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Ken Smith Bass info

Bartok

Bartok

Jan 6, 2009
56
25
45
Murcia (SPAIN)
#1
Hello,

A friend of mine has this Ken Smith bass and he’s planning to selling it because he has a injury in the wrist that prevents him to play.

He doesn’t remember specs (woods, pickups, electronics, etc…) model, body shape or any related info necessary for selling it.

You can see some pictures of the bass here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8jbzu1fjl...WVocymZVa?dl=0

Serial number is: 6G117484FW

I want helping him, but I’m not either a Ken Smith Basses expert, so I need some help, too…
redface.gif


Could anyone tell me what specs does this bass have?

What does the serial number means?

What would be a fair used price?

Best!!
 
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#4
Bartok said:
But we din’t know anything about this bass… Do you recognice the body shape or model? Maybe the serial number could give you some extra info?

Best!
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what year it was made but you can ask here on the Ken Smith bass club or on the Ken Smith website there might be some good information. From the looks of it I can tell you it's a ken Smith burner or maybe a special chuck Rainey signature model. Going to the Ken Smith website would be very helpful to you.
 
#5
Mid 90's neck-through, BT shape, 5 body and 5 neck layers, 3 band eq, might be morado board not sure, but not a Burner or Rainey. Looks original but snap a pic of the inside control cavity cover and electronics. You could call or email the Smith shop and they could possibly look it up. The big headstock and early neck-through, and if all original, will make it more valuable. I personally think the ebay and reverb prices are ridiculous for used Smiths, but the market is what the market is.
 
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#6
GTHintz said:
I'm not sure what year it was made but you can ask here on the Ken Smith bass club or on the Ken Smith website there might be some good information. From the looks of it I can tell you it's a ken Smith burner or maybe a special chuck Rainey signature model. Going to the Ken Smith website would be very helpful to you.
Click to expand...

I have written to Ken by mail, but it didn’t help: “The buyer must know this info. Thanks.”

I’ve post this doubt in Ken Smith forums, but I’m afraid a similar response from Ken, here too…

I didn’t know there was a “Smith Club”, so I’ll do!
 
#7
bofat said:
Mid 90's neck-through, BT shape, 5 body and 5 neck layers, 3 band eq, might be morado board not sure, but not a Burner or Rainey. Looks original but snap a pic of the inside control cavity cover and electronics. You could call or email the Smith shop and they could possibly look it up. The big headstock and early neck-through, and if all original, will make it more valuable. I personally think the ebay and reverb prices are ridiculous for used Smiths, but the market is what the market is.
Click to expand...

Wow! It’s going surprisingly interesting… A international buyer told him the bass was so obsolete, and that preamp has no 3 Bands EQ. He offered 2.5k€ and he told it was a good offer fir that bass.

Upper, GTHintz told “5k€ if not more”.

I think this guy was pretending to cheat him. The original price of the bass was around 6k€, but this guy was not a “forum guy” it was a “stage guy”. He simply tried this bass, it liked him, and he paid for it. After that, he simply played it.

As a joke note, he discovered yesterday that the bass has a truss rod… LOL!
 
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#12
Bartok said:
I have written to Ken by mail, but it didn’t help: “The buyer must know this info. Thanks.”

I’ve post this doubt in Ken Smith forums, but I’m afraid a similar response from Ken, here too…

I didn’t know there was a “Smith Club”, so I’ll do!
Click to expand...

Considering how expensive KS's basses are, it's absurd that he basically tells you to figure them out. That's brushing customers off...great way to attract/keep clients. :rollno: I love his stuff, but have heard he's a jerk, time and time again. Why put serial numbers on your basses, then, Mr. Smith? Think customers may have put you on the map, as opposed to, say, using their money for something like, hmm, a car?

Even though I'd never buy one, I guarantee that Fodera or Sadowsky would be more than accommodating to your inquiries.
 
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#13
Bartok said:
I have written to Ken by mail, but it didn’t help: “The buyer must know this info. Thanks.”

I’ve post this doubt in Ken Smith forums, but I’m afraid a similar response from Ken, here too…

I didn’t know there was a “Smith Club”, so I’ll do!
Click to expand...
Typical arrogance of Ken Smith. One reason he got banned form this forum. I quit his forum over b***$#!+ like this, and would never own one of his basses if it were the last bass on earth.
 
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#15
Looks like the market thinks it's worth less than 4000 GBP. Your friend listed the instrument in May, I'd let him deal with it. It always seems like helping a friend on anything monetary ends badly. No good deed goes unpunished.

EDIT: Also listed for 3300 Euros: Invalid Link Removed
 
Last edited:
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#16
MultiScaleMale said:
Looks like the market thinks it's worth less than 4000 GBP. Your friend listed the instrument in May, I'd let him deal with it. It always seems like helping a friend on anything monetary ends badly. No good deed goes unpunished.
Click to expand...

My idea is only to know the exact model & specs and tell him a real price for that bass. After that, he can do what he want... Is not my decision... I only try to discover some info in dedicated pages because I'm used to navigate in forums and I can (barely) speak a bit of English...
 
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#17
It's likely that any records they might have had at Ken Smith world headquarters in '94/95 would have been paper and likely lost in moves since then. Wish I could help, but my Ken Smith knowledge is limited to Google searches and there was no Google in '95. But I will say that polishing the frets would be a good investment. In the pics now, the frets look like they're very corroded and would be a turn off to anyone willing to pay for a $3-4k or higher instrument.
 
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#18
MultiScaleMale said:
It's likely that any records they might have had at Ken Smith world headquarters in '94/95 would have been paper and likely lost in moves since then. Wish I could help, but my Ken Smith knowledge is limited to Google searches and there was no Google in '95. But I will say that polishing the frets would be a good investment. In the pics now, the frets look like they're very corroded and would be a turn off to anyone willing to pay for a $3-4k or higher instrument.
Click to expand...
Of course... I've recommended him installing a new set of Ken Smith strings and send the bass to a technician for check it up and, cleaning and adjusting it...
 
#19
MultiScaleMale said:
It's likely that any records they might have had at Ken Smith world headquarters in '94/95 would have been paper and likely lost in moves since then. Wish I could help, but my Ken Smith knowledge is limited to Google searches and there was no Google in '95. But I will say that polishing the frets would be a good investment. In the pics now, the frets look like they're very corroded and would be a turn off to anyone willing to pay for a $3-4k or higher instrument.
Click to expand...
Looks like a lined fretless to me....
 

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