Brubaker Musical Instruments has a
reputation for exotic woods, innovative
designs, and high-quality builds. Kevin
Brubaker has been making handmade,
custom basses and guitars since 1997, and
his custom basses are endorsed by a number
of heavy-hitting players. Three years ago,
Brubaker began working on the import
Brute series, which aimed to offer many of
the features of his handcrafted KXB and
NBS series basses at a price that’s more
accessible to the greater bassist community.
These instruments are available as both
4- and 5-string models, with MJX or JJX
pickup configurations, and here we take a
look at the Brute JJX-4.
A Lasting First impression
The Brute JJX-4 arrived in a sturdy hardshell
case with a nicely padded handle that
makes transporting the instrument surprisingly
pleasant. Opening the case, I found a
svelte instrument with a gloss finish over a
basswood body, a satin-finished neck, and
a unique and quite attractive flamed-maple
pickguard.
The 22-fret, 3-piece maple neck attaches
to the body with the same Bolt-Thru
design that’s on Brubaker’s well-known
KXB basses—and the neck’s truss rod is
adjustable at the body. The body and neck
join where the neck broadens into a heel,
which then extends into a paddle-shaped
spar that matches a corresponding route in
the body. Two bolts are located in roughly
the same position you’d normally find a
traditional neck plate, and the other two
bolts are located in the middle of the back,
just slightly closer to the butt of the bass
than where the neck pickup sits on top.
Mimicking a set neck, the neck joint is
effectively over six inches long—impressive!
Brute slap
The JJX-4 features a dual, J-bass-style
pickup configuration with proprietary
Brubaker-designed pickups that use ceramic
8 magnets. Electronics include a 2-band
active preamp with knobs for Volume,
Blend, Treble (centered at 15 kHz), and
Bass (centered at 40 Hz). The preamp is
accessible by removing the pickguard, so the
only route on the back of the instrument is
for the 9V battery compartment. Finishing
off the list of appointments, the JJX-4 has
Gotoh-style tuners, a solid-feeling die-cast
bridge, and a graphite nut.
When I picked up the Brute and threw
it across my knee, my first two impressions
were 1) that the bass balanced in
a very gratifying way—and this proved
true while standing, too—and 2) that
the neck played impressively well directly
out of the case, with low action and wellexecuted
fretwork. The string height was
at the point that if you were really pulling
(think right-hand attack on an upright
bass), you’d get some slight buzzing, but
probably not enough to come through
the amp. In my book, this meant it was
set up excellently for slap bass and very
good for rock or fingerstyle funk. For
more aggressive playing, the action can be
brought up with a few quick and simple
adjustments of the saddles. And while
some players might not think the JJX-4’s
medium neck profile isn’t the fastest or
the slickest available, I found a lot to like
about its playability.
At Home with the Tone
Plugging the JJX-4 into an Ampeg B5R
head and Schroeder 1212L cab, I was
impressed by the flexibility of the electronics.
They’re simple to use, and it was easy
to get a wide variety of nice sounds with
precise adjustments of the EQ and various
blending ratios between the pickups. The
soloed neck pickup produced a big, open,
bell-like tone, and when I dialed in lots of
bass frequencies I was able to crank out fat,
rumbling tones like you’d expect from a
Hammond organ player’s left hand.
My first two impressions were 1) that the bass
balanced in a very gratifying way—and this proved
true while standing, too—and 2) that the neck
played impressively well directly out of the case.
Just like you expect from a dual-J-pickup
setup, the JJX-4’s bridge pickup is the
sonic counter to the neck pickup—bright
and crisp, with excellent snap for cutting
through a dense mix. And when combined
with the neck pickup’s fat bottom
end, the bridge unit’s razor-like qualities
produced a versatile, well-rounded tone
that would work for everything from blues
to rock and jazz-tinged fare. Although the
preamp got a little noisy onstage at a local
blues jam when I ran the bass through a
Peavey Basic 112 combo, this only happened
when I favored one pickup or the
other. Of course, that’s perfectly normal
for a soloed single-coil—it’s quite difficult
to find a set of single-coils that doesn’t
pick up a bit of hum when panned too far
to one side.
The Verdict
The Brubaker Brute JJX-4 is a well-executed
bass with a versatile palette of modern-to-vintage tones, nice build-quality, a good
preamp, and a neck that is satisfying to
play. The instrument has great balance and
won’t wear one’s shoulder out with excessive
weight. The JJX-4 commands a musical
voice, and the pitches it produces are clear
and sustained. Overall, the JJX-4 is a solid,
cost-effective bass at a very good price.
Buy if...
you are looking for a reasonably
priced bass with a versatile, modern
vibe that plays and balances well.
Skip if...
you are looking for $500 worth
of preamp and pickups in a bass
that costs under $1000.
Rating...
