I have never heard of thses, but the reveiws I have read are all good! That worries me! What do the real bassmen (and women) think of these things? I would like to try the 5 string fretless out but I am skeered cuz there are no bad words posted! That makes me wonder what's up! HELP!
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Brice
- Thread starter eadwulf
- Start date
Hmmm.
Brice basses are pretty good, for their money. That last part is something you need to keep in mind. When you spend a few hundred on a Brice bass it means you'll get excellent value for your money. But that doesn't mean you'll get the equivalent of a Sadowsky. There are people who have modded their Brice basses to give a higher performance, but that's after modding.
My own experience is that Brice basses are very good and I plan on picking up a 5 or 6 string this Sat when I head on up to Rondo Music. Generally though you'll need to probably change the strings, adjust the string height to your preferred height and make sure the bass is intonated. This is usually because the differences in humidity where the factory made the bass and where you live.
Brice basses are pretty good, for their money. That last part is something you need to keep in mind. When you spend a few hundred on a Brice bass it means you'll get excellent value for your money. But that doesn't mean you'll get the equivalent of a Sadowsky. There are people who have modded their Brice basses to give a higher performance, but that's after modding.
My own experience is that Brice basses are very good and I plan on picking up a 5 or 6 string this Sat when I head on up to Rondo Music. Generally though you'll need to probably change the strings, adjust the string height to your preferred height and make sure the bass is intonated. This is usually because the differences in humidity where the factory made the bass and where you live.
The only Brice I own is an Explorer bass. It's built pretty well except I may eventually have a new nut installed and different pickups(due to the positioning of the pickups, I may try Darkstars). It's comfortable for everything except slap(mostly due to my technique though). It was also pretty cheap($160).
I've had my Brice V2 5-string fretless for two years and have been using it as my main bass ever since. The only mod I've done to it is to replace the strings. I've tried several brands of strings, but now use Sadowsky flats and really like them. I purchased the Brice because it was an inexpensive way to see how I'd like a fretless. I never thought I'd use it as my main instrument, just as a training tool. But, I really like how it plays.
They are made in Korea which most folks consider a little below Japan in terms of quality, but above Mexico and China.
I plan on getting one of the Brice Beatle Bass copies in black as soon as the cases come in. I'm really looking forward to it too. I used to own a Hofner years ago, and for what this type of bass does, the Brice is a much more reasonable alternative. Even the Chinese Hofners are over priced IMHO.
really? didn't know they were made in Korea. Lol, that'd be funny, "Yeah this is my Korean Fender..."
Does anybody know about the Douglases?
Brices are good basses, giggable and solid. Not particularly inspiring or high quality, but nonetheless quite competent. I have a fretless V2 six string and it has become my main bass for playing in church every week.
I had one of the Brice 6ers for awhile (hxb6 or whatever, the bubinga topped one). It was definitely a good bass for the money.
It had a good feel, decent sound, and felt like it could take some abuse if it had to. The electronics/pickups were a little thin or hifi for my taste, but that's an easy swap.
If I'd liked the 6-string concept I'd have kept that bass and perhaps replaced the electronics. But I decided that 5 is plenty for me.
It had a good feel, decent sound, and felt like it could take some abuse if it had to. The electronics/pickups were a little thin or hifi for my taste, but that's an easy swap.
If I'd liked the 6-string concept I'd have kept that bass and perhaps replaced the electronics. But I decided that 5 is plenty for me.
The Rondo 6 string world is like three separate levels of quality, none of which are bad for the money.
The Douglas line is built in China. The electronics are okay, hardware is so-so, the bodies are light-ish.
The Brice HXB's are definitely a step up in quality, you can immediately feel the difference when you pick up an HXB right after playing a Douglas. The HXB's have better pups and controls, more substantial hardware, and the body feels better, too.
The Brice Prestige Z line is of substantial quality that, IMO, easily competes with other 6's up to the $1K mark. The prime issue with the Prestige Z's is that they are big boys, heavy (but well balanced) and have wide spacing (19mm).
The Douglas and Brice HXB's are tremendous value's for the money. With the Prestige Z's, they are priced just high enough that you might be able to get several other brands at similar costs in the used market. Me, personally, I love the Prestige Z6 neck-through, but I like big bodied basses with wide spacing .....
Just making sure before I order one.. Are they worth the $479.95? Thats pretty pricey for something from Rondo (imho) but still much cheaper than any other decent 6'er I have found.
The spalted is exactly the same axe as the regular Z6, just with a top added. I haven't seen this bass in person, but I have asked Rondo about it.
The one thing I'm not sure about is whether the spalted top is just a thin veneer (likely) or a bit more substantial top wood of 1/8" or 1/4" (not likely). Either way, the Z6 is a fav of mine, but like I said above, I happen to like big bodied basses with wide spacing .....
The one thing I'm not sure about is whether the spalted top is just a thin veneer (likely) or a bit more substantial top wood of 1/8" or 1/4" (not likely). Either way, the Z6 is a fav of mine, but like I said above, I happen to like big bodied basses with wide spacing .....
Same here, Im not a little guy and I tend to feel cramped on smaller bodied basses with tighter string spacing.
Thanks for the info.. now the question is do I go for the blue one or pay an extra $20.00 for what is probably a thin spalted veneer(sp?)? Then I will need to figure out what to do with the hardware as Im not a fan of gold, just looks too ghetto for me(no offense to fans of gold hardware). The knobs and tuners shouldnt be a big deal to replace but the bridge might be tricky.
Thanks for the info.. now the question is do I go for the blue one or pay an extra $20.00 for what is probably a thin spalted veneer(sp?)? Then I will need to figure out what to do with the hardware as Im not a fan of gold, just looks too ghetto for me(no offense to fans of gold hardware). The knobs and tuners shouldnt be a big deal to replace but the bridge might be tricky.
That spalted "top" is sweet looking - I think it would look nice w/ black hardware, too... kinda like a Fodera-type scheme.
I'm sure there's bridge options for you out there. Might not be a direct replacement, but any 6 string bridge (with side-to-side adjustment) should do the trick.
Good luck either way!
I'm sure there's bridge options for you out there. Might not be a direct replacement, but any 6 string bridge (with side-to-side adjustment) should do the trick.
Good luck either way!
Yes, and actually there are a LOT of guitars coming out of Korea these days. It is my understanding that quite a few manufacturer's are having their lower end models built in Korean factories (no doubt Cort is making quite a few instruments for different companies).
Just so you know, the blue one is REALLY BLUE 
The color on the web site is actually a bit subdued compared to what it looks like in person.
When I first got the bass I was worried about the hardware, too, but it's actually pretty good. The individual string saddles work well, lots of adjustability to them. The tuners are decent, too. The weak point is the preamp .... it's not bad, but if I had kept the bass that would have been changed eventually.
Yeah, I gotta believe that the spalt is just a thin veneer, but it looks pretty nice. I have always regretted selling the Z6 I had, and I only paid $289 for it (bought it just before they started jumping the price up).
It's a nice bass, I did a review of it here ....
The color on the web site is actually a bit subdued compared to what it looks like in person.When I first got the bass I was worried about the hardware, too, but it's actually pretty good. The individual string saddles work well, lots of adjustability to them. The tuners are decent, too. The weak point is the preamp .... it's not bad, but if I had kept the bass that would have been changed eventually.
Yeah, I gotta believe that the spalt is just a thin veneer, but it looks pretty nice. I have always regretted selling the Z6 I had, and I only paid $289 for it (bought it just before they started jumping the price up).
It's a nice bass, I did a review of it here ....
I bought a Z6 with the spalted top two weeks ago and have been putting it through the paces. I did do some modifications to it though and have been hesitating putting up a review thread until I play it in a variety of situations. The one thing I can say is that the spalt is pretty thin but I got one that looks real good. I think I will take some pics when I get home and post some for you.
I added some EMG HZ 6 string pickups and an EMG BTC preamp. Really improved the tone of the bass.
I added some EMG HZ 6 string pickups and an EMG BTC preamp. Really improved the tone of the bass.
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