I tried that with my newly acquired brute, but the knobs came off!
P.s. What is my membership number then?
P.s. What is my membership number then?
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Brubaker Brute Club
- Thread starter J. Crawford
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Here you go.
J. Crawford - 1 (On Hiatus)
Supertanker - 2 (Retired)
a2zbassman - 3
orlando123 - 4
DaveTomasi - 5
JayCY - 6
coop - 7
vision - 8 (Retired)
stoneboy26 - 9
drpepper - 10
liquidsunshine -11
Billy Low - 12
Robear22 - 13
jjbb123 - 14
madsci918 - 15
zulujack - 16
J. Crawford - 1 (On Hiatus)
Supertanker - 2 (Retired)
a2zbassman - 3
orlando123 - 4
DaveTomasi - 5
JayCY - 6
coop - 7
vision - 8 (Retired)
stoneboy26 - 9
drpepper - 10
liquidsunshine -11
Billy Low - 12
Robear22 - 13
jjbb123 - 14
madsci918 - 15
zulujack - 16
OK I've now had a day to play my new brubaker. Firstly I can confirm that it definitely does not have an Ash body. It does not look like basswood either though, more like maple, so I'm guessing it's nato. This is after the eBay seller spun me a ******** story about it being specially made for a (unknown) bassist with and endorsement! Still it was probably a good deal any way.
Here is what I have found so far. The finish is top notch on the body, but on the neck the varnish has been rubbed off on parts of the headstock, exposing the bare maple (this is a new bass, so it is as supplied). The knobs were all in the wrong order for me, so the first thing I did was to swap the volume and pan and swap the bass and treble. While I was at it I shielded all the cavities. Looking at it I wasn't too happy with the wiring. One of the wires had already come loose (my fault), so I got the soldering iron out and re-wired just about the whole lot, adding some proper earthing in the process. I thought about changing some of the cheap looking pots, but left them as I'll probably swap the preamp any way.
Acoustically it has a lot of volume, but it lacks a bit of punch, and the tops are just about non-existent. Does any one know if the neck is hard maple or soft maple?
The fretboard radias is a bit too flat for my liking. I like a 9 or 10 inch radias, but that could be a personal preference. The nut needed a bit of work to get it just right. The fret work is pretty good, but I might get it dressed any way. I found that the extra width (space between the outside strings and the edge of the fretboard) to be a little too much. I don't have the biggest hands so I'd prefer the bottom string to be closer to the bottom edge for better reach. But then the neck is very thin, so it probably makes up for it. The bridge saddles are as low as they will go, so the action is as low is I'll ever get it without modifying the bridge.
The pickups are rubbish and will have to go. I have seen the neck pickup (looks like a Artec) sold on eBay for about $10, and price is reflected in the sound. The bridge pickup has a huge amount of output, but it lacks character. The mids are accentuated while the tops are almost non-existent. The preamp is not that bad and I have actually used the artecs in a few other basses. They are very quiet and the battery lasts forever in them.
Other that that it is a fine bass. There were a few other small niggles like the paint wearing off the scratch plate after an hour of playing, but I can live with that.
Ok so what's next? Well the pickups need replacing. I'm thinking Barts, but I think it needs something that will boost the the tops as I find this seems to be a weakness even unamplified. I think the options are probably limited as the string spacing for most MM style pickups is less than 18-19mm. What is everyone else using for the bridge and what is available? I'll try to fiddle with the bridge, to get the sadles lower, but I'll more than likely just end up replacing it.
Don't get me wrong if I sound overly critical. It really is a good bass for the price. It just needs a little bit of work to get it perfect when you are a fussy prick like me.
Here is what I have found so far. The finish is top notch on the body, but on the neck the varnish has been rubbed off on parts of the headstock, exposing the bare maple (this is a new bass, so it is as supplied). The knobs were all in the wrong order for me, so the first thing I did was to swap the volume and pan and swap the bass and treble. While I was at it I shielded all the cavities. Looking at it I wasn't too happy with the wiring. One of the wires had already come loose (my fault), so I got the soldering iron out and re-wired just about the whole lot, adding some proper earthing in the process. I thought about changing some of the cheap looking pots, but left them as I'll probably swap the preamp any way.
Acoustically it has a lot of volume, but it lacks a bit of punch, and the tops are just about non-existent. Does any one know if the neck is hard maple or soft maple?
The fretboard radias is a bit too flat for my liking. I like a 9 or 10 inch radias, but that could be a personal preference. The nut needed a bit of work to get it just right. The fret work is pretty good, but I might get it dressed any way. I found that the extra width (space between the outside strings and the edge of the fretboard) to be a little too much. I don't have the biggest hands so I'd prefer the bottom string to be closer to the bottom edge for better reach. But then the neck is very thin, so it probably makes up for it. The bridge saddles are as low as they will go, so the action is as low is I'll ever get it without modifying the bridge.
The pickups are rubbish and will have to go. I have seen the neck pickup (looks like a Artec) sold on eBay for about $10, and price is reflected in the sound. The bridge pickup has a huge amount of output, but it lacks character. The mids are accentuated while the tops are almost non-existent. The preamp is not that bad and I have actually used the artecs in a few other basses. They are very quiet and the battery lasts forever in them.
Other that that it is a fine bass. There were a few other small niggles like the paint wearing off the scratch plate after an hour of playing, but I can live with that.
Ok so what's next? Well the pickups need replacing. I'm thinking Barts, but I think it needs something that will boost the the tops as I find this seems to be a weakness even unamplified. I think the options are probably limited as the string spacing for most MM style pickups is less than 18-19mm. What is everyone else using for the bridge and what is available? I'll try to fiddle with the bridge, to get the sadles lower, but I'll more than likely just end up replacing it.
Don't get me wrong if I sound overly critical. It really is a good bass for the price. It just needs a little bit of work to get it perfect when you are a fussy prick like me.
I bought Barts for my MJX-5. For the Jazz/neck pup I chose the CBJD3-S3 "Bright tone". And the MM/bridge pup is the extended DL5CBC (117mm/4.60" ear-to-ear). Nordstrand also makes the wide size MM, labeled: "for Lakland".
Good luck with your upgrades.
Yeah, all I did was add a 2-way switch to split the coils. It's a 5 wire design so you can wire series/parallel also.
Just bought the same pups from best bass gear. Can't wait to hear what sort of sound they unleash. I have the Js in just about all my other basses (other than the one P/J that I use EMGs for). I'll keep the stock preamp for now, but I'll probably move the treble/bass to a stack and install a vintage tone knob to compliment the pre and help dial in more of a vintage tone with the treble turned to full.
I have to agree with your review.
I sold my Brute because I didn't feel like swapping out the pickups for single coils and maybe swapping the preamp...
Just the opposite for me. I've had a blast doing my upgrades. A little tweaking here and there . . . just trying to figure out how to get the most out of what I consider to be, IMHO, one of the best feeling and playing basses out there that's under $600. And when it's all said and done I'm still only into it for under $1k.
It's all good fun to me
I generally do enjoy swapping parts.
In every one my basses all the pickups have been swapped and preamps swapped or added.
One bass I swapped all the silver parts for black.
If it had been ash I probably would have kept it...
This brute bass is really growing on me now. The neck took a bit of geeting used to, but I'm finding it really confortable and responsive when plying finger style funk. I crashed my motorcycle racing about 3 weeks ago and they had to perform a 3 hour opperation to stitch my right hand up. I have pins, stitches and skin grafts all over my hand and can only move the middle and index finger (fortunatly) so I'm a little limited in terms of right hand technique at the moment. Can't wait for 8-10 weeks to pass so that I can heal enough to find out what slapping is like on the Brute!
Hey Jack,
That really sucks about your accident. Here's wishing you a speedy and full recovery. Let us know how it goes with the Brute.
That really sucks about your accident. Here's wishing you a speedy and full recovery. Let us know how it goes with the Brute.
I don't know if this has been posted already, but here is a very nice demo of the Brute by the amazing Kevin Walker:
Very Nice!!!
A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!
Very Nice!!!
A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!
=>zulujack
The Brute remains a great bass for the price for a while...
But before I got mine, I've read sutch good things about it that I actually was a bit critical too when I took it out of the box.
Criticism is good...Even if it doesn't make us forget the price range !
Anyway, first I was pretty surprised too about the body wood issue. Nato or basswood ? It's not just like it doesn't matter ! When I bought mine I thought it was nato made, and regarding too the tone properties, I was expecting for a mahogany kind of tone.so I was clearly disappointed. To me, it's a bit opposite from the basswood...A hell more deeper tone. The basswood sounds more modern, medium and a bit agressive.That point is important I thinck.
I got mine several mounths ago and I'm now totally satisfied... put it DR strings, a knokenklang 3-band pre , that fit a great tone definition, and replaced the neck pickup by a "CREL" (Invalid Link Removed ), a french pickup manufacturer that sounds great ; fit a little bit rounder warm and precise tone, that was missing to me.
I got now a great beast : best neck and fretwork ever, an active/passive pre with lot of possibilities, a bridge pick up witch brings an agressive and "singing" tone, that emphasize the basswood tone (witch actually rocks) and the other pickup for a more cool sound.
Great stuff !!!!!
The Brute remains a great bass for the price for a while...
But before I got mine, I've read sutch good things about it that I actually was a bit critical too when I took it out of the box.
Criticism is good...Even if it doesn't make us forget the price range !
Anyway, first I was pretty surprised too about the body wood issue. Nato or basswood ? It's not just like it doesn't matter ! When I bought mine I thought it was nato made, and regarding too the tone properties, I was expecting for a mahogany kind of tone.so I was clearly disappointed. To me, it's a bit opposite from the basswood...A hell more deeper tone. The basswood sounds more modern, medium and a bit agressive.That point is important I thinck.
I got mine several mounths ago and I'm now totally satisfied... put it DR strings, a knokenklang 3-band pre , that fit a great tone definition, and replaced the neck pickup by a "CREL" (Invalid Link Removed ), a french pickup manufacturer that sounds great ; fit a little bit rounder warm and precise tone, that was missing to me.
I got now a great beast : best neck and fretwork ever, an active/passive pre with lot of possibilities, a bridge pick up witch brings an agressive and "singing" tone, that emphasize the basswood tone (witch actually rocks) and the other pickup for a more cool sound.
Great stuff !!!!!
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