# Brice Basses



## Encephalon5 (Dec 25, 2010)

I've been looking into getting a nice 5 or 6 string fretless. Stumbled across rondo music. found this 5 string fretless brice. 
Brice HXB-405 Nat Spalted Fretless at RondoMusic.com
have any of you guys played brices? are they any good? i dont want to spend an assload on my first fretless. but i do want it to be a pretty good one.

theyve a six string fretless as well

http://www.rondomusic.com/z6tbluefl.html


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Dec 25, 2010)

The two fretless basses I got from Rondo, the Brice HXB406 in Bubinga and one in Quilted Maple were awesome for the price. The pickups and preamp kinda sucked but that's easy to fix. 

The boards were hump/dump free, the brass nuts were cut pretty good, the tuners and bridge were solid, and the balance wasn't too bad.


----------



## Adam Of Angels (Dec 25, 2010)

For the money, they look beyond killer. I would love to try them out.


----------



## Encephalon5 (Dec 26, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> The two fretless basses I got from Rondo, the Brice HXB406 in Bubinga and one in Quilted Maple were awesome for the price. The pickups and preamp kinda sucked but that's easy to fix.
> 
> The boards were hump/dump free, the brass nuts were cut pretty good, the tuners and bridge were solid, and the balance wasn't too bad.



how did they play? thats what im interested in.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Dec 26, 2010)

Encephalon5 said:


> how did they play? thats what im interested in.



They played fine. It's a lot easier to make a playable instrument when you don't have to place, level, end, and dress frets. 

The necks were relatively thin and comfortable.


----------



## Encephalon5 (Dec 26, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> They played fine. It's a lot easier to make a playable instrument when you don't have to place, level, end, and dress frets.
> 
> The necks were relatively thin and comfortable.



hahahaa, definitely. i was looking into luthiery recently. thought id build a fretless. seemed much easier than a fretted instrument for obvious reasons.
im definitely going to look into getting one of these. know anything about rondos customer service?

buddy of mine bought an agile from them. i think the neck was chipped when he got it. unless im mistaken they gave him some flak. ill have to ask him about it.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Dec 26, 2010)

Encephalon5 said:


> hahahaa, definitely. i was looking into luthiery recently. thought id build a fretless. seemed much easier than a fretted instrument for obvious reasons.
> im definitely going to look into getting one of these. know anything about rondos customer service?



Their customer service is great for those within the US. If for whatever reason you need to return or exchange the instrument, Kurt will take care of you. 

That being said, expect the instrument to be of the quality you'd come to expect in the sub $500 range. The nut will be a little rough, yet well cut. The woods won't be top quality, but not shit, the hardware is solid, yet cheaper and "light". 

For the price, or even $100+ more, I don't think you'll find a better fretless.


----------



## Encephalon5 (Dec 26, 2010)

Okay. I'm sold.... Umm.. Can I borrow 300 bucks?


----------



## iron blast (Dec 26, 2010)

Encephalon5 said:


> I've been looking into getting a nice 5 or 6 string fretless. Stumbled across rondo music. found this 5 string fretless brice.
> Brice HXB-405 Nat Spalted Fretless at RondoMusic.com
> have any of you guys played brices? are they any good? i dont want to spend an assload on my first fretless. but i do want it to be a pretty good one.
> 
> ...



I own a brice fretless spalted six it plays great and doesnt sound bad you will want to replace the strings and get a upgraded pre and pups in it but its still a solid bass for the money


----------



## leandroab (Jan 11, 2011)

I'm looking forward to buy a Brice 5 string. As usual, I guess it's a pretty solid instrument but with problems in the pup department.

What is the hassle on installing new pups and pre amps?


----------



## josh pelican (Jan 11, 2011)

That depends on what preamp/pickups you go with.


----------



## iron blast (Jan 11, 2011)

leandroab said:


> I'm looking forward to buy a Brice 5 string. As usual, I guess it's a pretty solid instrument but with problems in the pup department.
> 
> What is the hassle on installing new pups and pre amps?



you will end up spending a couple hundred on both the pickups and pre if you want good sound. You can always yank the pre later if you decide to upgrade and you can use the pre in any other bass you buy heres the only thing that will become a pain about changing the pre amp the brices arte only drilled for a two band pre if you want 3 or 4 band pres youl have to drill and rouyte for another pot or two and get volume/tone control knobs to match. Pickups you may need to reroute or they may not work so it all depends on how much you are willing to spend. I would suggest either emg or bartolini pups for this bass because the pickups shouldnt need rerouting and I personally prefer audere preamps but Bartolini, delano, aguilar, and emg make pres that will be an upgrade to the stock one.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 11, 2011)

You won't need to drill for a preamp with a 3-band EQ as long as you use stacked control pots. I know Bartolini and East both make prewired preamps with stacked knobs, and the Aquilar OBP's can be wired however you want.


----------



## leandroab (Jan 13, 2011)

Lol I can't understand a single thing...

I think I'll rather stick with guitars hahahahah

But yeah, thanks guys. I hope the stock pus doesn't sound that bad..


----------



## Necris (Jan 13, 2011)

leandroab said:


> Lol I can't understand a single thing...
> 
> I think I'll rather stick with guitars hahahahah
> 
> But yeah, thanks guys. I hope the stock pus doesn't sound that bad..


 
The stock pickups aren't the greatest but they should hold you over for a while, but for the love of god change the strings and give the bass a full set up the second you get it, the stock strings are indescribably awful.


----------



## TreWatson (Jan 13, 2011)

i don;t understand anything about pots or pickups but i bought a Brice HCB 6 string bass. anything i should know?


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 13, 2011)

TreWatson said:


> i don;t understand anything about pots or pickups but i bought a Brice HCB 6 string bass. anything i should know?



The preamp is pretty dreadful. Even with fresh batteries, and settings closer to 12 o'clock it still never was "clean", especially when digging in. The "passive mode" is your friend, it's much better sounding.


----------



## leandroab (Jan 16, 2011)

MaxOfMetal said:


> The preamp is pretty dreadful. Even with fresh batteries, and settings closer to 12 o'clock it still never was "clean", especially when digging in. The "passive mode" is your friend, it's much better sounding.



And what wold "passive mode"mean?


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jan 16, 2011)

leandroab said:


> And what wold "passive mode"mean?



It bypasses the preamp, essentially making it a passive bass.


----------



## leandroab (Jan 16, 2011)

MaxOfMetal said:


> It bypasses the preamp, essentially making it a passive bass.



Ahhh. That's what I thought. And how is that achievable? Disconnect the preamp?


----------



## sun_of_nothing (Jan 31, 2011)

leandroab said:


> Ahhh. That's what I thought. And how is that achievable? Disconnect the preamp?



I believe there is a push/pull knob that toggles between passive and active.


----------

