NBD-- Could use a little help!

[Chicory Blue]

A'oy, luvs. Been a hot minute since I got a new toy, but a round of decluttering left me with enough store credit to scratch an itch I'd had lately, and I got myself this lil Mikro beb.

Nothing exotic or fancy. Just wanted to get back into electric territory after a few years of mainly playing acoustic parlor basses and I figured this would be a bit easier to carry around and indulge my whimsy as compared to my beloved but massive and moody SUB.

Just freed it from its box and tuned up aaaaaand oh lawd this is the fret-buzzingest thing I've ever beheld. It's been a couple of years since I had to set anything up and I'm not super sure where to start to be honest. The buzzing is present pretty much everywhere on the neck in varying amounts, definitely worst near the nut. What's the first step? Truss rod? Action? Different strings? Sacrifice a goat? I may be a bit rusty here.

I could google this but asking you guys is more fun and frankly I've missed y'all.

--^@

 

[P. Aaron]

If it’s buzzing everywhere, sight the neck from the heel down to the nut. If the neck is perfectly straight, a truss Rod adjustment may relieve the buzzing. My instincts would tell me to loosen the truss Rod just…a…bit to let the strings pull on the neck and create some space btw the board and the strings.

Don’t go crazy. A little at a time. It’s a newer bass, it should move easily and noticeably for you.

Likely an Allen wrench type tool will be needed. Ibanez are known for their ez, “buttah” type playing action.

 

[Chicory Blue]

If it’s buzzing everywhere, sight the neck from the heel down to the nut. If the neck is perfectly straight, a truss Rod adjustment may relieve the buzzing. My instincts would tell me to loosen the truss Rod just…a…bit to let the strings pull on the neck and create some space btw the board and the strings.

Don’t go crazy. A little at a time. It’s a newer bass, it should move easily and noticeably for you.

Likely an Allen wrench type tool will be needed. Ibanez are known for their ez, “buttah” type playing action.

They were kind enough to include three Allen wrenches for such adjustments, and it's easy enough to discern which one is for the truss rod, thankfully! Also it's got this rad little flip-out cover I've never seen before and I'm super happy about that. How much is just a bit, would you guess?

--^@

 

[bobyoung53]

A'oy, luvs. Been a hot minute since I got a new toy, but a round of decluttering left me with enough store credit to scratch an itch I'd had lately, and I got myself this lil Mikro beb.

View attachment 4355727

Nothing exotic or fancy. Just wanted to get back into electric territory after a few years of mainly playing acoustic parlor basses and I figured this would be a bit easier to carry around and indulge my whimsy as compared to my beloved but massive and moody SUB.

Just freed it from its box and tuned up aaaaaand oh lawd this is the fret-buzzingest thing I've ever beheld. It's been a couple of years since I had to set anything up and I'm not super sure where to start to be honest. The buzzing is present pretty much everywhere on the neck in varying amounts, definitely worst near the nut. What's the first step? Truss rod? Action? Different strings? Sacrifice a goat? I may be a bit rusty here.

I could google this but asking you guys is more fun and frankly I've missed y'all.

--^@

Truss rod, turn CCW, maybe 1/2 turn since it seems to be very tight and if the neck has been set like that a while it will take a while to conform to the new setting. You want to get the neck just a little bit concave before you do anything else, like maybe the height of a credit card edge right in the middle of the fretboard. Hold the last fret down and the first fret down and look for a little space right in the middle of the fretboard under the strings if there is none it is too tight.
And it sounds like it may be way too tight so this may take anywhere from several days to several weeks to get it to where you like it.
Do this before you do anything else and yes sight down the neck there should be a very slight curve in most basses.

 

[P. Aaron]

They were kind enough to include three Allen wrenches for such adjustments, and it's easy enough to discern which one is for the truss rod, thankfully! Also it's got this rad little flip-out cover I've never seen before and I'm super happy about that. How much is just a bit, would you guess?

--^@

No more than half a turn. 1st, sight down the neck so you have a sense of where the neck is. Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty. And then check the neck again to see if you’ve moved it.

 

[bobyoung53]

I will loosen the truss rod and wait a day, check it out, if it needs more do it again wait another day, when you get it close, do a 1/4 turn etc until you get it just right.

 

[Chicory Blue]

Truss rod, turn CCW, maybe 1/2 turn since it seems to be very tight and if the neck has been set like that a while it will take a while to conform to the new setting. You want to get the neck just a little bit concave before you do anything else, like maybe the height of a credit card edge right in the middle of the fretboard. Hold the last fret down and the first fret down and look for a little space right in the middle of the fretboard under the strings if there is none it is too tight.
And it sounds like it may be way too tight so this may take anywhere from several days to several weeks to get it to where you like it.
Do this before you do anything else and yes sight down the neck there should be a very slight curve in most basses.

Roger dodger! To clarify, by that do you mean that there's supposed to be a credit-card-edge-sized space between the string and the middle fret *before* I hold down the first and last fret, or is that the size I want it to be *while* holding them down?

--^@

 

[Chicory Blue]

No more than half a turn. 1st, sight down the neck so you have a sense of where the neck is. Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty. And then check the neck again to see if you’ve moved it.

Noted! Thank you <3

--^@

 

[bobyoung53]

Roger dodger! To clarify, by that do you mean that there's supposed to be a credit-card-edge-sized space between the string and the middle fret *before* I hold down the first and last fret, or is that the size I want it to be *while* holding them down?

--^@

Yes, while you're holding them down, as long as you see a little daylight between the strings and frets in the middle while you're holding both ends and it plays good it should be all set. Different basses play better with more or less relief. You can also stand the bass on the floor and sight down the neck with one eye to see if it's straight, convex or concave (for lack of a better word) in relation to the strings.

 

[Spidey2112]

Also it's got this rad little flip-out cover I've never seen before and I'm super happy about that.

Those are cool, aren't they?

 

[Killing Floor]

You’ve already gotten some good advice. Go a buy at a time. May need to repeat. Enjoy your new handle.

 

[Chicory Blue]

Those are cool, aren't they?

They are! I can't tell you how many times I felt like I needed to do an adjustment to a bass but was too lazy to loosen three screws on a cover and just sold the bass instead.

Well, actually, I can tell you. It was once.

That's... still probably too many times though.

--^@

 

[P. Aaron]

Noted! Thank you <3

--^@

It’s a newer bass, you should see the change quickly.

 

[El_Charro]

You’ve already gotten some good advice.

—————-
Except that no one advised him to sacrifice a goat even though he was clearly onboard with the idea…

*sigh*

Look man, if you want to use the bass to play Metal then you HAVE to sacrifice a goat (or some other furry woodland creature of your choice)…Also-The bass has to be black…Also…Clearly I’m kidding here…(Seriously I don’t mean to offend anyone whose vegetarian/vegan/or anything else)…

Just amusing to me that the OP offered an animal sacrifice and people are making truss rod adjustment recommendations…

Disappointed no one else picked up on that…

Thanks! \m/

 

[Killing Floor]

—————-
Except that no one advised him to sacrifice a goat even though he was clearly onboard with the idea…

*sigh*

Look man, if you want to use the bass to play Metal then you HAVE to sacrifice a goat (or some other furry woodland creature of your choice)…Also-The bass has to be black…Also…Clearly I’m kidding here…(Seriously I don’t mean to offend anyone whose vegetarian/vegan/or anything else)…

Just amusing to me that the OP offered an animal sacrifice and people are making truss rod adjustment recommendations…

Disappointed no one else picked up on that…

Thanks! \m/

It’s in the T&C. Didn’t think it was my place to tell someone what to sacrifice. Goats are a classic, though.

 

[El_Charro]

It’s in the T&C. Didn’t think it was my place to tell someone what to sacrifice. Goats are a classic, though.

————
LMAO-I mean…It probably IS in the T&C now that you bring it up (who has time to read all of those disclosures am I right???)…I’m sure I’ve sold my soul to Satan multiple times just by clicking “I agree” on the Apple terms and conditions every time I get a new device…

So…In short…I think your comeback is correct…

Touché…

Also-OP-Kidding aside I hope you get it figured out and enjoy it…

That is a pretty sweet looking bass…

Thanks! \m/

 

[N4860]

I will loosen the truss rod and wait a day, check it out, if it needs more do it again wait another day, when you get it close, do a 1/4 turn etc until you get it just right.

I'd just like to reinforce the greatness of this advice. In my experience, you really do need to wait a day to experience the adjustment, as much as you might be anxious to keep adjusting. Patience in this case is important if you are unfamiliar with the particular instrument.

 

[Chicory Blue]

—————-
Except that no one advised him to sacrifice a goat even though he was clearly onboard with the idea…

*sigh*

Look man, if you want to use the bass to play Metal then you HAVE to sacrifice a goat (or some other furry woodland creature of your choice)…Also-The bass has to be black…Also…Clearly I’m kidding here…(Seriously I don’t mean to offend anyone whose vegetarian/vegan/or anything else)…

Just amusing to me that the OP offered an animal sacrifice and people are making truss rod adjustment recommendations…

Disappointed no one else picked up on that…

Thanks! \m/

What animal do you sacrifice for blues? A little red rooster? A howlin' wolf? An indeterminately-sized man named Walter?

And I think they've mostly just learned to tune out certain things I say by now. Pay no mind to Chicory; she's harmless, just curious and open to exploring hypothetical violence.

--^@

 

[Chicory Blue]

I'd just like to reinforce the greatness of this advice. In my experience, you really do need to wait a day to experience the adjustment, as much as you might be anxious to keep adjusting. Patience in this case is important if you are unfamiliar with the particular instrument.

You know, in all my years of pretending to know what I'm doing in regards to music, I literally never learned until today that you actually have to wait. So, yeah, agree, super great advice. My dumb butt woulda just kept turning and wondering why it hadn't changed yet if this hadn't been said. Very pleased to have evaded that mistake.

--^@

 

[El_Charro]

What animal do you sacrifice for blues? A little red rooster? A howlin' wolf? An indeterminately-sized man named Walter?

And I think they've mostly just learned to tune out certain things I say by now. Pay no mind to Chicory; she's harmless, just curious and open to exploring hypothetical violence.

--^@

——————————
Oh I think if you wanna succeed in pretty much any genre it requires selling your soul (what else does one call a recording contract these days???)…

Lol-Isn’t there a Supernatural episode where the guy sells his soul to Satan in the 30s to learn the blues???…

That might be a different show I’m thinking of, but I feel like that story line was in something I saw a few months back that escapes me now…Totally where my mind went…

Thanks! \m/