Brice Basses (Review)
I have been looking for a fretless with a plain un-lined fingerboard for some time. (Apparently the trend in the industry is to include the 'training wheels', which makes sense if you are first learning to play without frets, but no frets has more visual intrigue).
My 'holy grail' of basses, the Wal, made in England, was my wish-bass for years. I have considered ordering one and waiting two years for it to arrive, but alas, the company has not been producing basses as of late (causing much speculation as to the future of the company) Also sadly, the Wal bass is at least 10 times as expensive at his instrument. Well, my bass has arrived 2 years early--the Brice HXB-405 5-String.
The Brice is a surprisingly good instrument for the price ($250 new through Rondo Music on E-Bay). Previously I had owned a Carvin fretless, and played it for almost 10 years. The Carvin was, shall I say, 'interesting' and I tolerated its idiosyncrasies for years (a slightly bowed neck sculpted by years of temperature and humidity changes, with a curve up toward the high end had a nice buzz on certain ranges, that I exploited for its oddity. If your ultimate goal is character of sound, there is no need to spend lots of money for the perfect instrument. Like finding the perfect mate, the exersize proves ultimately elusive, and you learn that you can achieve creative nirvana through such happy accidents.
***
The body appears to be ash with a nice reddish mahogany stain. From a distance you can't tell the difference from a piece of expensive flamed or burled wood. I would have preferred more of a beveled edge on the body as the top side of the body digs into your arm after a while. Tuning pegs are standard, but can easily be replaced. Pickups are fairly bland with little high end, but with all pots to 10, this is a nice boomy bass. The bass came fitted with the deadest strings in existence, which I replaced promptly. (If I still had my Carvin I'd put them on there...)
So while I wait for the Wal revival, I can buy 10 cheap ones to slake my appetite. I would however want to caress one of those basses before I die.
My 'holy grail' of basses, the Wal, made in England, was my wish-bass for years. I have considered ordering one and waiting two years for it to arrive, but alas, the company has not been producing basses as of late (causing much speculation as to the future of the company) Also sadly, the Wal bass is at least 10 times as expensive at his instrument. Well, my bass has arrived 2 years early--the Brice HXB-405 5-String.
The Brice is a surprisingly good instrument for the price ($250 new through Rondo Music on E-Bay). Previously I had owned a Carvin fretless, and played it for almost 10 years. The Carvin was, shall I say, 'interesting' and I tolerated its idiosyncrasies for years (a slightly bowed neck sculpted by years of temperature and humidity changes, with a curve up toward the high end had a nice buzz on certain ranges, that I exploited for its oddity. If your ultimate goal is character of sound, there is no need to spend lots of money for the perfect instrument. Like finding the perfect mate, the exersize proves ultimately elusive, and you learn that you can achieve creative nirvana through such happy accidents.
***
The body appears to be ash with a nice reddish mahogany stain. From a distance you can't tell the difference from a piece of expensive flamed or burled wood. I would have preferred more of a beveled edge on the body as the top side of the body digs into your arm after a while. Tuning pegs are standard, but can easily be replaced. Pickups are fairly bland with little high end, but with all pots to 10, this is a nice boomy bass. The bass came fitted with the deadest strings in existence, which I replaced promptly. (If I still had my Carvin I'd put them on there...)
So while I wait for the Wal revival, I can buy 10 cheap ones to slake my appetite. I would however want to caress one of those basses before I die.
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