Modding a Ibanez Mikro Bass

[Articul8Madn3ss]

Hey my talk bass peeps. Currently have 2 Mikro basses in the wooden finish I'm modding.

On the one that Im not staining black and orange, I'm keeping the original color. However, which tuners should I pick?

I'm interested in the Gotoh GB707: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GB707L2R2GG--gotoh-gb707-bass-tuners-22-gold
And the Ibanez Gold Bridge: Ibanez Gold 4 String Bass Accu-cast B10 Bridge For Ibanez Destroyer / DTB | Reverb

Am I off to a good start? Keeping tune is a mess so I want to upgrade those two things first, then get the pickups done.

 

[ahbass2500]

I would skip the bridge update and put that money towards GB350 tuners over GB707. The 707s will work and are good tuners. However the GB350 set will be 4oz less total weight on the headstock. Helps the balance quite a bit on the Mikros, which have a decent amount of neck dive with the stock tuners.

Here is where the Mikro in my house ended up after mods: NBD: Belated and not mine Ibanez Mikro

 

[Articul8Madn3ss]

I would skip the bridge update and put that money towards GB350 tuners over GB707. The 707s will work and are good tuners. However the GB350 set will be 4oz less total weight on the headstock. Helps the balance quite a bit on the Mikros, which have a decent amount of neck dive with the stock tuners.

Here is where the Mikro in my house ended up after mods: NBD: Belated and not mine Ibanez Mikro

Do I have to drill or is it drop in?
Have to replace the bridge - going for a unified color.

 

[ahbass2500]

GB350 and GB707 are both drop in.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I've never had any bass suffer from tuning stability issues, even cheap ones. I've swapped a ton of hardware around on a ton of basses over the years and it really doesn't make an impact on anything but aesthetics. I've got probably half a dozen cheap Ibanez basses in my basement (I'll report the first person to make the joke for harassment) and they're probably still in tune from the last time I played them months ago.

If you're having tuning stability issues, I seriously doubt it's the tuners - as crazy as that sounds. Neck stability is more often the culprit.

That all being said, go nuts. I'm a serial modder even though I know most of it doesn't do much outside of electronics - and even some pickups I've swapped have sounded depressingly similar to what the bass shipped with.

 

[Articul8Madn3ss]

I've never had any bass suffer from tuning stability issues, even cheap ones. I've swapped a ton of hardware around on a ton of basses over the years and it really doesn't make an impact on anything but aesthetics. I've got probably half a dozen cheap Ibanez basses in my basement (I'll report the first person to make the joke for harassment) and they're probably still in tune from the last time I played them months ago.

If you're having tuning stability issues, I seriously doubt it's the tuners - as crazy as that sounds. Neck stability is more often the culprit.

That all being said, go nuts. I'm a serial modder even though I know most of it doesn't do much outside of electronics - and even some pickups I've swapped have sounded depressingly similar to what the bass shipped with.

I'm about to go nuts. The tuners unwind and have since I bought it at GC. My tech guy said it wasn't worth swapping them out but since I'm putting some Quarter pounders in there and replacing my pots, I figure, let's go crazy.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I'm about to go nuts. The tuners unwind and have since I bought it at GC. My tech guy said it wasn't worth swapping them out but since I'm putting some Quarter pounders in there and replacing my pots, I figure, let's go crazy.

That's crazy about the tuners, I've never seen that.

QPs are good pickups, but the back J in a PJ set up isn't noise canceling, so it's kept me from using them in anything but my Jazz Bass.

Did you try out any different values for the pots? I've been using 1megs for a while now in almost everything. My thinking is to get the most out of the bass and EQ at the amp. I've even got a bass with a Seymour Duncan hot P wired right to the output jack, which is nuts with how hot that pickup already is. It's hard not to drive the front end of tube amps with it.

 

[Articul8Madn3ss]

That's crazy about the tuners, I've never seen that.

QPs are good pickups, but the back J in a PJ set up isn't noise canceling, so it's kept me from using them in anything but my Jazz Bass.

Did you try out any different values for the pots? I've been using 1megs for a while now in almost everything. My thinking is to get the most out of the bass and EQ at the amp. I've even got a bass with a Seymour Duncan hot P wired right to the output jack, which is nuts with how hot that pickup already is. It's hard not to drive the front end of tube amps with it.

I may just totally take that J out and fill it in since I never liked the combo anyway. Still debating on that. But the stock pickups need a upgrade. I got the crackling/static noise once volume adjustment happens. The pots definitely need an upgrade if you ask me and it looks like whoever did the wiring did it sloppy as hell.

It's an Indonesian 2010s model.

Just to let everybody know, bought it used from GC for 100. Have no idea who had it before me and what condition they took care of it.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I put a set of JBEs in a Peavey Grind I got for $40 and they are crazy different than any other PJ set I have. They are super punchy. It's like they have broad, centered resonance peak that attenuates just enough lows and highs to make them punch right through a mix - and that's with both pickups dimed. I'd call them aggressive without being harsh. It's almost like a djent bass in that regard. I really don't have any other PJ sets that even come close to doing what they do.

They're paired with a Darkglass onboard preamp, so that might be part of the equation, too. The whole setup is pretty rad.