Brought out my Brice short scales (a 5 and a 6 string) yesterday after not playing them for a couple years. (I took a break from playing at all, not specifically from playing the Brices.) Those necks did not budge one bit during that time. Set up is exactly the same as it was with nice low action. The strings were even not that far out of tune. All they needed was a quick clean up and they were ready to go! Impressed.
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The Official Brice Club
- Thread starter bstringkyle
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I set up the string highth to where I wanted it after putting a set of DR Lo -riders on her and man does she have some sizzle.
The only flaw is the treble pot doesn’t go all the way around. I think it’s a bad pot but it’s not effecting me right now. I might gut her later and put new pups and pre in but dang for 275.00 she’s one sweet freak.
I took her to a gig last week and she sounded great thru my GK rig. I have two Lakland Skylines a 55-01 and 55-02 that are my main players. I really love the look of the single cutaways so I jumped on this. So far I’m very impressed.
Haven’t been here in a long time ... I’ve had multiple Brice’s Over the years, currently only have this fretless 5
And this Beatle bass
But since this is the official Brice Club page, hopefully someone will have an older Prestige Z6 in natural that they want to sell ... been looking for quite a while, but can’t find it anywhere ... give me a shout if you have, or see, one for sale like this
And this Beatle bass
But since this is the official Brice Club page, hopefully someone will have an older Prestige Z6 in natural that they want to sell ... been looking for quite a while, but can’t find it anywhere ... give me a shout if you have, or see, one for sale like this
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Good luck with your search for a natural Z6. I have a pair of blue ones,
but, if they were natural, I'd STILL be wishing you help finding someone ELSE willing to let THEIRS go!
They are a really good value, and after replacing the pre in the fretted one with an Audere (done after this pic was taken) it is one of my highest quality instruments!
What I meant to say is it doesn’t go far enough around. It only goes a little way past detent then stops. All other pots still travel half way past detent in both directions this one won’t.Pots aren't supposed to go all the way around
So, for those of you who are interested... here is the final stage of my Brice customization.
EMG 45 J bass reverse soap bars, moved pickups into mid 70s Jazz bass location and made a ramp/filler piece. 18 V BTS EQ circuit, Sadowsky knobs. Replaced cheap soft plastic nut with a graph-tech nut, filled string through holes with hard wood dowels, installed Hipshot Brass Bridge,reshaped the back of the body to be more like a Fender.Rounded off the sharp edges where my arm rests.Buffed out the matte finis to a high gloss.Slightly reshaped the headstock.
Not exactly a cheap bass anymore but totally worth the extra money.The thing plays like a dream,low action, no buzzes even when I play hard, sustains forever and sounds very much like a souped up Fender Jazz. Which is the sound I like. I just needed a few more extra notes. I have never played a high end Fodera 6 or anything else comparable but I can't imagine that I would trade my Brice for any of them. BTW this bass is a 34" scale which is weird because I think they normally come only in 35", isn't that right? I did see that Rondo offers custom builds and the offer a 34" scale.I don't know the history of my bass. I got it used from a Pawn shop and paid 275.- which is almost what they are new. But I didn't care. The neck is what sold me. It is really well made.
I am totally happy with this bass. It is a beast! Here's the latest picture with the new bridge and the new ramp.
EMG 45 J bass reverse soap bars, moved pickups into mid 70s Jazz bass location and made a ramp/filler piece. 18 V BTS EQ circuit, Sadowsky knobs. Replaced cheap soft plastic nut with a graph-tech nut, filled string through holes with hard wood dowels, installed Hipshot Brass Bridge,reshaped the back of the body to be more like a Fender.Rounded off the sharp edges where my arm rests.Buffed out the matte finis to a high gloss.Slightly reshaped the headstock.
Not exactly a cheap bass anymore but totally worth the extra money.The thing plays like a dream,low action, no buzzes even when I play hard, sustains forever and sounds very much like a souped up Fender Jazz. Which is the sound I like. I just needed a few more extra notes. I have never played a high end Fodera 6 or anything else comparable but I can't imagine that I would trade my Brice for any of them. BTW this bass is a 34" scale which is weird because I think they normally come only in 35", isn't that right? I did see that Rondo offers custom builds and the offer a 34" scale.I don't know the history of my bass. I got it used from a Pawn shop and paid 275.- which is almost what they are new. But I didn't care. The neck is what sold me. It is really well made.
I am totally happy with this bass. It is a beast! Here's the latest picture with the new bridge and the new ramp.
Is there anywhere else to find Brice basses besides Rondo? I'm looking for a short scale 6 string, but currently, Rondo only has two 6ers available.
I love the look of those headless models they've come out with, I hope they make a 6 string version of this one in particular Brice HXB2-404 3/4 Short Scale Headless Nat Burl - RondoMusic.com
I love the look of those headless models they've come out with, I hope they make a 6 string version of this one in particular Brice HXB2-404 3/4 Short Scale Headless Nat Burl - RondoMusic.com
I always got mine from Rondo , but maybe somebody here knows , or a Google search?
I noticed they stopped having other models too.
For what is worth , I have the 35’ scale both fretted and fretless, and they’re compact basses for a 6 string . They fit in regular bass cases and gig bags- including the Mono case .
Hi all!
I tested my latest addition during a rehearsal today . I am looking to upgrade the pickups . I found some 6 string pickups by Bartolini and the like . What would be a good match for this bass , to give it a sound that will cut through a loud band better , in the style of a a Stingray?
Thanks !
I tested my latest addition during a rehearsal today . I am looking to upgrade the pickups . I found some 6 string pickups by Bartolini and the like . What would be a good match for this bass , to give it a sound that will cut through a loud band better , in the style of a a Stingray?
Thanks !
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Hi, I’m looking to get my Brice to cut through the mix better , approximate a Stingray Sound . What would you recommend for electronics , from pre to Pickup? Thanks !
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I play in a small combo. I'm the foundation, tonally, so cutting through the mix is not an issue for me.
There only piece of possibly useful info I can give you is, I put an Audere pre in my fretted Z6 (the one in my pic) and its Z mode switch gives you 3 levels of brightness. That's way oversimplified, but the short answer is check them out, they are fairly transparent, but give LOTS of range.
I agree with dabbler, the Audere pre-amp is the route to go ... I used a Brice Z6 for a fairly long time (NEVER should have sold it!) with Bartolini pickups and the Audere and it was clean and very present. Not sure about the HBX styles like you have, but on the Z6 bodies the Bart’s basically dropped into the cavity ...
I just purchased a used Brice 5-string fretless. I'm really impressed! However, I need to do some electronics repairs and mod(s). First, the bass came with volume, volume, blend, and tone controls, which is pretty weird. I've always preferred V-B-T over V-V-T, but I could definitely be convinced to try a different configuration since I have four knobs to play with. Maybe V-V-T plus master volume? Or else two tone controls with different cap values?
Anyway, here's the current status of the bass. The pots were scratchy when the bass arrived, the blend knob is wired backwards, and the tone control was very loose and wiggly. I damaged a couple of pots while trying to remove the knobs for cleaning (I did use a rag to apply even pressure, but they were wedged on really tight), so I am planning on replacing all of the pots. The pickups are active (humbuckers?) with passive tone controls, which is new to me. I know that passive basses typically use 250K or 500K pots, and basses with active pre-amps use much lower values, so which do I use here? Can I just treat the pickups like any other passive bass? The battery is wired between the jack and the pickups, so I don't need to mess with it in order to replace the pots. One more thing that is weird to me: the bridge pickup volume uses an A25K pot, whereas both the neck pickup and the tone control use B100K pots. Not sure why this is. Did someone previously replace the bridge pickup pot?
I am not looking to replace the pickups or to put in an expensive pre-amp, at least not just yet. I would consider a pre-amp if I can find something pretty affordable, say under $50. Simple active bass and treble controls might be nice.... I don't think there is room in the cavity for another battery, though, so anything active would need to use the same battery. Speaking of the battery, this one is locked up with four screws, so that is one more thing I'd like to address at some point. One option would be an active/passive switch, but I'm not sure how to install that.
I emailed Rondo to ask for specs and/or a wiring diagram. In the meantime, any other advice, recommendations, or information will be greatly appreciated.
Anyway, here's the current status of the bass. The pots were scratchy when the bass arrived, the blend knob is wired backwards, and the tone control was very loose and wiggly. I damaged a couple of pots while trying to remove the knobs for cleaning (I did use a rag to apply even pressure, but they were wedged on really tight), so I am planning on replacing all of the pots. The pickups are active (humbuckers?) with passive tone controls, which is new to me. I know that passive basses typically use 250K or 500K pots, and basses with active pre-amps use much lower values, so which do I use here? Can I just treat the pickups like any other passive bass? The battery is wired between the jack and the pickups, so I don't need to mess with it in order to replace the pots. One more thing that is weird to me: the bridge pickup volume uses an A25K pot, whereas both the neck pickup and the tone control use B100K pots. Not sure why this is. Did someone previously replace the bridge pickup pot?
I am not looking to replace the pickups or to put in an expensive pre-amp, at least not just yet. I would consider a pre-amp if I can find something pretty affordable, say under $50. Simple active bass and treble controls might be nice.... I don't think there is room in the cavity for another battery, though, so anything active would need to use the same battery. Speaking of the battery, this one is locked up with four screws, so that is one more thing I'd like to address at some point. One option would be an active/passive switch, but I'm not sure how to install that.
I emailed Rondo to ask for specs and/or a wiring diagram. In the meantime, any other advice, recommendations, or information will be greatly appreciated.
