Ibanez miKro GSRM20 Review

Great bass for the price

This base is super awesome. It sounds like a professional base for the price. I just can't believe how awesome it sounds.

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Plays like a guitar, sounds like a bass

This is perfect for a guitar player who wants to transition to bass - the scale length is similar to a standard guitar, so the feel is very similar, except of course for the fat bass strings. The sound is comparable to my long-scale bass - it is amazing to hear a heavy room-shaking sound come out of this thing when it's paired with a decent bass amp (the Mighty Mouse Effect, I… read more would say). For a couple hundred dollars you get something that is well-made, beautiful to look at (I got the red one), and awesomely fun to play. I am going to try to get my granddaughter interested, once she's 9 or so - but this is definitely not just a child's guitar, or limited to a beginner. The Ibanez/Sweetwater combination is of course a winner, too.

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Ibanez Bass

Amazing sound, and very comfortable to play.

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Plays bigger than it looks

I find the fit and finish of this Bass punching above it's price point, the shorter scale feels oddly good offering quick fretting. I got the Mikro in Flat Walnut with black hardware, with the tonewoods feeling airy and light. Neck is strait, it was setup good with spot on string height. The only thing I had to do was tune it and intonate the saddles a bit. The pickups are… read more as fat and bright as you can find in this price range, there are more expensive rigs who didn't come stock with pickups as good as these IMO. The Ibanez Mikro Bass makes playing fun, what's more? Also I'd like to say that Sweetwater's Sales Engineers are awesome, it's so refreshing to see a company really embrace the service side of business.

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Rudy, the root beer bass

I play guitar but wanted a cheap but quality bass to try out. After watching many vids/ reviews, I went for this one. Not disappointed. It's the size of a guitar (couple inches taller than a Strat), which appeals to me. It sounds thicc!! It's easy to play. And the fit and finish were butter for mine. I got the root beer metallic finish and it's very nice. I named it Rudy. Rob… read more Amaral is my SE and he got it out to me ASAP. Great bass. Great experience. Now to dig in on that Schism (Tool) intro…

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Awesome bass guitar

My daughter wanted a bass guitar and picked this one out. It got here as scheduled and plays and sounds incredible. Sweetwater is top notch.

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Great little bass

I purchased this bass, and the first one I got seemed to be mis-wired with a master volume control for the P-pickups and a slave volume control for the J-pickup instead of independent volume controls. I got ahold of Ryan Sloan, who put me in touch with Guitar Tech Michael Barden. Michael got back to me within two days, confirmed that mine was wired incorrectly, and sent me a replacement… read more that same day via next-day air, as well as e-mailing me a return label. The replacement worked perfectly, although the volume control nuts did need a little tightening. I attribute that primarily to shipping vibration - I've seen the same issue in some guitar review videos. Below is a video of the unboxing, as well as commentary about the excellent customer service and sound samples of the replacement.

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Great value!

Great guitar, it came out of the box ready to play, but not "weathered" by any means. It's just matte black.

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Small but Mighty

I ordered this Bass Guitar cause of my current living space. I wasn't sure what to expect but it sounds awesome. I never played a micro bass before but it's not a bad guitar. I would definitely recommend it to ppl starting out or for kid's.

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Thump thump

My first bass!. It feels comfortable and the short scale is making it easier to get the fretting because it's similar to my guitars. Was worried it wouldn't be bass-ee enough. It THUMPS vary well. 2-thumps up for this bass.

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All she needed was a bit of a setup and she's perfect!

The good: Arrived quickly and in good condition. After adjusting the truss rod, saddle height, intonation and pickup height... my Mikro sounds wonderful and plays wonderfully. There is no hissing or noise whatsoever. Lots of bottom end that growls when needed with just enough high end to let the slap and pops ring like a funky bell. The finish on the neck is satin smooth. Neck… read more width is just right for a 28.6" short scale. The weight feels very balanced. Light enough to not put too much strain on the shoulder and no neck dive. Tuners, bridge and pickups, although not high end, are very serviceable. Stays in tune and sounds good. The bad: Was a bit disappointed that I had to do so much work setting her up. She buzzed like a hive of angry murder hornets when I first unboxed her. It was a good learning experience, but someone with absolutely no guitar knowledge would have either been severely disappointed with the experience of receiving an unplayable bass or would have had to take it to a luthier and spend more money just to make it playable. The flat walnut finish is really disappointing, as well. I have a "flat walnut finish" Ibanez guitar that I really like. I had assumed this would be, at least, similar to the finish on my guitar. Not even close. There are some sloppy runs in the finish also. I may be nitpicking at the finish and it's imperfections, but I've had other Ibanez instruments selling in the same price range and none of them had these issues. Overall though... she plays wonderfully and sounds awesome!

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Sweetwater Rules! As does Ibanez!

I bought this bass for my wife, who is determined to learn to play. First of all, Sweetwaters staff and customer service people are some of the best I've dealt with. The bass showed up at my door right on time, and it is exactly what my wife wanted. I will definitely be buying more equipment from Sweetwater. Recommended

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Ibanez miKro GSRM20 Bass Guitar - Brown Sunburst

Beautiful Bass and the sound an the tone are AMAZING!! It is definitly a smaller bass, but for a female, it fit well and it is exceptionally light! I had purchased this bass with the intentions of just finding a cheap bass for practice, as my husband and I have our worship team and rock bands tuned down to Eb, so I needed to have a bass I could keep tuned in E for learning songs.… read more T I have a fender jazz bass and a PRS and the sound of the Ibanez is just this good mix of both combined. This bass has some Power! The 1st day I received the bass, I actually decided to use the miKro to gig with....I was pleasently impressed! I started playing bass 2 years ago and I am 43. Being a female, and starting later in life, I do not have the "stretch" in my hand, with the miKro, I could get to my notes easier and the Frets are nicely spaced! I highly recommend the Ibanez miKro GSRM20, don't let the price fool you...you will not be disappointed!!

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Starter Bass.

Got this for my daughter, she wanting to learn bass guitar. Sounds great on her fender bass amp. Bass came with great great work. It was in tune set up and ready to thump. She loves it.

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Power and sound in a short scale

It's built well. It's light. It sounds incredible and it doesn't sacrifice a thing. Fits in guitar case.

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Hell of a deal for the money

I first bought an Ibanez SR300e from Sweetwater, which I like very much, but while I've got a 74" wingspan and medium-large hands, it sometimes proves hard to play below the 4th fret or so due to arthritis in my left hand. The Mikro has proved to be just the answer for those uncomfortable days, as the more tightly spaced frets make a huge difference. The fit is less exact than… read more the SR300e, but it's solid and the finish is excellent. The neck, fretboard, and frets seem to be excellent given my brief experience. The B10 bridge is of course less substantial than the Accucast, but has been no problem at all. The tuning machines don't hold tune as well as the SR300e, and are probable candidates for an upgrade, but are not really an issue for my purposes. Someone who plays a several hour gig may find them a bother. Stock pickups and strings are fine to my ear, but will probably be upgraded just because the very reasonable price makes this an instrument that can be customized just for fun. Bottom line: Excellent for the money, great for a beginner on a serious budget or an old guy with gimpy wrists, I think 5 stars for those reasons.

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Wow, an insane value for the money

Thirty years ago I sold my fretless P-Bass because I just could not manage to play in tune, thinking someday I'd take another stab but with a shorter scale neck, so as you've probably guessed I bought this bass as a conversion project. After taking it out of its well-packaged box and tuning it up I'm wondering if I should just keep it as-is! As you can tell from my pics the walnut… read more finish is not as dark as official photos might suggest, is rather beautiful with the tight wood grain, the frets are perfectly dressed and and I'm surprised at the overall quality of this diminutive and inexpensive bass. My second pic shows how much smaller is this model than my standard scale RB800. If Ibanez made a fretless version I'd order it in a sec and keep this one around just for fun.

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All about the bass

I love my new bass! It's lightweight and the smaler neck makes it easy for me to reach all the frets. Perfect size for us petite rockers!

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Tons of fun for a petite machine

i am shocked at how well this sounds and plays right out of the box. i recommend this bass no matter what skill level you are. it's tons of fun for a petite machine.

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Who Knew??

I picked up this bass after being tired of the heavy weight and size of a full scale size. This thing is SO FUN to play and sounds great. I changed out the strings to flatwounds (nothing wrong with the roundwounds-just personal preference) and I truly can't believe the sound and punch it has. If you're on the fence about getting this model, don't be. Sweetwater sent it quickly,… read more and packed securely. It's a "win" all the way around.

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Personal touch, I’m sold

I really love my new Ibanez Mikro bass. It sounds awesome and plays great. What really impressed me the most about my first experience with Sweetwater is what exceptional personal service I received from james_loran @ sweetwater... GC pales in comparison. I finally found a company I enjoy and trust doing business with. You're the best Sweetwater. Thank you so much.Cat Mac

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This Little Bass Rocks!

I purchased this bass because arthritis is starting to create some problems for me. While I still have several full scale basses, with various pick up combinations both passive and active, and many different strings types, this bass is primarily for daily practice. That said, it will be used for recording bass parts in the future. So, on with the review. The neck plays so effortlessly… read more that it is amazing. The one piece neck is made with a beautiful piece of maple with a matte finish. Fit and finish on this root beer colored bass is perfect. The bridge mass is substantial and heavier than many other basses. The pickups are very good, and I would not be uncomfortable to use them in any application, studio or live. The only flaw I found was the second volume control was a little rough when turned. I do intend in the future to upgrade the tuners. They are adequate, but I would like to have a higher gear ratio and a little better quality. I will certainly upgrade the electronics with high grade controls. The control knobs are solid and I might change them to a set of Tele style custom knobs with abalone tops, but that is just for fun. The pickups? I'm pretty happy with them, but putting in a pair of hot Dimarzio P and J bass pickups could be pretty cool. Nonetheless, I am in no hurry to change them. Considering that this bass costs less than $200, I am very impressed. I am amazed

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Great bass with upgrades

I am very pleased with my purchase, and thanks to Forrest Powell and the techs at Sweetwater for their help. I purchased it with two upgrades -- Grover tuners (black chrome), and Rotosound 77 flat wound strings, both installed by Sweetwater. Got here well packed, well padded, promptly, and in ready-to-play shape. It's a great size for me, as I've been looking for a shorter short-scale… read more bass, and it has an amazing amount of low-end. I like its simplicity and its relatively light weight and short length. It's been a great purchase for me.

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Better Than Expected

I had not owned or played a bass in decades (being mainly a guitar player), so I did not want to spend a lot of money just to see if there was still any interest in playing bass. At this price point, my expectations were not high. However, I was pleasantly surprised by both the good quality and playability of this Ibanez bass. Being short in stature, the short scale is perfect… read more for me. Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. Thanks to A.J. Becerra of Sweetwater for his advice and assistance.

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Ibanez micro bass

More than I expected

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