BRICE HXB2-405 3/4 Thoughts, and other SS nonsense.

[drumrtommy]

I have been doing most of my gigging on playing with an Ibanez Mikro 5 string. it is a 28" scale length bass and sounds great. I have gravitated toward medium and short scale basses. I would love more affordable 5 string options but there are just not many.

My only problem with my Mikro, is replacing strings on my mikro, though I do not do it very often, I often think "what if" and there are not many options that I know of. I know some members use different strings for their mikros but I can't bring myself to use anything other than the "Mikro strings" as I do not wish to cut the strings shorter than their intended use.

this brings me to the Brice, anyone play one? I notice the measurements are similar as far as neck is concerned, the bass is 2" longer and I believe it would be easier to replace strings while having more options. I would love to hear thoughts on feel and quality, thanks!

 

[Mekana]

I missed seeing this post in December. Are you still considering a Brice? I cannot directly compare it to the 5 string Mikro since I haven’t played one of those (yet!). But I can tell you a bit about the Brice 5 string SS.

The newer ones are active/passive, which is nice. LaBella medium scale strings fit the string-through-body Brice perfectly. I am using LaBella medium scale white tapes on mine, and really like them. (It MAY be possible to custom order LaBella short scale strings for your Mikro 5er. They have short scale 4 string sets that I have heard fit the Mikro. I am not sure if they have a short scale 5 string set. But they may be able to make a 5 string set for you, or at least custom wind a short scale low B? It can’t hurt to ask, especially if you love the bass!)

That said, it isn’t super easy to find medium scale 5 string sets either. I feel very lucky with the LaBellas that I love. And tapes apparently last forever, so I don’t think this will be a constant search for me.

I am going to guess that the reach out to the nut is significantly more of a reach on the Brice compared to the Mikro. However, the string spacing is a little narrower (16mm on the 5er, which I like). And I am going to guess that the Brice may weigh a bit more. Mine are around 8ish lbs. All of my Brice’s balance well with a strap, so that takes some strain off. No neck dive at all.

A lot of Brice owners switch out the electronics fairly quickly. So far my newer ones (bought in 2019) seem to be fine with the stock electronics...but I play through a tech 21 bass fly rig into the amp, so that beefs it up a bit.

So... feel and quality: With a good set up and good strings, I can get a nice low action. The neck feels good (for me, not too thin, not too chunky), and the newer ones don’t even need a lot of modification to sound good. I have both rosewood and maple fretboards, and both are fine. The side dots are a little small! I put larger side dot stickers over them so I can see them on a dark stage. Fretwork is fine. My oldest Brice is 8 years old (geez, I had to look that up, lol) and I have not had to tweak the truss rod at all since the first set up in 2012. It has played gigs inside and outside in all types of weather with no set up issues. (I did swap out the electronics in that first one, so I can’t tell you how durable the electronics in the newer ones are, but they feel and sound solid enough so far.)

Hope this helps. I think Rondo is sold out of the SS 5ers currently, but if you contact Kurt, he will let you know when the next batch is expected.

I am keeping an eye on the 5 string Mikros, too! Right now the Brice basses I have are comfortable. But keeping the Mikro in mind if I ever need a lighter or shorter scale bass in the future.

 

[bearfoot]

I've been considering one of those also. The purple is pretty funky.

Reason being, I have been enjoying E-E and E-F tuning on my 34" scale 6-string, but find it's just too cumbersome for what I'm doing. But I don't really want to go the Bass VI route either, I want it to still feel and play bassy. The Brice 3/4 6-string seems to fit the bill.

 

[drumrtommy]

I missed seeing this post in December. Are you still considering a Brice? I cannot directly compare it to the 5 string Mikro since I haven’t played one of those (yet!). But I can tell you a bit about the Brice 5 string SS.

The newer ones are active/passive, which is nice. LaBella medium scale strings fit the string-through-body Brice perfectly. I am using LaBella medium scale white tapes on mine, and really like them. (It MAY be possible to custom order LaBella short scale strings for your Mikro 5er. They have short scale 4 string sets that I have heard fit the Mikro. I am not sure if they have a short scale 5 string set. But they may be able to make a 5 string set for you, or at least custom wind a short scale low B? It can’t hurt to ask, especially if you love the bass!)

That said, it isn’t super easy to find medium scale 5 string sets either. I feel very lucky with the LaBellas that I love. And tapes apparently last forever, so I don’t think this will be a constant search for me.

I am going to guess that the reach out to the nut is significantly more of a reach on the Brice compared to the Mikro. However, the string spacing is a little narrower (16mm on the 5er, which I like). And I am going to guess that the Brice may weigh a bit more. Mine are around 8ish lbs. All of my Brice’s balance well with a strap, so that takes some strain off. No neck dive at all.

A lot of Brice owners switch out the electronics fairly quickly. So far my newer ones (bought in 2019) seem to be fine with the stock electronics...but I play through a tech 21 bass fly rig into the amp, so that beefs it up a bit.

So... feel and quality: With a good set up and good strings, I can get a nice low action. The neck feels good (for me, not too thin, not too chunky), and the newer ones don’t even need a lot of modification to sound good. I have both rosewood and maple fretboards, and both are fine. The side dots are a little small! I put larger side dot stickers over them so I can see them on a dark stage. Fretwork is fine. My oldest Brice is 8 years old (geez, I had to look that up, lol) and I have not had to tweak the truss rod at all since the first set up in 2012. It has played gigs inside and outside in all types of weather with no set up issues. (I did swap out the electronics in that first one, so I can’t tell you how durable the electronics in the newer ones are, but they feel and sound solid enough so far.)

Hope this helps. I think Rondo is sold out of the SS 5ers currently, but if you contact Kurt, he will let you know when the next batch is expected.

I am keeping an eye on the 5 string Mikros, too! Right now the Brice basses I have are comfortable. But keeping the Mikro in mind if I ever need a lighter or shorter scale bass in the future.

THANK YOU so much for the well written review. That was perfect, the Mikro is 16.5 string spacing so pretty close, the neck feels like an SR, I’ve made some serious mods to mine then brought it back close to stock with a new paint job.

I was eyeballing a 6 string Brice but never got it and luckily it sold to someone else, but I am waiting on the new stock. So with the neck you have is it more P or J bass esque?

it’s also good to hear they are durable and sound good stock, let me know if you see one pop up

 

[bassbully]

I own a Brice beast and all I can say is it’s a great bass that sounds really good. I
Planned on swappping out the pre and pups but it really sounds great stock. Great bang for buck basses.