TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Mini
TC’s polyphonic PolyTune was a hit from its first iteration. The ease—and the sense of reassurance that comes from determining which strings are sharp or flat with a single strum—made it super practical in real-world performance situations. This even smaller version makes it even more utilitarian. It’s an elegant, simple tool and a shoo-in for a Premier Gear Award.
$89 street
tcelectronic.com
Click here to read the full review
In the years we’ve compiled our annual list of Premier Gear Award winners, we’ve probably never seen a list more eclectic than 2015’s. From high-gain monster amps and atmospheric reverbs to mini overdrives and wahs, 2015’s award winners covered all the bases.
As always, it was a joy to see how both big-time musical instrument industry players and little shops a step removed from the garage managed to haul in Premier Guitar’s prize for gear excellence. And if anyone’s counting, we’re pretty sure we also set a record for Premier Gear Award winners. So we hope you’re comfy—this list of primo gear may take some time to cover.
Kevin Brubaker has been building dynamic basses and guitars for over 20 years. Brubaker’s diverse bass lineup ranges from the budget-friendly Brute line to the single-cut beauties of the KXB series. The JXB Standard resides between those extremes. It’s Brubaker’s take on the classic J-style formula, fusing traditional looks and modern construction.
More Neo Than Leo
It may seem easy to pass off the JXB Standard as another J-style bass from Clone Mountain, but a closer look reveals savvy improvements on the original design.
A high-gloss finish, highlighting the bass’s deep grain patterns and excellent book matching, protects the JXB Standard’s two-piece alder body. The classic J-style contours are there, but Brubaker adds unique cutaways on the back of the body and the lower horn that provide uninhibited access to the upper fretboard. The quilted-maple pickguard and control plate are wonderfully decorative alternatives to the conventional plastic and chrome components.
The one-piece maple neck is sprayed with a smooth satin finish. Brubaker bolts the neck deeply into the body, a technique he calls “bolt-thru.” This provides more contact between the neck and body woods, intended to increase the transfer of vibrations throughout the instrument. Brubaker keeps the fretboard free of position dots, allowing the eyes to better appreciate the rosewood fretboard’s red hues and grain pattern. Don’t fret: There are pearloid side markers for those “lost” moments.
The solidly constructed neck and body are an ideal foundation for the JXB’s electronics and hardware. The battery compartment and 4-knob configuration might imply active electronics, but a peek into the control cavity reveals a passive system. (Players can opt for an active electronics mod, taking advantage of the battery slot and pre-routed body.)
The controls consist of master volume, neck-pickup volume, bridge-pickup volume, master tone, and a vintage/modern switch. Brubaker chose a pair of Aguilar AG 4J-HC hum-cancelling pickups for J-style tone with silent operation. Supporting the strings are Hipshot Ultralight tuners and a Babicz Full Contact bridge.
Ratings
Pros:
Clean and versatile tones. Excellent ergonomics.
Cons:
Pricey. Might not win over pre-CBS Fender fans.
Tones:
Playability:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$2,499 street
Company
brubakerguitars.com
Comfy, Clean, and Cool
It was immediately clear that this would be a comfortable bass. It weighs a manageable 8.6 pounds and balances perfectly, holding its position at every playing angle. I experienced zero back pain or shoulder fatigue after a four-hour gig. In fact, my playing posture actually seemed to improve every time I strapped on the bass.
I auditioned the JXB though an Epifani UL 501 amp with an Epifani 2x12 cabinet. I positioned all the JXB’s knobs to their fullest and encountered punchy lows, midrange growl, and a top end with a deceptively active-like edge. The clean, articulate tones are reminiscent of ’70s-era Fender Jazz basses, but with a dash of modern zing. They’re perfect for aggressive thumb work and thick, cutting pops for funk and modern gospel music. On an R&B horn-band gig, fingerstyle passages fit right in the mix. Digging into the strings added crunch and presence, maintaining an authoritative voice within the ensemble.
Players who swear by their bridge pickups will dig the JXB’s pointed midrange bark. A slight tone-knob cut warmed up the snarling soloed pickup, making it ideal for clean 16th-note passages. The neck pickup also has plenty to offer. While it’s not often soloed on J-style basses, its hum-canceling capabilities provide additional tonal flexibility without pesky 60-cycle hum. In this mode, slap sounds have a thick, old-school vibe, while fingerstyle lines come close to copping Motown and Stax sounds. I placed a piece of acoustic foam by the bridge for kicks, and while it didn’t convey a spot-on P-style tone, it provided a taste of Jamerson’s classic timbre. Depending on your technique, the JXB can be quite the tonal chameleon.
The Verdict The JXB Standard delivers an ideal blend of comfort and versatility. It takes some of the most beloved traits of the Fender Jazz Bass and improves on them with contemporary flair. Brubaker’s latest creation is an excellent option for those who prefer to take one bass to a gig. The price tag might raise a few eyebrows, but such a highly playable, expertly crafted U.S.-made instrument justifies the investment. If you haven’t found your match among other J-style offerings, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the Brubaker JXB Standard.
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.
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...
