NBD! - KSD Burner

[ggvicviper]

New Bass Day! This one is a KSD Burner Ignition 5-string in Transparent Cherry.

So I got this in today, and I wasn't exactly expecting a whole lot. I haven't heard of KSD much around Talkbass, as most people are usually busy talking about the Ken Smith basses that inspired this budget line. The lack of talk around here hasn't inspired much, but zZounds was blowing them out at $300 each for the KSD Burner Ignition 5ers, I figured this would be cool to get to flip one of my other basses.

Anyway, I received it, and for a Chinese-made bass, I have to admit, I was very impressed...





Apologies for the bad phone pics. 35" scale, 2 J pickups, V/B/T controls. It's got a nice wood grain on the body, very beautiful in the cherry finish. I think it has a nice bridge too.

Sound is a pretty nasally Jazz due to the pickup location. Nice and warm too, with a little bit of treble bite. Fretwork is nice, and the nut was better than I was expecting too. I strung it up with D'Addario XL Nickels and set it up, and it plays really nicely.

First impressions are positive... I hope this one can be a mainstay!

[8liter]

Wow, I was not expecting that price. That is pretty darn killer for only 300 bucks.

Congrats on the new bass.

[TolerancEJ]

Congratulations! You have a great instrument! This past December, I picked up a B-stock KSD Burner 6 from zZounds for $750. B-stock or not, it's still a great instrument.

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by TolerancEJ

Congratulations! You have a great instrument! This past December, I picked up a B-stock KSD Burner 6 from zZounds for $750. B-stock or not, it's still a great instrument.

How come no one talks about them?

[TolerancEJ]

Originally Posted by ggvicviper

How come no one talks about them?

I've no idea. Mine sounds great!

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by TolerancEJ

I've no idea. Mine sounds great!

Same here. I love a good deal.

[TolerancEJ]

I've also been interested in the KSD Proto J 70s 6-string as well. Brand new, it's only priced at $899.

[ggvicviper]

AMS is also selling these for $300 each, like zZounds.
Places like Bill's Music sell them for almost $600.

The 70's Proto J 6er seems to be $900 across the board.

[Jimmy Stump]

I didn't even know these existed until just now.

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stump

I didn't even know these existed until just now.

I heard about them about a year ago. I was always hesitant about them because they are made in China, and I haven't had such good experiences with that. However, as said before, the first impressions are very, very good - unlike many other cheaper basses I've tried or owned.

They even did a good job with the nut... and often on cheaper 5ers (and even some more expensive 5ers) they cut the B too low.

EDIT: More info for those looking into KSD: These instruments are a joint effort between Ken Smith and D'Andrea. Ken Smith has his name on it, and the bodies used for the Burner models are based on the Ken Smith BSR basses. D'Andrea produces them through an Asian manufacturer, and owns the brand I believe.

They also make a series of Jazz Basses, called the Proto-J (get it?), based on the 60's, 70's models, and their own "black noir" version.

The instruments are sold through more east-coast based retailers, and both Ken Smith & D'Andrea are east coast based.

[ggvicviper]

Also, here is a series of videos of KSD Burners in action (played by session musician Trevor Lindsey) at NAMM 2011... Neither are the Ignition though...

KSD Burner Standard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9F9kEAZMw4

KSD Burner Deluxe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX6pLPzYZco

The Ignition is all passive.
The Standard and Deluxe have a 2-band EQ with a passive bypass push/pull. The Deluxe also has a FMT, with a 3 piece neck and gold harware.