Ken Smith back in PA

[onda'bass]

I had a smith in the 90’s. CR5 if I remember, was a sweet bass but not my sound and the body was too big. I found it to polite and couldn’t cop some tones i was hearing in my head. Ymmv

 

[Rumblefisher]

Not gonna front, been wondering if I would like a Smith or F bass in my life lately…not that i need either but I’ve got a couple of amps and pres sitting around that I can sell and scrounge enough to get most of the way there.

 

[moorebass]

The Smith's I've owned (mid to late 90s) have all been impeccable in craftmanship and effortlessly playable. Very very consistent. I wasn't a huge fan of the Ken Smith tone, or I'd still own them. The few interactions I've had with Ken have been pleasant, but I'd imagine the same uncompromising attention to detail and extremely high standards he judges both his instuments and others by have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Probably had something to do with this partnership ending.

Happy to see production back in PA though.

 

[Ed Goode]

I had a BSR5MW in the earlier 2000’s, it was one of the absolute best electric basses I’ve ever owned. Sold it to finance a custom fretless 7 string build at the time when I was moving away from fretted stuff altogether. If it had been fretless I’m sure I would have kept it and figured some other way fund the 7 string build. I haven’t kept up with Smith gear goings-on lately, but I’d be highly surprised if the quality is anything less than stellar

 

[burgerdj]

Smith basses have a pretty strong cult following. Given that other hand-made builders have closed up shop (Muck ), I’m guessing the math wasn’t working in Smiths favor to continue a business relationship with Brubaker. I’m just hoping small production builders will continue to compete with the big factories, which have adopted many of the niche features and high production quality that were previously only available through these small/custom builders.

 

[shwashwa]

Are Smith necks chunky? I went to the Bass Bootcamp Expo in Philly and Ken Smith was there with a few of his basses. Tried one and only played a few notes and handed back said “Thank you” and moved on. The neck felt more like an upright neck than an electric bass neck to me.

to me this is a great thing

 

[Richard Lindsey]

I had a 4-string bubinga top set-neck Smith back in the '80s, when you could go over to Ken's place in the Village in NYC and pick your bass up. A few years later, I was looking for a little different sound, plus I wanted to move to 6-string and couldn't have afforded a 6-string Smith by then anyway. But there's absolutely nothing I could fault about the the way my Smith was built, the way it looked, or the way it played. It was a killer instrument.

 

[Richard Lindsey]

Are Smith necks chunky?

Mine wasn't. It felt a lot like a Jazz to me. Of course, that was several decades ago, and I haven't played a Smith in ages, so I don't know what they're like now or recently.

 

[Jefus]

I have a feeling such a bass would not come very close to actual Smith, given the way they are constructed. I had one for two years during the Nineties. It was bolt on, but the body was made of many layers of wood, the neck was three piece too. The pickups were located in way that emphasized lots of mids. I don’t imagine a Squier body would capture the Smith essence.

I totally agree. There was a bit of tongue-in-cheek in my response, but that doesn't always translate well in writing.

 

[AngelCrusher]

Do you think so? I'm under the impression that there's much less interest in Smiths than there was even seven or eight years ago. The people who want more of a hi-fi sound seem to lean more towards other brands and I rarely hear about or see anyone playing a Smith these days. There seem to be fewer of them in the TB classifieds as well.

What other brands, you mean something like Fbass? I am debating what 6 string I'd like to buy down the road and it always seems to come back to a Smith. Nothing seems to really play or sound like them. That said, I am always open to alternatives. Fbass may be the strongest competitor, but I think I'd prefer that in a 5 string, and I have a 5 string Sadowsky jazz already.

34 inch scale to me is awesome. Fbass with 34.5 would be fine, but anything over that I am not a fan of.

Maybe the lack of demand for Smiths could be an asset for me on the used market though.

 

[conttador]

Do you think so? I'm under the impression that there's much less interest in Smiths than there was even seven or eight years ago. The people who want more of a hi-fi sound seem to lean more towards other brands and I rarely hear about or see anyone playing a Smith these days. There seem to be fewer of them in the TB classifieds as well.

That’s because folks are hanging on to their Smiths. I have two and they’re going nowhere! The ones that do show up are not cheap whether they sell or not is a different question.

I have no doubt that Brubaker made fine Smith basses but the fact that they weren’t made by Ken or in Ken’s shop probably deterred some potential customers.

 

[frankie5string]

Smith basses have a pretty strong cult following. Given that other hand-made builders have closed up shop (Muck ), I’m guessing the math wasn’t working in Smiths favor to continue a business relationship with Brubaker. I’m just hoping small production builders will continue to compete with the big factories, which have adopted many of the niche features and high production quality that were previously only available through these small/custom builders.

I was under the impression that the move to Brubaker was one done under "emergency circumstances." As far as I know, one of his top builders died suddenly and he knew enough about Brubaker to trust him to build. Part of that arrangement was that they would try a few different things. I believe the Brubaker basses had different finishes and a couple 'burst colours.

They tried those things and decided to close that chapter and move everything back in-house.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I totally agree. There was a bit of tongue-in-cheek in my response, but that doesn't always translate well in writing.

That’s fine.

 

[conttador]

Are Smith necks chunky? I went to the Bass Bootcamp Expo in Philly and Ken Smith was there with a few of his basses. Tried one and only played a few notes and handed back said “Thank you” and moved on. The neck felt more like an upright neck than an electric bass neck to me.

I don’t know what happened between Kevin Brubaker and Ken Smith, but the Brubaker era Ken Smiths looked good at least. There was one on Reverb that had a center horizontal burst that really caught my eye. But for that price I’d have to try before I would buy.

I haven’t played a recent one but I have an ‘87 BT 6 and the neck has a very thin profile. What’s most remarkable is that I’ve never had to adjust the truss rod. I’ve owned 7 Smiths over the years, theses were from the 80s through the early 2000s and the necks were far from chunky.

 

[BassJuju]

Not gonna front, been wondering if I would like a Smith or F bass in my life lately…not that i need either but I’ve got a couple of amps and pres sitting around that I can sell and scrounge enough to get most of the way there.

Can't go wrong with either. There is a lot of love in this forum for other things, but I am unconvinced that it is reflective of the rest of the world.

Pick the one you want and make it so.

 

[pepj]

There are a lot of basses to compete with at that price point imv.
F Bass, Fodera in the modern market but Smith is right out there with their distinct unmistakable sound so anyone really wanting that will go for a Smith.
I suspect the high end market has its own pressures to survive so the partnership could just be restructuring..? who knows?

 

[Joelc73]

I wonder if there were issues with the basses Kevin was producing.

 

[burgerdj]

I wonder if there were issues with the basses Kevin was producing.

I can’t imagine - Kevin’s shop produces fine quality instruments, but then again, construction methods vary. I hope it was amicable!

 

[jnuts1]

Are Smith necks chunky? I went to the Bass Bootcamp Expo in Philly and Ken Smith was there with a few of his basses. Tried one and only played a few notes and handed back said “Thank you” and moved on. The neck felt more like an upright neck than an electric bass neck to me.

I don’t know what happened between Kevin Brubaker and Ken Smith, but the Brubaker era Ken Smiths looked good at least. There was one on Reverb that had a center horizontal burst that really caught my eye. But for that price I’d have to try before I would buy.

their necks are def not like an upright. very thin and fast. if it wasn't for the smaller sting spacing I would have never sold mine. played like and absolute dream and killer tone.

I just sold it last year and got back what i paid for her. so i think the demand is still there. If i find a 19mm I'd buy it again.

 

[Obese Chess]

Gosh, it seems like that partnership ended amicably

Yeah, very, uh, diplomatic writing in that original post.