My Ibanez Mikro 5 string

[Steve Dallman]

Love the pickguard man!!

It was a first attempt, but it's a keeper. It does what I wanted.

 

[Ric5]

Natural cures? I've tried them all. All the recommended supplements, and so far, on my hand I've used a tens unit, heat, cold, light therapy, exercise, prescription Diclofenac cream, compression glove, stretching, etc.

I have advanced, degenerative arthritis...spurs that have formed in my joints. One joint after another is affected. I had both knees replaced last March after a decade and a half of bone on bone, my neck fused, my shoulders and hips are starting to be affected. This has been my reality for the last 20 years. If I remember, Dr. Bergman said there is no such thing as 'bone on bone.' He is dead wrong which leads me to question his other information. My right knee took almost twice as long to replace as the left, as it was worn almost too far to use a conventional titanium replacement. The tissue cushioning my knees has been gone for a long, long time.

My left middle finger knuckle is starting to simmer down, after a week and a half of using the diclofenac cream and compression glove. I may be back to my 34" bass in a week or two. If not, I'm getting pretty attached to the little Ibby.

I have had arthritis rheumatoid and osteoarthritis for 20 year ... it came on severely about 1997. I should be crippled, but I have no artificial joints. I tried what the doctors had to offer and it sucked, So I got serious about health and nutrition. I decreased my symptoms and medication 90% each.

 

[Anders Barfod]

The low B is just fine. Clear and precise. I was most pleasantly surprised. I've been playing 5 strings exclusively since around 1990.

I played it at church this morning. The Carvin pickups are great. We use IEM's and I can hear myself very clearly. This bass is surprising.

Which strings are you using???..

Its funny I had my basist tune his standard long scale 34" down a half step to Bb instead of B and a lot of the definition got lost.. That's why I assumed that anything less than 32" would be terrible for the low B.

The low E string on the fender bass six in the standard roundwound set with an 0.84 on the bottom is flap flap flap on a 30" scale. Changing to a Labella 0.95 flatwound solves this issue..
Maybe a set of chromes 5 string flat with a 1.32 is the best bet on a short scale (30") 5.. tension is 43.41 lbs on 34" scale on that string compared to the 1.35 XL roundwound at 35 lbs tension. To my ears roundwounds when tuned low on a short scale bass sound bad.. but that is just my ears.. roundwounds are more like pianostrings IMHO. Need adequate tension and scale to get the "Ping" out of them..

 

[khutch]

I have Squier VI tuned down to a C with a Labella 120 string and that sounds nice. The tension is a little lower, around 30 pounds rather than 40 so you do have to use a lighter touch but I suspect that is common on short scale basses since they use rather light strings even when tuned to E. I am also in the process of converting an SRC6 to an SRC5 which will be tuned to C and which may have a Hipshot tuner on the C string to drop it to B or ... we'll see how low it will go ... maybe an A. That will use a 125 GHS Boomer on the bottom string. You can tune a short scale fairly low if you are willing to adjust to the lower tension. Many people are not willing to do that, thus the conventional wisdom that 35 inches or more is required to get to a B.

 

[funkinbottom]

I added a three band EQ I had, midrange plus concentric bass and treble, and gain adjusment inside. I switched the two volumes to volume and balance.

I see you had to drill another hole for controls. Did you have to rout the control cavity larger to accommodate pre amp?

 

[Steve Dallman]

I see you had to drill another hole for controls. Did you have to rout the control cavity larger to accommodate pre amp?

No, the cavity was fine. The jack was also a stereo jack accommodating the battery ground connection.

 

[Steve Dallman]

I have had arthritis rheumatoid and osteoarthritis for 20 year ... it came on severely about 1997. I should be crippled, but I have no artificial joints. I tried what the doctors had to offer and it sucked, So I got serious about health and nutrition. I decreased my symptoms and medication 90% each.

My problem is that bone spurs chew through the soft tissue. My knees, despite Dr. Bergman's claim that there is no such thing as "bone on bone" were bone on bone for over a decade. My surgeon had great trouble with my right knee. It took an hour and a half longer than usual to put in the replacement as both bone surfaces had worn away for so long. So far both knees wore away to bone on bone. There was actually less pain after all the soft tissue wore away as there was no more to pinch. I had my neck fused in '96 as a disc wore away. Today, ALL the discs are gone or nearly gone but I've had no nerve impingement yet as I did with the disc at C6/C7. My father had the same thing. You could hear the bones grind as he turned his head but he had no pain.

My shoulder, hands, hip and left ankle are going. No food or supplement will stop the bone spurs from doing their thing.

No complaints but this is my reality and I live a fantastic life despite these "small" setbacks. I've gotten good with dealing with pain. I inherited my Mom's stoicism. (20+ back surgeries, multiple abdominal surgeries and knee replacements. She doesn't complain, but says, "Who wants to hear it?"

 

[Ric5]

My problem is that bone spurs chew through the soft tissue. My knees, despite Dr. Bergman's claim that there is no such thing as "bone on bone" were bone on bone for over a decade. My surgeon had great trouble with my right knee. It took an hour and a half longer than usual to put in the replacement as both bone surfaces had worn away for so long. So far both knees wore away to bone on bone. There was actually less pain after all the soft tissue wore away as there was no more to pinch. I had my neck fused in '96 as a disc wore away. Today, ALL the discs are gone or nearly gone but I've had no nerve impingement yet as I did with the disc at C6/C7. My father had the same thing. You could hear the bones grind as he turned his head but he had no pain.

My shoulder, hands, hip and left ankle are going. No food or supplement will stop the bone spurs from doing their thing.

No complaints but this is my reality and I live a fantastic life despite these "small" setbacks. I've gotten good with dealing with pain. I inherited my Mom's stoicism. (20+ back surgeries, multiple abdominal surgeries and knee replacements. She doesn't complain, but says, "Who wants to hear it?"

I tried the doctor route for arthritis and I didn't like it. They only treat symptoms with poisonous drugs. I should be crippled, instead I am healthy and I have had no surgeries, I have a little discomfort but crap who doesn't in their 60s. I aggressively pursue natural cures for all of my health problems.

 

[Maxdusty]

View attachment 2767774 View attachment 2767775 Due to arthritis in my left hand, I needed to reduce the stretching, so last week I bought a 5 string Ibanez Mikro bass with 28.6" scale length.

I was pleasantly surprised with the bass, although it needed a setup badly. After truss rod and bridge adjustments, intonation, cutting the low B slot a little lower, touched up the fret sprout, etc, it was ready to go.

I play in a 3 piece bar band (older blues, roots and Austin rock...) and at church. I hate single coil hum and every bass I've owned was active since I put a preamp I built in my 64 P bass in the later 70's, so the modding began. The strings were also higher off the body than I liked so a pickguard was in order.

I had a Carvin H50 humbucking jazz pickup in a junk box. That went in the neck, and I found a newer H50S on ebay for cheap. That went in the bridge.

I added a three band EQ I had, midrange plus concentric bass and treble, and gain adjusment inside. I switched the two volumes to volume and balance.

I made a pickguard. My first design is working perfect. I attached it with 3M foam tape.

I actually like the stock strings, which I am told are made by D'Addario for Ibanez and are coated rounds. They feel more like the coated Elixers Ibanez uses on other basses, but the nickel plated ball ends and black thread wrapped ends don't match either. However, they can be purchased from Ibanez for $30 and from Amazon for $18. I'll probably stick with them. I prefer rounds to flats and the brighter the better.

This bass will work great. It now sounds as great as it plays. It's taking me a bit to get used to the short scale and looseness of the strings, which require a lighter touch, but I've played it three times at church and once at band practice. Very nice and the band loved the way it sounds.

This will keep me playing a few more years, and if my hand pain diminishes (I'm trying a lot of different things...exercise, rest, heat, cold, tens unit, light therapy, prescription anti-inflammatory cream, etc) I'll return to my beloved Line 6 Variax 5 or other full scale bass, and use this Li'l Guy as needed for pain.

Awesome job, I love that!

That's great. I play mine exclusively these days. Super comfy. I made a replacement body. View attachment 2768639

It was a first attempt, but it's a keeper. It does what I wanted.

So that's how the EDC700 would look if done right.

 

[pcake]

you've probably tried glucosamine, but i thought i'd bring it up. i used to think that glucosamine use for arthritis was a fairytale used to sell glucosamine. but then our elderly cat developed arthritis - his vet suggested we try glucosamine, and it worked very well - so well that my husband is using it with his arthritis in his hand. it hasn't made everything all better, but it's made great improvements for him.

are you still playing your mikro 5?

 

[el jeffe bass]

Steve, you sound like me. I have a progressive form of M.S. . I do what I can for my overall health and I enjoy my life to the fullest. Keep up the good fight.

 

[Steve Dallman]

I tried the doctor route for arthritis and I didn't like it. They only treat symptoms with poisonous drugs. I should be crippled, instead I am healthy and I have had no surgeries, I have a little discomfort but crap who doesn't in their 60s. I aggressively pursue natural cures for all of my health problems.

you've probably tried glucosamine, but i thought i'd bring it up. i used to think that glucosamine use for arthritis was a fairytale used to sell glucosamine. but then our elderly cat developed arthritis - his vet suggested we try glucosamine, and it worked very well - so well that my husband is using it with his arthritis in his hand. it hasn't made everything all better, but it's made great improvements for him.

are you still playing your mikro 5?

I took glucosamine for probably 10 years until recently when my doctor, and osteopath, told me the newest studies said it doesn't do anything. I've tried so many supplements. I still take quite a few.

Yes, I still am playing it. I've done a couple gigs and several Sunday's with it. They call me "the Little bass man" at church. My wife said it sounded "richer" on the gigs. I just returned to my beloved Line 6 5 string. I need an upright bass for a song at church and the '49 Kay upright model fits the bill. I'm doing stretching and using prescription Diclofenac cream on my hand. I'll use the Mikro when I need to.

 

[pcake]

I took glucosamine for probably 10 years until recently when my doctor, and osteopath, told me the newest studies said it doesn't do anything. I've tried so many supplements. I still take quite a few.

studies aside, our 18 year old cat could barely walk through a room, couldn't jump up or down, and wobbled and fell sideways a lot when he walked for over a year. after we started the glucosamine, that all went away, and he's now a 19 year old cat who can walk through a room and jump down from chairs. we cut his dose as per the bottle and his symptoms returned, we raised it again and he's better.

Yes, I still am playing it. I've done a couple gigs and several Sunday's with it. They call me "the Little bass man" at church. My wife said it sounded "richer" on the gigs. I just returned to my beloved Line 6 5 string. I need an upright bass for a song at church and the '49 Kay upright model fits the bill. I'm doing stretching and using prescription Diclofenac cream on my hand. I'll use the Mikro when I need to.

well, hopefully your line 6 will work out for you. i'm a HUGE fan of variax basses and guitars! good luck with your cream, and good thing you have the backup mikro when you need it

 

[srayb]

I love all the modifications you’ve done to your Mikro! I remember playing one in a store once and was really impressed how good it sound through an amp! I’m sure yours sounds even better with your mods.

 

[jayman121]

I just bought a Mikro 5 string because I travel a lot and a full size bass gets to be cumbersome sometimes. Tried some smaller acoustic basses which I didn't care for and even a uke bass which I don't like at all. Thought I would give the Mikro 5 a try and man I'm surprised how great this little thing plays and sounds. It weighs under 7 lbs. The bass came set up pretty nice out of the box. I bought it in a bundle with a gig bag and tuner from Amazon for $200.00 plus $16.00 for shipping to Hawaii. I played it last night and today for a few hours. All I can say is this bass is perfect for what I need. The scale is 28.6" but the the string tension is good even on the B string which is what I was concerned about the most. (But you do have to play lighter or it will bottom out, if you play hard and dig in this may not work for you). It plays great for me. The jazz bass type pickups work fine, it's passive but sounds great. You can get a nice P bass sound with the front pickup and a nice Jaco burp with the back pickup. Both pickups on gives you a smooth j tone and nice slap sound too. I use it with an Xotic bass preamp pedal but it sounds fine passive on it's own. If you can try one out I would recommend it highly. Very easy to play because of the scale length. It's only a few inches longer than my 3/4 size acoustic guitar. Now I just need to find a double bag so I can carry the guitar and bass on the plane and I can leave my flight case at home.

 

[HarveyRobertson]

That pickguard that you made absolutely gives that Mikro some class.. the tort on black is really nice!

Yeah I'm going in this direction too due to shoulder problems, I play guitar as well and I can play for hours on end but when I play my bass, after a short period, my fretting hand shoulder socket starts to ache and by the end of the gig, it's hurting to where I have to use my right hand/arm to do most tearing down.

 

[Greywoulf]

I took glucosamine for probably 10 years until recently when my doctor, and osteopath, told me the newest studies said it doesn't do anything. I've tried so many supplements. I still take quite a few.

Yes, I still am playing it. I've done a couple gigs and several Sunday's with it. They call me "the Little bass man" at church. My wife said it sounded "richer" on the gigs. I just returned to my beloved Line 6 5 string. I need an upright bass for a song at church and the '49 Kay upright model fits the bill. I'm doing stretching and using prescription Diclofenac cream on my hand. I'll use the Mikro when I need to.

Don't care what your "experts" say about glucosamine (I use glucosamine/chondroitin), I find when I stop using it my hands hurt. When I don't stop, they don't... -Don't need any o/s opinions about that, now do I? ;>})
And we are now with our second very old dog with severe walking problems. -Until we gave them both glucosamine, then they starting running. And one still is...
Greywoulf

 

[Steve Dallman]

Don't care what your "experts" say about glucosamine (I use glucosamine/chondroitin), I find when I stop using it my hands hurt. When I don't stop, they don't... -Don't need any o/s opinions about that, now do I? ;>})
And we are now with our second very old dog with severe walking problems. -Until we gave them both glucosamine, then they starting running. And one still is...
Greywoulf

I took it daily for 10 years and got no relief. Animals often have different results. It didn’t help my dog when he developed arthritis.

I’m glad you for good results. It did nothing for me. I wish it had helped.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Cool bass. You should come over to the Mikro Club, I'm sure everyone would love to see it.

 

[Greywoulf]

I took it daily for 10 years and got no relief. Animals often have different results. It didn’t help my dog when he developed arthritis.

I’m glad you for good results. It did nothing for me. I wish it had helped.

Yes, and I'm sorry it didn't help you too. It does seem to be selective tho... Works great for my hands but with my knees I still hafta take shots for the arthritis, especially as the NJ weather grows colder. And my 'ol lady says the stuff doesn't do much for her arthritis either... So go figure?
All I know is without it my hands and thumbs feel like they've been hit across the back with a baseball bat, but when taking 1500ccs of glucosamine/chondroitin twice daily the pain then becomes only a very bearable murmur. I guess I'm lucky with that part of it anyway as it allows me to continue enjoying my bass... The stuff is well known to do an excellent job with dogs who have hip and back leg problems tho, and that I've seen firsthand often enough.
I wish you well brother,
Greywoulf