The Brubaker Brute series gets a lot of positive comments here on TB. I had a chance to play a used Brute at a Guitar Center while back. Even though I didnt spend a lot of time with it, it made a positive impression. So, I took the plunge and picked up a new Brute Single Cut 5-string.
My Brute is a natural ash finish, and it is a beautiful piece of ash. The top is about ½ inch thick and is made of three pieces. The sections are joined right under the B and G strings, which really helps to hide any mismatched grain. Even without that, though, the differences in grain are really only obvious from the end of the bass. The back is made of two pieces joined near the center. The control plate is wooden something you just dont see in basses at this price range. My only minor visual gripe is the cheap-looking push-on chrome knobs, and that is easy to fix. (Ash knobs from Ebay fixed this problem for me.)
Fit and finish is good, but not perfect. There are a couple spots where the fingerboard meets the neck where there are holes that werent filled, resulting in very small dimples in the finish. Also, the route for the control plate on the rear isnt perfect and has one minor notch in it. There is also a small, discolored spot on the front edge of the bridge. All of these issues dont add up to much, though; this is a well-executed instrument.
The neck is clearly the result of some thought and planning. It actually inserts into a slot in the body and extends well into the body of the bass. Two of the neck bolts actually extend past the neck pickup! The fingerboard has a compound radius, and the back of the neck is finished in a matte black. The end result is a very comfortable, and very fast-playing, bass. Because of the single cut, the shape of the neck above the 13th fret is a little different than normal, but it is very comfortable. The black neck really makes a striking contrast to the natural ash body.
The bass has a small headstock and the front strap pin is just past the 13th fret. This helps the bass balance well on a strap. Not only is it completely neck-dive free, it will sit at any angle you put it when on a strap.
The bass sounds VERY good. I did not like the factory strings at all, and almost immediately put a set of fat beams on it. The active electronics are very open and bright. I was a little concerned about having only a bass and treble control (I generally like thick mids and passive tone), but it isnt a problem here. The MM bridge pickup has plenty of mids so much that I find myself boosting bass a bit to tame the mids in some situations. Blending toward the jazz neck pickup gives a nice, smooth, slightly mid-scooped modern tone.
My Brute Single Cut isnt perfect, though. This bass has several issues, though, and some I consider fairly serious.
First, when I unboxed the bass and plugged it in, the bass was DOA. Not worried, I replaced the battery (noting the potential for contact-point problems in the battery box) and tried again. Still DOA. I removed the screws from the control plate on the back to investigate, and before I could figure out how to get the tight-fitting plate off without damaging it, the bass came to life. For now, I have left well-enough alone, but the initial lack-of-sound is disconcerting.
Second, this bass is heavy. The body is the thickest I have seen on any solid body bass, and the single cut automatically means a more massive body. I dont have a scale to get an exact weight, but my bathroom scale let me estimate it at about twelve pounds. I own over two dozen basses and only my T-40 is heavier. This isnt a deal breaker for me (it would be for some), but it does mean a comfortable strap and strap locks are a requirement. I quickly upgraded the strap pins to Loxx strap locks and am using a Neotech Mega Bass strap. Even so, a four set club gig might be tough with this one.
Third, the bridge is not ideal. This is the same bridge that is on my Carvin SB5000 and it is also used on the new Reverends. Overall, it is an excellent bridge, but it has a design flaw. It really works best with taperwound strings. Even though it is a top-load design, it is very difficult to fit a large B string. A .130 is about the maximum that can be used. Also, strangely, the lock screws for the saddles have been removed, although I consider that an improvement rather than a problem.
Next on my list, and (like my complaint about the bridge) a bit of a nit-pick, is the truss rod access at the neck. It is a shallow semicircle. While this works aesthetically with the bass, a standard allen wriench is a tight fit and could easily dent the edges of the rout. A more traditional truss rod rout would be an improvement.
A more serious issue is something that I was genuinely surprised by. Given the discussions on TB of the amount of attention given these basses once they reach the US, I would expect excellent fret work. Instead, my bass has good fret work. Even after a quick setup, the D and G strings are a little buzzy around the 4th and 5th frets. The A string completely frets out at the 13th fret, as the 14th fret is a bit high. I should point out that I have this bass set up with medium low action. I will live with these fret problems for now, but for this to be a regular player, it is going to need some bench time.
The most serious issue, though, is with the B string. Given the neck joint, I expected great things. However, it is simply not as loud as the other strings. This problem is minimized at some EQ settings, but the issue is always there. Acoustically, I did not hear a problem, so I set out to find the issue. I adjusted the pickup height which helped a little, but didnt fix it. I changed strings, and that did not fix it either. With the neck pickup soloed, the B string is even and consistent with the other strings. With the bridge humbucker soloed, there is a minor drop in volume on the B string. It isnt serious, but it was noticeable at band rehearsal. When I switch to single coil on the bridge pickup, the B string disappears. The volume difference is dramatic. So, I tapped the pickup with a screw driver. I get nice, loud taps under the E, A, D, and G strings, but almost nothing under the B string on the bridge coil side. The thought crossed my mind that this might be a four string (possibly blade) pickup in a five string pickup shell. When I pulled the pickup (it is sealed) and looked at the magnets, the magnet stops just shy of the B string. So, I replaced the bridge pickup with a Nordstrand MM5.4. When I did so, two things became apparent. One, Nordstrand really makes some great sounding pickups. Two, with the pick properly covering the B string, I got the great-sounding B string that I expected. After gigging the bass, I will say that the B string is as solid as any 34 or 35 bass, and probably punchier than most. The Nordstrand is a bit more open and even - slightly less mid-punchy than the Brute pickup. I believe the original Brute MM was wired in series, and I installed the Nordstrand in parallel. I will say, this bass KILLS tone-wise with the Nordie.
My overall conclusion is that I like this bass a lot. Given the weight, the fret problems, and the pickup issue with the B string, a lot of people would have packed it up and shipped it back, but it is a keeper for me. I own about 28 basses and have been playing for over 30 years, so I feel I have enough experience to fairly quickly identify whether a bass is going to be usable to me. This one will get some stage time, but I have to admit, I am disappointed that my $300 Sub Ray5 outperforms this bass (out of the box) in terms of fret work and evenness of string volume. (To be fair, the Ray5 had a ridiculous amount of fret sprout that had to be dealt with.) On the other hand, since I replaced the bridge pickup, once I deal with the fret issues, this bass will stand in good company with my Carvin SB5000 as a top-notch five string bass.
Pics:
My Brute is a natural ash finish, and it is a beautiful piece of ash. The top is about ½ inch thick and is made of three pieces. The sections are joined right under the B and G strings, which really helps to hide any mismatched grain. Even without that, though, the differences in grain are really only obvious from the end of the bass. The back is made of two pieces joined near the center. The control plate is wooden something you just dont see in basses at this price range. My only minor visual gripe is the cheap-looking push-on chrome knobs, and that is easy to fix. (Ash knobs from Ebay fixed this problem for me.)
Fit and finish is good, but not perfect. There are a couple spots where the fingerboard meets the neck where there are holes that werent filled, resulting in very small dimples in the finish. Also, the route for the control plate on the rear isnt perfect and has one minor notch in it. There is also a small, discolored spot on the front edge of the bridge. All of these issues dont add up to much, though; this is a well-executed instrument.
The neck is clearly the result of some thought and planning. It actually inserts into a slot in the body and extends well into the body of the bass. Two of the neck bolts actually extend past the neck pickup! The fingerboard has a compound radius, and the back of the neck is finished in a matte black. The end result is a very comfortable, and very fast-playing, bass. Because of the single cut, the shape of the neck above the 13th fret is a little different than normal, but it is very comfortable. The black neck really makes a striking contrast to the natural ash body.
The bass has a small headstock and the front strap pin is just past the 13th fret. This helps the bass balance well on a strap. Not only is it completely neck-dive free, it will sit at any angle you put it when on a strap.
The bass sounds VERY good. I did not like the factory strings at all, and almost immediately put a set of fat beams on it. The active electronics are very open and bright. I was a little concerned about having only a bass and treble control (I generally like thick mids and passive tone), but it isnt a problem here. The MM bridge pickup has plenty of mids so much that I find myself boosting bass a bit to tame the mids in some situations. Blending toward the jazz neck pickup gives a nice, smooth, slightly mid-scooped modern tone.
My Brute Single Cut isnt perfect, though. This bass has several issues, though, and some I consider fairly serious.
First, when I unboxed the bass and plugged it in, the bass was DOA. Not worried, I replaced the battery (noting the potential for contact-point problems in the battery box) and tried again. Still DOA. I removed the screws from the control plate on the back to investigate, and before I could figure out how to get the tight-fitting plate off without damaging it, the bass came to life. For now, I have left well-enough alone, but the initial lack-of-sound is disconcerting.
Second, this bass is heavy. The body is the thickest I have seen on any solid body bass, and the single cut automatically means a more massive body. I dont have a scale to get an exact weight, but my bathroom scale let me estimate it at about twelve pounds. I own over two dozen basses and only my T-40 is heavier. This isnt a deal breaker for me (it would be for some), but it does mean a comfortable strap and strap locks are a requirement. I quickly upgraded the strap pins to Loxx strap locks and am using a Neotech Mega Bass strap. Even so, a four set club gig might be tough with this one.
Third, the bridge is not ideal. This is the same bridge that is on my Carvin SB5000 and it is also used on the new Reverends. Overall, it is an excellent bridge, but it has a design flaw. It really works best with taperwound strings. Even though it is a top-load design, it is very difficult to fit a large B string. A .130 is about the maximum that can be used. Also, strangely, the lock screws for the saddles have been removed, although I consider that an improvement rather than a problem.
Next on my list, and (like my complaint about the bridge) a bit of a nit-pick, is the truss rod access at the neck. It is a shallow semicircle. While this works aesthetically with the bass, a standard allen wriench is a tight fit and could easily dent the edges of the rout. A more traditional truss rod rout would be an improvement.
A more serious issue is something that I was genuinely surprised by. Given the discussions on TB of the amount of attention given these basses once they reach the US, I would expect excellent fret work. Instead, my bass has good fret work. Even after a quick setup, the D and G strings are a little buzzy around the 4th and 5th frets. The A string completely frets out at the 13th fret, as the 14th fret is a bit high. I should point out that I have this bass set up with medium low action. I will live with these fret problems for now, but for this to be a regular player, it is going to need some bench time.
The most serious issue, though, is with the B string. Given the neck joint, I expected great things. However, it is simply not as loud as the other strings. This problem is minimized at some EQ settings, but the issue is always there. Acoustically, I did not hear a problem, so I set out to find the issue. I adjusted the pickup height which helped a little, but didnt fix it. I changed strings, and that did not fix it either. With the neck pickup soloed, the B string is even and consistent with the other strings. With the bridge humbucker soloed, there is a minor drop in volume on the B string. It isnt serious, but it was noticeable at band rehearsal. When I switch to single coil on the bridge pickup, the B string disappears. The volume difference is dramatic. So, I tapped the pickup with a screw driver. I get nice, loud taps under the E, A, D, and G strings, but almost nothing under the B string on the bridge coil side. The thought crossed my mind that this might be a four string (possibly blade) pickup in a five string pickup shell. When I pulled the pickup (it is sealed) and looked at the magnets, the magnet stops just shy of the B string. So, I replaced the bridge pickup with a Nordstrand MM5.4. When I did so, two things became apparent. One, Nordstrand really makes some great sounding pickups. Two, with the pick properly covering the B string, I got the great-sounding B string that I expected. After gigging the bass, I will say that the B string is as solid as any 34 or 35 bass, and probably punchier than most. The Nordstrand is a bit more open and even - slightly less mid-punchy than the Brute pickup. I believe the original Brute MM was wired in series, and I installed the Nordstrand in parallel. I will say, this bass KILLS tone-wise with the Nordie.
My overall conclusion is that I like this bass a lot. Given the weight, the fret problems, and the pickup issue with the B string, a lot of people would have packed it up and shipped it back, but it is a keeper for me. I own about 28 basses and have been playing for over 30 years, so I feel I have enough experience to fairly quickly identify whether a bass is going to be usable to me. This one will get some stage time, but I have to admit, I am disappointed that my $300 Sub Ray5 outperforms this bass (out of the box) in terms of fret work and evenness of string volume. (To be fair, the Ray5 had a ridiculous amount of fret sprout that had to be dealt with.) On the other hand, since I replaced the bridge pickup, once I deal with the fret issues, this bass will stand in good company with my Carvin SB5000 as a top-notch five string bass.
Pics:
