N1/2BD - My Miezo 18 Arrived!!!

[MovinTarget]

I was jamming along with the looper and this Skitter (trem/verb) pedal and really having fun.

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You realize that you are navigating to the zone of just using an old school briefcase and one side of the interior can be your pedal board and with a divider and foam, the Miezo could travel in the other half. Twould be hilarious for that first gig with a new band or to crack it open in front of the FOH operator to patch him in to your DI

 

[monsterthompson]

You realize that you are navigating to the zone of just using an old school briefcase and one side of the interior can be your pedal board and with a divider and foam, the Miezo could travel in the other half. Twould be hilarious for that first gig with a new band or to crack it open in front of the FOH operator to patch him in to your DI

I’m burned out on gigging, but I’d kinda like to gig with this just to see reactions.

 

[SirMjac28]

Oh, preamps are definitely available and a common option, but I wanted a passive set of electronics to used with my external preamps and fuzz pedals.

I tried playing along with prerecorded tracks this weekend. The bass sits in a weird place of not quite a bass and not quite a guitar. There's something about the attack and voice that puts it in a different place. It will take a little time for me to EQ it to "sit" in a more traditional mix space.

I play guitar also so that's just what I'm looking for

 

[Sacha Lévesque]

Current lead time is around 12-16 weeks, depending on specs. We received quite a bit of Nordstrand pickups, so that shouldn’t be an issue!

Agreed that the pickups sound really nice. Those latest clips really tell the story on the instrument. I'd use it for the same purposes as you...not as a bass replacement, but as something entirely new that allows me to leverage my learnings on bass to not have to be a n00b on a new instrument. I love the concept...this could be right up my alley in a few years. What's the current wait time on builds?

 

[Sacha Lévesque]

Here’s a clip on a Miezo played in a band setting:

It totally makes sense for my solo work, but I don't know how others would use it. Playing along to traditional "rock" tracks, the neck PU was a better fit, but it isn't meant to be a bass, so AC/DC covers isn't how I'd use it.

I did switch over to the 30" Mustang and noticed my left-hand fingering technique changed. I definitely play "on top" of the frets more than before. And that's just been in a week.

 

[monsterthompson]

Here’s a clip on a Miezo played in a band setting:

That's fantastic! What's the tuning there? I'm guessing it is a 5 with BEADG (up one oct.).

 

[Sacha Lévesque]

That's fantastic! What's the tuning there? I'm guessing it is a 5 with BEADG (up one oct.).

That’s it!

 

[Antisyzygy]

These "Wing" style basses are so cool. Some other brands I was looking at were Mihado, Wing Instruments, and Mayones.

They're like a modern Lyre or something.

I was about to put together a custom build with one of those builders. However, I found a used Maurizio Miezo located in the USA on Reverb just the other day and had to pull the trigger. I can't wait for it to arrive.

It's a Maurizio Miezo 18" 5-string with an Aguilar soapbar and OBP-3 preamp. I'm not sure how well this preamp will work with the higher pitch, but whatever.

Maurizio Uber Bass Miezo 18 | Reverb

The plan is to use it with my C4 synth pedal for lead and chord work. Im a bass player, not a keyboardist!

I also have an EHX Pitch Fork I was thinking of using for down-tuning, so I have a portable jam bass.

 

[monsterthompson]

The plan is to use it with my C4 synth pedal for lead and chord work. Im a bass player, not a keyboardist!

Im definitely looking at a few options for octave pedals to get some non-bass sounds out of mine.

I had an unfortunate issue with one of the volume pots. My tech replaced the 250 pots with 500. Pot values weren’t something I was mindful of before, but I can hear how the 500 is brighter, and I prefer the 250 sound. That said, rolling the tone knob back a bit gets me reasonably close to the 250 sound I liked. This is with the Nordy pickups, so I’m sure different users will have different preferences.

 

[JuanG]

Beautiful bass! I am thinking of ordering one but I was wondering about the shipping from Malaysia. Was shipping too expensive and how about import duties to the US?

First the TLDR stuff
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18" scale 5 string tuned E - C up 1 octave (actually, currently in drop D)
Padauk body. Walnut & padauk "neck-through" top. Ebony board.
17mm spacing
Nordstrand Zen Blades (passive V V T)
Pix below.

I don't recall exactly when and where I found Maurizio Uber Basses, but I somehow started following them on IG, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I caved. I'd been wanting a single cut for a while but hadn't found one I really lusted after. I had also been looking at shorter or half-scale bass (Kala, Wing, Mayones), mostly to accommodate an injury that limits my left hand/arm reach, but also to find something with a different voice from my current, well rounded arsenal. I've been doing a lot of "ambient" work and I wanted something with more of a lyrical voice than a typical bass, including something that could do chords, and wouldn't get muddy with boom when soaked with delays and reverb.

I started getting serious back in January. I paid my deposit and got in line. Mau was great about corresponding. He responded quickly despite being in Malaysia, and also has Sacha in Canada who monitors the IG messages in my daylight hours (also a great and knowledgable guy). We were able to email a few ideas to get started, then progressed to video calls. Mau walked me through the process, showed me his shop and some wood samples on hand, and let me know what to expect through the build. I got regular updates, including pics.

The build would've been done much sooner, but there were some COVID delays. Additionally, I was undecided about which pickups I wanted. The build was well underway when I finally consulted @MDBass and got a suggestion for the Nordy Zen Blades. I followed up with Nodstrand directly and they thought the pickups would work for what I was after. Unfortunately, they had production delays that held up finalizing the build. After plugging in, I have zero regrets about the decision or the wait time.

The bass shipped out from Malaysia last week and just arrived today. DHL was great with updates, and the box arrived with only a few minoR bumps and scratches.

I plugged in and found the sounds I wanted right off the bat. The hand positioning was a different story. It isn't bad, it is just different. I'm not used to playing with the frets so tightly spaced. That said, if I'm clean with my fingering technique there's no buzz, and the action is relatively low. Notes ring out nicely. There's a decent amount of sustain and punch. Each pickup has a distinct voice. My preamp of choice is a Hilbish Sol Invictus and it works wonderfully with the Miezo. I was able to experiment with some fuzz, delay, and reverb, and I'm very happy with the sounds I'm finding. I'll try to get some clips up, but honestly, they might be fairly wet and dirty sounds.

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[Anachronism]

Shipping was reasonable on mine, and there were no import duties.

 

[JuanG]

Nice, thank you!

Shipping was reasonable on mine, and there were no import duties.

 

[monsterthompson]

Beautiful bass! I am thinking of ordering one but I was wondering about the shipping from Malaysia. Was shipping too expensive and how about import duties to the US?

Shipping and import to the US wasn’t bad. I don’t recall the numbers off the top of my head, but it wasn’t prohibitive.

My long term findings with the instrument are still generally positive, but I do have a few minor issues worth noting.
1. I had some fret sprout. I don't recall this being there on receipt, but the climate difference between where it was built and where I live made this noticeable over time. I had it fixed up and it's fine now.
2. I had some uncommon trouble with a volume pot burning out. Unfortunately the repair guy swapped in a brighter pot (250 vs 500) that I don't like as much, but it can be addressed by rolling back the tone knob. I've had some subsequent issues with running both pickups at certain blend levels/ratios. I went with the Nordy Zen Blades, which are a custom option. They sound great, but I don't know if they are to blame or not. I know another user with a Miezo and a Zen Blade who had a build around the same time as I did and he's having some pickup weirdness.

That said, I'm happy with the build and enjoy the (half)bass.

 

[JuanG]

Thanks for the info. I am considering going with the Airborne instead and try to make it my main bass for local gigs (it's very light!) and any gigs that require traveling. Wondering if anybody has any experience with the Airborne here.

 

[monsterthompson]

Thanks for the info. I am considering going with the Airborne instead and try to make it my main bass for local gigs (it's very lights) and any gigs that require traveling. Wondering if anybody has any experience with the Airborne here.

@Sacha Lévesque might

I think the Airborne might’ve been a better fit for me in terms of ergonomics, but I have some unusual issues.