Ken Smith Basses

Most Smiths have excellent playability, even the bolt-on, J pickup models. OTOH I was pretty surprised at the new ones I played yesterday, didn't like them at all. The 5's and 6's all had narrow spacing which came as a surprise to me. I think a neck-thru is available new for around $2200.

 

I've only ever played one, the one I own, a BSR6 GN. Yes, it's a truly great bass and I'm keepin' it!

 

My teacher uses ken smiths exclusively basses. And I have to say they are amazing, excellent playability, terrific sound, hell of a growl. There worth, oh ya LIGHT WEIGHT!

 

Boogiebass, I have cheked out a few high-end basses. But no Smith's yet. But... your Smith looks KILLER..and I would bet it sounds and plays great too!! When I get a chance I will check them out. I love J.V. Colier on the live Bruce Hornsby CD ..Here Come The Noise Makers....If you LOVE your Smith!!!
PLEASE check this CD out. He mostly plays his
Smith 6. And it sounds GREAT...He is a truly a
great bass player too. One of my Fav's
Dan

 

i have a Smith BT G 6 and its a great bass without question. the playablity is literally effortless, and i find the sound to be versatile - old school to modern. body back to front = maple/walnut/mahogany/walnut/maple.

 

I'll have to do that. Gracias.

 

Boogiebass:

I love your bass!!! Looks plain awesome!......does it play as good as it looks? Sure does huh?

 

I absolutely love KS's 6 strings. Boogie's 6 is actually my fav combination, too. However, I'm not so sure I would pay $4500 for one...I mean, that's like 3 Zons!

It would be one of my first purchases after I won the lottery, however.

When's The Aries bass due, Warwicknut?

 

I have played several Smiths, I work at the only store in my area that carries them, and they are basicly specatacular from the bottom of the line all the way up to the top. The bolt-ons are just as good as the neck thru ones IMHO, and a lot less $$$, you can get a bolt-on 5 for roughly $2300. They still have the sound that people tend to associate with Smith basses too. The J's are good as well, although I don't care for the sound of those as much, but that is just me. I also like the fact that whern you go from active to passive you don't come up short on volume and the tone stays pretty consistent as well.

 

Coolcool! I'll be expecting a review!

 

You know it, bro!

 

Not sure I'd fork over that kinda dough, either. I bought mine when it was about a year old for a much more reasonable(!) 2500.

 

I have had a few:

Burner 4-string - YUCK !
BT Custom 5 - Kick A$$
BSR4J - Not bad for the price

In all, I found the top of the line models sound fantastic, but I have been less than enthused with the lower end models. One thing that I did not like was that you essentially had one tone to work with – although it’s a great tone if you like that “Smith” sound.

Don’t own one now, but my only regret was that I sold the 5 string. BTW, I got it used for $1900.

 

I've got a BSR6P and a BSR5JMW. I had a BT-6G and sold it after I got my bolt on 6. The bolt on sounds better to me. I prefer the J pickups in the 5 string as they sound fatter than the soapbars. Different strokes......

I've played only one USA made Smith that did not sound good to me. It was a bolt on 5 string with soapbar pickups and had a lacewood body. Just did not have "it".

Chuck

 

Warwicknut wrote:

Am I the only one who find this wierd? Would anyone REALLY buy something like a Ken Smith at G**tar Center??? Man, I hope they do a better setup job on them than they do on their Warwicks!

 

I've only played a couple of Ken Smiths in my life (both bolt-ons, one a BSR5J and the other a BSR5B) and I was impressed with neither. The playability was great, although the necks were a bit wide for my taste, but the tone and the B string were both terrible! I can forgive a bad B, but not a sterile tone--there was no midrange punch.

I can see why Smiths are so popular among R&B players--both of the ones I played had an incredible amount of bottom--but those pickups have got to go.