro bass. The pickups seem to be better than the ones in the 4-sting Mikro bass. Bonnie has ears like a hawk and she says much smoother, punchier, and not so noisy like the 4-string ones. The strings are the same junky ones that come on the newer 4-string Mikro basses (with the red wrapping at the top) but for some reason Daddy says they feel and sound a lot better on the 5-string. He says the action setup it came with was very good Nice and low and no fret buzz.

Daddy says he can't believe what a bargain the little bass is. He normally doesn't like 5-stings basses and just bought this cause he got such a good deal he couldn't say no. He says it plays and sounds, and feels better that a lot of $500 5-strings he has played. Daddy has been playing it a lot this afternoon. He says he was planning on restringing it EADGC or making a guitar bass out of it, but might leave it the way it is. The notes on the B-string sound like a monster is coming and rattling the floor.

Sincerely,
Clyde
 
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#32
The tone out of it is crazy. I dont see how its too wide, but then again I want a 19mm 6 string. I got the mikro 5 for my 5 year old son. He was trying to play my old for string but it was too heavy. The mikro has great weight and balance. The sound is much more than I expected, the build is pretty much what I expected needs set up.
 
#33
loopee said:
Just got my 5 string Mikro today.....nice and light...don't like black but don't have a choice on this one....sanded down the side of the neck as some of the frets were a little rough then proceeded to do the intonation as it was shipped to me in a non-opened box from the factory so no set up done at all.......3 of the saddle screws are too long so cannot intonate the B E and A strings properly so I'll have to find some screws....that bothers me.....Ibanez should know that their screws are too long so why build it that way and how come no set up is done before leaving the factory? The brokerage and duty fees were $88 so it turns out I overpaid for it but I guess I'll keep it for a while and see if I like 5 strings......I don't seem to have too much trouble getting used to it so far but the neck is wider than my hand can really handle (small hands) but it does make me use the proper technique......I'll have a better idea once I've properly intonated and set it up......so far the action is higher than I like it
Click to expand...

EDIT:
Finally got a set of 5 string Labellas shortscale flats and put them on....as mentioned above I had to shorten the screws when I first intonated it with the original strings and the B was nice.....cut the new B string down and tried inserting it in the tuner peg but the string was so thick it wouldn't fit so had to flatten it down at the tip so I could insert it in the tuner and then, since the saddle was as far away from the nut as possible and it still would not intonate I then filed down (the length) the saddle and screw again....it now sort of intonates but it's very floppy (the original B string was more taut) and buzzes so I had to get the action higher than I like.....I'm still having problems with it keeping in tune (all 5 strings) and yes, I did push down on the strings both at the nut and bridge and stretched them too...but I'm going to let it sit a few days and see if it settles down.....I've set up all my instruments for quite a few years now and never had this much trouble doing a set up.....maybe the Mikro just doesn't like the Labellas?
 
#36
They now have these in white ...

mk5.JPG
 

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