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Ibanez Mikro Bass

#45
Good
Thank you, the tuners are not really doing a fantastic job,
can I just buy a set of Ultralites?
Will they fit ok?

She's off to get a setup and some fretwork done,
New set if DR sunbeam short scales,
and straplocks..
I figured I'd take care if the preamp, bart pu's & tuners too.
Gil at Mandolin Bros in Staten Island does unbelievable setups.
Every bass he does feel the same, perfect.
I'd like to order the parts asap

Had a gig last night, so I couldn't try her out,
But first thing this morning, before anything.I plugged her in.
You can see I'm still in my robe, my wife serving me coffee in the video..


So I'm researching my options now
 
#46
If you have the 1-screw tuners, pretty much any Gotoh-style tuner with a 9/16 diameter will work. I've tried 3 different kinds and they all fit just fine.

If you have the 4-screw tuners, you will have to enlarge the hole to fit any aftermarket tuner.
 
#47
sarnz said:
Anyone have any experience with these? I want to sell my highway one to get a few extra bucks, but I still want a bass.

I don't look for much as for tone, since I only use bass for recording and EQ as necessary to get what I want. I'm mainly looking for playability. I like the fact that it's very small, pretty cheap (under 2 bills), and that it comes in a ridiculous purple color.
Click to expand...

My daughter has expressed interest in learning bass and I was wondering if this bass would be suitable for a child (she just turned 13)
 
#49
Perfect. It's smaller than anything else available.
Maybe add lighter strings for a new player,roundwound 100's or something,
the spacing is teeny tiny, very close.
Btw
If you buy the jam-pack version, with an amp,bag,accessories..
It comes with a single P pickup.
A great deal, but if u want the PJ, get the bass without the jampack.

GC special ordered mine and it came in 3 days.
Get the matching Mikro gigbag, it's VERY cool for $25 extra.
Came with warranty, a very informative manual, and a lightweight guitar cable.
 
#50
I'm going to get an Ibanez Mikro for my 10 year old daughter. I had considered getting the Squier Bronco but the Mikro junior bass seems to be somewhat better both in looks and sound. I have searched online earlier to see if they are available in either Scotland or Ireland but so far I have had no luck tracking one down with any Ibanez dealers or various other musical instrument stores. Is this bass available in the U.K.? Maybe I'll locate one with a further search.
 
#51
Came here looking to see if anyone else had issues with the 4 hole tuners rattling acoustically (it doesn't seem to come through amplified). Found my answer. :hyper:

For what it's worth, this has been a great little bass for my daughter. For a $170 bass, it performs surprisingly well, other than rattly tuners. In a pinch, I'd play it at a gig...even though it's "amythest" sparkle (pink by any male standard). :)
 
#52
Guess I'm fairly late to this thread, but I do want to add this one thing (OK, maybe a couple): the Mikro does not seem to ship with strings that are the right size for where the bridge is placed. With the factory strings, I could not get the intonation properly adjusted. But, with a new set of FunkMaster 66 strings on there (30, 50, 70, 90, and yes, those little things on an already short scale!), it can be adjusted perfectly, Don't know why in the world they'd ship that way, but that's what I found (bought new, maybe a year or two ago, OK, or three, the way things go, whatever). By the way, I want to advocate the use of such small strings on the already short scale, because it makes the bass incredibly responsive to even the slightest hint of vibrato. I can't get enough of it; it is just so much Fun! And, it's very resonant, which is incredible (to me) for such a light bass. The J-bass pickup setup is an extra plus, compared to a P-bass setup on a similar, other 7/8 bass I have - considerably more tonal palette available. Highly recommended, ... but try some REALLY light strings!
 
#54
Ukiah Bass said:
Is the neck a bolt on? Can't tell from the Ibanez spec page [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Can anyone tell me the length of the entire neck, from body end of the fretboard to the top of the headstock? Thanks.
Click to expand...

It is a bolt on neck with 4 ferruled screws holding it in place.

The overall length of the Mikro neck looks like 27-1/2". This is only an 1-1/2" longer then my Strat neck.

The scale length of 28.5" makes this is a pretty short scale bass... I picked one of these up used on eBay a while back and was impressed. For an entry level bass from China it was a nice surprise. The knobs were my biggest complaint...I don't think they come that cheap on a Hanna Montana guitar.

The electronics are what you'd expect on an entry level instrument. The P-Bass pickup was pretty good, but I had reservations on the Jazz bass pickup...just too wanky...for lack of a better term...

Long and short of it, I gutted the electronics, replaced the pickups with an old (pre-split 80's) Bill Lawrence blade pickup and a Dimarzio DP123 Jazz bridge pickup. The routing cavity for the Jazz pickup was tight, but the P-Bass routings were more then roomy enough to drop the pickup in.

I did a Series\Parallel toggle on the bridge, and a multi-cap toggle switch mod for the master tone. The round wound medium set got yanked for a heavy set of flat wounds. Now it can either thunder or growl with equal enthusiasm.

I would have to put this little bass on the top of the list for a perfect platform for upgrading. The overall construction is good enough to justify spending the extra coin on to upgrade.

Happy Trails

Cynical One
 
#55
I got one, really great bass for the money, in fact it's my main bass.
Never had a bass that was easier to play, and it sounds good too, although I'm planing to get a pair of new pickups.

My bass seriously needed a set up when I got it, but it's fairly easy to fix yourself.

I don't understand the people who complain about the tuners, I havn't had any problems with them besides they needed to be tighten a bit. And it keeps the tuning very well.

As for the bridge there seems to be a problem with the intonation screws (especially on the E string as the saddle can't get far enough back), but it can be fixed by cutting them shorter.

For strings I use short scale D'Addario EXL220S nickel wound 040-095. They are a bit floppy, but they are not buzzing, and I like it that way. If you want them a bit tighter get a 100 or 105 set. The strings from stock is really awful.

Check out the Mikro Club for more information :

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/official-mikro-bass-club-513723/

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/official-mikro-bass-club-part-2-a-818439/

Edit: Just realized this is a really old thread... But never mind, the Mikro deserves some exposure.
 
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#57
I've got the 5-string version and can't seem to get the intonation set. It runs out of adjustment on the saddle screws. Someone above recommended different strings. Can anyone recommend a 5-string short scale set that might work better?
 

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