I have a red Brice V2 6-string fretless. Not to turn the topic, but it's now for sale since I got my new Spector 6-string fretless today. PM me if interested. I was very happy with it. It's an inexpensive way to try fretless to see if you like it. I did.
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Do you own a Brice Bass? -- Poll
- Thread starter DaveCustomMade
- Start date
Here's my problem with the Brice bass. If I get one of the 6 string basses, whether the Prestige Z or the Bubinga, by the time I switch out electronics, I will be up near [perhaps more than] $800 [for Bartolini soaps and 3 band eq]. And even though that is about half the cost of building up a Warmoth Gecko 6 string, it is still within the price of some other, probably nicer basses, such as a Peavey Fury or something. Plus the whole thing of not having played one before, thus not knowing if I'd like how it felt. Of course, these are questions that only I could answer, and only if I decided to buy one. 
I'm thinking about getting a SX Fretless bass, after I get my rickenbacker. I get the SX to learn the fretless and to see if I will like it. Which model is the best?
DaveCustomMade said:Here's my problem with the Brice bass. If I get one of the 6 string basses, whether the Prestige Z or the Bubinga, by the time I switch out electronics, I will be up near [perhaps more than] $800 [for Bartolini soaps and 3 band eq]. And even though that is about half the cost of building up a Warmoth Gecko 6 string, it is still within the price of some other, probably nicer basses, such as a Peavey Fury or something. Plus the whole thing of not having played one before, thus not knowing if I'd like how it felt. Of course, these are questions that only I could answer, and only if I decided to buy one.
For $800, you are getting up closed to used Cirrus 5 or 6 territory. I know one person commented that they picked a Brice over a Cirrus, but I am sure they are in a very small minority. For $800 - $1000, nothing can touch a used Cirrus.
Planet Boulder- I didn't have to do any routing at all. I think the Essex basses have smaller routing than the Brices. I've heard of some people having to take a dremel to them. Everything just dropped right in on the Brice which is sweet because I'm mechanically challenged when it comes to woodwork. All it took was a screwdriver and a soldering iron....my kind of mods.
Planet Boulder
Hey, this is a private residence...man
- Nov 10, 2001
- 4,014
- 65
- Disclosures
- I once had impure thoughts. Oh, and I pluck my ear hair.
CQBASS said:
Sweet! I may be doing the same thing to mine eventually. I really dig the way yours looks and I'm guessing it sounds great. Thanks man!
Planet Boulder
Hey, this is a private residence...man
- Nov 10, 2001
- 4,014
- 65
- Disclosures
- I once had impure thoughts. Oh, and I pluck my ear hair.
embellisher said:
That's a mighty strong statement, but not having played a Cirrus, I cannot argue it in all good conscience. But give it time, my friend - someone will happen along to take issue shortly.
I have the 5 String Ash Jazz in lefty.....
I have never gigged with it....i need to buy some humbuckers for it and i really want to get a new bridge so i can almost get the 3/4" spacing i like (i have a bridge from an American Deluxe Fiver on it now)
the B string sucked (as expected), but with some work, i'm sure i can get it to be nice (higher tension string helps).
one thing - THIS BASS IS HEAVY!!!
I have never gigged with it....i need to buy some humbuckers for it and i really want to get a new bridge so i can almost get the 3/4" spacing i like (i have a bridge from an American Deluxe Fiver on it now)
the B string sucked (as expected), but with some work, i'm sure i can get it to be nice (higher tension string helps).
one thing - THIS BASS IS HEAVY!!!
Kind of what I was saying before is happening right in this thread ... people always speak of Brice and Essex (SX) in the same breath. To the best of my knowledge, Brice doesn't make a lefty 5 J bass with an ash body, but SX does. Two different bass lines. (but I could be wrong)
Also, when I said earlier that I chose a Brice over the Cirrus, that was in no manner meant to knock the Cirrus. For me, the Cirrus body is too small, I much prefer the bulkier fender-like body styles, and the Brice neck is generally bigger than the Cirrus, also something I prefer. These are the same reasons I don't care for Spectors and Warwicks ... but they are all great basses
One thing I don't understand about potential Brice buyers is why you feel that the pre and pups must be changed in order for the bass to sound right? I really think that's because of the confusion with the SX line .......
And don't get me wrong, I'm loving my Z6NT, it plays great and I still think its the absolute best 6 string available for under $1200 (once you get it set up right), but .... somewhere in the next year I'll either be getting a new FBB fretted 6 or a Jerzy Drozd 6, and once that happens, the Brice is toast
Also, when I said earlier that I chose a Brice over the Cirrus, that was in no manner meant to knock the Cirrus. For me, the Cirrus body is too small, I much prefer the bulkier fender-like body styles, and the Brice neck is generally bigger than the Cirrus, also something I prefer. These are the same reasons I don't care for Spectors and Warwicks ... but they are all great basses
One thing I don't understand about potential Brice buyers is why you feel that the pre and pups must be changed in order for the bass to sound right? I really think that's because of the confusion with the SX line .......
And don't get me wrong, I'm loving my Z6NT, it plays great and I still think its the absolute best 6 string available for under $1200 (once you get it set up right), but .... somewhere in the next year I'll either be getting a new FBB fretted 6 or a Jerzy Drozd 6, and once that happens, the Brice is toast
I selected No - wish I did. But like the above said, there's no No - and I didn't/don't like it.
pointbass said:
funny, it clearly says Brice on the head stock - in big black letters
as to the pups - they are really not up to par with what i have in other basses (i don't enjoy single coil hum and exposed poles) - whatever Brice uses in their basses, just doesn't work well for gigging and studio work
are you confused yet?
pointbass said:One thing I don't understand about potential Brice buyers is why you feel that the pre and pups must be changed in order for the bass to sound right? I really think that's because of the confusion with the SX line .......
And don't get me wrong, I'm loving my Z6NT, it plays great and I still think its the absolute best 6 string available for under $1200 (once you get it set up right), but .... somewhere in the next year I'll either be getting a new FBB fretted 6 or a Jerzy Drozd 6, and once that happens, the Brice is toast
I prefer having the ability to have a mid knob, thus I'd be going with a Bartolini preamp.
Now, your figure of $1,200 caught my attention. What did you do [end up doing] to come up to that point?
CQBASS said:
Your bass is very nice. They (brice douglas 5s) were the best jazz clones made (for the $$). Too bad Rondo doesn't offer them anymore. I owned one for a while and kick myself for selling it. I bought it for $327.00 and it was the best bass under $600.00 I've ever owned. But...it was also the heaviest bass I've ever owned. It KILLED my back and left shoulder after 1 hr of playing (I'm not a small guy either). I hope Kurt brings this model back I know I'll get one as a back up.
-Bazz-
I voted no, but wish I did, as I'm going to be ordering one soon. The Z Bass Neckthru has has pretty much all of the features I want in a 6 string, namely neck thru construction, wider string spacing, and 35" scale. While I could probably get that with a Yamaha TRB 6er, I'd be paying way more than 400 dollars for even a used Yamaha. And regarding replacing hardware, that's something that can be done piecemeal, so unless you're in a hurry, you don't necessarily have to plunk down 400 dollars immediately to upgrade all the hardware the moment you buy the bass. It's something I intend to do over time if the stock hardware doesn't meet my needs. Besides, I can pay 400 dollars for the bass, and upgrade everything I want, or pay 800 for a higher end bass used, find out I don't like the pickups anyway, and still have to replace them.
"Brice doesn't make a lefty 5 J bass with an ash body, but SX does"
To the contrary. My lefty 5 jazz is ash and a Brice. I don't think they make them any more, but they should. And yes, it is heavy but balanced well so it's not to bad. I switch off with my 8 pound US MAsters fretless 5 throughout the night so it doesn't bother me and I'm a little guy. When I got mine the fretwork was even OK much to my surprise. Fit/finish was excellent too. But EVERYTHING electronic had to go immediately. I'm even thinkng about getting a lefty ash 4 for funk gigs....we'll see. They're just really solid workhorse type of basses and I'm on the road all the time so it makes sense. After having 2 custom lefty pedullas and my upright stolen out of the bus I feel a little safer knowing I could replace this for another $650.
To the contrary. My lefty 5 jazz is ash and a Brice. I don't think they make them any more, but they should. And yes, it is heavy but balanced well so it's not to bad. I switch off with my 8 pound US MAsters fretless 5 throughout the night so it doesn't bother me and I'm a little guy. When I got mine the fretwork was even OK much to my surprise. Fit/finish was excellent too. But EVERYTHING electronic had to go immediately. I'm even thinkng about getting a lefty ash 4 for funk gigs....we'll see. They're just really solid workhorse type of basses and I'm on the road all the time so it makes sense. After having 2 custom lefty pedullas and my upright stolen out of the bus I feel a little safer knowing I could replace this for another $650.
Wow, it seems like I'm always defending these basses, for some reason or another 
Maybe Kurt needs to put me on the payroll 
NJL - that's why I said "(I could be wrong)" - that kind of stuff happens when you get old like me
But, I have to really disagree with you on the pups, at least as far as the Z6NT is concerned. I record (as a paid studio player) A LOT with the Brice at 5 different studios on a very regular basis, and not a single one of engineers has anything but good comments on the recordability of the bass (although I did get the usual "What happened to the Fender" comments when they first saw it). Hey, maybe I got the only decent one they ever made (starting to wonder about that since everyone else seems to feel the pups bite 
) ....
Dave - before I bought this bass I played a bunch of different stuff, at length, primarily because 1) I'm a bit on the anal side, 2) I don't like buying equipment just for the sake of owning it so anything I buy I use for active gigging (except for an occassional rehab project bass), 3) while thanks to good fortune money is not really a huge issue to me, I don't like overpaying for something just because a known name is attached to it, and 4) as mentioned above, I'm getting old and I don't always trust my first instincts.
Before and since buying the Brice, I played (in this order, more or less),
Washburn XB-600 new-old-stock
Yamaha TRB6 barely used
Brice Z6 bolt on
Carvin LB76 (I think that was the model) used
Peavey Axcelerator new
Spector Legend new
Dean (some kind of 6er) new
Brice Z6 neck-through
Warwick Corvette new-old-stock
Warwick Thumb well used but in great shape
Peavey Cirrus barely used
The Brice NT was and remains the most comfortable to me, due to body style and neck. I thought that out of the box the Cirrus, TRB and Legend were the most immediately playable basses (especially the Cirrus and Legend), but the TRB and Brice were the best designs for me (I'm really an old Fender guy at heart). All of the basses above fit into the under $1200 category and all were good solid basses (although truthfully the Dean and Washburn seemed kind of at the bottom of the list ... please Dean and Washburn people don't get upset, I'm not saying they are bad basses, just IMO). BTW, for me, my FBB fretless 6 blows all of them away but it's in a different category ....
Point of reference, I'm primarily a jazz/funk fusion player (8 piece group, keys-bass-guitar-drums-3 horns-percussion), but I do a lot of recording for vocalists (both jazz and popular) and I've been more involved with contemporary Christian and Gospel groups lately ..... I am definitely not a rocker in the strict sense of the word.
The Brice Z6NT is a very solid bass, regardless of price. Does it have problems? Sure, especially in the setup of the bass. But in the price range I mentioned, it's really hard to beat it.
Maybe Kurt needs to put me on the payroll NJL - that's why I said "(I could be wrong)" - that kind of stuff happens when you get old like me
But, I have to really disagree with you on the pups, at least as far as the Z6NT is concerned. I record (as a paid studio player) A LOT with the Brice at 5 different studios on a very regular basis, and not a single one of engineers has anything but good comments on the recordability of the bass (although I did get the usual "What happened to the Fender" comments when they first saw it). Hey, maybe I got the only decent one they ever made (starting to wonder about that since everyone else seems to feel the pups bite ) ....Dave - before I bought this bass I played a bunch of different stuff, at length, primarily because 1) I'm a bit on the anal side, 2) I don't like buying equipment just for the sake of owning it so anything I buy I use for active gigging (except for an occassional rehab project bass), 3) while thanks to good fortune money is not really a huge issue to me, I don't like overpaying for something just because a known name is attached to it, and 4) as mentioned above, I'm getting old and I don't always trust my first instincts.
Before and since buying the Brice, I played (in this order, more or less),
Washburn XB-600 new-old-stock
Yamaha TRB6 barely used
Brice Z6 bolt on
Carvin LB76 (I think that was the model) used
Peavey Axcelerator new
Spector Legend new
Dean (some kind of 6er) new
Brice Z6 neck-through
Warwick Corvette new-old-stock
Warwick Thumb well used but in great shape
Peavey Cirrus barely used
The Brice NT was and remains the most comfortable to me, due to body style and neck. I thought that out of the box the Cirrus, TRB and Legend were the most immediately playable basses (especially the Cirrus and Legend), but the TRB and Brice were the best designs for me (I'm really an old Fender guy at heart). All of the basses above fit into the under $1200 category and all were good solid basses (although truthfully the Dean and Washburn seemed kind of at the bottom of the list ... please Dean and Washburn people don't get upset, I'm not saying they are bad basses, just IMO). BTW, for me, my FBB fretless 6 blows all of them away
but it's in a different category ....Point of reference, I'm primarily a jazz/funk fusion player (8 piece group, keys-bass-guitar-drums-3 horns-percussion), but I do a lot of recording for vocalists (both jazz and popular) and I've been more involved with contemporary Christian and Gospel groups lately ..... I am definitely not a rocker in the strict sense of the word.
The Brice Z6NT is a very solid bass, regardless of price. Does it have problems? Sure, especially in the setup of the bass. But in the price range I mentioned, it's really hard to beat it.
I was laid off and had to sell my Warwick. I don't really have a bass right now, so I'd be more than happy with anything.
I have a Brice V-2 five string fretless. I had been wanting to try a fretless and, for the price ($159.00 USD), thought this would be a good one to try. After putting on DA Chrome flat strings, the thing plays and sounds great. I now use it as my main bass, really, and have owned it for about fourteen months now.
"they are really not up to par with what i have in other basses (i don't enjoy single coil hum and exposed poles) - whatever Brice uses in their basses, just doesn't work well for gigging and studio work"
I've gigged with my HXB 6 - Fretless and I love it. It cuts through very well. It does have humbuckers in it though, not single coils. I was thinking before I got it that I would need to replace the pups and pre, but I'm putting that off now. It sounds very well stock, and the only thing I think it could use would be a sweepable mid. And this is still with the stock strings on it. Now I may have just gotten lucky, I dunno....but I'm really happy with it. If fact, I took it to it's first gig thinking I would try it on a song or two and go back to my other bass. Before I knew it the gig was almost over, and I had been playing it for several songs. I just couldn't put it down!!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Dave
I've gigged with my HXB 6 - Fretless and I love it. It cuts through very well. It does have humbuckers in it though, not single coils. I was thinking before I got it that I would need to replace the pups and pre, but I'm putting that off now. It sounds very well stock, and the only thing I think it could use would be a sweepable mid. And this is still with the stock strings on it. Now I may have just gotten lucky, I dunno....but I'm really happy with it. If fact, I took it to it's first gig thinking I would try it on a song or two and go back to my other bass. Before I knew it the gig was almost over, and I had been playing it for several songs. I just couldn't put it down!!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Dave
