NBD: What can I do w/zero-dollar upgrades? Ibanez Mikro 5

[eddododo]

Blame it on a short attention span, but I went to Detroit to check out a bunch of full-sized acoustic basses, and came home with a pint-sized electric 5-string.

5-string Mikro's are hard to find in Canada. I’ve been curious about them for a while, but not at $367 CAD with tax, and no gig bag included...

Guitar Center came to the rescue, with a clean open box GSRM5 including gig bag, for $169 USD. No playing wear, just a faint patch of buckle rash.

It would be fun to play as a regular B to G five-string, but if that doesn't work out, it would make an interesting 5-string baritone, a piccolo bass, or even tuned in 5ths as a sort of electric cello/guitar hybrid?

Lots of info on these in the Mikro Club thread, so I'll just mention what I noticed about this example on first inspection:

• At 6lb 13oz, it's heavier then a Hofner or my ABG, but still a featherweight for a 5-string.
• Lumber is surprisingly good, with some birdseye on the neck. The Jatoba fingerboard doesn't need feeding like the Indian Laurel I've seen on other cheap instruments lately.
• The matte poly sanding sealer protects the neck while giving a "raw wood feel", but it felt rough and grainy in spots.
• The CNC work is better than I expected. TIGHT neck pocket. Edges were crisp, screw holes perfectly aligned, etc.
• No fret sprout.
• Tuners better than expected.
• Crisp, open-sounding JJ pickups, lots of bite when you want it.
• Tone and volume contros have useful taper- it can easily go from a decent approximation of a modern active Jazz, to jazzy and mellow.
• The B string sounded better than it should under the circumstances.
• Good balance, seated or standing.
• String spacing is tight (16.5mm at the bridge, ~ 10.5mm at the nut), but doesn't feel as bad as I expected. Probably thanks to the reasonably full C-shaped profile.
• Feels cheap in the hand, as if those crisp CNC-cut edges didn't get any hand sanding before the sanding sealer was applied.
• Paint is good at ten feet, but poorly-filled pores and grain lines are visible here and there.
• Excess polishing compound in every nook and cranny.
• Intonation off by nearly a semitone at the 12th fret.
• E and B strings sound unnaturally loud and muffled.
• The overtone series behaves oddly at this scale length, or maybe it's the low tension. The volume drops off if I try to pick close to the bridge.

Obviously, I liked it well enough to pick it up, but it needs work before I would want to play it out, or even at home on a regular basis.

So, here is my to-do list:

• These have been around since at least 2013, so I don't understand why intonation is still an issue. Perhaps it's particularly hard to get a .45 to .130 set to intonate predictably at a 28.6 inches?
• Shielding is iffy.
• B string feels loose, (only 27lb tension), sounds hollow if you dig in. Would need to be tuned up a minor third (D through A#2) to feel like a normal 35" five-string.
• Cheap-feeling pots and barrel jack.

Here it is:

View attachment 4768094

i LOVE these. They make a mighty decent short scale 5

as far as getting creative, I have turned one into an excellent little ‘alto’ bass (it’s just BEADG up an octave)

highly recommend it.

there’s also a luthiers corner thread where someone adds a pickguard and stuff to make it look slick.
Good luck!

 

[Bassamatic]

These are amazingly great basses - I have a 4 and a 5. Other than adjusting the action and run running my foam sanding block along the edges of the fingerboard to round it and the fret ends, I haven't done anything else. I will have to try some of the great things mentioned above.

My MAIN concern about these is finding proper strings. You can't put 30" strings on a 28.5' and expect them to sound proper - they are not at the right tension. I ordered a spare set for each from Ibanez. I think that Goldtone may have strings in this length for their bass ukes - I will have to check.

 

[Riff Ranger]

These are amazingly great basses - I have a 4 and a 5. Other than adjusting the action and run running my foam sanding block along the edges of the fingerboard to round it and the fret ends, I haven't done anything else. I will have to try some of the great things mentioned above.

My MAIN concern about these is finding proper strings. You can't put 30" strings on a 28.5' and expect them to sound proper - they are not at the right tension. I ordered a spare set for each from Ibanez. I think that Goldtone may have strings in this length for their bass ukes - I will have to check.

@michael_t would that one specialized GHS short scale set fit a MiKro, and do they come in 5-string sets? I’m trying to find your comments on it but not having much luck.

 

[michael_t]

@michael_t would that one specialized GHS short scale set fit a MiKro, and do they come in 5-string sets? I’m trying to find your comments on it but not having much luck.

GHS "short scale" = 32.75" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk) = too long on a 28.5" scale...unless it's thru-body. No 5-string sets offered by GHS for either "medium scale" or "short scale".

 

[superheavyfunk]

Labella makes both roundwound and flat wound short scale 5-string sets. I don’t have experience with the Ibanez mikro but it might worth looking into.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

A payment issue delayed my order for the Ibanez 5-string set off Amazon.

Had an opportunity to crank the Mikro up through my GK MBFusion 500 head and AudioKinesis full-range cab.

The low end is very fat- I had to trim the low mids and bass a bit to get it tighter.

My AK cab is the acoustic-friendly version of the original Thunderchild, and although the crossover is buttery smooth, that big horn does have a way of putting any harshness under the microscope.

Through something like a conventional 1*15 cab, the bite from the stock electronics on the Mikro might be useful. Ditto for a darker head like an Ampeg or a Mesa Subway.

On the 4-string Mikro, I imagine you could get some relief by switching to the P-type neck pickup. Since the 5-string has single-coil Jazz pickups in both positions, it's a bit much with this rig.

Thankfully, the pickups seem to be RWRP, and it's actually pretty quiet with both pickups dimed. I lowered the bridge pickup a bit to take some bite out, but it's still pretty aggressive-sounding. The balance is pretty sensitive- lowering either volume knob even a hair brings in the noise...

I'll see if the coated strings smooth out the top end when they arrive, but in the meantime, I took a closer look at the wiring.

500K pots probably aren't the best choice, at least to my P-bass tuned ears with the stock round-wounds and this rig. The stock pots are tiny (about .65"), but the cavity has been routed so there's just enough room for full-sized pots...

I want that growl, so the rounds aren't going away, but I think I'll drop some 250K pots in there while I'm doing the shielding job next week.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

String change:

The coated Ibanez rounds (IEBS5 CMK) came in from Amazon yesterday.

No silk at either end, and better clearance between the bridge saddles and the ball end of the string.

This was a good thing, as they need to the saddles just a little further back compared to the factory set.

Thankfully, my luck held- I did have to remove the spring altogether from the B-string saddle, but it intonated perfectly with the "neck" of the saddle hard up against the back of the bridge, without having to shorten the saddle itself.

I'm glad to not have to replace the bridge.

The headstock looks tidier, too (sorry about the poor photo quality, I'm struggling with a new phone):

I honestly wasn't expecting this much improvement from an inexpensive string change. My Peterson headstock tuner struggled to get a lock on the E and B strings with the originals.

Now it locks in easily, and that is reflected in the stronger fundamental and loss of the hollow "boing" that I heard when playing fingerstyle.

It literally sounds like I swapped out the pickups, or moved up to a longer scale bass.

Electronics:

Unfortunately, the noise sensitivity with the stock pickups is still pretty annoying. In a different venue today, I was able to get it pretty quiet.

However, I had to stand at 90 degrees to my amp, which was inconvenient.

I've done a bit of faffing around with foil, clipping a second ground wire to the strings, etc., and I think the Mikro 5 may need to come out of the "free upgrades" department if it's going to be a keeper for me.

It's playing well enough that I can see gigging it out, so I'm thinking pretty hard about a pickup swap. I'll be sure to report back on what I decide in the end.

This photo with magnetic viewing film shows what we're up against- remember that the outside dimensions are the same as an old Mexi Fender Jazz V sneck pickup (3.61" x .75"), while the string spacing is about 2.45" over the center of the neck pickup, and 2.6" over the center of the bridge pickup.

Look at how far the B and G strings are from the ends of the pickup body (and the magnetic field). With conventional pole pieces, the outer strings would be way out of alignment, and there would be quite a bit of volume drop-off...

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Electronics update:

I’ve been doing some mad scientist stuff with my wireless network while switching internet providers, and it turns out that the noise issues I was experiencing were caused by the massive RF field in my office/studio/workshop.Everywhere else, I’m able to blast my big rig without any more noise than a normal passive Jazz bass.

The stock pickups are still single coil though, so if you’re OCD about noise or have bad wiring where you live or gig, a foil shielding job and quieter pickups may still be in order.

I had a chat with Becky Lawrence at Wilde, and was able to confirm that a pair of Bill’s neck-sized J-45’s should be a straight drop-in. At most, a bit of shaving around the mounting ears may be in order. They’re currently running around 7 to 10 days turnaround on firm orders.

The J-45’s have 9 pole pieces for more even coverage, and will work with 4 strings or 5, so the narrow string spacing over the pickups isn’t an issue.

I have a set of Bill’s Microcoil pickups in a Telecaster, and they have a surprising combination of bell-like single coil tone with near-noiseless performance. The J-45 uses the same technology and attention to build quality. For a boutique pickup, the pricing is pretty low at $79 each.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Did a back-to-back comparison of all my basses through my big rig.

Decided to get rid of everything except the Dingwall, Guild Jumbo Junior, and possibly the Mikro.

Not completely sure what I want to do with the Mikro yet, and decided that I probably won't invest in more mods until I have a master plan. Keep it as is? Restring it as a 5-string baritone guitar? Standard tuning 5-string bass, tuned E to C?

It offers amazing value for money, plays very well, sings and sustains nicely, but I have to play it very carefully in order to fret it cleanly in the upper register, and avoid pushing it out of tune.

Because of the special, bespoke strings on the Guild, I can bang away on it without a lot of thought, despite being even shorter-scale at less than 24"...

It's possible that the scale length is also why it feels a little "off" to me at the moment. The Guild just feels like a guitar with a deep voice, the Dingwall feels like the King of Electrics, and the Mikro 5 being baritone-sized, just feels unfamiliar.

Maybe it will grow on me more with time.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Update:

I reported elsewhere about fitting a mismatched set of singles on the miKro for E to C standard tuning.

I didn't have a D'Addario .105 E, so I used the one from the Ibanez upgrade set, and combined it with D'Addario nickel XL's in the following gauges:

• A: .080
• D: .060
• G: .043
• C: .035

According to calculations using the D'Addario tension chart, this should be within pound and a half of tension from E to C. The .043 G string should have been a .045, but it still feels more even than any standard D'Addario set.

The high C is the stiffest string in the set, at 32.4 lb tension. That's a shame, as I would have liked it to feel a little more slinky. Still, I can't complain about the tone- it has a sweet, warm sound. It doesn't sound edgy like the top string on 34" and 36" 6-string basses that I've sampled.

The bridge mods I did (shortened intonation springs and screws) work fine with the new set, and there are no rattles. The differences in string gauge are small enough that I didn't have to do anything to the nut, and the although the high and low tension values are different, the overall tension on the neck is about the same- I didn't have to touch the truss rod at all.

Here's how the bridge looks when intonated for E-C. Note that the bridge is still in the stock location - with the strings I've been using, bridge relocation was NOT required:

The low E still isn't sound quite as clear and punchy as I would like, but it's better than I've heard on a number other mini-basses.

I quite like the MiKro in E-C. Fingering is the same as any other fourths tuning, so you don't have to relearn the instrument.

The high C string makes more sense on this bass than it ever did to me on long-scale 6-string basses. The neck isn't as wide as your typical sixer, and the string sounds sweeter and more bass guitar-like.

If you're playing a song with upper-register fills up around the 12th fret, the C string makes easier and more convenient to play those notes without needing to make larger position shifts. This is particularly appreciated on up-tempo songs.

As I'm warming to the miKro 5 in this configuration, I'm starting to think that it might have a permanent place in my fleet.

I've have a custom set of GHS Boomer singles on the way from Jason at Fret Nation, so that I can hopefully improve on the low E. His price with shipping was great, and I'll end up with .107, .080, .060, .045, and .035.

Although they're not listed on his website, he apparently stocks these gauges, so just use the customer contact sheet on the website if you're interested.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Second project in the works- I've already exchanged emails with Neil at Newtone.

I was asking his advice about going as big as a .145 for the B string on a B to G standard-tuning custom set.

After poring over tension charts, this had been my intended set: .145, .105, .081, .060, .045.

If you've ever noticed that new strings act a lot like actual string over their full length (very flexible and floppy), but hold a sharp bend over short lengths (like when you kink the end of the string before cutting it and inserting it into the tuner post), then you probably understand my concern.

A .145 is going to act more like a rod or a tine when it's used with the micro's extremely short scale length. I'm concerned that the harmonics will be "off", and it won't speak well when I go higher up the fingerboard.

Neil suggested erring on the side of caution, by going with a proven set already used by another TalkBass user: .140, .110, .090, .070, .050.

That's more in line with standard string sets.

It should beef up the B and E strings some more, but I don't know about the A D G. I already like the way the miKro feels with the lighter gauges up top, and I have a very light touch. I still think I might enjoy it better with a light top, heavy bottom setup.

I will probably wait for the GHS singles to arrive from Fret Nation, to see what a matched, balanced-tension set sounds like with the heavier E string first.

That may inform my decisions when I pull the trigger on a custom order with Newtone.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Mine definitely has a thirsty board, and I think it’s Indian laurel rather than jatoba in my case. My RGB305 has a jatoba board and I like it just as much as any rosewood.

I'm not huge on Indian Laurel, colour-wise as well as the dry, thirsty look.

Still, after some sanding and the right oil (I've been using Watco Tung oil lately), it can look OK. Like most commercial preparations, there probably isn't much actual tung oil in it. Still, it doesn't penetrate too deep, and dries hard, which is what I look for. I don't like using wet, sloppy stuff like most Danish oil finishes.

This is my Epiphone Casino Coupe after a couple of treatments, and before I replaced the nut:

 

[steve_rolfeca]

@michael_t would that one specialized GHS short scale set fit a MiKro, and do they come in 5-string sets? I’m trying to find your comments on it but not having much luck.

GHS "short scale" = 32.75" in winding length (ball end to taper/silk) = too long on a 28.5" scale...unless it's thru-body. No 5-string sets offered by GHS for either "medium scale" or "short scale".

I'm sorry, we've had a lot going on around here the last few months, and I'm just catching up on some old posts.

Just Strings and Fret Nation are good places to go for oddball single strings, if you can't find suitable strings in a packaged set.

Jason at Fret Nation is particularly useful, as he has a history of being willing to pay the hefty minimum order costs to get specialty sets made up.

Because they've done a lot of that sort of work, they're familiar with fitment issues on a lot of basses. For instance, he offers custom sets for fanned-fret Dingwalls that you can't get anywhere else.

Here's his website:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Still, Fret Nation has to see a big enough market to cover their startup costs on custom sets. The 5-string miKro is difficult in that regard, because of low sales compared to the 4-string model, and probably because of the numerous changes in factories and locations.

The miKro club is full of pictures of unusual and limited-run versions, at least on the 4-string side.

Here are the string-related measurements from my GSRM25:

As of a week or two ago, Jason could source custom sets for the miKro using GHS Boomer singles, but only for E to G or E to C tuning.

They don’t have access to a suitable B-string single from GHS or any other manufacturer.

The tuner spacing on the headstock is a blessing and a curse as wello. When Jason was figuring out the set I recently ordered, he had to use use a short-scale E with a medium-scale A to make it work, and then source long-scale singles for the rest.

Needing a a mixture of short and medium-scale strings mean that we're screwed when it comes to packaged 5-string sets in B-G tuning from the majors.

However, there are also other sources for B strings to fit the 5-string miKro, if you're willing to go custom.

See my note above about Newtone.

Here's the string configurator on their website. It's a little tricky to figure out, but note that you can have just about any scale length or gauge you want in very small increments, and it looks like they may even go so far as to adjust the spacing from the ball end for tapered strings:

https://newtonestrings.com/shop/custom-bass-string-configurator/?v=3e8d115eb4b3

 

[jayman121]

These are amazingly great basses - I have a 4 and a 5. Other than adjusting the action and run running my foam sanding block along the edges of the fingerboard to round it and the fret ends, I haven't done anything else. I will have to try some of the great things mentioned above.

My MAIN concern about these is finding proper strings. You can't put 30" strings on a 28.5' and expect them to sound proper - they are not at the right tension. I ordered a spare set for each from Ibanez. I think that Goldtone may have strings in this length for their bass ukes - I will have to check.

Hi,
I use DR Hi Beam short scale strings on my Mikro 5 string and they are much better than the stock Ibanez strings IMO. They sound great and last a long time. For the price these basses are great. I also added an Audere Classic preamp to it and it greatly improved the sound vs. passive. There's just enough room in the cavity for the pre and a 9 volt. I didn't have to rout the cavity. I use this as my travel bass and I'm able to carry it in a double electric guitar bag with my acoustic travel size guitar. The B string is pretty flabby considering it's a 130 on a 28.5" scale but it works for my situation.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Hi,
I use DR Hi Beam short scale strings on my Mikro 5 string and they are much better than the stock Ibanez strings IMO...

...The B string is pretty flabby considering it's a 130 on a 28.5" scale but it works for my situation.

That's a surprise, on a couple of levels.

1. A lot of B strings will break if the string doesn't taper down before it reaches the tuner. Are the DR's wound that short, or are they just so flexible that they don't break?
2. Where did you get that set, and do you have a description or a product number? The only short-scale set I can find, is the Mediums: .045 to .125. I'm assuming that a set with a .130 B string must have a .050 G. That would be an interesting set to try out.

 

[jayman121]

Hi,
Sorry it's a .045- .125 set. The B string has just enough taper to get it on the tuner before the full core. I got it at Sweetwater. It's the only place I've found it. Didn't care for the Ibanez stock set at all and there's not much else out there.

 

[jayman121]

Update: found a couple of sets on ebay $32-$35.00. Lots of 4 string short scale sets but hardly any for 5 strings.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Hi,
Sorry it's a .045- .125 set. The B string has just enough taper to get it on the tuner before the full core. I got it at Sweetwater. It's the only place I've found it. Didn't care for the Ibanez stock set at all and there's not much else out there.

Nice.

I'm trying to go up in gauge for the low B, not down- so they're not what I'm after.

Still, it's good to know that there's another packaged option. I took a peek, and the DR's are available from a number of vendors.

On that note, even if a string is just a hair too long, you can always slip a bead a short piece of brass hobby tubing over the string, before you push it through the back of the bridge.

Where I would draw the line, would be if I had to take up a lot of slack, like 3/4 of an inch. I don't want little rat-tails hanging off the back of the bridge, and potentially scratching the finish.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Time for another update...

The .107 to .035 set of GHS Boomers (Nickel rounds, sized for E to C standard tuning, balanced tension) I ordered from Fret Nation arrived (thank you, Jason!), and they fit perfectly. The tension was better than the mixed set I had made up from singles, but I don't like the E string- it sounds hollow, as though it wanted a bit more tension.

No fault of Jason, but overall, I actually preferred the Ibanez/D'Addario singles that I had put together previously. I put them back on, and all was well with the world.

Fast-forward a while, and my wife asked me what I want for Christmas.

"Funny you should ask", says I, and promptly ordered a set of Newtones for B to G standard. The gauges I came up with are all guesswork, because I don't know how Newtone nickel rounds compare to D'Addario. Still, for a balanced-tension set at around 30 lb per string, the D'Addario string tension chart indicates that the following gauges ought to work pretty well:

• .145 for the low B, 29.36 lb.
• .110 for the E, 32.69 lb.
• .080 for the A, 29.72 lb.
• .060 for the D, 30.35 lb.
• .045 for the G, 30.28 lb.

Newtone offers their strings in .001" increments, so I decided to beef up the A and B strings a little and lighten the E, hoping to come closer to a perfectly even 30 lb per string. The set I ordered looks like this: .146, .108, .081, .060, .045.

Just for the heck of it, I ordered an extra string for evaluation purposes- a tapered .146 B, with the taper at 25.5 mm from the ball end. With the stock bridge and modded saddle screws for intonation, that's all the space I need to make sure that the winding on the tapered B clears the bridge saddle.


With overseas shipping, six strings cost 52 quid. The Canadian dollar is pretty weak at the moment, so that came out to a $90 withdrawal from PayPal.

Hopefully, the new set will come in just after New Years. I shall be curious to see how it pans out, and how the regular .146 sounds and feels vs the tapered one.

 

[jayman121]

Thanks for the update. You've really done some research on strings for the Mikro bass 5.