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Anything else close to a Ken Smith 6?
- Thread starter AngelCrusher
- Start date
Congrats and it indeed sounds nice.
The exposed grain kills it for me, nothing a few
more hundred couldn't fix though!
Then again I'm not buyin' it!
Yeah, not sure if I will fix that or not. I have some time to mull that over.
Those were great clips. I'm glad you decided not to try and find a Smith clone because that would have left you unhappy.
Yes plus its super modern and thin..D shape. Should be easy to rip on. Very very hard to find a 6er that checks all these boxes. In fact, I didn't know one existed.
I agree. And the thing about a Smith, is while I really like it, I could never justify spending 4-6k for one. Especially since the slap tone is not really optimal to me. It's still my favorite of the high end American boutique 6 strings I played.
I've played a lot of 5k basses and I never once thought "this is worth 5 grand". Nothing against any bass maker but IMO it s little too much. To go shopping in Japan and find handmade boutique basses with fantastic wood, necks and high end components for half the price really was a wake up for me. Maybe others will test the waters as well.
I agree with you. If I had not lost my summer school class (and salary,) I would have bought an AtelierZ or Sadowsky Metro myself.
I looked hard at the AtelierZ 6 as well. Really awesome basses. In the end, I preferred the Bacchus. A little warmer to me, which is key since I like to dig in with my fingers a hair sometimes and I need some warmth so things don't get too barky.
The slap tone is very similar to the Bacchus. A little more clank to it. The Atelier really sounds a lot like a Sadowsky to me.
The slap tone is very similar to the Bacchus. A little more clank to it. The Atelier really sounds a lot like a Sadowsky to me.
Have to add I think a key part I like is the Ebony fretboard. I played this exact Ken Smith :[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
And the ebony fretboard is a key part, IMO to giving it that distinct extra tonality. Even though the string contacts the frets, I have always noticed pretty big tonal differences between maple, rosewood and the carbon modulus fingerboards I have used. Some folks here don't think it makes a difference, but I disagree. The ebony neck on the Ken Smith gives its nice crisp boost, but also warms up the lows. I notice the same tonalities in the Bacchus.
If the Bacchus delivers like I think it will, I will probably buy their handmade passive J next. Not only are the parts high end, and they use the ebony neck, but they also have a pull knob that engages both pickups in parallel to give you an extra J bass tone that a Fender doesn't possess.
And the ebony fretboard is a key part, IMO to giving it that distinct extra tonality. Even though the string contacts the frets, I have always noticed pretty big tonal differences between maple, rosewood and the carbon modulus fingerboards I have used. Some folks here don't think it makes a difference, but I disagree. The ebony neck on the Ken Smith gives its nice crisp boost, but also warms up the lows. I notice the same tonalities in the Bacchus.
If the Bacchus delivers like I think it will, I will probably buy their handmade passive J next. Not only are the parts high end, and they use the ebony neck, but they also have a pull knob that engages both pickups in parallel to give you an extra J bass tone that a Fender doesn't possess.
Those are pretty sweet looking basses for sure. So many great basses being made around the globe that are not getting the attention they deserve over here yet.
What brand is the bridge on your bachus?Ok I finalized a down payment and I will probably be getting this bass in 3-4 weeks.
Anyway, I went with a very rare bass that I would not have discovered if it was not for this thread leading to me calling some friends and doing some research before pulling the trigger.
Once I heard the bass I knew it was what I wanted. Additionally, the looks are perfect too (for me). I find the look of a bass to be important for me because it is part of your stage presence, so I never really skimp there. Especially with all the options we have now. The bass I went with is the Bacchus Handmade DX6.
This bass does not sound like a Ken Smith, but is the most tonally versatile bass I have heard. The slap tone is one of the best, which usually equates to a finger tone lacking mids, but not this. The Bartolini preamp can be dimed (treble/bass and mid) and not distort, which a lot of bass pres can not handle. The serious mid presence in the bass does have it sit with a Ken Smith though, which is what I love about KS's.
The other thing I love about the Bacchus is the craftsmanship. It is on par with any American made boutique bass that I have seen. The wiring (some pics of that in a bacchus thread here) is the cleanest I have witnessed, especially appreciated after navigating the Lakland Skyline 5502, which was not bad, but not nearly as clean as Bacchus. I also love the idea of combining a Bartolini pre with the J style pup configuration, which is something that Bacchus does on a lot of their handmade line basses. It results in a really modern tone that IMO takes the Jazz tone to another level.
In all honesty I am very excited about the Bacchus line in general. A J bass with quality mid range presence is the ultimate dream tone for me. If this bass delivers like I believe it will in the studio, I will most likely be buying one of their handmade passive J's as well and using them exclusively.
To be more specific, a Jazz bass has really nice low end and barking highs. A Sadowsky preamp puts that tone on steroids, but you lose low mids and warmth that I find very important when soloing or trying to cut through a mix the way I want to do it.
After talking to some friends that used them, I kept hearing the same thing - amazing wood selection, amazing necks, "easily worth 2-3 times what they sell for".
Can't say enough about how impressed I am with what the upper tier Japanese boutiques are cranking out right now. IMO, they may very well be surpassing a lot of US boutique makers.
Once I get the bass and put it through the paces, I will do a complete review of it in a new thread. If I don't like it, I can send it back. But I feel very confident that this was the right choice - financially and tonally as well.
Someone say ebony?
I don't/won't own a bass without ebony fingerboard. It is the sound I like...
Nice basses! And yes, I think that ebony is a big reason I loved the Smith so much. I believe Ken Smith said it is the most high end option you can get for a fingerboard.
Thanks, I have the same bridge on my late '80s - early '90s hand made neck-throgh body 6 (some luthier from italy). The funny thing is that the pickups on this weird looking bass are (almost) in the ken smith location and it sounds like a smith bass indeed! (and plays like a dream too
)specs:
flamed maple body wings, 2 piece bookmatched walnut neck, pau ferro fingerboard, usa kent armrstrong custom double coil pickups, SD 3band pre, gotoh tuners, 19mm string spacing, "34 scale.
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Uh, no you didn't!!!Someone say ebony?
I don't/won't own a bass without ebony fingerboard. It is the sound I like...
The sad part is that Ken Smiths and Foderas were
comparatively priced in the early mid 1980s
