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Brubaker Brute Club, Part 2

#161
Hey all, purchased a mjx 5 last week that should be here tomorrow. Excited about this bass due to all the positives I've heard and read on YouTube and tb. This will be my only 5 string as I let my Sr505 go. I wanted something a little bit better and this seemed to fit the bill.

I've seen posts about a coil tap switch that is supposedly an easy mod. Can anyone provide a link or pm on how to do this? Also if anyone that has installed one has any sound clips of the mod and would share them that would be great! Thanks in advance for any info!
 
#162
Congrats. I think you'll like it a lot better than your SR505. I'm having a tech install my coil splitter at the dealer before I accept delivery of my new single cut. I'm not very handy that way.
 
#163
Hey club members. I'm not tooting my own horn here. I had no idea but this is from Tom Richards concerning my new Single Cut.

Hey Walt,

Your actual bass appears in our Brubaker Ad in the Gear Guide AND this months Bass Player Magazine. Look on Page 10 of Bass Player and on page 107 of the gear guide. Also, That is your bass on page 101 of the gear guide. Go pickup a copy of each for yourself.

tom
 
#164
baloo314 said:
Hey all, purchased a mjx 5 last week that should be here tomorrow. Excited about this bass due to all the positives I've heard and read on YouTube and tb. This will be my only 5 string as I let my Sr505 go. I wanted something a little bit better and this seemed to fit the bill.

I've seen posts about a coil tap switch that is supposedly an easy mod. Can anyone provide a link or pm on how to do this? Also if anyone that has installed one has any sound clips of the mod and would share them that would be great! Thanks in advance for any info!
Click to expand...

An additional note. I'm having my MM pickup wired as such:

single coil/single coil/series. This will give close to both 70's and 60's JB spacing between the neck single coil and the singled coils in the MM pickup and a fatter MM pickup sound when in series.
 
#166
baloo314 said:
Thanks, I can't wait to try this bass out! I had never thought about the different jazz spacing. Interesting though, sounds like there are a number of different routes I could go with this mod.
Click to expand...

welll you could go single coil/parallel/series but most of the cats I spoke to prefer the other way. Your bass, your deicision. Congrats again and welcome l to the Brubaker family. And it really is a family as awe are always willing to help.
 
#168
baloo314 said:
Thanks phillybass101, I'm sure I'll have several questions when I start modifying. Be sure to post some clips or videos of your new sc when you get it delivered...would love to hear how it sounds!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I got word today that Donovan Bankhead received my bass yesterday. I told him he could make a video as he often does with new stuff, and post to youtube. His tech is going to install the coil splitter and then he'll ship it to me. Hopefully I'll get it in time for this Deep Groove Bass Workshop I'm going to on Sat, Nov 3, 2012. You have several very good options available for if and when you go to upgrade your Brute.
 
#169
Delivery of the my new SC is delayed due to a technical difficulty. Kudos to Tom Richards for a quick response and taking care of it. I should have it in a couple of weeks.
 
#170
Hello everyone. Just wanted to pop on here and thank ALL of you who have been sending your kind wishes and your offers of assistance.

As you know, we were at the center of Hurricane Sandy, and it really did destroy the shore. One of the most heartbreaking things is that many of the clubs local musicians play regularly have been either seriously damaged, or in three cases, completely destroyed and washed into the ocean. So gigs for most around here will be few. And to boot, a lot of the clubs still don't have power and another storm in on its way here for Wednesday and Thursday. If you make your money with music, well, you are eating government cheese right now and for the foreseeable future.

AP and Brubaker did not get any serious damage, but all our power and phones were out until today. Thanks again to the Brute Club for all your support.
 
#171
Hey can any of you Brute owners post a photo of a Brute without the pick guard? Or give me some more info on how the bolt on neck through looks. I am asking because I am leaning towards getting a Brute MJX and having it de fretted. I am just curious about being able to get the action low enough after the frets are off. I have an fretless ATK 300 that I am looking to replace because it has dead spots. I had to put a ship under the neck heel of the ATK to get the action low. I am not sure if I can really do that with a Brute. But I think the brute would be a great fretless companion for my ATK800.

Also where can you order the fancy figured maple pick guards for the Brute? I want to get a white brute and put a red maple pick guard on it.
 
#172
vHarmonic said:
Hey can any of you Brute owners post a photo of a Brute without the pick guard? Or give me some more info on how the bolt on neck through looks. I am asking because I am leaning towards getting a Brute MJX and having it de fretted. I am just curious about being able to get the action low enough after the frets are off. I have an fretless ATK 300 that I am looking to replace because it has dead spots. I had to put a ship under the neck heel of the ATK to get the action low. I am not sure if I can really do that with a Brute. But I think the brute would be a great fretless companion for my ATK800.

Also where can you order the fancy figured maple pick guards for the Brute? I want to get a white brute and put a red maple pick guard on it.
Click to expand...


This is the best I've got. Taken way back when I did my mods to my JJX-5.

IMG_0002.jpg


Here is the same pic with the red dashes roughly indicating where the neck-thru joint is. The blue is circling the deepest/most central neck bolts.

IMG_0002Neckjointhilite.jpg


You should not have any trouble shimming underneath if you have to do so to get your desired string height. It's like a standard neck pocket cut out, only way longer.

For custom guards I'd PM TRichardsbass, he'll have those answers for you I'm sure.

Good luck with the Fretless Brute project! I'm actually in the process of doing the exact same thing with a white MJX-5 that I've had sitting collecting dust for a while now . . . but it's a secret so don't tell anyone, K? :D. Not sure when I'm gonna get it completed . . . hopefully as work slows down over the winter I'll have some time to get back to it.

Hope this was at least a little helpful for you.
 
#173
Here's one of mine with the neck pickup out.

Two things to keep in mind that may keep you from shimming the neck:

1) The neck pickup is mounted directly TO the neck. If you change the angle of the neck, you also change the angle of the neck pickup, which may make it not fit through the pickguard anymore. Also makes the neck hard to remove, because unlike something like a Fender, you'd have to remove the pickguard, then the neck pickup to remove the neck.

2) As you can see in my pic, there is a 'bridge' that is mounted right at the heel which keeps the neck from moving and gives it stability. You'd have to remove that if you shim it.

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#174
Excellent, that is really helpful, thanks! It looks like it would be workable, might take a bit of tweaking but workable.

Can any one here give me an idea of how an MJX brute compares to an ATK800, ATK750, or ATK400 or just ATKs in general? From the youtube vids I have watched, they seem to have a somewhat similar large, powerful, punchy sound.

Also I saw that the brute has a compound neck radius, form 16" to 20". That seems like it goes from flat to flatter, can you even tell that it is compound? Does it make a difference? Just curious.

And while I am at it, I have heard that they have allot of sustain. Is that true? That would be great for a fretless i think. I also am curios if the design would make them less prone to dead spots. Has anyone had dead spots?

Thank, really appreciate the help.
 
#175
Can't personally comment on the ATK's, never even held one.

As far as compound neck radius, well no, I can't tell, or it doesn't affect playing in any negative sense at all. I never even knew they had the compound radius boards until I read it somewhere online this past year. And I've been playing mine for 3 years. I do know that they are the most comfortable necks I've EVER played . . . they just feel like home to me.

Sustain? YES! But if you shim be sure to use a shim or shims that keep the pocket tight and leave no gaps between neck and body. I think it is the amount of wood to wood contact that aids in this department. And, no, no dead spots on any of the 3 I've owned.
 
#177
Finally got my brute and I love it. My fender just became my second. I am curious if anyone has a wiring diagram for the 2nd gen brute mm pickups. I'm looking at having a toggle switch that flips between single, series, single. If anyone that's done this mod could provide some insight I'd appreciate it.
 
#179
I got one recently off of craigslist, great find.

Wildly different from my P-bass with flats, but only took a few days of tinkering to adapt. The neck taper is fun & the 2nd cutout on the body really helps it hug you while standing & playing.

Im broke atm but I would love to throw in a ACG preamp in someday. Of course by the time I can afford that maybe SGD's wal clone will be available...
 
#180
Ds1 said:
I really don't think you'll need neck shims. A fretless Brute would be a first! Make sure you take plenty of pictures and report back to us.
Click to expand...

I will definitely report back with photos, and I am planing to do a before and after youtube vid too! It will be a few weeks before I get a Brute and a few weeks after that before I get it de-freted, but I will keep you posted.
Thanks again for all the help in answering my questions.
 

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