good choice that is a pretty one and from the video he posted the new electronics are much improved from the early models.
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Brubaker Brute Club
- Thread starter J. Crawford
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Thanks. I'm a sucker for maple necks. My BA5 has rosewood so this brutes goal will be to stay modern and snappy and crisp. The big al can be Miss Versatility.
Pricing and features have yet to be set. Bear in mind that while the MJX and JJX have a modified version of the US Brubaker bolt-thru neck joint, the prototype for the singlecut has a full top, no pickguard and most important, the full US joint.
I played the prototype. IMO $1200 will be a bargain... but I don't set pricing.
Hi Team Brute
Thought I would give a week or two update on impressions of the new Brute.
It is hard to be objective, probably, because I am in that "infatuation" stage. Just the sight of Max takes my breath away a little. I probably overlook some flaws due to the newness...
When I got Max, the action was too low and it buzzed a bit. Also, the fret edges hung out and were irritating. My tech said this is usually due to the kilning problem - the wood continues to dry and shrink after the frets are set. I don't know how I would have felt about this bass if I just took it off the shelf ~ it was kinda annoying (Brad and Kevin QC alert =) ~ but for $45 (ymmv) my tech filed them down and set the bass up to spec. Now it plays like butter.
Like I said, I played a early 90's Sterling for the last decade. The Brute has 100% replaced it as my main instrument. Part of this is that I have a hard time fathoming playing a 4 string bass guitar any more. The other part owes to the qualities of the Brute.
I mentioned that it has a large body: once it is strapped in, this isn't a problem. It balances with no neck dive, and seems solid and easy to play on. The neck is smooth and flat; some have said it is the best 5 string neck ever. I fall into that camp.
No bass that I have played in 25 years has had a single coil j pickup, so I was unprepared for the 60Hz hum. In my room, it was really, really loud. Like, "make it go away" loud. Dial it to the MM pickup, and it disappears.
This is a shame, because the neck pickup sounds amazing. Smooth and flat, it sounds to me like a p bass pickup. In all those years of humbuckers, I have never gotten much use out of the neck pickup ~ there was always a quality of the tone that made me dial it out. This one must be in the "sweet spot," and it sounds great alone or mixed with the MM (my pickup selector does not blend - it works as a 3 way). In the times I have played it with the band, I heard no hum, so there must be some interference in my room (fan?). Nevertheless, the potential is there. I have read threads about how to deal with this. It is worth noting that the neck pickup appears to have a distinctly lower output than the MM.
The MM pickup is...perfect. Coming from an old MM guy, the sound is everything growly and funky and cutting that I want in a bass. In the band setting, the sound is solid and supportive, and very clear and present. The tone of this bass just cuts through the mix, very clear and precise.
If I do upgrade, it may be just the J pickup (with a hum-cancelling model) or perhaps the preamp so I can get a pickup blend. I am overjoyed with this bass, and am glad that I got the opportunity to learn about it here on TB.
Thought I would give a week or two update on impressions of the new Brute.
It is hard to be objective, probably, because I am in that "infatuation" stage. Just the sight of Max takes my breath away a little. I probably overlook some flaws due to the newness...
When I got Max, the action was too low and it buzzed a bit. Also, the fret edges hung out and were irritating. My tech said this is usually due to the kilning problem - the wood continues to dry and shrink after the frets are set. I don't know how I would have felt about this bass if I just took it off the shelf ~ it was kinda annoying (Brad and Kevin QC alert =) ~ but for $45 (ymmv) my tech filed them down and set the bass up to spec. Now it plays like butter.
Like I said, I played a early 90's Sterling for the last decade. The Brute has 100% replaced it as my main instrument. Part of this is that I have a hard time fathoming playing a 4 string bass guitar any more. The other part owes to the qualities of the Brute.
I mentioned that it has a large body: once it is strapped in, this isn't a problem. It balances with no neck dive, and seems solid and easy to play on. The neck is smooth and flat; some have said it is the best 5 string neck ever. I fall into that camp.
No bass that I have played in 25 years has had a single coil j pickup, so I was unprepared for the 60Hz hum. In my room, it was really, really loud. Like, "make it go away" loud. Dial it to the MM pickup, and it disappears.
This is a shame, because the neck pickup sounds amazing. Smooth and flat, it sounds to me like a p bass pickup. In all those years of humbuckers, I have never gotten much use out of the neck pickup ~ there was always a quality of the tone that made me dial it out. This one must be in the "sweet spot," and it sounds great alone or mixed with the MM (my pickup selector does not blend - it works as a 3 way). In the times I have played it with the band, I heard no hum, so there must be some interference in my room (fan?). Nevertheless, the potential is there. I have read threads about how to deal with this. It is worth noting that the neck pickup appears to have a distinctly lower output than the MM.
The MM pickup is...perfect. Coming from an old MM guy, the sound is everything growly and funky and cutting that I want in a bass. In the band setting, the sound is solid and supportive, and very clear and present. The tone of this bass just cuts through the mix, very clear and precise.
If I do upgrade, it may be just the J pickup (with a hum-cancelling model) or perhaps the preamp so I can get a pickup blend. I am overjoyed with this bass, and am glad that I got the opportunity to learn about it here on TB.
Ds1
Commercial User
- Dec 3, 2008
- 556
- 51
- Disclosures
- Owner: Ish Guitars, Inc. Owner: Ish Case, Inc
othefool:
Glad to hear your happy! The nature of the J pickups overall is exactly what your describing, thats why they invented MM's
...but I'm sure you already knew that. I would say replace the neck pickup with a modern sounding stacked J (so its humbucking), you would probably find one used for cheap.
Glad to hear your happy! The nature of the J pickups overall is exactly what your describing, thats why they invented MM's
...but I'm sure you already knew that. I would say replace the neck pickup with a modern sounding stacked J (so its humbucking), you would probably find one used for cheap.
othefool,
Have you emailed Kevin yet to make him aware of these problems?
I'm sure he'd probably want to know that one got through QC that may not be up to par. Plus he'd probably help you figure out whats up, and help you find a solution. Just go to the brubaker site and get the address from there. He's a great guy to deal with.
I don't know if they stuck with the Artec brand preamp on the new series or went with something different. I do know that of the 3 different series 1 Brutes that I've owned, two of the Artecs sounded great, one was just crap. Theyre good when they work right, but some bad ones get out on the market. Guess thats what you get sometimes with a sub $50 preamp.
Good luck!
Have you emailed Kevin yet to make him aware of these problems?
I'm sure he'd probably want to know that one got through QC that may not be up to par. Plus he'd probably help you figure out whats up, and help you find a solution. Just go to the brubaker site and get the address from there. He's a great guy to deal with.
I don't know if they stuck with the Artec brand preamp on the new series or went with something different. I do know that of the 3 different series 1 Brutes that I've owned, two of the Artecs sounded great, one was just crap. Theyre good when they work right, but some bad ones get out on the market. Guess thats what you get sometimes with a sub $50 preamp.
Good luck!
I had one of the first batch models of JJX5 and had no pickup hum at all . and the video's i have seen posted of the new models Either the JJX or MJX neither have I heard any 60 cycle hum on the video's or even heard of it being a problem. that is really weird.
I definitely echo that point.
I have to give Kevin about as high customer service marks as you can give.
Because I'm in MD, that made dealing with him easier, and I recognize that having the bass in CA takes certain options off the table, but from the experience I had, I can only imagine the response would be stellar no matter where you are and that some solution that would leave you happy would be offered.
Leaning towards "no". I haven't been in around five years and don't really miss it. It's a long four days when you're working.
I'll pass this on to Kevin and Phil. It's already known that in some situations the single coil can hum when soloed which is normal for that type of pickup. Not sure how the fret sprout got past local QC.
Thanks.
Thanks guys...just to follow up, I am not having any problems with the bass that would require contacting Brubaker...I took care of the fret issue and now it plays beautifully, and the hum on the J is just the nature of the beast, as I understand it. My comment about the hum was not a cut on the Brute, just expressing surprise that I made it this long as a bass player without ever having/experiencing a J pickup! =)
The Brute is amazing. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Kudos Kevin et al...
The Brute is amazing. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Kudos Kevin et al...
I can understand the J pup noise not being a big issue, but the blend acting as a 3-way would bug me big-time. Plus, you're missing out on some nice tone variations by not having the ability to blend.
True that, a2z...Hey Brad! Why doesn't my pickup switch blend? =)
On a side note, I was wondering what the serial number tells us about our Brutes.
Mine is stamped...J11070065...does this mean that it was made in July 2011?
On a side note, I was wondering what the serial number tells us about our Brutes.
Mine is stamped...J11070065...does this mean that it was made in July 2011?
well if it is acting like a three way switch , i will either swap it for another true blend pot or switch it to 2 separate volume pots. don't know yet won't have my new JJX5 till the end of next week hopefully.
johnnybass01 said:
Series 1 MJX's had the same problems with the blend when they first came out. The JJX's never had problems. So you should be fine. Seems odd that the new batch is experiencing similar as they did get it resolved on the first batch, to my knowledge anyway.
You can't beat the J/MM for versatility. I upgraded mine (from the old style pickups) to SGD pickups with a 3 way switch on the MM pickup. Bliss.
Pricing and features have yet to be set. Bear in mind that while the MJX and JJX have a modified version of the US Brubaker bolt-thru neck joint, the prototype for the singlecut has a full top, no pickguard and most important, the full US joint.
I played the prototype. IMO $1200 will be a bargain... but I don't set pricing.
See, that makes it sound more like the mid-line Brubaker series. $1200 is not the price I expected.. thats in the Clement price range, especially used.
Don't flame me! But I expected an affordable singlecut, in regards to the dual cut.
But you know more than I Brad! You are the man for a reason!
Ds1
Commercial User
- Dec 3, 2008
- 556
- 51
- Disclosures
- Owner: Ish Guitars, Inc. Owner: Ish Case, Inc
$1200 isn't exactly "mid-line" when it comes to Brubakers. I mean think about it - His USA basses are easily over $5k, so his mid-line USA basses (the KXB Standard) are around $2500. These would still be "low end" at $1200, and they would still be low end as far as SC's go! He could also make a cheaper SC if this one sells well.
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