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what strings come on an ibanez mikro?

#62
pcake said:
i sorta like the strings that came on my mikro, and when the time comes i'd like to replace them with the same set. ibanez has not responded to my emails, and so far all i get when i call is their voice mail, so i'm hoping someone here knows.
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I know this is an old thread.... but I wanted to throw my two cents in. A bandmate of mine plays bass when I play fiddle, and she has very small hands. She sold her P Bass to a student of mine, and now does MUCH better with an Ibanez Mikro. I play her bass at band practice, and I am very impressed with the Mikro design - getting great sound with only a 28.6" scale. One thing they did right was to think "out of the box" on string gauges.... conventional wisdom is to go "Light" with short scale basses, but the Mikro gets a great sound with strings that are .105, .085, .065, and .045. By most standards, that is ML for the top two strings, and M for the bottom two. To reproduce the gauges exactly, you might have to cannibalize two sets of strings. With the "custom" gauges, it is probably difficult to match those strings in such a short length... which explains the stock strings being "no name". They really ought to support their product by offering replacement strings for it.... maybe that explains their reluctance to write you back (and... they may have assumed you didn't read Japanese). Anyway, there is my two cents on an old thread......
 
#63
Simon Fretless said:
the Mikro gets a great sound with strings that are .105, .085, .065, and .045. By most standards, that is ML for the top two strings, and M for the bottom two. To reproduce the gauges exactly, you might have to cannibalize two sets of strings.
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For most manufacturers that would be their standard "medium" set. No need to "cannibalize two sets of strings".

EDIT: I may have spoken too soon... Those gauges may not be quite as "standard" for a short scale.
 
#64
Simon Fretless said:
I know this is an old thread.... but I wanted to throw my two cents in. A bandmate of mine plays bass when I play fiddle, and she has very small hands. She sold her P Bass to a student of mine, and now does MUCH better with an Ibanez Mikro. I play her bass at band practice, and I am very impressed with the Mikro design - getting great sound with only a 28.6" scale. One thing they did right was to think "out of the box" on string gauges.... conventional wisdom is to go "Light" with short scale basses, but the Mikro gets a great sound with strings that are .105, .085, .065, and .045. By most standards, that is ML for the top two strings, and M for the bottom two. To reproduce the gauges exactly, you might have to cannibalize two sets of strings. With the "custom" gauges, it is probably difficult to match those strings in such a short length... which explains the stock strings being "no name". They really ought to support their product by offering replacement strings for it.... maybe that explains their reluctance to write you back (and... they may have assumed you didn't read Japanese). Anyway, there is my two cents on an old thread......
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the thing is, i LIKE the strings that came with my green mikro. i've used other strings on it that don't sound or feel as good.

after successfully talking to ibanez reps about this, i'm out of luck. ibanez doesn't always use the same manufacturers for the mikro strings, and consistency isn't a thing. that was confirmed when i bought my black mikro and the strings were much rougher then the ones on my green mikro.
 
#65
michael_t said:
For most manufacturers that would be their standard "medium" set. No need to "cannibalize two sets of strings".

EDIT: I may have spoken too soon... Those gauges may not be quite as "standard" for a short scale.
Click to expand...
Right - they are not standard, at least based on Fender and D'Addario bass string offerings that I have looked up. Really, a different take on how to string a very-short-scale bass. While the strings aren't the only factor in the equation, they are an important one... and it would appear that instead of going "L" across the board as many other string sets for short-scale basses do, they opted to go "ML" for the top two, and "M" for the bottom two. The Mikro is a surprisingly good-sounding bass for its size IMHO, and the unusual string gauges may have something to do with it. None of which, I regret, helps pcake in her quest to get more of the smoother strings that came on her first Mikro. It does, however, bear on the problem of finding replacement strings for this unusual bass. Ibanez really should sell replacement strings for it: it's been in their product line for years, and while many of the buyers are young players, it's popular with performing musicians who need a small instrument.
 
#66
Strings.jpg
I know this is an old thread. I just bought a Mikro bass, and I am kind of amazed that I really like the strings, even though I usually prefer flat wounds. So, I am noticing that there are Ibanez Mikro bass strings, nickel coated, on Amazon. There is only a photo of the headstock with the strings, but they sure look like the stock strings I received today. Wondering if I should even think of putting chromes on now. Just posting here, because I do not think anyone mentioned on this thread the Mikro strings for sale on Amazon. By the way, the 5 string set is less than the 4 string set! $17.00.
 
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#67
Obviously not the strings that came on it, and yeah this is a bit of a resurrection, but Stringjoy sells shortscale strings they say are suitable for 29-30" scale so they might work, and you can get custom gauges, they have a string tension calculator, and offer advice on strings as well. Whatever came on my GSRM25 feel like barbed wire compared to the Stringjoys on my SRC6 >_>
 
#69
michael_t said:
FYI...

Stringjoy's "short scale" is 32.75" in winding length (ball end to taper), which is slightly longer than the "short scale" by some companies at 32". So, take that into consideration.
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Crap, their website says 32" and when I measured the 5th string on my GSRM25 it was 31.5" and 32" was still before the tuning key. Not sure where that ends up on the 4-string Mikros' 4th, though. I guess I should have taken that into account, too. Or someone with one can measure >_>
 
#70
Koldunya said:
Crap, their website says 32" and when I measured the 5th string on my GSRM25 it was 31.5" and 32" was still before the tuning key. Not sure where that ends up on the 4-string Mikros' 4th, though. I guess I should have taken that into account, too. Or someone with one can measure >_>
Click to expand...

I got the info directly from Tom Mulvaney at Stringsjoy through email.

Here's what he wrote:

Bass Strings:
  • All bass strings are 54″ in total length, roughly 49″ of which is wound (slightly less on short and medium scale lengths)
  • Strings .060 and up have a taper at a certain length from the ball-end, depending on the scale. When installed, this taper should sit between the nut and the tuning peg, if you have picked the right scale strings for your bass.
  • Short Scale: 32.75″
  • Medium Scale: 34.75″
  • Long Scale: 37.1″
  • Extra Long Scale: 39.25″
  • Strings .055 and under are marked “Universal Scale.” Since they have only one wrap they have no taper, so they can be cut to any length to work for any scale bass.
  • Strings .125 and up have a very slight taper at the ball-end to keep them from getting stuck in bridges. It does not affect performance.
 
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